Thread: Hot Rod Snobs!

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EDIT: resurecting this from nearly 5 years ago since it still seems timely, 2/19/08


This thing has been rattling around in my pea brain for a while, and it seems timely to let it out.


Know any hot rod snobs??

Or are you one yourself?

Was the first image of a hot rod snob that popped into your mind a gold chain wearin', store bought rod drivin', loud braggin', insufferably borin', power parkin', boor?

Or was it the "average" lookin' guy that parked over there?

By the way, this isn't aimed at anyone in particular. These thoughts have been prompted by a variety of posts, on a few sites, across the www. But some recent posts here seem to have brought it into immediate focus.

Part of the appeal of hot rodding is to participate in something different while dealing with a commodity (the automobile) that is so commonplace to our society. Whether your venue is sports cars, muscle cars, antiques, classics, ricers; excuse me, tuners, trucks, off roaders, race cars, whatever, an auto enthusiast is a minority (despite no particular social advantage accorded) when compared to the rest of our population in total. Hot rodding is a small niche within a compendium of small niches that form the entirety of automobile infatuation. As such, you would think we would be a kindred spirit. To some degree, it works quite well. This, and other forums, are an electronic community wherein folks of like mind can visit, and share, this crazy, mutual interest.

From a personal perspective I have come to meet several people who I feel are fine folks through CHR and a couple other sites. Most of them I've never met face to face and probably never will. A few I've been fortunate to meet in person as well. Many of them have been very generous with their hard earned experience and willingly spend time at the keyboard to help others avoid costly mistakes. Most often it's appreciated, at times the recipiant doesn't even have the courtesy to say thanks. I've been the recipient of some unexpected and much appreciated generosity from several of these folks who really don't know me but from our interaction on these boards. I hope I can return the favor some day.

But then up pops this snobbery stuff. And yeah, I'm not too fond of the guy who pops up at an event, or forum, and who spouts off like he's God's gift to hot roddingdom. But I think the "system", and their own boorish behavior, soon weeds them out as their ignorance of the passion associated with car love is exposed. No, the ones that I have more trouble understanding are the ones who think that their experience, and resultantly formed opinions, are the standard that allows them to run down the path of execution chosen by other, equally enthusiastic, participants. And while I wish that this would change, it's not likely as it seems to be human nature.

So here goes: I'm going to use myself as an example from time to time, not because I hold myself up as the epidome of hot rodderness, but because I'm more familiar with my experiences than anyone elses.

Those who rail against glass cars have probably never built one. Otherwise, they would understand that there is very little difference in the building process, in a global sense, between a "real" car and a "kit" car. I'll use my Cobra replica as an example. The front suspension geometry is based on MII specs. The control arms are tubular, the shocks coilover, the steering, rack, etc. How different is that from the guy who attaches essentially the same kind of hardware to his old Ford (or whatever) chassis? Oh, the frame is fabbed you say! Well, our "real" car owner figured out that his original frame had so many stress cracks from 60 years of use, and the rust had thinned it pretty well in a number of areas, that he got an aftermarket frame too. A smart move from a safety standpoint. Okay, we're back to even. Then there's the narrowed, Jag rearend. Oh............kinda like that narrowed 9" from a Ford huh? Let's see, the tires, wheels, brake parts, paint materials, guages, upholstery material, and a miriad of other items that are common to nearly all cars that are refurbished, or built from the ground up, are very, very similar. And procured through the same, or similar sources. So what we're brought down to is the body, and the material it's made from. That's really the only thing different given a parallel building plan for a specified end result. The fiberglass naysayer thinks that these "tupperware" cars are invalid because "everyone knows those kit cars are just glue tab A into slot B deals. They're the lazy way out!" Now go back and read the opening sentence of this paragraph. I've done both. Most glass bodies require a lot of work to end up very nice after refinish, just as steel bodies do. The process may be somewhat different, but the amount of work can be very comparable. Yeah, there are examples of cars, such as my steel '36 roadster, where parts from 5 different bodies were used to make one (I'm not counting the fenders, hood panels, and grille in that either, that's six more cars), a whole bunch of patch panels, and an entire floor as well. This is the hard way to go. Does that make the builder of this kind of car a man as compared to one of those fiberglass body wimps? Not on your life. I might even suggest there's a sanity issue here!!! Now there are glass bodies that are total junk, and perhaps these are what the naysayer focuses on when he brands all glass bodies negatively. But, today especially, there are very many high quality bodies out there, and they make a rational alternative for the guy who would like a certain body style for his dream (a very important determiner) car, and realizes that there aren't enough "originals" out there to fulfill his desire. Blury gave us the admonition that cars are lying around all over the place down in his neck of the woods. A couple years ago I did a thread on how many old cars and trucks I found outside, in and around our Las Vegas neighborhood. News Flash!!! That may happen to varying degrees in the desert Southwest, but it doesn't happen like that everywhere. Either due to climate (where the voracious tin worm ingests all that's steel), or legislation (nosey, do-gooders seeking to "clean up" the earth of "trash" they don't understand, even though the kind they revere is okay), or lack of a historical supply, most of this country doesn't have a ready supply of rod material laying around, especially if you are discriminating enough to want a specific brand and body style as opposed to settling for something that's just "old". While some of the "offbeat" cars can make interesting and creative statements in the hands of some talented people, they are available today because they were not that popular in the first place, and remain so today for many of the same reasons.

Then there's the guy who claims; "Well, all those parts are store bought, even though the body is genuine. I hate catalog rods, they're sickening...............". So where does he get his stuff? "Well, I get it from the junk yard, that's real hot rodding". Sorry buddy, that's just another store with a different display policy.

(to be continued)