Hot rods, street rods, kustoms and a few other things
Discussion
Awesome thread, I've always wanted to hot rod a beetle, I know it's not to everyone's taste but my thinking is that it wouldn't cost the earth and the engine is a lot easier and cheaper to sort out than some great american V8.
Anyway can someone tell me is it legal in the UK to have wheels that don't have any arches, fenders or mudguards?
Anyway can someone tell me is it legal in the UK to have wheels that don't have any arches, fenders or mudguards?
55palfers said:
Blib said:
Is that the Boyd Coddington show? If so, yes I used to watch it. Iirc, Boyd passed away suddenly a couple of years ago.
That's the one. It's on Quest at about 09:00 weekdays.Shame he died - seemed like a clever man
This is my kinda thread.
Here's my steed, a mild custom '57 Chevy, lot's more changes to come, hopefully finishing with a Larry Watson inspired paint job.
IMG_8764 by NickGrant.co.uk, on Flickr
For anyone who doesn't know Larry Watson turned out some amazing paint jobs in the 50s and 60s, this was his '59 Caddy which was fresh off the showroom floor....
I do photography for various car mags such as Custom Car. My favourite events are the traditional style ones such as the Hot Rod Hayride. Here are some shots from last years show...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/grantgb/sets/7215763...
I make a 1000 mile round trip in the Chevy to attend from Scotland.
Here's my steed, a mild custom '57 Chevy, lot's more changes to come, hopefully finishing with a Larry Watson inspired paint job.
IMG_8764 by NickGrant.co.uk, on FlickrFor anyone who doesn't know Larry Watson turned out some amazing paint jobs in the 50s and 60s, this was his '59 Caddy which was fresh off the showroom floor....
I do photography for various car mags such as Custom Car. My favourite events are the traditional style ones such as the Hot Rod Hayride. Here are some shots from last years show...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/grantgb/sets/7215763...
I make a 1000 mile round trip in the Chevy to attend from Scotland.
mu christmas prezzie from the kids each year is Custom Car magazine subscription
I blame my dad for taking me over Chelsea Bridge last saturday in december late 70's on way back form a family do
I was young but remember all the great cars jacked up chrome diff lights and paint to die for and a pair of old ford pops called puddle jumper next to pinball wizzard
my dad dismissed them as we were in a MK3 cortina
them vision of the cars and smell form burn outs ruined me for ever
I blame my dad for taking me over Chelsea Bridge last saturday in december late 70's on way back form a family do
I was young but remember all the great cars jacked up chrome diff lights and paint to die for and a pair of old ford pops called puddle jumper next to pinball wizzard
my dad dismissed them as we were in a MK3 cortina
them vision of the cars and smell form burn outs ruined me for ever
Fleckers said:
mu christmas prezzie from the kids each year is Custom Car magazine subscription
Cool Here's a few covers I shot
cc-feb-12-500x500 by NickGrant.co.uk, on Flickr
cc-jan-12-500x500 by NickGrant.co.uk, on Flickr
Custom Car June 2011 by NickGrant.co.uk, on Flickr
Custom Car February 2010 Cover by NickGrant.co.uk, on Flickr
Used to enjoy blasting around Redditch/Birmingham and Kidderminster in this 1956 Chevy 2 door coupe "Hot-Rod" a few years ago. Went to Zypher-Hills Florida USA swap-meet auctions to bid on it and then shipped it back to the UK. It had a hot 350 SBC V8 and 4 on the floor. A lot of fun to arrive at a car meet in that model.My PC cannot process the photo so I will use one of a very early "Jago"
T Rail that I used to enjoy around the West Midlands in the 1960's
T Rail that I used to enjoy around the West Midlands in the 1960's
Great to see some posts here, do carry on !
Nick's flickr above is well worth a look, he does some excellent work..
Ok so where were we ?
Late 50s / early 60s... So more and more attention was being paid to paintwork, scallops, flames, pinstriping etc.
Pin striping outdates hot rods by a long, long way - I don't really know why it was picked up by hot rodders, however it soon became a good way to make your car individual - this continues to this day
Pinstriped '32 grille shell
Pinstriped decklid
If you ever get the chance to watch a pinstriper at work do so, its infuriatingly impressive, mostly done freehand and the control the striper has on the brush to keep the line width even in the curves its one of those things that looks deceptively easy.
During the 50s the car show scene took off, the wild customs that the likes of Westergard and Barris were on the show floor alongside hot rods from speed shops and home builders for all to see and provide inspiration.
Towards the end of the 50s some people had the idea of putting small bits of metal in paint, the idea being it would sparkle even more than the metallic paints the manufacturers were using on new cars. Problem was, it was hard to get a uniform finish, the metal bits would clog the gun. In 1960 a custom painter called Dean Jeffries managed it, he figured out by using higher pressure (and presumably a wider tip) the gun didn't clog.
Jeffries was friends with another guy called Kenneth Howard, better known to you and I as Von Dutch. Howard had taught Jeffries how to pinstripe and they both worked on entire paintjobs as well as pinstriping, flames and the like.
Kenneth 'Von Dutch' Howard pinstriping a Barris custom
Howard had a trademark "flying eyeball", some say that it was Jeffries that came up with the design, but let Howard use it, either way its virtually a signature for "Von Dutch". If you recall a few years ago Von Dutch became the cool thing for teenage kids to wear - caps, jumpers etc. Not really Howard's style the big commercial thing, but all his artwork and rights had been sold by his family - someone made a whole bunch of money out of people who have no idea who he was. Life is odd sometimes.
Another painter around this time was Ed Roth, nicknamed 'Big Daddy' he had big ideas and was at the forefront of outlandish paint, imagine this turning up in 1959!
Ed Roth's Outlaw T Bucket
Through the 60s Roth built ever more outlandish show cars, they weren't cars so much, more a canvas for artwork. Some of the cars didn't even run. Custom became Kustom and soon evolved past cars in to an entire sub culture - art, clothing, tattoos and music. The 'Kustom Kulture' is still alive today.
Ed Roth's Orbitron, 1964
Beatnik Bandit, 1961
Ed Roth's Rat Fink
Back to the (slightly) more conventional custom scene the new cars of the 50s were providing huge amounts of inspiration - two brothers Sam and George Barris along with others like Gene Winfield and Bill Hines were taking new/nearly new cars and modifying their looks, if hot rods were all about power, speed and the quarter mile customs were about looking elegant, suave and, well, just damm cool. Top quality paint and chrome is the order of the day for a kustom. The grille is often fabricated from scratch or a modified version of a grille from another car, side trim is also either taken from another car or made.
One of the watershed cars was the Hirohata Mercury. Built by Barris for owner Bob Hirohata it is still considered one of the best Kustom cars
Period picture of the Hirohata Mercury
The '49 and on Mercurys were very popular, to the extent that nowadays an unchopped one is a fairly rare thing. If we thought a chop on a late 30s coupe was tricky this is a whole different ballgame. This video shows a chop being made, its pretty obvious to see how everything is horribly misaligned http://youtu.be/S9qMJoqq590
Kustoms are often called leadsleds, this is because after so much metalwork lots of lead would be used to finish the body (filler hadn't been invented, lead still is regarded by many as the "proper" way to finish a car). Again, its another skill that looks easy but is far harder than it looks.
Bill Hines was born in Detroit, he was soon modifying cars and ended up with the nickname the "leadslinger" as he was a dab hand at it. Hines is rarely seen without a cigar in his mouth, despite that he celebrated his 92nd birthday in March. The commentary (by George Barris nonetheless) could be better but its a good leading demo : http://youtu.be/jQ_85fp1avs keep in mind he's in his mid 80s in the video.
Another painter was Larry Watson, he led the way with eyecatching paintjobs, using metallics, metalflake and effects like fades and lace (literally take a bit of net curtain, lay it over the car and spray over it!) he usually used several colours and followed shapes mimicking the trim of the car. He painted many cars built by the top kustom builders.
The final incarnation of Grapevine
Watson's thunderbird
Watson inspired paintjob
A fade paint job, probably a John D'Augustino car
Lace paint panel on a roof
Many of the techniques and styles that Watson used are still alive today in the lowrider scene (we'll get to that at some point)
Just link back to racing - by the 60s drag racing had become a sport. The NHRA was set up by Wally Parks, then editor of Hot Rod. CJ 'Pappy' Hart realised that this hobby could become something more serious - he built and owned the legendary Santa Ana strip which opened in 1950. He charged spectators to come and watch, but offered prize money to racers. He'd begun the process of drag racing becoming a professional sport. He later ran the Lions Strip which, along with Santa Ana is one of the most fondly remembered tracks. Fantastic story on Lions here http://www.hotrod.com/whereitbegan/hrdp_0273_lions...
By the 60s some had figured out that if they could get the weight to shift to the rear axle on launch it would help with traction. The gasser was born. Often the wheelbase was shortened too. Gassers were very popular and many still love the cars today and even build road cars in the same style. The Willys-Overland pre war cars were basic motoring, no frills but very cheap (think Kia maybe 15-20 years ago). As WW2 started the American military put out a tender for a general purpose all terrain vehicle, Wilys came up with the Jeep - the name being a bastardised version of GP (general purpose). The iconic WW2 jeep was born and the Jeep company (that still makes cars today) was founded.
The pre war cars were unloved and very cheap - perfect then for pulling apart and making a race car from.
There is a huge, huge amount of history around early drag racing in the US. The best place to learn more about gasser racings is www.gassermadness.us, you can also look around www.wediditforlove.com
John Mazmanian's Willys Gasser
The other side of drag racing had evolved from cars like this:
Re-creation of Don Garlits' firt dragster, circa 1955
To what we call a FED, front engined dragster. By the 60s they were running nitromethane on these long slender chassis. The driver literally sat around the 3rd member int he rear axle, if anything was to go wrong the drivers third member was perilously close !
These cars are just beautiful, amazing things. So many names to mention - Garlits, Prudhomme, Kalitta, Donovan.. the list is endless.
Note that the same attention to detail in the appearance of the car is similar to the hot rods of the time, the racers wanted to go (seriously) fast and look good. More info on www.wediditforlove.com, www.cacklefest.com.
Drag racers, just like hot rodders are very proud of their history and in recent years there has been much interest in the FED dragsters, with numerous barn finds, restorations and new cars being built. For about 20 years the NHRA have hosted a big event called the California Hot Rod Reunion where all types of drag cars from the 60s & 70s come out to play in Bakersfield. Its definitely on the bucket list! Look on youtube for videos.
I see Boyd Coddington has popped up, he died in 2008 but the shows are still being repeated. We'll get to him and "his" era but first I need a bit of help, I know very little about the scene in the 70s. Whilst drag racing moved away from the gassers and FEDs and to the funny cars and there was a bit of a downturn in hot rodding because of the muscle cars and oil crisis, it was also the decade that hot rodding really took on in the UK. I was wondering if Streetrodder could fill us in with what he knows/can remember ??
This post was put together from various sources, one in particular that has been useful is www.kustomrama.com (especially for pictures). Another good site is Rik Hovings Kustoms http://www.rikhovingkustoms.com/RHK1/Custom_Car_Ph...
If you want to read more about kustom kulture try www.ratfink.com
Going forwards I can write a piece on the 80s to current day and pull in Boyd, Foose and various others and probably a little bit about UK rodding/drag racing. Anything else people want to know about ?
Nick's flickr above is well worth a look, he does some excellent work..
Ok so where were we ?
Late 50s / early 60s... So more and more attention was being paid to paintwork, scallops, flames, pinstriping etc.
Pin striping outdates hot rods by a long, long way - I don't really know why it was picked up by hot rodders, however it soon became a good way to make your car individual - this continues to this day
Pinstriped '32 grille shell
Pinstriped decklid
If you ever get the chance to watch a pinstriper at work do so, its infuriatingly impressive, mostly done freehand and the control the striper has on the brush to keep the line width even in the curves its one of those things that looks deceptively easy.
During the 50s the car show scene took off, the wild customs that the likes of Westergard and Barris were on the show floor alongside hot rods from speed shops and home builders for all to see and provide inspiration.
Towards the end of the 50s some people had the idea of putting small bits of metal in paint, the idea being it would sparkle even more than the metallic paints the manufacturers were using on new cars. Problem was, it was hard to get a uniform finish, the metal bits would clog the gun. In 1960 a custom painter called Dean Jeffries managed it, he figured out by using higher pressure (and presumably a wider tip) the gun didn't clog.
Jeffries was friends with another guy called Kenneth Howard, better known to you and I as Von Dutch. Howard had taught Jeffries how to pinstripe and they both worked on entire paintjobs as well as pinstriping, flames and the like.
Kenneth 'Von Dutch' Howard pinstriping a Barris custom
Howard had a trademark "flying eyeball", some say that it was Jeffries that came up with the design, but let Howard use it, either way its virtually a signature for "Von Dutch". If you recall a few years ago Von Dutch became the cool thing for teenage kids to wear - caps, jumpers etc. Not really Howard's style the big commercial thing, but all his artwork and rights had been sold by his family - someone made a whole bunch of money out of people who have no idea who he was. Life is odd sometimes.
Another painter around this time was Ed Roth, nicknamed 'Big Daddy' he had big ideas and was at the forefront of outlandish paint, imagine this turning up in 1959!
Ed Roth's Outlaw T Bucket
Through the 60s Roth built ever more outlandish show cars, they weren't cars so much, more a canvas for artwork. Some of the cars didn't even run. Custom became Kustom and soon evolved past cars in to an entire sub culture - art, clothing, tattoos and music. The 'Kustom Kulture' is still alive today.
Ed Roth's Orbitron, 1964
Beatnik Bandit, 1961
Ed Roth's Rat Fink
Back to the (slightly) more conventional custom scene the new cars of the 50s were providing huge amounts of inspiration - two brothers Sam and George Barris along with others like Gene Winfield and Bill Hines were taking new/nearly new cars and modifying their looks, if hot rods were all about power, speed and the quarter mile customs were about looking elegant, suave and, well, just damm cool. Top quality paint and chrome is the order of the day for a kustom. The grille is often fabricated from scratch or a modified version of a grille from another car, side trim is also either taken from another car or made.
One of the watershed cars was the Hirohata Mercury. Built by Barris for owner Bob Hirohata it is still considered one of the best Kustom cars
Period picture of the Hirohata Mercury
The '49 and on Mercurys were very popular, to the extent that nowadays an unchopped one is a fairly rare thing. If we thought a chop on a late 30s coupe was tricky this is a whole different ballgame. This video shows a chop being made, its pretty obvious to see how everything is horribly misaligned http://youtu.be/S9qMJoqq590
Kustoms are often called leadsleds, this is because after so much metalwork lots of lead would be used to finish the body (filler hadn't been invented, lead still is regarded by many as the "proper" way to finish a car). Again, its another skill that looks easy but is far harder than it looks.
Bill Hines was born in Detroit, he was soon modifying cars and ended up with the nickname the "leadslinger" as he was a dab hand at it. Hines is rarely seen without a cigar in his mouth, despite that he celebrated his 92nd birthday in March. The commentary (by George Barris nonetheless) could be better but its a good leading demo : http://youtu.be/jQ_85fp1avs keep in mind he's in his mid 80s in the video.
Another painter was Larry Watson, he led the way with eyecatching paintjobs, using metallics, metalflake and effects like fades and lace (literally take a bit of net curtain, lay it over the car and spray over it!) he usually used several colours and followed shapes mimicking the trim of the car. He painted many cars built by the top kustom builders.
The final incarnation of Grapevine
Watson's thunderbird
Watson inspired paintjob
A fade paint job, probably a John D'Augustino car
Lace paint panel on a roof
Many of the techniques and styles that Watson used are still alive today in the lowrider scene (we'll get to that at some point)
Just link back to racing - by the 60s drag racing had become a sport. The NHRA was set up by Wally Parks, then editor of Hot Rod. CJ 'Pappy' Hart realised that this hobby could become something more serious - he built and owned the legendary Santa Ana strip which opened in 1950. He charged spectators to come and watch, but offered prize money to racers. He'd begun the process of drag racing becoming a professional sport. He later ran the Lions Strip which, along with Santa Ana is one of the most fondly remembered tracks. Fantastic story on Lions here http://www.hotrod.com/whereitbegan/hrdp_0273_lions...
By the 60s some had figured out that if they could get the weight to shift to the rear axle on launch it would help with traction. The gasser was born. Often the wheelbase was shortened too. Gassers were very popular and many still love the cars today and even build road cars in the same style. The Willys-Overland pre war cars were basic motoring, no frills but very cheap (think Kia maybe 15-20 years ago). As WW2 started the American military put out a tender for a general purpose all terrain vehicle, Wilys came up with the Jeep - the name being a bastardised version of GP (general purpose). The iconic WW2 jeep was born and the Jeep company (that still makes cars today) was founded.
The pre war cars were unloved and very cheap - perfect then for pulling apart and making a race car from.
There is a huge, huge amount of history around early drag racing in the US. The best place to learn more about gasser racings is www.gassermadness.us, you can also look around www.wediditforlove.com
John Mazmanian's Willys Gasser
The other side of drag racing had evolved from cars like this:
Re-creation of Don Garlits' firt dragster, circa 1955
To what we call a FED, front engined dragster. By the 60s they were running nitromethane on these long slender chassis. The driver literally sat around the 3rd member int he rear axle, if anything was to go wrong the drivers third member was perilously close !
These cars are just beautiful, amazing things. So many names to mention - Garlits, Prudhomme, Kalitta, Donovan.. the list is endless.
Note that the same attention to detail in the appearance of the car is similar to the hot rods of the time, the racers wanted to go (seriously) fast and look good. More info on www.wediditforlove.com, www.cacklefest.com.
Drag racers, just like hot rodders are very proud of their history and in recent years there has been much interest in the FED dragsters, with numerous barn finds, restorations and new cars being built. For about 20 years the NHRA have hosted a big event called the California Hot Rod Reunion where all types of drag cars from the 60s & 70s come out to play in Bakersfield. Its definitely on the bucket list! Look on youtube for videos.
I see Boyd Coddington has popped up, he died in 2008 but the shows are still being repeated. We'll get to him and "his" era but first I need a bit of help, I know very little about the scene in the 70s. Whilst drag racing moved away from the gassers and FEDs and to the funny cars and there was a bit of a downturn in hot rodding because of the muscle cars and oil crisis, it was also the decade that hot rodding really took on in the UK. I was wondering if Streetrodder could fill us in with what he knows/can remember ??
This post was put together from various sources, one in particular that has been useful is www.kustomrama.com (especially for pictures). Another good site is Rik Hovings Kustoms http://www.rikhovingkustoms.com/RHK1/Custom_Car_Ph...
If you want to read more about kustom kulture try www.ratfink.com
Going forwards I can write a piece on the 80s to current day and pull in Boyd, Foose and various others and probably a little bit about UK rodding/drag racing. Anything else people want to know about ?
Edited by Crafty_ on Tuesday 24th June 01:29
Edited by Crafty_ on Tuesday 24th June 01:31
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