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anyone into streetrods?
- Thread starter BigEasy
- Start Date
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Had 'm, built them in the past - and looked forward to building one once retired. BUT, ended up here out in the sticks, nice place and location by most measures, but no room for a decent shop, and no wrecking yards closer than about 300 mile round trip for a source for most parts needed to build one... :{
Still have an eye out for something suitable already completed - early Ford or GM - but added to the above, is the lack of supporting rod/custom groups here in the local area, and places to drive and show one off.
So, I sorta make my '02 Dodge my show/go focus for the time being...
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Still have an eye out for something suitable already completed - early Ford or GM - but added to the above, is the lack of supporting rod/custom groups here in the local area, and places to drive and show one off.
So, I sorta make my '02 Dodge my show/go focus for the time being...
#ad#ad
I've been an enthusiast all my life but my interest has waned in the last several years. I prefer driving my Dodge Ram and pulling a fifth wheel now over hot rod events and car gatherings.
I still own a '56 Chevy driver. It's an "old lady's" car, a 210 four door sedan, nowhere near as valuable as the the hotrod '57 Bel-Air Sport Coupe I sold a few years ago but is is more practical. The four door sedan is a lot easier to use and to take friends along than sports coupes which are a lot harder to get in and out of when your joints get older as mine and my friend's have.
My '56 sedan looks all original with two tone pastel blue and white paint, whiteside walls (Michelin Radials on wide OEM 15" steel wheels from an '85 Caprice sedan) and dog dish hubcaps but it runs a little better than the original 170 hp 265 2 bbl w/Powerglide. It has a new Chevy 350 crate motor w/ 4 bbl, mild cam, and Rams Horn exhaust manifolds, TH-700R4, GM 605 power steering, power disc brakes, under dash air, and all new parts from radiator to rear end. It's not fast but is a good driver and can be reliably driven anywhere.
I still own a '56 Chevy driver. It's an "old lady's" car, a 210 four door sedan, nowhere near as valuable as the the hotrod '57 Bel-Air Sport Coupe I sold a few years ago but is is more practical. The four door sedan is a lot easier to use and to take friends along than sports coupes which are a lot harder to get in and out of when your joints get older as mine and my friend's have.
My '56 sedan looks all original with two tone pastel blue and white paint, whiteside walls (Michelin Radials on wide OEM 15" steel wheels from an '85 Caprice sedan) and dog dish hubcaps but it runs a little better than the original 170 hp 265 2 bbl w/Powerglide. It has a new Chevy 350 crate motor w/ 4 bbl, mild cam, and Rams Horn exhaust manifolds, TH-700R4, GM 605 power steering, power disc brakes, under dash air, and all new parts from radiator to rear end. It's not fast but is a good driver and can be reliably driven anywhere.
sounds like a real nice ride, Harvey... it ain't all about haulin ***. That being said, I just found an early Hemi for my 31 Ford sedan-turned-tub project. It was in a 53? Dodge tandem axle 47k lb lime truck... oughta have enough gumption for a 2k lb ride :-laf
Gary... I hear ya on the bein out in the sticks!
Gary... I hear ya on the bein out in the sticks!
I think the Chrysler hemi was introduced in Chryslers in 1951 and into Dodges in 1953. I remember a friend long ago who owned a little 1953 Dodge middle series two door sedan with the small 331ci hemi and the old "clunkomatic" transmission. It was the typical light pastel green color that was popular in that era. I really admired that car and always wanted one like it.
On edit I went back and corrected my typo. Of course it was a 331 ci, not 231 as I wrote above.
On edit I went back and corrected my typo. Of course it was a 331 ci, not 231 as I wrote above.
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53 Chrysler hemi (331 CI ?). My first hotrod engine.
It had 3 carbs (Strongberg 97s), Howard Cam, solid lifters, with adjustable pushrods.
The trans. was an old Ford PU, top shift, HD 3 spd. (junkyard spec. ) with a homemade adaptor plate. We kept the stock 4. 11 rearend, with welded spider gears, home made traction bars, and 7" re-cap racing slicks.
A friend and I installed it all in my little 51 Ford bus. cpe. , in the early 60's. A nice surprise was, the extra eng. wt. dropped the stock front-end about 2", for a great looking stance. Right in style for the 60s.
It was quite a project for a couple of teenagers. Every penny I made went into that car.
This was also the begining of an era of the factory hotrods.
The cars to beat on the street were the 4 speed 348" Chevys and fuel inj. Corvettes.
Along with street racing,we raced this car (1/4 mi. in B/Gas class), for a year or so at the dragstrip just outside of Phx. , AZ. It ran low 13 sec. ETs, at just over 100 MPH. Drive train breakage at the strip got to be more than I could afford, so I went back to weekend street racing at $20-50/race. It was fun fooling a bunch of rich kids, with their new factory hotrods, that their Dad probably bought for them.
That hemi eng. was always rock solid. After all the abuse I put it through, the only thing that ever failed on it, was a bent push-rod.
Another thing that was so neat about this car, was when you popped the hood on that little Ford, there was nothing but hemi, corner to corner in the eng bay.
I have a lot of fond memories, in and about this car. Consequently, sorry about about the long post.
Ray
PS. Yes I did get tickets, but only one for drag racing.
It had 3 carbs (Strongberg 97s), Howard Cam, solid lifters, with adjustable pushrods.
The trans. was an old Ford PU, top shift, HD 3 spd. (junkyard spec. ) with a homemade adaptor plate. We kept the stock 4. 11 rearend, with welded spider gears, home made traction bars, and 7" re-cap racing slicks.
A friend and I installed it all in my little 51 Ford bus. cpe. , in the early 60's. A nice surprise was, the extra eng. wt. dropped the stock front-end about 2", for a great looking stance. Right in style for the 60s.
It was quite a project for a couple of teenagers. Every penny I made went into that car.
This was also the begining of an era of the factory hotrods.
The cars to beat on the street were the 4 speed 348" Chevys and fuel inj. Corvettes.
Along with street racing,we raced this car (1/4 mi. in B/Gas class), for a year or so at the dragstrip just outside of Phx. , AZ. It ran low 13 sec. ETs, at just over 100 MPH. Drive train breakage at the strip got to be more than I could afford, so I went back to weekend street racing at $20-50/race. It was fun fooling a bunch of rich kids, with their new factory hotrods, that their Dad probably bought for them.
That hemi eng. was always rock solid. After all the abuse I put it through, the only thing that ever failed on it, was a bent push-rod.
Another thing that was so neat about this car, was when you popped the hood on that little Ford, there was nothing but hemi, corner to corner in the eng bay.
I have a lot of fond memories, in and about this car. Consequently, sorry about about the long post.
Ray
PS. Yes I did get tickets, but only one for drag racing.
I could be mistaken.
I have a series of books with beautiful original photos and specs on the cars of the '50s at home. I'm not at home right now or I'd look it up for you. I'm pretty certain the 354ci engine was the Chrysler version in the mid-'50s and the small hemi in the Dodge was only 331ci but, as you said, who cares. It's still an original true hemi engine.
I'd like to see a photo and details.
I have a series of books with beautiful original photos and specs on the cars of the '50s at home. I'm not at home right now or I'd look it up for you. I'm pretty certain the 354ci engine was the Chrysler version in the mid-'50s and the small hemi in the Dodge was only 331ci but, as you said, who cares. It's still an original true hemi engine.
I'd like to see a photo and details.
BigEasy,
Yes, I'm pretty sure you're right about my hemi being a 354. That definately rings a bell.
At some point in my hotroding days, I bought a 49 Ford cpe. with a ? year OHV Cadillac eng. , and I think that was the 331".
If my memory serves me, I think the 354" was the same basic engine that evolved to the 392" hemi that they used in the very fast and record setting, 57? Chrysler 300. Also famous for powering the worlds fastest top fuel dragsters of that erea. Even todays NHRA top fuel cars run a simular version, except all alum. and at 500 CI. , and making 7-8000 HP!
Todays top fuel cars are really something to see, hear,and smell in person, but thats a whole new story.
As you can probably tell, I also love to think and talk about this stuff.
Ray
PS. The only pre 64 I have left is a 1957-356 Porsche Speedster, that I bought in 1980. It had been an old SCCA race car. I did a two year complete restoration on it, to make it a really fun, top down, summer car.
If I new how to do do it, I would post some pictures.
Yes, I'm pretty sure you're right about my hemi being a 354. That definately rings a bell.
At some point in my hotroding days, I bought a 49 Ford cpe. with a ? year OHV Cadillac eng. , and I think that was the 331".
If my memory serves me, I think the 354" was the same basic engine that evolved to the 392" hemi that they used in the very fast and record setting, 57? Chrysler 300. Also famous for powering the worlds fastest top fuel dragsters of that erea. Even todays NHRA top fuel cars run a simular version, except all alum. and at 500 CI. , and making 7-8000 HP!
Todays top fuel cars are really something to see, hear,and smell in person, but thats a whole new story.
As you can probably tell, I also love to think and talk about this stuff.
Ray
PS. The only pre 64 I have left is a 1957-356 Porsche Speedster, that I bought in 1980. It had been an old SCCA race car. I did a two year complete restoration on it, to make it a really fun, top down, summer car.
If I new how to do do it, I would post some pictures.
DANG this thread!
Getting me all itchy again! :-laf:-laf
This was sorta what I had in mind for the "cure":
#ad
Getting me all itchy again! :-laf:-laf
This was sorta what I had in mind for the "cure":
#ad
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Harvey, you are indeed correct... the info on Dodge, Chrysler, and DeSoto hemis in the 50s is more confusing than Chinese algebra. My engine is a 354 Chrysler that was in a Dodge truck. The Dodge hemis were only put into cars.
Ray, the 331 and 354 Chryslers are the same, just bore size differences. The 392 is extremely similar, with a 1/2 taller deck height and longer stroke. Those Speedsters are like a work of art... like looking at a beautiful lady, a sunset... simply amazing.
Gary, nice pic. Mine will be nowhere near that, tho.
I'm going for a very traditional look (perfect bodywork under deep black suede, 4 Strombergs on a vintage Weiand inline intake, mexican blanket interior until I can learn to do tuck and roll), with all the modern updates (like an HEI that looks just like a Vertex magneto, a 5 speed, brand new repop Stromberg 97s are much-improved) for reliability. Oh, and I got a quickchange for it too!
I'm hoping to have it done so that I can take a 2 month 'sabbatical' in the summer of 2010(thank god for being single!), to hit all 48 states and as many shows as I can find. My family thinks I'm nuts. I'm a truck driver by trade, and they just can't figure out why I would take time off work to go drive some more. Some folks just don't understand the WhiteLine Fever!
Ray, the 331 and 354 Chryslers are the same, just bore size differences. The 392 is extremely similar, with a 1/2 taller deck height and longer stroke. Those Speedsters are like a work of art... like looking at a beautiful lady, a sunset... simply amazing.
Gary, nice pic. Mine will be nowhere near that, tho.
I'm going for a very traditional look (perfect bodywork under deep black suede, 4 Strombergs on a vintage Weiand inline intake, mexican blanket interior until I can learn to do tuck and roll), with all the modern updates (like an HEI that looks just like a Vertex magneto, a 5 speed, brand new repop Stromberg 97s are much-improved) for reliability. Oh, and I got a quickchange for it too!
I'm hoping to have it done so that I can take a 2 month 'sabbatical' in the summer of 2010(thank god for being single!), to hit all 48 states and as many shows as I can find. My family thinks I'm nuts. I'm a truck driver by trade, and they just can't figure out why I would take time off work to go drive some more. Some folks just don't understand the WhiteLine Fever!
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Big Easy,
I understand the white line fever perfectly. I was never a real truck driver but was, I guess, a wannabe. I was an RV transporter from January 2005 through October 2007 and became addicted to the road also. I would probably still be doing it but I could see by late 2007 that with rising fuel prices and a slowing economy it was going to get slow for RV pullers. I had no idea how bad it would actually get but I wasn't wrong. It was fun and if RV sales suddenly soared I'd give serious thought to going back.
I don't subscribe to Hot Rod Magazine any longer and don't know if they still have Hot Rod Power Tours but a friend and I made the whole tour in 1998 and a partial in 1999 or 2000. In 1998 I had a nice '57 Chevy Bel Air sport coupe with a 300 horse 350, 700R4, disc brakes, and rebuilt or new mechanicals. A friend and I drove my '57 from Lubbock to LA to join the tour and then with the tour to Mt. Clemens, MI. Along the way we met many of the big names from the car hobby like Troy Trepanier who was very hot at the time and built many of the magazine cars at the time. after the tour disbanded in MI we drove to the Studebaker Museum in South Bend, IN then down to the Corvette Assembly Plant and Corvette Museum at Bowling Green, KY before driving back to Lubbock. I think we put almost 6,000 miles on my '57 and only had two minor problems. One night in a car wash I sprayed the wand on the left rear taillight and popped the bulb because the screws that held the lense on had vibrated slightly loose and allowed cold water to leak around the lense and hit the hot bulb. The other was we hit a hard bump on the highway in Nevada or Utah and lost a Rally hubcap into the ditch. It was a great trip. I still have a folder of about 100 photographs and lots of memories. I have one photo of me riding in the '54 Belvedere named "Sniper" after the Viper with Troy Trepanier driving. The car was built by Troy for George Poteet, a multi-millionaire car enthusiast. It was based on a highly modified '54 Plymouth Belvedere with all custom frame and suspension and a Viper V-10 engine donated by Chrysler. What a ride!
I understand the white line fever perfectly. I was never a real truck driver but was, I guess, a wannabe. I was an RV transporter from January 2005 through October 2007 and became addicted to the road also. I would probably still be doing it but I could see by late 2007 that with rising fuel prices and a slowing economy it was going to get slow for RV pullers. I had no idea how bad it would actually get but I wasn't wrong. It was fun and if RV sales suddenly soared I'd give serious thought to going back.
I don't subscribe to Hot Rod Magazine any longer and don't know if they still have Hot Rod Power Tours but a friend and I made the whole tour in 1998 and a partial in 1999 or 2000. In 1998 I had a nice '57 Chevy Bel Air sport coupe with a 300 horse 350, 700R4, disc brakes, and rebuilt or new mechanicals. A friend and I drove my '57 from Lubbock to LA to join the tour and then with the tour to Mt. Clemens, MI. Along the way we met many of the big names from the car hobby like Troy Trepanier who was very hot at the time and built many of the magazine cars at the time. after the tour disbanded in MI we drove to the Studebaker Museum in South Bend, IN then down to the Corvette Assembly Plant and Corvette Museum at Bowling Green, KY before driving back to Lubbock. I think we put almost 6,000 miles on my '57 and only had two minor problems. One night in a car wash I sprayed the wand on the left rear taillight and popped the bulb because the screws that held the lense on had vibrated slightly loose and allowed cold water to leak around the lense and hit the hot bulb. The other was we hit a hard bump on the highway in Nevada or Utah and lost a Rally hubcap into the ditch. It was a great trip. I still have a folder of about 100 photographs and lots of memories. I have one photo of me riding in the '54 Belvedere named "Sniper" after the Viper with Troy Trepanier driving. The car was built by Troy for George Poteet, a multi-millionaire car enthusiast. It was based on a highly modified '54 Plymouth Belvedere with all custom frame and suspension and a Viper V-10 engine donated by Chrysler. What a ride!
Hey, great pictures guys. I love fenderless hotrods.
Gary, is that a Clay Smith Cams woodpecker decal?Very cool.
My good buddy in high school had a 1930 cpe, that was basically the same as the one in your picture, except it had a 54 Olds eng, also two/fours, hot cam/solid lifters, and B&M beefed hydro trans. It was light weight, and blindingly fast for its day.
I'll never forget, we got caught a few miles outside of Phx. in a real downpour. At about 50MPH, we looked like the fountain in front Czar's Palace, driving down the freeway. I don't think I've ever been quite so wet. Cars passing us, thought it was pretty funny.
BigEasy, your hemi looks pretty much like mine did, except it seems like my stock valve covers were stamped with something like, Chrysler Fire Power? I can't remember.
So with your pictures, are you building a highboy? I like the open top, only I'd leave the hood off. You might not have a choice, concidering the width of your hemi. It might be cooler in more ways than one.
My 51 would always run hot in Phx summers, unless I left the hood off.
OK, I'm done.
Ray
Gary, is that a Clay Smith Cams woodpecker decal?Very cool.
My good buddy in high school had a 1930 cpe, that was basically the same as the one in your picture, except it had a 54 Olds eng, also two/fours, hot cam/solid lifters, and B&M beefed hydro trans. It was light weight, and blindingly fast for its day.
I'll never forget, we got caught a few miles outside of Phx. in a real downpour. At about 50MPH, we looked like the fountain in front Czar's Palace, driving down the freeway. I don't think I've ever been quite so wet. Cars passing us, thought it was pretty funny.
BigEasy, your hemi looks pretty much like mine did, except it seems like my stock valve covers were stamped with something like, Chrysler Fire Power? I can't remember.
So with your pictures, are you building a highboy? I like the open top, only I'd leave the hood off. You might not have a choice, concidering the width of your hemi. It might be cooler in more ways than one.
My 51 would always run hot in Phx summers, unless I left the hood off.
OK, I'm done.
Ray
Ray, no hood or fenders for sure... PA just changed their laws so I can do that. Your friend's car sounds awesome. I sure wish my dad and I grew up in each other's generation!
Harvey, a driver is a driver, you just had a lil smaller truck. Hard times in the RV industry right now for sure. HotRod's Power Tour and Street Rodder's equivalent will both be on the list. I'm not a real big fan of doing things in groups like that, but the people you can meet and 'network' with are the reason. That Sniper car is incredible... Poteet sure ends up with some real nice stuff. his latest that I've seen is a 61 Starliner... beautiful ride, chrome with black trim over red leather.
Harvey, a driver is a driver, you just had a lil smaller truck. Hard times in the RV industry right now for sure. HotRod's Power Tour and Street Rodder's equivalent will both be on the list. I'm not a real big fan of doing things in groups like that, but the people you can meet and 'network' with are the reason. That Sniper car is incredible... Poteet sure ends up with some real nice stuff. his latest that I've seen is a 61 Starliner... beautiful ride, chrome with black trim over red leather.
I think I remember something about Troy building the '61 Starliner also. On the Power Tour a few of us who had gotten to know Troy and his dad, Jack, my age and his mother, sorry can't remember her name, were invited to take a detour off the Power Tour route to Troy and Jack's shop in Manteno, IL along the last leg of the Power Tour. We spent half a day hanging out at their shop, looking at all the work in progress, and then driving on up to the last stop at Mt. Clemens, MI that afternoon. Troy and his family are truly nice folks. Just ordinary working Americans like the rest of us except that Troy is a very talented car builder. It was on the last leg from Manteno to Mt. Clemens when I got to ride with Troy in the Sniper. Just like an E ticket ride in Disneyland! Good memories.
You'll love the Power Tour if it's like it was 10 years ago. Lots of interesting cars and a few interesting car guys and gals having fun together.
You'll love the Power Tour if it's like it was 10 years ago. Lots of interesting cars and a few interesting car guys and gals having fun together.
YUP - but sorry to say, this is the best I can manage on my own current "'02 Hotrod":
#ad#adLike Harvey, one of my past rides was a '57 Chevy Bel Air HDTP with a 350 SB and 3-spd O/D floor-shifted manual (Borg Warner) transmission. Sold it to a high school kid, and it was totaled when it was rear-ended by a drunk as it sat out in front of his parents house... :{
But my all-time best was the ground-up build of the B&M supercharged '67 Datsun pickup - it too had the floor shifted BW 3-spd O/D, with a 8 inch Ford 3. 25 differential - nice paint, tufted blue velour interior - pretty nice daily driver that sure turned heads and gathered crowds when I ran it without the hood. Other than an added relatively small hood scoop and dual exhausts, it looked quite stock...
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