Neat Freak
I have been getting STREET RODDER since day one, but have never written in on anything. But you West Coast and Right Coast people are not the only ones that overstuff a garage. We here in the Midwest do the same. Here is a photo of my overstuffed garage with my '31 and '34 Plymouths that are not finished. I have only had the '34 coupe for 25 years. Just thought I'd put my two cents in. Really enjoy the magazine.
Roy Williams
Ballwin, MO
Roy, it looks like you have a finely organized garage like just about every other street rodder. Congratulations, you are clearly one of us!
What's A Street Rod
I know you're very busy but I would appreciate your view on what year of cars are considered street rods. What is the cut-off year for the term street rod-pre-'49 or post-'49?
Jim Horner
Obsolete Iron Street Rod Club
Reno, NV
Jim, originally the term "street rod" or "street rodder" was used to cover cars and individual vehicles of any year. You will get an argument on this but all one has to do is look at the early years (1971-on) of STREET RODDER to see it was applied to cars through 1972. Later on (late-'70s through the early '90s) it was applied to pre-'49 only cars. Today (from the late-'80s, early-'90s) through use and misuse, the term has morphed into a build style. Many '50s and '60s cars are built today in what is termed a "street rod build or style" and hence are oftentimes referred to as a street rod. Right or wrong doesn't seem to be the issue, but rather the intent of the builder as to the style of car he (or she) wants. Not sure if this answers your question, but we at the magazine try and stay away from locking a car into a specific genre, rather looking at them as "hot rods" or "customs" which is another "argument" unto itself. Either of these build styles can be any year; hot rods are built for performance while customs are built for looks, or something along those lines. (Ye Olde Wise One Senior Editor Ron Ceridono chimed in with the following comment: "I think the point is front drive tuner cars don't seem to be a part of the street rod scene, even though they may fit by definition."
Got Wood
A big "thanks" go out to you and Ron on the article of replacing the wood in old Chevys. Some of us old Chevy owners need all the help we can get. Again thanks and keep up the good work with a great mag.
Buddy Clyburn
Taylorsville, N.C.
Got Some More Wood
Thanks for following through and getting an article on removing the wood from old Chevys. I wrote quite a while ago in a display of shameless begging to get some exposure for the '36 Chevy group and offer the benefit of the members' experience in attacking piles of rotting wood on their cars.
I'm glad to see you followed up and wanted to thank you for that and Ron Ceridono for his great writing. Ted Ingersoll did a really nice job on his doors. I don't think I have seen any two doors exactly alike in their wood removal treatment as there are no kits on the market and everyone is free to put their own touch on it. Sort of the spirit of hot rodding at work.
I look forward to another article or maybe two. There are lots more ways to do doors that could be shown and there is wood to be taken out in the sills between body and frame, around windows, and in the B-pillar. Our group can be found here:http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/1936ChevyOwners/. We welcome new members with '36 Chevys and '35 Master series, too. We have rodders and restorers living side-by-side in peace and it's family friendly.
Jerry Brown
Woodland WA
Buddy and Jerry, thanks for the praise on Ron's article with Ted Ingersoll on "Deforestation." Yes, we are planning more on Chevy wood, but should you or any other Chevy lover out there have some ideas on what might make a good story or can help us round up photos, don't be shy-send them in!
Hot Rod Of A Different Kind
Here is the latest project in the shop-a '50s VW oval window beetle. I have chopped the top 6-plus inches. It will have a 1915cc VW engine with two Stromberg 97s on homemade high-rise intake manifolds. '32 Ford 18-inch wire wheels with Coker 7.00x18s and 4.00x18s can be found at the corners. It will also have a '36 Ford fold-out front windshield, '32 Ford door handles, and a totally one-off fabricated chassis with riveted brackets and holes drilled everywhere. Right now it is in the mock-up stage, but I hope to build it over the next three months, and if everything is a go I might drive it to 2009 Bonneville Speed Week. That is the plan, anyway. It will be different and have a lot of hot rod attitude.
Drew Strunk
Via the Internet
Drew, it is always interesting to see how things change all the while staying very familiar. Not sure how the readers of STREET RODDER will take to your VW hot rod, but those of us in the office like this style of car. We all want to see it when you get it on the road. Only old time Street Rodder readers will remember but during the first year of SR we actually had a project
VW-Herbie.
The Way Life Is
It is interesting to see your last few editorials in a hot rod magazine mentioning politico/socio/economic issues. Hold onto your shift knob-it is going to get worse, much worse.
But the good news is that the hot rod avocation will by necessity return to the roots: homemade rods, with ingenuity by trial and error. It can't be all bad, as rodders will continue to "beat the system" with clever innovations, although many specialty manufactures won't survive.
The article on the '50 Bel Air resonates. I saved newspaper delivery money to buy a '31 A roadster with a '35 85 hp in it. My father didn't like it sitting in front of the house, so I went to East LA and came back with a '50 Bel Air replacement-a yellow bottom, black top replete with sun visor, spotlights, '49 Cad hub caps, bumper end extensions, skirts, and miscellaneous Pep Boys chrome add-ons.
The 216 and the next two didn't like being revved over 3,500 rpm. Another kid acquired a '54 Vette engine for his '41 coupe, but burnt it to the ground with mouse gas lines. Twenty-five dollars allowed me to retrieve it, paint it, put in new wires, and replace the melted sidedrafts with cheaper downdrafts, and I happily began to blow off the run-of-the-mill "hot" Flatheads and Olds of the day.
Times have changed. A big-bucks neighbor is completing a high-end Deuce highboy, faux old-school with an early Hemi, and wants to make a maiden cruise this summer to Louisville and Bonneville. Might tag along in my '60s rod; we don't care what gas costs or what the government does or does not do-never did, really.
Merle Carver
Via the InternetMerle, you clearly have that good ol' boy, hot-rodder, never-say-die attitude. Keep it; it will come in handy as all of us weather the current storm. Early on you learned an axiom that is still true to this day: "What's available, is what's affordable, is what's buildable."