Second Amen for brother Dave..........
Disclaimer: The opinion stated below is my opinion, and just that an opinion, it doesn't reflect the opinion of the majority, it is probably not a popular opinion, but it is just that MY OPINION ONLY.

OK with the legal stuff out of the way, I think it's funny how "Traditional" has morphed into some text eze catchall of hot rods and customs. Traditional and 60's in the same sentence, to me, is contradictory. And then you have the one's that have to have pre 64 air in the tires to be traditional, but they get on ebay buy parts, fire up the plasma cutter, and have parts cut with a water jet......... My and only my def of traditional hot rod. Again please refer to above legal disclaimer.

1) Pre 1950 build. I'm talking the pre and post war roadsters and coupes. The first generation of hot rods. Everything else is a copy. Not a bad thing, but not the real deal just the same. I don't care if all parts are pre 1950, if it's built now it's a fake.
2) Flathead, or hopped up banger. OHV's were not in production until Caddie introduced OHV in 1949, and it would have taken a year or two for even the guys with some bucks to find those in wrecking yards.
3) Traditional = first generation hot rod or custom. NOT a way of building a vehicle. Just because you found a bunch of crap for free, did it under a tree in you grandmothers back yard, and painted it with red oxide primer with a bug sprayer, doesn't make that pacer "Traditional". Just an ugly POS with a bad red oxide primer paint job.
4) Rust does not = patina. In fact patina is just a fancy French word "Shi#"
5) Kookie Kar. I love Norms bucket. NOT Traditional! Cool but not Traditional.
6) Hot Rods were built to go fast. PERIOD! Even the roof chops on the street were just copies of lakes cars. Very cool but just coping a look of real hot rods. Everything done was to go faster. It wasn't a look it was practical. No fenders or running boards, hoods, heaters, radios, ='s less weight = faster. Chopped roofs = less wind drag = faster. It wasn't about cruising to the drive-in picking up skirts and hanging with your buddies. It was about going faster than you ever had before, about beating and going faster than the next guy, all the other guys.
7) If it's 2" of the ground it ain't traditional. Look at the little books. Only a few lakes car were low. If it was run on the street it wasn't. Bad roads and local laws, targeting punks "Hot Rodders" kept them off the ground. There were a few exceptions in the magazines, but very few.
8) And my biggest peeve. "Period Correct". gotta have all the perfect parts, but still not built like the period. Now despite that alot of the cars in the magazines back then were not put together perfect. IE welds, hand cut brackets and such. I wouldn't want anything unsafe. But I would like to see someone build a "period correct" hot rod exactly the way it would have been in 1950. With the same materials, and tools. No flame cut, plasma cut, water jetted, MIG welded, tig welded, cnc machined, and so on parts. Then that would impress me. And no damed computer and evil bay........

Whew........... Well now thats out of my system for the moment I want to say I am not knocking anyones ride. Built now or then. I even see some very cool and safe rat's. I guess what irritates me are the people that have to put a classification on a hot rod for example. A definition such as "Traditional" but then twist and warp that definition into what they feel fits, and then knock the ones that don't. And of course most of the ones so crazy about traditional are alot younger than I am. And I Ain't old enough to have been around anything "Traditional" even as a kid. You have to be 70+ years old to really know.

And not to start another rant........... but have you noticed the abundant barn finds, been in a barn or shed since 1964, but have a dirty set of ball milled valve covers on a sbc..............................