Thread: "Traditional" ???

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[QUOTE=Dave Severson;382621]Traditional in many instances seems to be what some mid-30 or younger dude has in his mind how Hot Rods were built in the 50's and 60's... Unfortunately this is most often based solely on his and his follower's opinion..

Hmmmmmmmm...... It's clear to me, (clear as mud). I may have to retract my original statement. Maybe I have no idea what is "Traditional". See I kinda thought this was an example of a "Traditional" hot rod.
0807rc_01_z+1931_ford_roadster+.jpg

???

"Traditional" is like saying "religious." For example, some people are religious.....they go to church most Sundays. Then there are people who are "RELIGIOUS".........they go to church on Sunday and a couple more times during the week. Traditional is like that in the respect that some people, like me, like cars that sort of represent what we had in the 50's and 60's. But we are not a slave to making sure every little part is absolutely correct. I refuse to run generators and mechanical fans because I had enough of those years ago. But if I were "TRADITIONAL" it would be a sin to see an alternator and electric fan on my car.

It all depends on your perspective. Plus, I view tradition as us back then trying every new gimmick we could find to IMPROVE our rides. Every month when the new hot rod mags came out we couldn't wait to see what the latest hot setup was so we could try the same thing.

Finally, some people think only flatheads are traditional. In the 50's we couldn't yank them out of our 50 Fords, etc and transplant in the newer, better, Olds, Caddy, and yes, even small block Chevies when they came out. Now you hear some people moan when they see a hot rod with a small block Chevy because it is "not traditional."

Don

Opinions are like ...........uh......bellybuttons..............everyone's got one, some even more than one. As such there is no "correct" answer, even back in the day folks followed different themes; West Coast, East Coast, and variations in between.

Then you have to ask, "traditional for when?" Cars in the '40s were slightly different than cars in the early '50s which evolved considerably in the late '50s, vs cars in the '60s, and on and on. In addition to the Hot Rod Deluxe stuff, there are some great books done by Don Montgomery with actual period photos. Contrary to what a lot of folks want others to believe, not all rods back then were rusty hulks. There were talented mechanics/body-painters/fabricators then just as today. Materials available were different, but equivalent in function. So like the roadster you showed, nice paint, probably decent interior, and solid running were not uncommon. Yeah, there were some klutzes then too who couldn't put together a decent car if their life depended on it, but they weren't necessarily the norm and certainly not what most aspired to. Add to that that there weren't/aren't any "rules" and that's where the variety comes from. While we don't have rules, there is typically consensus about what looks decent and what doesn't. Some examples are bigs and littles, lowered stance (though that changed over time too), colors, power plants, and on and on. Some folks pushed the envelope, and as with most "art" some experiments were more successful (read acceptable) than others. Just to get away from the car idea to make a comparison, most people would prefer Sandra Bullock to Rosie O'..............but there's probably some small set of opinion that goes for Rosie. Same with cars.

For a couple examples here are a roadster and a coupe. The roadster is pretty much late '40s, very early '50s theme. Nothing on it is newer than '52 in the hardware realm. Sure, the seat vinyl was probably produced in the '90s, the tires in mid 2000, but are the equivalent to the materials available in the designated period.

The coupe spans a much wider range of style, and mixes in some later themes. It's basically stock with just a few roddy mods. Dropped axle, reversed eye springs were all available from the '40s on up, though guys prior to roughly 1980 didn't go for quite this low of a stance. Wide whites (though these pictured are radials that weren't prevalent before 1980), dual exhaust, some mild engine mods, and you've got a car mostly like some kid or young family man might have driven every day up through the '60s. Pretty much just an old, affordable car with a touch of individuality.

Both are "traditional" in their own way, one moreso than the other, but represent different themes.

Pick a year. You can build to any decade & be traditional.
There are the hard core traditionalist where a car has nothing new- including th tires. Others will build to a traditional flavor.

Mine is a 60's traditional build. Steel body 32 but with modern parts. Since I don't sit & look at my car parked in the driveway or at a show- dependability was priority one for me- because I drive it.
So the engine isn't considered traditional (ZZ430 w/ a 700r4)
That's good enough for me & the HAMB people don't seem to mind- as long as you say what it is.

As for those shows? They are getting as anal as the Corvette & street rod guys that they complain about. Screening cars sucks IMO. Set a cut-off year & let them show up.
This is why I rarely do shows anymore. I don't need a 30 year old kid telling me how it was back in the day because he read it in a book. I was there.

Here's mine.

Love the "piecrust" slicks! :-)

Originally Posted by Steves32

Pick a year. You can build to any decade & be traditional.
There are the hard core traditionalist where a car has nothing new- including th tires. Others will build to a traditional flavor.

Mine is a 60's traditional build. Steel body 32 but with modern parts.

Sweet..... Thats the deal alright. Ya just gotta love a 32 roadster. And I know what you mean about the kids. I probably shouldnt have even bothered asking for opinions. It's apparent they don't really know what is, anymore than I know what they think is "traditional"

Once again Sweeeeeeeeeet Ride........