Wow!!! We haven't had one of these kinds of threads in quite awhile.:) I might have to swear some of you into the curmudgeon clublette...............:LOL:
Thank you for some kind words Dave, and a small correction of sorts. The one car that is most like a "traditional" rod I didn't build, I only had the good sense to appreciate and acquire. It just touched me as a neat piece.
It's a shame that we've lost some of the old threads from a decade or so ago when this kind of discussion was more prevalent. My recollection is that in one of them while I lamented the "I know more about what's traditional than you do...." thing that some of the young hacks were expressing, I also suggested that these young guys probably weren't much different than we were at a similar time in life's progression. We didn't know what we didn't know, and were proud (and foolish enough) to demonstrate that for all to see. I suggested that some of them would play with cars for awhile and in time lose interest and chase the "next cool thing". Others, particularly those with good mechanical/fabrication skills, and a sense of artistry, would go through a succession of cars, each getting better than the one before. In time, the most talented of these would be producing some very fine examples of the hot rod "art". Not exactly a bold or smart prediction on my part, I cheated, I looked at history and study human nature. We are pretty predictable, well most of us anyway, at a basic level.
You guys have hit on enough material that a book could be written around your outline, but I'm not so motivated, so will hit on a couple notions. The other day I was reading an online discussion about what heresy it would be to take a genuine "barn find" old rod and fix it up. "Leave the patina (yup, some words end up becoming meaningless by abuse), some were saying. Others who valued the history less poo-poo'd that line. In my mind I began to wonder if the folks in the high end art world had similar disagreements for example. I'm sure they did/do/will. Wouldn't it be a shame if the folks charged with keeping the Mona Lisa didn't continually "refurbish" the painting while keeping it in highly atmospheric control to check the ravages of time? But then, wouldn't we lose something if we tried to restore the arms on the Venus D'Milo? And all those thoughts before having my evening toddy........:)
Labels have uses, they help us communicate full ideas in short hand, but they require some knowledge of a subject. Ham sandwich as an example. If the restaurant didn't use that label, and the patron didn't have some fore knowledge of what it was, and we all agreed on what that short hand description meant, what a time wasting exercise it would be to both order one, and to provide it. "Yes sir, well ham is from the hind thigh of a pig. Do you know what a pig is sir, or will I need to explain that as well. Okay then...............". Unfortunately in our rush about, don't confuse me with facts, I don't have time to think about that, hey it's not my fault, world we don't respect definitions as much as could be useful today. I'll stop that particular rant here. As a result, some terms have lost their succinct meaning and become a loose umbella for some "all inclusive" realm...............especially if it's one we choose not to understand very well.
Anyway, there are now (and hopefully will be) some very talented young guys who have appreciation for cars that some of us older guys grew up desiring, admiring, and in some cases possessing. Back to the personal, in retrospect, most of what I've done with our hobby in the past 20 years or so has been some variation on the theme, "What would I have done with this car if I'd had it in high school? If I had developed skills and knowledge?". And while I admire folks who adapt modern technology,e.g. electronic fuel injection, it doesn't fit my personal template. And I'm not too rigid on the rules either. The '36 3w looks like a kid's first or second car from the early '60s, but I've chosen radial tires for ride purposes. And I'm not trying to open up the radial vs. bias argument, I've got bias on the '30 roadster, and they'll be on the '30 pre-war style banger coupe too. Fenderless cars sort of put you in that box if you're trying to be mostly accurate in your simulation of a certain period. But then, the '36 roadster is pretty generic, last third century hot rod theme. Independent front suspension, anti-sway bars, auto trans, but with timeless upholstery and paint themes. A qualifier here; we in hot rod land like to claim there are no rules so we do what we feel is "right" in our self expression. Well, rules no, but there are conventions. For instance, big tires in the back, smaller in front, but NEVER the other way around. You can probably think of many more. I never got into the pastel late '80s through '90s with Boyd's wheels, swoopy sculpted interior panels, and all the rest of that set of fads. I go with the basics that seem to endure and don't quite limit the car to any short period but are more like "last third of the 20th century" kind of thing. It's my thing, obviously lots of others have different tastes..........as it should be.
Ah, that's enough of that for now. Don't sweat the petty stuff, and don't pet the sweaty stuff. Or........................
