Thread: So That's a Traditional Hot Rod????

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My dad replaced the flatty in the '35 with a 283, 3 speed, 3 dueces, '55 chevy rear, etc. It was in primer and never painted, but the plan was to paint it eventually. This was about '59-'62. I'm too young to know for sure, but that sounds like the traditional definition of "traditional". Did my dad think in 1959 he was building a traditional rod? Nope. He was building what he could afford and what he wanted. He could have replaced the flathead with another (block cracked), but chose something that had under 10,000 miles from a junk yard with more power off the bat.

That to me is exactly what we are doing now while rebuilding it. We took out the 283 because it had been sitting for decades and chose to use the LT1 I had with only 80k miles on it..plenty to get us through tens of thousands of more miles with about 300hp and 25mpg on the highway (mpg being a newer factor on the mind these days probably). We are using the overdrive 6 speed because that is what is hanging on the LT1 just like the 3 speed was stuck to the 283. Am I claiming we are building it as a traditional rod? Of course not, but I do think we are building it with the same thought process as someone from the 60's. How do I know? because my build partner was a senior in high school in 1959 when he bought the car.

A 70's t bucket with brass all over and big wide tires could be considered traditional over the new low riding ones. The problem with the term traditional is that since we are not all the same age, we have different definitions. For me, sadly, traditional could be considered those pastel 80's cars with tires sticking outside the fenders. As in Dave's first post, most would agree a 60's styled hot rod is traditional, but that is only because those still alive that paved the way say it is. I am on the lookout for a 30-34 Ford pick up and I hope to use the 283 with the offy 3 duece manifold, straight axle, wire wheels with radial tires. It will be fairly low budget, but will not be anything close to a rat rod...I have too much pride for that. Will it be traditional? Well I guess I'll have to wait and see what people tell me it is when I'm done