Doesn't anybody want to build shiny rods anymore !

[Guest]

[quote="Malcolmsp
Carps - What's this about steel wheels, whitewalls and Olds caps??? Are you hiding something from us??? I wanna see pics. If it's looks cool enough, I might even let you drive me around in it next time I'm in town.

You didn't notice the caos hanging on the wall when you were rummaging around in my shed?

Humpy has wide white radials and Lancer caps.

If ya come down for the picnic, you may have to drive yourself, so I can have two cars at the event. Dunno if yer up to handlin the power of the yellow and chromed sideplater so you'll prolly hafta drive the Ford. You can handle a manual gearbox can't ya?

[Brootal]

I'm planning on getting there with the Rambler, but I could always get Sue to drive it and I could jump in whichever car you didn't want to take.

Yes I can drive a manual and yes, even a column shift.

I do remember the caps and I do also remember the caos. (Check your post)

[old32]

Caos on ya walls
Gee ya spelt it wrong hasn't he Choco
Cos I got chaos not only hanging on my wall but all over the garage as well.

[Flatoz]

Hey Carps,


Is Agent 86 hiding in the Humpy

flatoz

[snooze]

Hi Guys
I am rather Chuffed.
That I have managed to generate so much input on this subject,
Cos I are the one that started this Thread.
I will shoot with my camera any Rod or Custom no matter what colour or lack of it, cos I enjoy it all, but i do have to lower my Camera for the Kit Car type Rod you know the ones mounted on Mitsubishi/Datsun type Chassis.
Is there something wrong with me or am I Ok, I wonder if I have been stereotyped or brainwashed or is my thinking Ok.
You may now have your say.

Snooze :peelout:

[Brootal]

Maybe you should've started a whole new thread on this subject snooze... this could get interesting.

Of course, I'm not afraid to put my 3 cents in (dollar's gone up lately).

I'm with you on that one snooze. Putting stuff on Hilux chassis' etc is just taking it a bit too far for my liking. As much as they're both a couple of lumps of steel held together with crossmembers, it just ain't right in my eyes.

But then again... as much as I'd love a genuine '32 chassis under a rod, I realise that it's just about becoming an impossibility. So I'd be quite prepared to replace my non-existent rusty rails with some brand spanking new ones.

So what's the diff you may ask???

I say... If you gotta ask, you wouldn't understand...

[SeanHammond]

It seems that most subjects change completly from the original topic in this forum, so im gonna join in. I can't see why people place little model A bodies on hilux chassis' in the first place. It may be cheaper than buying a set of repro rails, boxing them, brake/fuel lines and suspension etc, but after you have spent hundreds of hours get that A model body to fit on the Hilux chassis, you would be better of sticking with an original type of frame. In a lot of cases, those chunky front ends stick out miles to far under the little front guards of Models A's anyway. As for the original topic, although there are a lot of cars being built(finished?) in flat/matt colours, there is still a heap of cars being built with glossy finishes. A car in my opinion looks better when painted in a gloss finish, but there are cars that have real quality paint jobs with a flat finish. Take Ballarat Swap for example, there was an early A roadster P/U inside the swap, flat black, gloss white firewall, immaculate detailed SBC with triples, steelies with caps and rings and WWW, that was built not as a Rat rod, but i would say more of a user, something that could be driven anywhere and not have to worry about marks.

[Raymond Loewy]

I am just worried that all you guys can think of is whether to leave your rod polished or unpolished...surely there are more important things?

[choco]

I have to say something about the Hilux Chassis thing.
I was at Del Rio a couple of years ago, and a really neat 34 Chev roadster rolled in. It cruised, it parked, it looked great and lots of people came over to give it the once over. After a couple of hours, someone asked what the chassis was. The owner said it was a Hilux. A few of the "old timers" shook their heads in disgust and walked away. Later, I was talking to a few others and the comments were all pretty much the same. "It's not a real rod", and "cheap and nasty" and "just plain wrong" were some of the remarks, or the essense of them, at least.
I couldn't believe it!
For hours and hours, the car was every bit as Hot Rod as a Hot Rod, yet when the Hilux chassis was mentioned, a number of people who should be more open minded, changed their attitude.
Fer phukks sake, they didn't KNOW it was a Hilux chassis until they were told! What hypocrites! It was full fendered and very low, and looked the part. Yet, these same people had glass bodied cars with repro rails. A couple had T Buckets which have chassis that are a couple of RHS rails.
I have since seen a few other rods with similar chassis, including one with a HQ one tonner chassis, modified, of course, and they all look fine to me. In my opinion, there is no difference to using a factory chassis and using a home made or repro chassis. Sure, a Hilux chassis under a Model A just wouldn't fit, let alone look right, but what if there was a chassis that DID fit? I remember a real neat A roadster in Canberra that ran on a modified Austin A40 chassis that looked fine to me. It was John Barbara's car, and it did lots of miles, but I don't know what happened to it.

Bill?
It makes sense that a chassis which just doesn't fit would be more expensive to make fit than using a repro chassis or a stock chassis for the car. But if a car can fit quite easily on a late model chassis and look the part, whay should it not be the equal of similar, more conventional, rods? It's also far easier to register a "re-bodied" Hilux or HQ one tonner or whatever.
If it looks like a Hot Rod, it's a Hot Rod!

[Pep]

Hi Guys
I am rather Chuffed.
That I have managed to generate so much input on this subject,
Cos I are the one that started this Thread.
I will shoot with my camera any Rod or Custom no matter what colour or lack of it, cos I enjoy it all, but i do have to lower my Camera for the Kit Car type Rod you know the ones mounted on Mitsubishi/Datsun type Chassis.
Is there something wrong with me or am I Ok, I wonder if I have been stereotyped or brainwashed or is my thinking Ok.
You may now have your say.

Snooze :peelout:

I would find it hard to be critical of the Mistu/Hilux rods if I had a glass rod on repo chassis...to me they are near the same. The steel guys could see both as kit cars cause they both are constructed from new parts...there aint much "old' stuff in them. If rodding is more to do with the theme of the thing, then all qualify as equal. I can honestly say, if I was inclined to build a show rod...it would definitely be glass on a repo chassis, but since I like to drive the thing and I like the feeling that there is a lot of history under my seat, then the original steel is the go. The imperfections add to the character. While at rod runs, I don't care what the other guys car is made from, if he's an alright type of guy without a huge ego to climb over, then I'll talk to him as an equal. If he's a big headed goose with an attitude, I'll deliberately bypass his car without a glance.....I may be strange, but I'm honest.

[Flatoz]

I've got to ask those people who think a hilux chassis is wrong. what about a tri 5 chev on a hq chassis? there are plenty of them, dont remember people shaking their heads at that! In fact I think that swap is one of the best, as it allows you to use local easily obtainable parts.

And isnt that the same for the hilux chassis? I probably wouldnt use one myself, unless maybe I built a fat fendered car, hell you probably wouldnt even see it then, but why knock the bloke ( or lady) for using it? after all HotRodding has always been about using what you could.

And only coz I LOVE to play the devils advocate, I would like to know from those that object to a hilux chassis, what it is EXACTLY that they object too?

Is it looks? well as choco said , if you cant see it then what does it matter?

Is it coz its jap ? well lets round up all those using lexus motors right now

Is it coz its not the right chassis for the job? well lets lynch all the A owners who use 32 chassis under their cars, god I hate them???

So what exactly is it, I havent heard any good reason ever why you couldnt , shouldnt use one. I personally wouldnt use one in a early car, but in a fat fendered car, I think I would look around for a chassis that would give me the benefit of late-ish suspension and parts availability.

I hope that someone who hates the idea of hilux chassis answers my Q's as I havent heard an arguement to sway me yet. Hey a hot rod looks like a hot rod going down the road.

Plus I am more likely to talk to the bloke who has a hilux chassis , to pick his brains about how he BUILT his car instead of the wiz bang billet car that some one wrote a check for, coz as much as they love their car generally they dont know the intricate details of how it is built.

And lets not forget that for some the idea of building a rod goes out the window straight away , as the initial costs for body, chassis can put up a brick wall for some financially.

Flatoz

[SeanHammond]

And lets not forget that for some the idea of building a rod goes out the window straight away , as the initial costs for body, chassis can put up a brick wall for some financially.

especialy people like me, TJ and other younger rodders who would like to start hot rod project right away. If you go for Deuce customs bodies, they start from 7K, buy the Rod city repro frame, before you know it you will have 13-15 grand invested into something that pretty much needs everything. There's a full custom spinner coupe that has a tojo crown(i think) chassis under it and you would not have the slightest clue it had one. From the outside it look like a traditional 50's car, but would ride a whole lot better. I am all for the use of late model frames for hot rods, but if i was to use one, it would be on a fatter 1940's upwards car like Flatoz.

[Brootal]

I've got to ask those people who think a hilux chassis is wrong. what about a tri 5 chev on a hq chassis? there are plenty of them, dont remember people shaking their heads at that! In fact I think that swap is one of the best, as it allows you to use local easily obtainable parts.
Flatoz

Easy for you to say Mr... I've got an original chassis with the original rust pitting that Henry Ford put on there himself...

I remember Carps telling me once about a situation they had where the "grey" importers were rebadging Toyota Soarers as Lexus' (Lexii???)

Toyota took them to Court over it, their (Toyota's) argument being that the cars were not the same as they had completely different floorpans (chassis' for the purpose of this argument). Toyota argued that the basis of a car is its chassis... and they won.

So... (using my best Law & Order voice), by the precedent set in that case, a Hilux chassis with a <insert year and make here> body bolted on top of it, is still a Hilux. And as has already been mentioned, that is exactly what they are considered by the licensing authorities.

So I guess, the difference is, do you want to drive a car that looks like a Hot Rod, therefore is a Hot Rod (as Choco has clearly stated), or do you (like me) want to resurrect an old car and bring it back to life to terrorise the streets again.

To me, that's what it's all about. I have no problem with people doing whatever they want with their hard earned cash, but I personally want a "real" (steel) car that has some history with which I can create my own history.

But... and it's a big BUT... fake tits are OK!

[Guest]

Hi Guys
See I just knew I was gonna stir the pot with this topic.
Maybe I am old school, been around Rodding since 63, Gee I must be old.
I am sorry but Hilux Chassis for me just don't cut it. Personal opinion to which we are all entitled to.
Regarding the John Barbara Roadster, did you know that it was registered as an Austin A40, cos of the Chassis.
HQ chassis under a 55 Hmmm Doesn't matter as they are both late model cars anyway. WHAT have I said.
As Brootal said I say... If you gotta ask, you wouldn't understand...

Snooze :peelout:

[Brett.C]

I am just worried that all you guys can think of is whether to leave your rod polished

I think you may be onto somethin there Raymond.
Maybe some of us have been polishin our rods so much that itís made us go blind