Thread: future of streetrodding

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Where do you see the futher of streetrod going? Surely the $100k+ cars do not attract the young rodder, nor does the mfg's of high buck parts IMHO.
When you go to a event these days what type of people do you meet?
The forums are a big help in keeping the young interested, but I think we should do our part in helping young people get started
by giving parts, advice & working on their cars.
comments please!

Don I still see alot of people my age(60) at shows, but I also see alot of young generations coming into the sport with trucks and cars(ricers)with little 4 cylinder engines with a big chrome muffler on the back which sounds like a lawnmower. Now I have nothing against these young people doing what they are doing in there own generation gap, but in 20 years you won't see a quarter of the olds style hot rods like you see today. You use the excuse that us old timers are putting more money into our vehicles, but that not the case. Those newer cars with the exotic paint jobs and all the other stuff they put into them is probably costiing as much as we would pay to build a nice 32 roadster or whatever.

This is just my opion but I hope if I live another 20 years I can still see and enjoy what I grew up with and thats old cars and trucks rodded or restored and driving the hell out of them to shows and ocassional drag racing between friends.

this is a touchy subject , the reason you dont see younger pepole in this sport as much is you are not looking at it thru your fathers eyes . he thought the 55 chevy you were driving in highschool with a big cam and wide wheels was a ricer of the day ! i see both sides of this sport, because i am a young guy 33 in a sport of 60 year old guys . i like to see younger guys in hotrodding they have new ideas ,new designs, .
there are plenty of new builders comming out into the spotlight , troy , foose , tucci , and many more you dont know there names yoe r

sorry i hit the wrong button ,
to finish quickly , take a kid in the city where you live to a show , mentor him into this sport , give him a reason to be there .
and most of all , the next time you are at NSRA event talk to a younger person dont look down your nose at his car even if it is a rat rod , big dollar car , stock 55 chev 4 door , or what car you dont like make him think you do ! this is what all of us want old or young .

Around here I see a good mix of young guys and geezers. And not all the young guys are ricers. Out of a 400 car field you would see maybe a dozen ricers.

Back in my younger days the guys looked down on were the muscle car guys. To be cool you had to build your own power. Buying it off the showroom was not cool, and when the muscle cars got whooped by the shade tree mechanics they couldn't live it down. HEHEHE

Young guys are Hot Rodding even as we speak. Heck you will ALWAYS see what we call "street rods" around. Yes they cost to do one up for shows correctly. But as was said earlier, these young guys put a whole lot of money in their hot rods. Even if they are ricers. It's whats cool to them that counts, their doing it.
I personally give any parts I don't use away when I can. I hate to go through the swap meet selling thing.
If the government can be kept in check, there will never be an end to this sport/hobby.

Don, I'm sure that your going to see a mix of answers like we're seeing already. But I am surprised when I go to the shows around here (So Cal) that there are a lot of younger guys interested in 50 to late 60s cars. They seem to do a lot with customs and trucks. Things range from primer to hot paint jobs. I do think we make a mistake in calling all their cars ricers. The better terminology for their cars should be front wheel and rear wheel drive hot rods. These kids get a lot of hp out of them. I agree with kennyd that we need to look at their cars from what they do with them and how they do it. They are hot rodders in every since of the word. I am always amazed when I talk to them and that they not only know engines, but the electronics to improve power. We have to admit that its amazing to see a twin turbo'd car driven on the street and how much power they get out of it. Most of the ones I talk to still have an interest in older cars, and more than a few have them in garages working on them. I don't think our cars are going away, but the mix will change back and forth over the years. You guys are right when you say take a kid to a show or cruise. We have to make an effort to keep the interest up. Just an another 60+ year olds $.02 worth

well from where i stand a front whell drive car is not a HOT ROD but a POS and if you have to put electronics onit to get the power that your wanting it isnt worth having.

that's my opinion

and i will alway's have my old car's and trucks

Ok I wasn't able to read all the replys but here is my 2 cents worth. I think that in about 50 years or so most old cars you will see will all be kit cars because the ones on the east coats will be rusted away and there's not enough in the West to go around the world. There may not be many people then that will be into old cars (me not included I will be into them). There will probably be Honda's with v8's in them that will haul butt but I will not like them still. I think reason that kids get ricers a lot of times is because they either don't have money or they don't like to be different, if their friend has one then they try to be the same. Nowadays kids and all my age all wan't to be the same, listen to the same music, look the same and try to fit in and they make fun of the kids that aren't the way they are and that's one reason they aren't into old cars. I am the opposite, I don't dress or TRY to look the same, I like to be different but not to the point where I force myself to be different and not like it. Now old cars and someone young like me... now that's different, and not only different but fun as hell. I can't explain why I love old cars and hot rods so much but I just do and not a lot of young people are like that. In the future, who know's maybe things will change and they will make the future cars look like old style hot rods like they are doing with the 05 Mustangs and people will like the new ones better because they look like old ones in a way but have more technology, etc. Well I can go on and on about this but that is my two cents.

Originally posted by TRUCKGUY
well from where i stand a front whell drive car is not a HOT ROD but a POS and if you have to put electronics onit to get the power that your wanting it isnt worth having.

that's my opinion

and i will alway's have my old car's and trucks

Hah, I know what you mean TRUCKGUY. I watched that crappy fake show Monster Garage when they made the bee drifting car and on there the guy put a fuel injected and computer OBDII I think it was engine and Jessie said how he hates new engines and I am afraid to say it but I agree with him. Why the hell do they say they are easier to maintain and don't break down as much, etc etc? Who cares because when they do breakdown you have to pay a ton just to fix some stupid computer thing or go through a million different steps to find a problem in the wire or anything like that. They should have just stuck with the plain old carb even if you do have to jet a car but hey, it will get lazy people off their butts to go tune their car up once in a while.

Originally posted by FMXhellraiser
Hah, I know what you mean TRUCKGUY. I watched that crappy fake show Monster Garage when they made the bee drifting car and on there the guy put a fuel injected and computer OBDII I think it was engine and Jessie said how he hates new engines and I am afraid to say it but I agree with him. Why the hell do they say they are easier to maintain and don't break down as much, etc etc? Who cares because when they do breakdown you have to pay a ton just to fix some stupid computer thing or go through a million different steps to find a problem in the wire or anything like that. They should have just stuck with the plain old carb even if you do have to jet a car but hey, it will get lazy people off their butts to go tune their car up once in a while.

new Computer controlled cars are great for dealers mechanics paychecks, the check engine light comes on at 50,000 ( some vehicles ) for a routine checkup ( all they do is reset the system ) and then again at 100,000 ( most vehicles ) and then they MIGHT pull the wheels off to check the brakes or somthing and then reset the system. Do it yourselfers get it easy for the checkup, just disconnect the batt, then turn the car in the on position and then off, reconnect the battery and vwiola, system reset, along with raido presets though but, that's not a big deal. on my car, I know if it starts running rough or such that I should check the plugs and replace dizzy cap and possibly points and condensor, if it's running rich, it's easy diagnostic, you can smell it, both of these things on a newer car, about 100 bucks for them to put a decoder to it and find a possible problem and another 300 for labor and parts to fix it.

yeah like whats so hard about putting plug wires and points and stuff on a car. and i know what you mean about computers and stuff goin out my mom had a 86 s10 blazer and it went out and it still esnt fixed just like she bout a 85 ford and i told her i will not work on it and i wont!!

there was a guy that got a brand new f150 and as soon as the warranty went out he had to go and have the plug wires changed cause they went tru the intake or somthing like that and well it costed him more than $500 i think cant remember some wheres around that price


and thats what it comes down to to like you said its lazyness in them i could name off a handful of people less than half a mile away that are that way

Originally posted by TRUCKGUY
yeah like whats so hard about putting plug wires and points and stuff on a car. and i know what you mean about computers and stuff goin out my mom had a 86 s10 blazer and it went out and it still esnt fixed just like she bout a 85 ford and i told her i will not work on it and i wont!!

there was a guy that got a brand new f150 and as soon as the warranty went out he had to go and have the plug wires changed cause they went tru the intake or somthing like that and well it costed him more than $500 i think cant remember some wheres around that price


and thats what it comes down to to like you said its lazyness in them i could name off a handful of people less than half a mile away that are that way

Right b4 my dad got rid of his '97 F150 4.6 w/ tow package and lower gears, he changed the plugs, he had to take like 3 plastic covers off and a few other things with a special ratchet and socket to get them out, 4 of them are in back of the engine, the other 4 are fairly assessable from the front. My uncle had the plugs changed on his '97 F150 4.6 w/ off road package and it cost him $300.

Originally posted by TRUCKGUY
well from where i stand a front whell drive car is not a HOT ROD but a POS and if you have to put electronics onit to get the power that your wanting it isnt worth having.

that's my opinion

and i will alway's have my old car's and trucks

Nothing wrong with old cars and trucks. But time marches on. While my street machines will be rear wheel drive, I've had my share of reasonably quick FWD's. From a 40 roll, there were few cars in 1989 that could stay with my Taurus SHO. I had more than one Mustang or Grand National owner acuse me of running nitrous.

I also remember the Hot Rod magazine cover showing that, on a track, that a stock Dodge Omni GLHS was just as fast as a Shelby Mustang GT350. That was a four cylinder, intercooled, turbocharged econobox. A friend of mine had a modified version of this Omni that put out close to 300 HP at the wheels. To this day, it's the only car that truely scared the crap out of me.

As for electronics, it's what you are raised with and understand. I was in high school in the late '70's and early '80's. Carbs from that time were horrible. With all the emissions stuff on those cars, it was nothing less than a nightmare or expensive to replace the OEM stuff.

I think electronics are the holy grail. You have normally asperated cars with less than 280 CI making more than 300 horsepower with a 3/36 warranty. Modified small block cars can easily make over 1000 drivable horsepower with the help of superchargers and turbos. The electronics make these things seamless. No more superchargers explosions because the carbs are not set right. No more readjusting the carbs for the mountains or season.

This is the golden age of hot rodding. Muscle cars and trucks with over 350, 400, even 500 horsepower. Cars such as the Mustang and Camaro making well over 400 HP with bolt-on parts. And if you're not careful, that little econobox FWD car can put a hurt on many mid-sixties muscle cars.

I'm not big on the rice rockets, but I respect what goes into them. I may not like the huge bass coming from the trunk of that Cavalier in front of me, but that's because in my day, Sparkomatics were HI-FI.

Real hot rodders look at all the possibilities. If they didn't, you'd still be buying flat head speed parts for your new car and pumping the heck out of the gas pedal to get your car started.

Originally posted by Swifster
Sparkomatics were HI-FI.

Hey? What ever happened to Sparkomatics?
$70.00 for an amp ant two speakers
Couldn't beat the sound out of an 8-track