Thoughts on hotrodding/lowriding?

[Bhigdog]

Birds of a feather will always flock together. If you can get some cross pollination (I know, mixed metaphor) that's ok but I wouldn't expect much of it..........Bob

[Guest Turismo]

2 hours ago, Bhigdog said:

When I saw the original post I purposely didn't open it because I just KNEW where it was going. after 3 pages and 74 posts I thought I'd check in and skim the replies. Yup. I was correct. So, carry on guys and see if you can't flog some life into this long dead horse..... Cheers..............Bob

Love you too, Bob. 

 

3 hours ago, Hudsy Wudsy said:

so I really can't understand how you guys can be so Politically Correct. I though we are a bunch of guys talking about what we like and don't like in vintage cars. The only one who has come close to responding to my complaints about beautiful old cars done up in silly colors is someone's vague remark about individual artistic taste. Don't be so touchy and don't be so quick to pounce one someone whose opinions are probably held by others.

I really don't think political correctness is a problem in this community, lack thereof, too much of it, etc. That guy's vague answer describing, basically that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, is pretty much right here. People will do dumb stuff to their cars. They're well-off baby boomers with the time and money, they'll do whatever their hearts desire. All the outliers can do is judge them from a distance,  

[1912Staver]

18 hours ago, Bhigdog said:

I don't see any infighting other than superficial grousing. And the sad truth is that both the rodders and the preservationists are likely to end up in the dust bin of history with only a few adherents of a dying technology. 50 years from now if you say you collect cars you will be considered  some likeable enough eccentric that bores others with your hobby. So, rodders keep up the good work and restorers enjoy you what have while you can. Remember, we're all just penciled in........Bob

 

I have a feeling your forecast is reasonably accurate. 50 years is a long time, and most of us probably won't be around by then. However the car culture we grew up with has generally not been picked up among younger people. The car is even today seen by many as a detriment to culture. And by a growing number as a down right evil.  And is already in the process of being transformed into a sterile transportation appliance.  Think electric , and probably driverless within the next 10 to 15 years. Our beloved gas engine , human driven vehicles will probably be very much out of place in the overall picture a decade or two from now. And for the most part I doubt younger people will be all that upset about it. As long as they have cheap easy to access transportation , and a way of doing it all from their portable "device" , I doubt many will look back to the past.

 

How many of us yearn for the horse drawn days ?

 

Greg in Canada

[mike6024]

27 minutes ago, 1912Staver said:

The car is even today seen by many as a detriment to culture.

 

I think we all should drive less and enjoy it more. Refuse to take jobs that require long commutes, fighting traffic jams on the freeway. Ride the bus to work if you can. Preferably work close to home. Some young people want the bicycle to be their only vehicle, and they make it work. One thing I don't like is seeing our beautiful winding back roads clogged by speeding aggressive drivers. When I was driving along the coast recently, coming home from work at a custom home construction down the coast, I was tailgated and passed over a double yellow line by an entitled individual in a new Mercedes SUV even though I was already going well over the posted speed limit. If I want to enjoy a nice weekend drive to the coast I need to do it on a weekday because it is clogged with tourists on the weekend.

 

Of course if you live out in the sticks where traffic is a non-issue that's different. Maybe that's what I should do, move.

[Hudsy Wudsy]

This conversation has meandered towards the subject of legacy. That's nice. I like it when subjects evolve. I'd give anything at this moment to have something profound to say. I simply don't. The future is as murky to me in my old age as it ever was.

Edited June 7, 2017 by Hudsy Wudsy (see edit history)

[Guest Turismo]

2 hours ago, 1912Staver said:

 

I have a feeling your forecast is reasonably accurate. 50 years is a long time, and most of us probably won't be around by then. However the car culture we grew up with has generally not been picked up among younger people. The car is even today seen by many as a detriment to culture. And by a growing number as a down right evil.  And is already in the process of being transformed into a sterile transportation appliance.  Think electric , and probably driverless within the next 10 to 15 years. Our beloved gas engine , human driven vehicles will probably be very much out of place in the overall picture a decade or two from now. And for the most part I doubt younger people will be all that upset about it. As long as they have cheap easy to access transportation , and a way of doing it all from their portable "device" , I doubt many will look back to the past.

 

How many of us yearn for the horse drawn days ?

 

Greg in Canada

Could not have said it any better. I'm no Generation X, but I've heard that in the 80's and 90's, teenagers were racing to get behind the wheel. Now, youngsters are very particular about what they're driving. Many  don't drive and certainly don't plan on it anytime soon, and shun cars that "destroy the environment" (pretty much all our classics). It's profound to see/hear how things have changed. It's sad to think that man-powered automobiles are going to be an outdated and considered impractical. Reminds me of the slide rule, but with more longevity. 

[vermontboy]

A person who knows how to use a slide rule is at least as fast as a person on a calculator and MUCH less prone to make decimal errors because they have to think !! When I was teaching it was sad to see kids (college kids) try to figure out how I knew that 20 times 20 wasn't 4000 because that was the answer their calculator gave them. They couldn't think it through - they had to punch numbers until they got it right...

 

The average college student today cannot pass a test from an old 8th grade primer..... sad what modern education has done.

[60FlatTop]

17 minutes ago, vermontboy said:

The average college student today cannot pass a test from an old 8th grade primer..

 

I did the calculations. All the students were either above average or below. Did I do something wrong?

 

I never took the teachers word for the multiplication tables. I know 9 X 9 is really 9 X 10 minus 9. I'm not just blurting out some number because they told me. And I have a Pi day t shirt, but .7854 means more to me. I sure use it more.

 

[F&J]

4 hours ago, Hudsy Wudsy said:

The future is as murky to me in my old age as it ever was.

 

 

If you had read along from day one on my resto thread... you would have heard, in uncertain words:

 

"I have no age, I am...just here"

 

The only thing that matters, is the here and now....what was past is behind, and what lies for us tomorrow is hidden in the future...so it is only today, that is "real"

 

I don't use a birth date on a form to say I am 65 years old.  To me it is a numerical number that merely shows how much "life" experience you have had at that point.

 

I worked fairly fast today, even shocking myself to the results at days end.  I had no plans to do what I did, it just came to me somehow.  I also told my adult Son tonight, after he saw what I did, that I feel just like a 20 year old, and gave the same effort,, ...he was worried I'd worked too hard.  I did not, and just a year ago, I could barely go 2.5 hours.  But I am on a different plain/plane now.. LOL

 

[maok]

 

The hot rodders admired my hot rod blinkers...:)

 

 

 

[1937hd45]

Nice photo, I guess I spend too much time on the HAMB, knew right away those cars were in Australia. Guess it is the fender law that tipped me off. Bob

[F&J]

38 minutes ago, maok said:

my

I expanded the pic so I could read the signage message, but then also plainly saw that the vegetation is REAL, not plastic,  Very cool.

[maok]

2 minutes ago, F&J said:

I expanded the pic so I could read the signage message, but then also plainly saw that the vegetation is REAL, not plastic,  Very cool.

 

Another one fooled. Totally plastic.

[F&J]

21 minutes ago, maok said:

 

Another one fooled. Totally plastic.

 

...Now you are going to tell me that the car is reproduction, too?   

 

lol

 

.

[bobg1951chevy]

I've seen no bitterness in this ongoing thread, but I'm not looking either.

What I do see is a variety of views and opinions, which is always good.

[F&J]

5 hours ago, bobg1951chevy said:

I've seen no bitterness in this ongoing thread.....................................What I do see is a variety of views and opinions, which is always good.

^^^ that is because those that have posted, are giving their thoughts freely, and in a way that does not offend.

 

 

5 hours ago, bobg1951chevy said:

I've seen no bitterness in this ongoing thread, but I'm not looking either.

You, my friend, have indeed made it to a rarely acknowledged "higher level" of consciousness, which is now made quite obvious to others that also are there, when you said "but I'm not looking either".   Carry on, brother

[PFitz]

One aspect of this topic is what value street rodding adds to original, or restored cars.

 

During the restoration of his early 30's Pontiac convertible coupe, a friend  found that most surviving examples had, or were in the process of being street rodded.

 

The result of all that street rodding is that, now the friend has one of only a handful of that model restored to original, making it rare and much more valuable.

 

While it's great having a rare car that is desirable and thus more valuable, it's a two-edged sword. Usually rare cars have rare parts. When parts are needed to complete a restoration, or maintain a driver car, it can be a big, expensive problem.

 

In the friend's case some of those street rodders were selling off original parts cheaply to fund their project. One street rodder even offered him a complete drive train and all the suspension parts for an extremely low price. So, thanks to street rodders, the friend ended up with the best of both worlds - the street rodders made his restored car rare and thus more valuable, while providing a source of cheap spare parts to make the restoration less expensive than such a rare car could have been.

 

Paul    

Edited June 8, 2017 by PFitz (see edit history)

[billorn]

1 hour ago, PFitz said:

One aspect of this topic is what value street rodding adds to original, or restored cars.

 

During the restoration of his early 30's Pontiac convertible coupe, a friend  found that most surviving examples had, or were in the process of being street rodded.

 

The result of all that street rodding is that, now the friend has one of only a handful of that model restored to original, making it rare and much more valuable.

 

While it's great having a rare car that is desirable and thus more valuable, it's a two-edged sword. Usually rare cars have rare parts. When parts are needed to complete a restoration, or maintain a driver car, it can be a big, expensive problem.

 

In the friend's case some of those street rodders were selling off original parts cheaply to fund their project. One street rodder even offered him a complete drive train and all the suspension parts for an extremely low price. So, thanks to street rodders, the friend ended up with the best of both worlds - the street rodders made his restored car rare and thus more valuable, while providing a source of cheap spare parts to make the restoration less expensive than such a rare car could have been.

 

Paul    

 

Right! When was the last time you saw a stock 34' Ford 3 window coupe? Their like unicorns these days.

[60FlatTop]

When I first got into the hobby the restorers were stripping out sedans for parts to save for their valuable convertibles. I remember them saying "Sonny, don't waste your time on a closed car. They are worth anything. That included some pretty desirable cars.

 

The first hot rod I remember getting my fingers into was a 1932 Pontiac 3 window coupe. A guy from the local college named Pete Hughes was putting a 322 Buick into it at Herbie Hubie's Sunoco station around 1960. They took a trip to the north country and brought back a tattered 1935 Auburn convertible coupe that he sold to fund the project. The old junks were less than 30 years old at the time.

Bernie

[Guest SaddleRider]

On ‎6‎/‎6‎/‎2017 at 6:15 PM, F&J said:

 

 

their prewar hobby is DEAD or in rodding, it is Dying......

 

Yes - for an  obvious reason - the normal passage of time.

 

Let me give you an example.   In the early fifties, I got involved in the cars that were then acceptable to the CLASSIC CAR CLUB OF AMERICA ( translation - only the largest,  most powerful, most elegant, super-cars of the 20's and 30's).,     I couldn't have cared less for the "brass" era  cars - translation, the ungainly cars of the pre-1920's....what we USED to call "antique" cars - two wheel brakes...no radios or heaters.. narrow hi pressure tires....that sort of thing.   Nor could I have cared at all for the ORDINARY car of ANY era.        And any FORTY  YEAR OLD car to me in those years...couldn't be bothered even looking at it.  

 

Of course there were no SIXTY or SEVENTY year old cars then - the auto hadn't yet been invented !   There were some old fogeys who collected and restored stage-coaches and buck-boards,  but their numbers were even then  thinning out.

 

The only quarrel I have with some of you, is the statement that   "installing electric fuel pumps in the pre "fuel-injection" cars is somehow related to the concept of "hot-rodding".

 

Let's discuss what you guys SHOULD have learned in your high school physics classes about basic fluid dynamics ( or don't they teach that any more in schools these days...? )

 

See - here's the problem.   They no longer sell gasoline manufactured prior to the 1930's.   By the early 1930's,  the vacuum tank was history, replaced by the much more effective "diaphragm" type fuel pump.  It permitted the gasoline engineers to make gas with a higher vapor pressure, making starting easier on a cold morning.    Trouble was,  if you used some of their "winter" gas in the summer...you'd get VAPOR LOCK.  (those fuel pumps could only pump liquid gasoline; not gasoline that had turned to vapor because the fuel lines leading to the fuel pump had boiled.).    

 

Even in the 1930's,  technical papers from car manufacturers were full of articles as to how to deal with VAPOR LOCK, especially as it turned warm in the spring, and "winter" gas was still being sold.

 

By the 1990's, cars had FUEL INJECTION - meaning the fuel starts out under pressure right from the tank - where the fuel pumps are now located. Engineers are now free to spec. out gasoline with a much higher vapor pressure, meaning,  it will vaporize under much lower temps. than previously.    Gasolione cant boil under the much higher  pressure modern fuel pumps deliver.  So..again, modern gasoline has even a higher vapor pressure, to insure starting on a really cold morning.

 

Trouble is - again -  modern gasoline boils at much lower temp's ,   most ( but not all)  pre fuel-injection cars will have vapor lock on a hot day unless they have electric fuel pumps added at the lowest possible location right near the fuel tank.

 

So there you are - I personally equate hot-rodding to vandalism - but that's just me.   Free country.,  And explains why I don't consider using an electric fuel pump to make a pre "fuel-injection era" car run reliably on hot days a form of "hot-rodding"

Edited June 8, 2017 by SaddleRider
typing errors ! (see edit history)

[F&J]

18 minutes ago, SaddleRider said:

So there you are

 

 

Perfect informative post on why, and what. of not only changing era desires over time, but also the changing fuels, and why, and differing genuine opinions on how we think of the topic in this threads title.