Hot rods, street rods, kustoms and a few other things

[Streetrod]

Back in the day I was a full blown memeber of the Smoke City Wheelers, they had a bit of a rep for serious partying back in the day but when I joined had calmed down a bit but not a lot. Here are couple of club memebers cars you might recognise:







Our chopped club Route Master

[aeropilot]

Streetrod said:

Going back to the conversation about Ratrods (I always hated that term) one of the main guys who helped lead the trend was my old mate Clive, see pic below.

CG back in his slimline days

[Streetrod]

aeropilot said:

Streetrod said:

Going back to the conversation about Ratrods (I always hated that term) one of the main guys who helped lead the trend was my old mate Clive, see pic below.

CG back in his slimline days

I was not going to mention that, I too wish I was now as slim as I was back then. Also I had hair back then

Interesting note, just to show how ingrained the Hotrod culture was with some of use back then, Clive's sister was called Chevelle Indy, coolest name ever.....

[Crafty_]

Streetrod said:

Our chopped club Route Master

Last I heard this went to some bus anoraks who were in the process of unchopping it

Goodguys hot rod of the year

[aeropilot]

Streetrod said:

aeropilot said:

Streetrod said:

Going back to the conversation about Ratrods (I always hated that term) one of the main guys who helped lead the trend was my old mate Clive, see pic below.

CG back in his slimline days

I too wish I was now as slim as I was back then. Also I had hair back then

You and me both.........on both counts. Too much Black&White in mine in my youth did for my barnet I reckon.
I just had a flick though my photo's from Pendine last month to see if Clive was in any, but he clearly managed to avoid my lens

[Silver Smudger]

Streetrod said:

That is so cool - Used to read Street Machine back when I had a paper round in the 80s and that is totally of the time

[Streetrod]

How dare they unchop it!!!!

Anyway slight side bar, over the years corporate America has really bought into the Hotrod car scene, the most famous example was probably the 66 Hertz Mustang that was available to rent from your local office for a few bucks a day.



What Hertz did not realise was that people were renting them out, taking them to the Drags and bracket racing them and winning. They would then take them back the next day with bald tyres. A few rather unscrupulous fellows rented the car out, took it home then yanked the tuned engine out and swapped it for a basic mustang V8, then returned the car to the rental office. Original Hertz Mustangs now trade for serious money
As a piece of publicity it worked wonders for Hertz image back then. So much so they did it again recently. I was lucky enough to be working in the US back then and managed to get my company to allow me to rent one for my duration. It was crude but fun and good for 140 leptons across the Tampa Bay Bridge at 3.00 in the morning

[Streetrod]

I am not sure if it has been mentioned yet but Chip Foose produced the original concept model that went onto become the Plymouth Prowler. At the time he was still a student. A few years later he decided to actually produce his original concept and came up with this mid engined concept rod, Hemisfear:

[aeropilot]

Crafty_ said:

Goodguys hot rod of the year

Lovely.

Proper hot rod

[Streetrod]

aeropilot said:

Crafty_ said:

Goodguys hot rod of the year

Lovely.

Proper hot rod

It really is is it not. My currently stalled hotrod project (lack of money) is going to have a more 60's feel and look and will place one of these, an ally flat head V8 with repo Ardun Hemi Heads:



Into one of these bodies:



I will run full fenders, a hood but no side panels, an uncopped roof plus 40 Ford Steel rims. The finishing touch will be a two tone paint job with loads of pinstriping on the trunk

[Crafty_]

Streetrod I found your car on this link : http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?28...

Also on that thread is another Nick Butler T, Andromeda

[Rich G]

Crafty_ said:

Streetrod I found your car on this link : http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?28...

Also on that thread is another Nick Butler T, Andromeda

More exquisite work from Mr Butler - looks just like it did on the inaugural cover of the late lamented Hot Rod & Custom UK (June 1978).

The first time I saw Andromeda in the flesh it was sat by the side of the A25 somewhere between Reigate and Dorking (I think, it was at least 35 years ago!). Story was that the oil pressure didn't seem to be what it ought to be and the engine was shut down to save any damage. This was way before the age of mobile phones. Ended up towing it about half a mile or so to a large roadside pub where the owner could phone for assistance. The tow-car was my then daily, a '55 100E Prefect fitted with a Murray overdrive behind the stock flathead. Mine probably had about a tenth or less of the BHP in Andromeda.

Nick Butler is a thoroughly nice bloke. He built a beautiful set of alloy hubs for the HA Viva IFS in my 103E Pop that not only changed the PCD from Vauxhall to Ford but also brought the mounting faces in so tucking the front wheels neatly under the arches. He also built me an uprated front anti-roll bar for a later daily, this time a 123E Anglia with Classic front struts and discs.

Just been looking again at the Andromeda article in Pud & Custard and realised for the first time that Nick wrote it.

[aeropilot]

Streetrod said:

aeropilot said:

Crafty_ said:

Goodguys hot rod of the year

Lovely.

Proper hot rod

It really is is it not. My currently stalled hotrod project (lack of money) is going to have a more 60's feel and look and will place one of these, an ally flat head V8 with repo Ardun Hemi Heads:



Into one of these bodies:



I will run full fenders, a hood but no side panels, an uncopped roof plus 40 Ford Steel rims. The finishing touch will be a two tone paint job with loads of pinstriping on the trunk

Especially the Ardun.

Kelvin's Elco twin-plug flathead powered pickup with McCulloch blower and NO2 ran well at Pendine.

[Crafty_]

Guilty secret time: I really like unchopped 30s Fords.

I love the side profile of that '34 and everytime I see Russ Pepper's 32 I wonder why anyone would chop one..

I really don't like the later 30s cars with a chop, it just goes out of proportion..

Believe it or not google doesn't throw up ant pics of Russ's car, so this one from fastlane will have to do. Ironically this is actually chopped, but only by about an inch IIRC.



I like the way Alloway chopped this chevy, http://www.streetrodderweb.com/tech/0609sr_1937_ch...
Huge amount of work though.

So are we all going to the supernats then ? should be a great weekend if the weather stays with us. I'm going on the Thursday.

[aeropilot]

Crafty_ said:

ironically this is actually chopped, but only by about an inch IIRC.

I'm not usually a big fan of fendered '32's, much prefer them fenderless, but I really like that one, very nice.

And yes, I also like them unchopped as well as chopped. The chop has to be right though, with a slight forward rake, rather than a flat chop.


I've had a shift through some of the photos I've taken at shows over the past decade to find some unchopped cars. Not surprisingly, I didn't find many. As far as I can tell, all these are unchopped.

These two were taken at the A-Bombers weekend in Sweden.






This was a blown, Ardun headed flatty powered unchopped Vicky being built at Brizio's



And these two were taken at a CHRR at Bakersfield.

[central]

DSC_6168 by Fast an' Bulbous, on Flickr DSC_6805 by Fast an' Bulbous, on Flickr DSC_6275 by Fast an' Bulbous, on Flickr

[Crafty_]

Rake might be a bit too much



A few (ok maybe 5 or 6) years ago there was a red '32 over here, stock height, fenderless, wide whites with radir (or similar) wheels. IIRC it wasn't channeled but had a bit of that east coast look to it. I was just looking for a picture but can't find one. Anyway, I thought it was pretty cool.

This is what I mean about heavy chops on late 30s cars, just doesn't work to my eye. I think the only way to solve it is section the body, fenders and all to bring the body back in proportion.

[Colonial]

Australia has the Summernats in Canberra each year.

Here's some of the recent Grand Champions:

2014


2013


2012


Other highlights

[ClassicMotorNut]

Some pics from this year's Bromley Pageant of Motoring


1934 Ford hot rod by Zack S. Classic Cars, on Flickr
Late '50s/early '60s California style

A couple of modern builds:

1969 Chevrolet custom pick-up by Zack S. Classic Cars, on Flickr


1937 Chevrolet street rod by Zack S. Classic Cars, on Flickr


1957 Ford Prefect 100E custom by Zack S. Classic Cars, on Flickr
Typical '70s job


1941 Willys Americar pro street hot rod by Zack S. Classic Cars, on Flickr
This won the Best Hot Rod award


1979 Ford Cortina Mk. IV V8 custom by Zack S. Classic Cars, on Flickr
This cool Cortina gets to a few of my local shows, but Bromley is one that it seems to avoid.

[iva cosworth]

I think the "cool cortina belongs in badly modified thread .

Bull bars,supra style rear spoiler .....yuk......

It's 1970s mixed with f n f.