Thread: So That's a Traditional Hot Rod????

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Originally Posted by angrystroker

A Traditional hotrod to me has a flathead, no fenders, spoked wheels or reversed rims with baby moons. Hotrods have modern V8s no fenders, side pipes, nice wheels with cheater slicks. Rat rods, these folks are the same people that have ugly children and no one tells them they are ugly.. Street rods basically a stock looking old car with a modern drive train and creature comforts. Beyond that there are muscle cars they speak for themselves you know them when you see them.

Lets not forget that John Force calls his funny cars Hotrods, and I agree with that one. The discussion continues, we will figure it out one of these days, great food for thought I'd say.

hey!
my kids aint ugly!


oh wait
i dont have any...nevermind.....

The guys who came back from the second world war that started most of this built cars that where anything but traditional.I do remember those from a Rod and Custom shows when I was a kid.

No point in beating a dead horse.......... but if the horse is dead, well you ain't gonna hurt it anymore.....

I get stuff stuck in my head, mull it over and over again, and so I have several times with this " Traditional Hot Rod " . Ya know what I'm not sure I know anymore. There are cars that I would call traditional and almost no one would disagree on those particular cars. But after much thought and consulting Webster, and mulling over the definition this is the conclusion "I" have come to.

Traditional when used to describe a hot rod or custom is ambiguous at best. I think the def. boiled down to what would apply to hot rods would be commonly or conservative. As in say what was commonly done in the late 40's, or whatever time you pick. Commonly used parts, a common build style etc. I personally think it needs to be followed with a time period, or style etc. It might be like calling it a "very hot rod". A very WHAT???? It needs an adjective, " very fast hot rod". So a "late 40's traditional hot rod" now means something. A hot rod built in the late 40's from a car that was commonly hot rodded at that time using parts and built in a style common for that time.

This is where I think a vehicle like Norm Gabrowski's T was not traditional, it was un common. I'm sure some people at the time considered it very un attractive. Fad T's are traditional when considering " Traditional 70's Hot Rods".

And the "Rat Rod's" have been around long enough to consider them traditional if properly described " Traditional Rat Rod's ". There are certainly some common themes and practices, style etc that are commonly used and unique to rat rods.

So I think "Traditional Hot Rod" is vague. It brings to mind a different vision to every one that hears those words. And my vision may not be yours. And so the argument begins. But if we hear "Traditional 50's Hot Rod" we are probably gonna be closer to being on the same page and wave length.

And that my friends is why i now have no clue exactly what is a "Traditional Hot Rod" because as it turns out I don't know what the other guy is thinking when he says it. And I think that's when the ruckus starts because most don't know what the other guy is thinking either. Think about it........ If we are working in the shop and I keep yelling for a wrench without telling you what kind, size, of wrench I want...... well your gonna yell back.......or maybe just throw the biggest wrench you can find at me....

Think we all have our own idea of what constitutes a traditional rod, and those I do like!!! My main complaint is these clowns who insist on using "traditional" as an excuse for shoddy work, unsafe components and /or workmanship, poorly planned projects, and trashy paint jobs!!!! I remember the cars some of my Dad's pals had, certainly wasn't nothing left half done or cobbled together on their cars---and they had to fabricate a lot of their own pieces, not just dial up 1-800-Hot-Rods and bolt things together when the parts came!!!!

Good thing the horse is dead, at least he doesn't feel the pain from the continued floggings!!!!!!!!

I agree with ya Old Fart! And, I'll toss a wrench at ya anytime! LOL...

Originally Posted by dlotraf33

No point in beating a dead horse.......... but if the horse is dead, well you ain't gonna hurt it anymore.....

I get stuff stuck in my head, mull it over and over again, and so I have several times with this " Traditional Hot Rod " . Ya know what I'm not sure I know anymore. There are cars that I would call traditional and almost no one would disagree on those particular cars. But after much thought and consulting Webster, and mulling over the definition this is the conclusion "I" have come to.

Traditional when used to describe a hot rod or custom is ambiguous at best. I think the def. boiled down to what would apply to hot rods would be commonly or conservative. As in say what was commonly done in the late 40's, or whatever time you pick. Commonly used parts, a common build style etc. I personally think it needs to be followed with a time period, or style etc. It might be like calling it a "very hot rod". A very WHAT???? It needs an adjective, " very fast hot rod". So a "late 40's traditional hot rod" now means something. A hot rod built in the late 40's from a car that was commonly hot rodded at that time using parts and built in a style common for that time.

This is where I think a vehicle like Norm Gabrowski's T was not traditional, it was un common. I'm sure some people at the time considered it very un attractive. Fad T's are traditional when considering " Traditional 70's Hot Rods".

And the "Rat Rod's" have been around long enough to consider them traditional if properly described " Traditional Rat Rod's ". There are certainly some common themes and practices, style etc that are commonly used and unique to rat rods.

So I think "Traditional Hot Rod" is vague. It brings to mind a different vision to every one that hears those words. And my vision may not be yours. And so the argument begins. But if we hear "Traditional 50's Hot Rod" we are probably gonna be closer to being on the same page and wave length.

And that my friends is why i now have no clue exactly what is a "Traditional Hot Rod" because as it turns out I don't know what the other guy is thinking when he says it. And I think that's when the ruckus starts because most don't know what the other guy is thinking either. Think about it........ If we are working in the shop and I keep yelling for a wrench without telling you what kind, size, of wrench I want...... well your gonna yell back.......or maybe just throw the biggest wrench you can find at me....

Well said. I think you nailed it for me.
Dave - I definately see what your saying. I think rat rods started as the shoddy not finished look but evolved into some exceptionally built cars mixed with a whole slew of not well built ones, so that they now get testy over the subculture definition of their rides too. Funny isn't it. Soon we'll be saying "Exceptionally well built, early 30's distressed, expensive, custom made, well shot paint, Rat Rod!"

Originally Posted by Dave Severson

Think we all have our own idea of what constitutes a traditional rod, and those I do like!!! My main complaint is these clowns who insist on using "traditional" as an excuse for shoddy work, unsafe components and /or workmanship, poorly planned projects, and trashy paint jobs!!!! I remember the cars some of my Dad's pals had, certainly wasn't nothing left half done or cobbled together on their cars---and they had to fabricate a lot of their own pieces, not just dial up 1-800-Hot-Rods and bolt things together when the parts came!!!!

Good thing the horse is dead, at least he doesn't feel the pain from the continued floggings!!!!!!!!

Absolutly (said in best Rocky voice). But it does sound better than Rat Rod....... And don't get me started on "Patina" as a final finish............ As for shoddy work..........I resemble that remark...........

My two cent's. I call my car my hot rod because it's built by me for me. It's a 68 Camaro. And thats my two cents.

... we built the Thames to be as close as we could get to a '60's type gasser hot rod .......... ET wheels, cammed small block, Turbo350 tranny, 9" Ford real, mechanical gauges, even uses a speedometer cable ........... but is it a "traditional" hot rod ?? I think not ......... there are many safety items such as power disc brakes, driveshaft loop, etc. that probably wouldn't have been used back then ............. it's just "my" car, what I've always wanted to build

Yuppers, and your car still looks like a gazillion bucks!!!! Got some good cruizin' planned for Spring?