Posts:
The good old days...
...sure look awesome when looking over old magazines and photos, don't they? All of the killer cars, shiny paint, classic locations, impeccably dressed people and so-on. It makes it all the more interesting when you either stumble across (or are handed!) an old snapshot that captures real life... an actual hot-rodding moment, frozen on Instamatic or Polaroid paper... In this instance, we have such a subject; one that makes you say "D'oh!": 
Yep, it's harsh reality, there to smack you in the head, as it always seems to. The photo above came to my desk while hunting for source material to fuel my current background project, documenting East Coast customs and hot rods... My father gave me some surviving photos of old cars and car shows, and mixed in was the gem you see above. The car was his personal ride, a '57 Chevy 210 that he originally purchased with a six cylinder. The car received a nifty little 283, bored to 301ci, and backed with a 3-speed, 4.11:1's, and exhaust he described only as "loud". The car was respectable and quick for the times, running low 13's. Not too shabby for a kid, and especially for a daily driver. Anyhow, the moment above captures the aftermath of a floor shift install. Say what? OK, not the IMMEDIATE aftermath... You see, my dad had installed a floor shifter that fine day, and, like so mmany times that I'm sure we can all look back on and say "yup... done that!", he rushed through to get to work on time (night shift!), and we all know how shifter installs seem to go... Something ALWAYS goes a little haywire. Needless to say, shifting from second to third resulted in, well, nothing. Youthful thought offeered the option to just reach through the ample hole in the floorboard and grab the linkage, when the stars aligned to strengthjen the Chevy versus Ford battle, and the mighty Chevy plowed into a '63 Fairlane. The car was fixed, using the remains of a t-boned Bel Air hardtop, with the same car supplying the interior for this same car a bit later. The car was sold when my father entered the service, and marked a three year span of ownership in his life. We'll have to look at the '64 Impala and '66 Charger that followed at some point, too, all with somewhat better results! Granted, I've done worse myself (and with no shift linkage to blame!), and that's not the point here... It's just an interesting look back on a moment frozen in time... one of those images you don't often see. It's real life mixing with youth, hot rodding, and all of those experiences we try to teach our own young 'uns with... Read more and enjoy some artwork over at PROBLEM CHILD KUSTOMS STUDIO.
My stickers WILL make your car faster.
Blake ran the 'Bird again a few days ago... and added more evidence to the claims that a PCK Studio sticker WILL make your car faster. How's about four tenths faster?! Since we last checked in, the car was pulling low-11's and very respectable high-10's. Simply by peeling the backing and applying to your clean car, perhaps you too can gain speed, cut times, and launch like a rock star!
...of course, individual results may vary.
(...and here, on an Olds!:
On the subject of running quicker, check out Blake's latest video... There's drama, tire smoke, and dig the way the car launches... poetic, in a way:
Can't wait to see what happens when the 3.23 rear gear gets swapped, and some slicks get mounted! In any event... there's a moral in this story, as well as a great bit of knowedge to be gleaned: Our stickers will make your car faster. Less than five bucks got an actual client four tenths. Now to work on that miracle cure for flatulence...
That's a lot of f***ing magazines.
One of my all-time favorite cars has always been the '57 Chevy known as "Project X"...
That yellow, enlarged rear wheel opening-having, hoodless, blown kick-ass pile of performance parts and attitude that was put together in a far different age. Over many years, it was a test bed and ongoing project over at Popular Hot Rodding.... in the days before Pro-Touring... hell, even prior to Pro/Street. Of course, my favorite incarnation of the perennial magazine project car was circa '81-'82... the look featured in the movie "The Hollywood Knights".
The car just had "the look"... Great color, great stance, and superb use of mag wheels. The way this car launched (what is it with my fixation of late with a car springing off the line? Who cares. It's good.), and hell, even Tony Danza looked cool in it. Looking over some screen grabs from the movie, I came across this one:
...and couldn't help but think (while peering at the background) that "that's a lot of fucking magazines there." Ironic, considering the car's tremendous amount of ink over the years. Art and life imitating each other. That may be the deepest thought ever written with regards to a movie that featured farting to "Volare". Savor the moment.... savor it.... ...and we're done here.
AMBR Winner? My thoughts....
I've written a lot about this year's choice already, and will paste in some excerpts if you feel like reading my soap box rant... Granted, when we got back to town after the show, I made it a point to congratulate the guys at Scott's on a job well done, and their dedication... BUT, I have some strong feelings on this car, and even more on the direction a choice like this could lead future contenders.... in any event... ... a well-finished car, certainly. The fit, paint, and detailing were superb, no doubt. But, in the end, it's a car with trendy big wheels, an uninspired interior treatment, and it looks, sadly, like some off-the-shelf, pre-fabbed roadster body, something like you might see 1,000 of at the next NSRA meet. I am not picking on this car, nor am I following the crowd that has seemingly banded together en-masse to spread their hate for it. Enough has already been posted by people doing this, and, besides, that's not my thing, nor my overall opinion. It just fell into the "trendy" mode, and missed the mark, in my opinion, of what a true AMBR car should be. It has TREMENDOUS skill and patience (if not blind dedication) involved in the construction, finish, and detailing. It's SUBTLE in many respects... the re-worked lines would probably go unnoticed by may show attendees... It has a lot of key changes in many areas. It just fell a bit flat in a few key areas (from my vantage point), and that hurt the car. It's like that new mini mall you pass on the way to work: Yeah, it's shiny and new, and is packed with new, shiny stuff.... but it's still a mini mall, and it looks remarkably similar to every other one you just drove past. A little more creativity in the wheel/tire combo and that interior, and this car would have crept silently into my recent favorites, no exceptions. (speaking of the wheel/tire combo... it's probably the part that struck me hardest, and polarized my overall opinion... The huge rears make the car appear out of proportion, if not somehow distorted. Then again, consider, for example, the first car ever to wear an exposed supercharger. Think THAT may have caused some controversy?) (OK, it completely changed my life, that first blown ride I saw... damn.... I was hooked!) As I said earlier, what I'm getting at here isn't to knock the car... it was well done for what it is... but rather to question if it has the longevity and certain "something" deserving of being a part of AMBR history. In 50 years will anyone want to restore it to it's AMBR-winning "glory"? Probably not. Why? I think that maybe it's the trendy factor. It's a dated car, and when the giant wheel phase is over, it'll be a back-dated car. Consider the height of Pro-Street back in the late-'80's/early '90's. There were some killer cars, no doubt. Hell, even the most over-done, Dobberton's J-2000 is still a stand-out, namely because it was SO overdone. Worth saving? Yes. It illustrates an extreme in the genre, and is a great piece to serve in that respect. But would you save every neon and pastel-colored, huge hoodscoop-wearing monstrosity from the era? No, probably not. There were so many variations of the same thing, that saving them all would be redundant. It takes a certain "something" to make a car a stand-out. Would this be a car to modify slightly and run again? Hell yes. It has outstanding workmanship, just needs the right changes. At the Grand National Roaster Show, there was, on display, the A La Kart. A purpose-built ("to win shows") car, that had won the AMBR 50 years ago. It was there, restored, for all to enjoy. Rightly so, the car still impresses. It was built in a manner consistent with its original era, certainly, but pushed the envelope in all the right directions. Would I consider it the pinnacle of great hot rod design? Not especially... it works well, in my opinion, anyway, as a novelty, an illustration of a bygone era, and marks a point in hot rodding history worth studying. Should it have won this year? From a pure nostalgia vantage point, why not? But in current judging and trend standards, no... It was a reminder of days gone by, and why we were all there in the first place. Observed as an object of reverence, it was tremendous to see it on hand. Orosco's ride was my personal pick... outstanding in every way, and just has that AMBR "look". Am I saying that every AMBR winner should be a traditional-styled car? Nope... I'm saying that it should have that certain "something". Orosco's car grabbed at you, and gave you that giddy feeling that a great car does... And THAT'S why I do what it is that I do for a living. That "something".... that emotional draw of a well conceived and constructed automobile. It transcends merely being a car. It takes on a life beyond the material;s used to create it... A great car opens some inner communication, and creates a bond with you. Ask a true car guy to list and accurately describe 15 beautiful women he may have seen in his life. Then ask about 15 of his favorite cars. Amazing the details you'll have described about the cars. I'd bet there's at least one in that set that gets the best description...the stand-out, THE ONE... be it a car or a woman. Does this year's winner rank that? Again, in my opinion, no. Not at present. We have a few years of billet-wheeled, mega-buck budget cars to choose from already that more than illustrate the era, and that do it using better, more cohesive design. Were there other cars from the A La Kart's era that have been forgotten (and probably for good reason)? Yes there have. We, as humans, always enjoy the first unique thing, and grow to hate the followers after some time, it's natural... Who knows, maybe in 30 years, I'll share photos of the car with my great-grandkids, and have a much softer spot for it. Some cars just do that, too. ...the part that saddens me most about this year's AMBR winner: It cut off its own potential by trying too hard to fit in to the rulebook. It's a great illustration of what happens when you let the rule book build the car: You remove the butterflies that want to float around in someone's stomach when they see it... But right or wrong, it was the chosen winner, and illustrates where one aspect of the hobby was at that particular point in time.
If you stop and think about it...
...there really is something inhrerently fun about cars in general. Growing up, I was always infatuated with cars. Toys, model cars, Hot Wheels cars, Matchbox cars... hang on a second.... quick moment of introspection here. Anyone else ever stop to ponder the difference between a Hot Wheels and a Matchbox car? I always felt (and I may be crazy here) as a kid, that the Matchbox cars were more "serious" cars. Replicas that were like the stockers running around town, while Hot Wheels were like the fun, rebellious cars... the hot rods of your town. Weird, perhaps, or maybe just right on track with their marketing idea... I just always played a little rougher with a Hot Wheels than a Matchbox. (oddly ironic is that, looking back, Matchbox cars always gave me some great ho rod and custom ideas... besides, they has some of the coolest colored windows... and when those boys busted out with a hot rod or custom-influenced car, they went NUTS with it.)
In any event, I was talking with the wife the other night about commercials, namely TV commercials for cars, and how they all just about suck. They've become serious, in a lot of ways... Granted, VW has their underlying humor, but, for the most part, the car commercials today all have a stodgy, buttoned-up feel.
We got on the subject of cool commercials, and by far, the greatest ever were the Nissan commercials from the nineties. Man, those were killer. Maybe it was a subconscious pondering of those commercials (which gave a solemn nod to the old Datsun days) that inspired me on a recent rendering to have fun, get loose, and throw a tip of the hat to their storied racing past... but there's one commercial from Nissan that everyone knows and loves:
click to view
...and how can you not love it? It was fun, and really played up a great image. It was a grown-up look back at your youth, playing with cars, and just inventing bizarre scenarios (especially if you had a sister... their toys always provided interesting back-drops for toy automotive-induced mayhem...)
The follow-up to that classic was just as entertaining:
click to view
In any event, I guess that my point is that even as we "grow up", we still hang on to the things that we enjoyed as kids, in some small way. While I may not have the toys I grew up with anymore, I have the memories, and I enjoy looking back on those times, as well as creating some similar memories with my kids, and taking that inspiration to the drawing board with me on each new project. I have fun doing my job, and hope it shows... Will playing with toy cars now have a similar effect on my kids? Who knows? Maybe they'll grow to become car-obsessed hot rodders, or maybe they'll just enjoy it for what it is, and go a different path with their interests (and take some cool memories along). The important thing is, we're having fun, and that's the name of this game. Go and do likeswise... See more on my website at www.problemchildkustoms.com.
Right Coast Cars....
...have always suffered from the stigma of being "un-cool", or at best, unattractive. There's always this opinion that seems to surface when talking cars (especially hot rods and customs from the "glory days" of the fifties and sixties) that East Coast customs and hot rods were "ugly" or lacked style. Granted, there are quite a few examples that support this claim, but, having grown up on the "right coast", I have always felt a need to defend that side of the hobby.
The magazines of the time chronicled what was immediately available to them, and that meant, for the most part, West Coast cars. The few East Coast cars that were seen seemed to have cemented a certain image in most car guys' heads... I'm not a fan of severely channeled coupes, but can appreciate the style and work that went into them, certainly. I'm also not a big fan of an overly-accessorized custom with giant skirts and a continental kit, but I do "get it". I think it's just got a lot to do with the times, the region, and the cultural differences. The East Coast has always been a bit grittier, relying on manufacturing, and with cooler weather, shorter summers and all, people just took a different approach to building, and making due with a smaller number of shops. Consider that there were much fewer shops, and that many skilled custom craftsmen went West (where the magazines and show coverage were), and you're left with but a few builders, and thus, less ability to really push the envelope. I've been working on a project for some time, and recently kicked it into a higher gear...
My goal is to document the East Coast style, and, at the same time, chronicle the builders and their cars, and hopefully, shed some light on the little-known history from the region. I am fortunate to have grown up with some of the people who were "there", and even call some friends. We have family friends that built customs and hot rods, raced in the region, and were, generally, part of the scene. As I compiled photos and stories, I was continually blown away by the variety of cars, the quality of the work, and the great stories that have been shared... As it all comes together, I'll share more, but wanted to throw at least one quick look at what's going on in front of you.
Take a look at this home-built '50 Ford. This is the kind of stuff that gets me going... a family project, and definitely something we can all relate to:
Wayne's '50 Ford is a piece of Western New York custom history, and, in his words: "Here are some shots of the car my Dad (William Carrig), my Mother (zelda), my four sisters and I built in his one-car garage in Kenmore, NY over a two year period beginning in 1964. This was my first car, bought it when I was 16 years old and my Dad who had a body shop at one point in his life fixed the body (it was a mess, rusted out floors, rocker panels, quarter panels, etc.). We also customized it frenched headlights, shaved hood, truck, removed side chrome, sunken antenna, custom grille, hand built taillights.
 Everything on this car was done on a strict budget as I had little money. Grille opening was formed from electrical conduit, sunken antenna and handbuilt taillights made from brass kitchen drain pipe, taillights were red truck clearance light lenses, upholstery including truck except for the back seal and convertible top were all done by my Mother, Dad and me. Front seats were from a 65 Mustang and my Dad fabricated floor mounts so they would fit. I used 57 Oldsmobile turn signals as they looked like Lucas lights and I sure as heck couldn't afford Lucas lights at the time! Grill was chromed metal mesh. It was flawless after many other hours of block sanding and my Dad put on many coats of Corvette Honduras Maroon Lacquer paint which looked a mile deep!!
A true family project, my sisters helped and everyone in the family loved the car. Unfortunately I had to get rid of the car when I got drafted and joined the Air Force during the Vietnam era. I hated to do it but had no way to get the car from Buffalo, NY to San Antonio, TX. I did use the money from the sale of this car to purchase the Black 57 Chevy I purchased in TX and still have today. Even so....I still miss this car and would do about anything to have it back..."
It's just one of those stories that make our hobby's history so rich. There are a LOT of stories to be told yet, and I'm stoked to be compiling it all, and learning as I go.
If you're an East Coast hot rodder/custom car owner or fan, and would like to share some history with the project, hit me up! I'd be delighted to make your car or story a part of this project, and will work to ensure that all proper credit is given where due. Write me at the website, and I'll get you the info you need to participate, and maybe even throw a gift your way...
Thanks again to Wayne, and those who have shared already. I'll keep you updated as we progress... More interesting Kustom Kulture for your brain on the site at www.problemchildkustoms.com .
|
|
Flag this garage as inappropriate
