Thread: Whats driving our design of our street rod

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Are the big rod shops,after market parts & designers like Foose driving how we build are cars or are we designing our own by our adapting junk yard parts to our rods.

Do you follow the trends in design?

Geez Don !!!! I sure do like your questions!! For me it is probably a combination of the two, and many other influences as well. I guess mine are sorta like the the old adage about a well dressed bride, "something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue".

I like the old style. Chopped tops, sectioned bodies, channeling, frenching, stretched doors, adding and or eliminating body lines are all things I saw done on cars when I was a kid, a lot of these old school hot rodding ideas have stuck with me. But sometimes new is cool too. I love the reliability of electronic fuel injection, I would hate to go back to cleaning, gapping, replacing, adjusting dual point distributors again. And in my humble opinion the best looking wheels made are painted steel wheels with baby moon hub caps and trim rings. Chrome reverse wheels with a fake knock off center cap run a close second. I also like to "borrow" the looks of bullet tailights on a 59 Caddy and apply them to other cars, on a recent project I "borrowed" the outside door handles from the rear door post of a wrecked chebbie and put them on an old Ford pickup.

I would like to think that some of my build ideas are toatally my own. Most of them are a combination of slightly altered ideas I have seen on other cars and applied to my own project. Awhile back a friend was looking over my Ranchero project with all of it's modifications and asked where I came up with all the ideas. I just shrugged and mumbled my usual response of it being just something I wanted to try. My pal Bart chuckled and told the guy eyeballing the Ranchero that most people who have known me for awhile attribute most of my ideas to bad drugs in the '60's!!!!

I guess I've kicked around on this hot rod stuff long enough to believe another old saying, "Everything old is new again". I went to a car show late last fall and saw a '40 Ford droptop that is a clone of a car my Dad built in the late '50's, right down to the Merc flathead and multiple Stromberg 97's on top of it.

I could never be so vain as to say all my ideas are my own, and I will never forget the things the originators of this whole hot rodding deal did years ago. Most of these original rods were built with small checkbooks, lots of imagination, and countless hours of hard work. So really, I am nothing but a copycat.


The "something blue" is of course the Blue Oval power under the hood. Yeah, I know chebbies are more plentiful and cheaper to build, some of the chebbie crate motors cost less than the machine shop bill on a current FE that I am putting together for the Ranchero. And we won't even get in to the log intake with 5 Webbers that I will eventually get built for this kewl looking V-10 Triton Blue Oval motor I salvaged from a totalled Ford pickup a couple years ago.


The last thing I will mention is something my buddy Randy said one day at coffee when a youngun was asking him how he could make a big paycheck building hot rods. Randy told him that hot rodding is not just a way to make a living, it is a way of life!!!! Ain't it the truth???

hope u guys dont mind my 2c. most of the cars i have seen up close seem to have a large amount of their parts store boughten. sure there are some one off cars but the average guy wants to drive his car befor he loses his hair. i have a 32 5 window body that i bought in 81 im not 1 step closer to building that car now than ever . maybe some day some one else will have the money to buy all those "cheap" parts it takes to build it. right now the ratrod cars are looking great to me and i am in the process of deciding which frame i will use to put my 39 IH cab on. i can put any parts on this truck without having some one critique my motives. nothing against western auto rods or any other way u want to go i for 1 do not feel the need to second guess why a guy did something a certain way. u can however see lots of people who ask what is the best way to build a correct rod, which leaves me to think there must be a certain amount of general confusion about which way the "hobby" is going. this is not meant to cause any ill will as it is only 1 mans point of view, merely my worthless opinion. thanks Ives Bradley rdhotfrd

Well, personally, I prefer old school and original setups. Granted, each month something "new" shows up in the mags, but it is usually short lived. Halibrands, steelies, chops, prime-evils, etc. are still alive and well. I prefer the junkyard crawl over phoning in an order. I believe the "big" guys are a great inspiration for the hobby (the huge wheel/skinny sidewall get's the younger generation onboard), but for myself, I don't really find many of their mega-buck cars that appealing. The "Boydster"; nice, the "California Kid", superb !

I guess another reason for my choice of modification is that I drive my toys. If I spent $50k on up for a hot rod, I'd have a difficult time enjoying a cruise, waiting for a pothole or paint chip. I like to buy them driveable and safe (and usually cheap), and work as I drive.

For example, all of mine are "20 footers", but they still get a lot of heads turning. At a show, if I'm next to a Foose-type rod, I might only get a sideways glance. I'm fine with that, because I know that my rides are never done. I can get ideas at the show, take them home, and re-hash the car as I wish, without fear of my high dolar paint job. I mean really, is a hot rod ever done ? I'm working with a 2000 Dodge pick-em-up grille now for the '55 ford, along with '65 T-bird door handles (in and out). If I don't like it, I still have the originals. I like the wagon wheels, but am watching for a set of real mags, or even wire wheels (they are still cool to me). The Plym is going to get Miata door handles, frenched lights, possible hood louvers, and a late model interior. As for the drive line, still don't know. I have no time schedule for it.

I will follow some of the "trends" when it come to creature comforts and reliability. Elcetronic ignition is, for me, a must. 12 volt instead of 6. FM and at least cassette are necessities. Power windows...if I get the urge. Same with door locks. Updated suspension and steering are usually in the "planning" stage, to be done when I have the heart to not drive them for a while, and these will be from the "yard", not the catalogs.

I will also fabricate some of my one parts when needed. I've been customizing / rodding a golf cart. A gas job bought as a beater. For fun, I took the body off, broke it down to bare frame, and just went a little nuts with it. This a is great low-buck way to learn, make mistakes, and learn from them. I'm stretching it, modifying the body, and it is going to get a flame paint job (nothing funnier to me than a slow vehicle with flames). Probably next winter, the single cylinder will come out, and a 440 snowmobile motor will take it's place.

And a final note; I prefer the odd or un-mainstream rods and rides. Two of mine are typical rides, but the '40 Plym and the '73 F-100 are far from mainstream today. Why be normal? They keep the costs down, and allow for ample experimentation. Who knows, maybe something I try will inspire the big boys.

Matt

By the way... Dave, what does your ranchero currently have ? I had a '67 with 390 some years back and loved it. It had a Lincoln Mark 4 interior with power seats. Nice thing about the interior, they formed a bench seat. Just an idea.

Originally posted by Don Meyer
Are the big rod shops,after market parts & designers like Foose driving how we build are cars or are we designing our own by our adapting junk yard parts to our rods.

Do you follow the trends in design?

for me it's NONE .. i may like the cars but i follow no one trend.& as for buying parts, it's Boneyard stuff for me, BUT new stuff is bought when it involves Safety.............joe

Well, I haven't the money for aftermarket hotrod parts, for the most part at least. Because of the rarity of my car, I'm basicly doing a resto/ hotrod of the later 1950's. Stock engine/ trans, except fenton headders, and an offenhauser tri power intake and smithy's mufflers with eco can tips, will have baby moon caps with painted rims, single stage, non metallic medium dark purple and purple and white vinyl interior. I'v also been thinking about building a T bucket as my next project, been coming up with ways to use old parts, and new parts, like the body and frame and probably suspension and rear end. I'v been thinking about how it might be unique to buy a cheap no passenger door body, then buy 2 of the glass in passenger door and frame kits, put the passanger door in then, modify the other to work on the drivers side, then because clearence is an issue with a steering colum, get an old fold away colum out of a t bird or such, and mod it to fold in instead of fold out, that would be more of an old style approach than calling a place like ididits and have them special make a fold away colum that folds in.

Good question indeed---I am 58 years old, and I remember what hotrods were like 40 years ago---not because there wert a high concentration of hotrods where I grew up in Ontario, but because I lived for the magazines out of California, which was and is considered the mecca for all things hotrod. Model A's were cheap and plentifull, and the junkyards were full of parts from the early 30's to the mid 50's which were basically "bolt on" to early Ford hotrods. We all thought that Ed Roth was a God, but none of us aspired to actually build cars like Ed was doing. None of us had money, and it was very easy to get what you wanted cheap at the boneyard. My mother who lived through the great depression is still alive, and she still pinches pennies like everyone who lived thru the great depression did, even though she doesn't have to now. Us older rodders are a lot like her----even when aftermarket parts became commonplace, and our bank accounts grew to the point where we could afford to buy them, we still went to the junkyards for our parts. Now, there simply are no junkyards for a lot of the stuff to build rods-----the oldest car you find in a junkyard here is 10 years, if your lucky---anything earlier is crushed and shipped. So----wanting to actually drive the rod we are building in this lifetime, we buy aftermarket.
The new guys coming into rodding now, have no access to the junkyards that us geezers did. With them its either buy from the aftermarket or don't get involved in building traditional hotrods!!! The junkyards are full of "ricers", the hotrod movies are about "ricers", and like it or not, the ricers of today are what the model A's were to us kids in high school back in 61 and 62.
Somehow, the act of digging around in a junkyard to get used parts has became "socially unacceptable". People don't trash hotrodders like they once did, especially if the hotrodders are buying shiny new parts for their cars.
Of course the aftermarket shapes the design of todays hotrodding. Mainly because other than us remaining geezers who still carry the torch, there is nothing else to shape it.

Originally posted by Don Meyer
Are the big rod shops,after market parts & designers like Foose driving how we build are cars or are we designing our own by our adapting junk yard parts to our rods.

Do you follow the trends in design?

No Foose influence here. I don't have cable and don't make it to many BIG shows so, I problee' wouldn't know one if I saw it. Back when I built the panel truck, I just built it the way I wanted. I would drive it through the summer and tear it apart in the fall, ........ back together by spring. Some influences would come from cars I saw at the rod runs during the year, some would just be hair brained ideas I came up with. I think most people thought I wuz' nuts ........ some of the things I did like build my own fiberglass front end, dash, chopped top on the panel truck (first attempt), but it all worked out O.K.

Todays project is too new to be a street rod (in my old way of thinking it's a street machine). It took me a year to decide how I wanted to build it, and only after I started planning the build did I find out the style had a name (Pro Street). I've been out of building for about 25 years or so, so the term "Pro Street" was new to me. I bought chassis tubes pre-bent to save some time & headaches, but find myself tweaking and changing stuff around some anyway. Although building a chassis that has to pass tech at the drag strip has it's obvious influence on the design. I try to limit my ''out of the box'' purchases to things I don't have the equipment to produce myself. You won't find too many junk yard parts on this project ............ but you won't find many over the counter trick parts either ......... To me 90% of the fun is designing and fabricating the puzzle pieces that make up the final product.

And no time line. If there is one thing I won't do is rush the project just to drive it by a certain date. It's strictly a hobby for me ........... a set time schedule would take all the fun out of it.

Very interesting replies. I enjoyed them all!

Dave, since you like Caddy fins I'm att. a picture of my current project for my Son. It has 62 fins w/a chopped top & lengthened doors(Uncle Bobs suggestion),late model bed narrowed 13",the original fenders also are narrowed,not yet attached in the picture.

The suspension is a 1986 Buick Regal IFS & a Ford 9" rear w/Crysler leaf springs.

The only after market parts I've bought are Vintage a/c ,Auto meter gauges & America racing wheels.

How about a 4 door sedan made into a slope roadster ...





BEFORE ......

Gonna be a neat truck. My cheapo cheapo digital camera died, when I get a new one I will post some updated pics of the Ranchero, and Dave T's truck. Innovation is what this sport is all about. I've never had a big enough check book to keep up with the store bought goodies crowd. I do subscribe in earnest to the philosophy that old age and cunning will out do youth and big bank accounts !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nitrofc---that is indeed a sweet looking beastie. Can you post some side profile shots? I like what you are doing. Most of the rods I have built follow more traditional lines, i.e. coupe, roadster,pickup, etcetera. The roadster pickup I am building now started life as a sedan, but I can't take credit for the original butchering, just fixing all the stuff that was done "old skool" on the body shell.

i like both styles of building , old school and high tech . but i prefer to take and use both styles to complement the car i am building . example i built a 33 with a long door body , chopped socal windshield , 409 motor dual quads, silver outside, red leather inside . sounds old school so far ? with 20s made to look like et mags and 17 s to look like spokes , so i took the old school look and used it with high tech !
anyone who does not like chips designs, does not like the car they dont like chip! he is the master . i know i will take crap for the next words i type . boyd is another very good designer/builder
he is the father of the high tech style . i agree he is a jerk on tv , but he has a good style 99% of the time ( 1% being the blue and yellow in a paint scheme)
dave , you need to watch them youth comments . lol

OK- well I guess I'm different than most here, because I let the project tell me where it wants to go- be it chopped & dropped, or sectioned.........or whatever. I walk the thing for about 3 hours talking to it, and imagining what she looks like with the lines that she was built on, where it needs a tuck, or a curl.......is it pleasing to the eye & where do I need to improve her lines. All this leads to the first mock-up design.....then I try to improve on that, french the lights, or shave the handles, or Gull Winged doors......all depends on what the thing calls out for. Very few can't be improved on- like the 58 Impala......man the lines just sing inside & out, and the 40 Fords are just sweet as the day they were born.
Nitrofc.......that's a sweet buggy.....you got great vision.

Sometimes the voices don't stop......ha ha haaaa