Customizations you don't understand

[IronRat]

I will spend a good amount of time at a car show seeing how others have solved/addressed various engineering challenges on their cars. That is something I do understand no matter what type of car it is.

 

[maverickmk]

I know that as my body has gotten more "sensitive" (aka, old) to creature comforts and as my checkbook has allowed more latitude in my options (tools included) I find my tastes are a mile from where they were when I was young, "bulletproof" & broke. It is always revolving and changing as I see what other people are doing. Before I joined this site I would have never considered a 4 door, but after seeing Sam's and a few others it has opened up a whole new avenue.

 

[ArmchairRacer]

This is probably going to be an unpopular opinion since I've seen plenty of people do it here, but I don't like people turning 4 doors into 2 doors. Rock the 4 door, it's more unique. Everyone has a 2 door. Besides that, I'd like to be able to fit more than passenger in my car.

 

[IronRat]

... Besides that, I'd like to be able to fit more than passenger in my car.

I was thinking more along the lines of the McLaren F1. Except I'd delete the rear seats too. Then I could have the car to myself.

 

[skull]

4 to 2

This is probably going to be an unpopular opinion since I've seen plenty of people do it here, but I don't like people turning 4 doors into 2 doors. Rock the 4 door, it's more unique. Everyone has a 2 door. Besides that, I'd like to be able to fit more than passenger in my car.

l have a 4 door 1957 chevy and the only major body mod l am doing is sucuiding the rear doors.

if you seen the 3Osomething 4 door l cut 7'' out of to fit on the custom chassis l already had from a previous project someone cut the back doors off , so to save the car l heavenly modified it.

the "shorty" 4 to 2 conversions rarely look good.

Later

 

[Todd]

I knew a guy with a '56 Chevy wagon and he shaved the rear handles. Looked awesome.

My peeve is fender skirts on a truck [S

 

[05snopro440]

I knew a guy with a '56 Chevy wagon and he shaved the rear handles. Looked awesome.

My peeve is fender skirts on a truck [S

You just got me on one. Shaved rear handles on a four door, can't stand it. I love my 4 door rocking all 4 handles!

 

[LilD]

My biggest one is shaved drip rails. You ever rolled down your window and gotten a lap full of rain water? Not fun!

I fully understand why all these custom touches are done but for me some of them take away the character that these old cars have. If my Valiant came with trim or if it didn't cost a fortune to buy it, all the trim would be back on.
Im not a restorer or purist by any means but some of the stuff that's thrown away for the sake of style is what really sets these old cars apart from the newer cars.

 

[05snopro440]

My biggest one is shaved drip rails. You ever rolled down your window and gotten a lap full of rain water? Not fun!

I fully understand why all these custom touches are done but for me some of them take away the character that these old cars have. If my Valiant came with trim or if it didn't cost a fortune to buy it, all the trim would be back on.
Im not a restorer or purist by any means but some of the stuff that's thrown away for the sake of style is what really sets these old cars apart from the newer cars.

That's just it. Some modifications make the vehicle more stylish without removing its character, where some remove the original character of the vehicle in an effort to make it more "sleek", but often it leaves something missing.

 

[42chevy]

Louvers I do not get. Removing the fenders on 30's cars is something I feel takes away the character of the car. I know that is an unpopular opinion but they look so good with the fenders and running boards. I also do not get severe chops on most cars. There are exceptions to each of these of course.

 

[Sam_Fear]

Louvers for the sake of louvers - yeah, kinda like a fake hood scoop I guess. But if you wanna go that argument, you could include lightening holes that are heavier than none at all. Or even the port holes on a stock Buick.

I do get disappointed when someone takes the fenders and hood off a solid vehicle that has all it's parts. I guess as long as they don't scrap them, no harm done. Same with cutting up a pristine body - find something that's not easily restored.

That brings up one other thing I don't get - taking a good finished car and turning it into a ratrod. I've seen 2 good looking finished trucks this had been done to - one was a show/street rod and the other a nice restomod.

 

[05snopro440]

Louvers for the sake of louvers - yeah, kinda like a fake hood scoop I guess. But if you wanna go that argument, you could include lightening holes that are heavier than none at all. Or even the port holes on a stock Buick.

I do get disappointed when someone takes the fenders and hood off a solid vehicle that has all it's parts. I guess as long as they don't scrap them, no harm done. Same with cutting up a pristine body - find something that's not easily restored.

That brings up one other thing I don't get - taking a good finished car and turning it into a ratrod. I've seen 2 good looking finished trucks this had been done to - one was a show/street rod and the other a nice restomod.

I agree completely with turning a good car into a rat, or taking fenders and hood off a solid vehicle. If it's a complete solid vehicle you won't make it look any better by taking the fenders off of it!

I just realized one I don't at all understand and something that churns my stomach when I see it... Stacks! To me they're just gross, and only belong on Semi trucks.

 

[1952B3b23]

I agree completely with turning a good car into a rat, or taking fenders and hood off a solid vehicle. If it's a complete solid vehicle you won't make it look any better by taking the fenders off of it!

I just realized one I don't at all understand and something that churns my stomach when I see it... Stacks! To me they're just gross, and only belong on Semi trucks.

I think stacks look great on diesels as long as theyre done right. Some people just go ahead and throw monsterous 8 inch pipes in the bed that stick out way to much and make the truck look goofy. A proportionate set of stacks set up right can look killer. Although driving with them all the time can kinda get annoying especially at highway speeds. You'll get a loud drone in the cab kinda puts you to sleep too. I do plan to run stacks on my '52 Cummins swap but ive got a custom design in mind that should look good. As always, just my 2 cents.

-Chris

 

[AnvilBlockForge]

I'm new to Rat rods, and one thing has been puzzling me. How do you extend the front sub fram like this?
Is it as simple as moving everything back a foot? My real question is how do you run the steering linkage?

 

[kenny c]

It's not hard, but everything is pretty much custom. Look in the builds section. lots of cool ideas and designs.

 

[IronRat]

.....That brings up one other thing I don't get - taking a good finished car and turning it into a ratrod. I've seen 2 good looking finished trucks this had been done to - one was a show/street rod and the other a nice restomod.

I follow you to a point. That point being dependant on finished car/trucks level of "goodness"

There's a nice local '34 coupe, quasi trailer queen/ local cruise nighter that's a strange candy lavender with ridiculously excessive white roll & tuck interior. It seems like it should be a Barbie & Ken toy more than a street rod. it's so sugar plum sweet you could get diabetes looking at it.

Don't get me wrong the guy's mechanical work is well done. There's just no "edge" to it. When I see a good example of a Rat Rod/Retro Hot Rod I expect to see Jr. Johnson behind the wheel NOT Winne the Pooh.

 

[05snopro440]

I think stacks look great on diesels as long as theyre done right. Some people just go ahead and throw monsterous 8 inch pipes in the bed that stick out way to much and make the truck look goofy. A proportionate set of stacks set up right can look killer. Although driving with them all the time can kinda get annoying especially at highway speeds. You'll get a loud drone in the cab kinda puts you to sleep too. I do plan to run stacks on my '52 Cummins swap but ive got a custom design in mind that should look good. As always, just my 2 cents.

-Chris

Yep, you're definitely entitled to your opinion, and if you like stacks then that's great. I just think even "well-executed" stacks are out of place on anything other than a semi-truck, and they make my stomach churn. That's just me though. I also don't get the need for diesels in anything that isn't a tow rig, so that's another piece of the puzzle...

 

[05snopro440]

I follow you to a point. That point being dependant on finished car/trucks level of "goodness"

There's a nice local '34 coupe, quasi trailer queen/ local cruise nighter that's a strange candy lavender with ridiculously excessive white roll & tuck interior. It seems like it should be a Barbie & Ken toy more than a street rod. it's so sugar plum sweet you could get diabetes looking at it.

Don't get me wrong the guy's mechanical work is well done. There's just no "edge" to it. When I see a good example of a Rat Rod/Retro Hot Rod I expect to see Jr. Johnson behind the wheel NOT Winne the Pooh.

I hear you. I also see that a lot of hot rods don't follow a cohesive 'theme'. They look like someone liked a whole bunch of different things and threw them all together, rather than deciding if the overall look of the vehicle "makes sense". I put a lot of thought in to make sure that all the mods on a vehicle make sense with each other and go together with nothing looking out of place, as much as possible. Some vehicles that don't (as your describe) just leave a lot to be desired.

 

[OddRodsGarage]

""""""" I just think even "well-executed" stacks are out of place on anything other than a semi-truck, and they make my stomach churn. """""""

I have to agree with you 05 on the stacks , even on diesels they should be shorties even with the bed
Oldog

 

[timbo]

The one thing I like about stacks is that it's not blowing nasty smoke in your car when they rev them up like they do around here.
Tim