1934 ford hot rod truck.

Same here, it's not just the technical explanation but also the reasoning as to why you've made certain decisions, where and how you got the parts and how long you kept them waiting for the right project.

It shows just how much is going into it beyond technical skill, which is what makes it special.

To be blunt, I made it happen because I wanted it.

I had an engineering/mechanic background picked up from my grandad from a young age. He was a plant mechanic in charge of keeping a whole factory running (that’s still there over the road) back when ‘mechanic’ didn’t just mean ‘fitter’. It meant fixing things that no one else could at 9pm on a Saturday with no parts to keep the place running.

It started with me and him repainting and rebuilding my BMXs, then moving onto motorbikes(two full restorations by the time I was 16) , before buying a beetle at 14 cos I wanted one. He was a facilitator in this, he had the space for me to keep it and we enjoyed working on stuff together.
I have another thread to do at some point that’s part of that story, as my grandparents are now both gone, his old workshop/garage is now mine.

That beetle ended up hotrodded though. - louvered side hinged bonnet, Ved bumper, engine turned dash inserts, etc.
I was big into the VW scene for a few years, before deciding all VW people are w@nkers and I would be better off applying the stuff I’d learned to different models. There was a bit of a vw/hotrod scene crossover happening at the time, and I’d been eyeing them for a while, from the outside as it where.
That copy of custom car I posted a few pages back I actually bought for the feature on Wayne Allmans beetle, but it was Jimmy shines car that I kept going back to it for.
I quickly moved from VW magazines to custom car and street machine.
A few years after I sold my split van and bought my model A.

Tbh, once you’ve got some basic knowledge and skill in the bank you can apply it to different vehicles pretty easily. The rest is down to you wanting to learn about a specific car enough. The internet happened at just the right time for me, yahoo email groups and old fashioned plain text websites were packed with info. The old UKhotrods group was really important to me, and I know at least two other people on here were members.
There was also various blog type websites like ‘marts real hot rods’ and ‘the antidote’. Nearly 20 years later I know the creators of both!

You have to have a passion for it though really. Years and years of constant reading, researching, hunting out parts and taking stuff apart to learn is just as important. It was a different age though, magazines were still important and the internet has more useful information and less pomp and ego to Wade through. I 100% wouldn’t know what I know now without it though, it’s the single biggest research tool in the world, you just have to learn how to use it correctly. And to speak American 😉

I've been an NSRA member for many years now and the BDR & HRA before that. I still appreciate your explanations Dez, very clear and well written.
Also a member of UK Hotrods! Haven't seen Holmsey for some time now, always used to meet up with him at events.

Another UK Hotrods member here - still see Holmsey at the shows.
Like Paul, I enjoy reading the threads as although I can do it, it's still fun to read & follow.

Its good to hear there’s a few other ukhotrods people on here. It was a great time to be getting into hotrodding.

Tbh I’ve never liked the nsra or it’s forum. It’s run by people who like to run such things, if you know what I mean.
The committee do a great job of not listening to anything anyone says to em either, hence so many people leaving them to go and join more progressive organisations and their events becoming less and less popular.

Hotrodding in the uk is in a good place at the moment though, but it’s mostly the VHRA that have put it there.

A few other bits.
Screen frame. The one with it had some rust so I bought this instead off my mate frank.




It’s near mint, so I sold the other on and used this instead. I binned the broken glass before I did myself a mischief and chopped it down to fit. Neglected to take any pics after that though.

Is also acquired a trackrod with ends as part of some deal. I think it came with a front beam I’d bought for it’s brakes or something. It’s been bend and straightened but I kinda like that as it tells a story.

I measured it and it was only about 1.5” too wide so I marked it up for cutting down. I cleaned all the fittings up and tapped out and greased the threads on the ‘tother end first.


The other end got some of this-


And some of that-


It was then fitted up.




It’s at very tight to the wishbone but that’ll get messed with later, so for now it can stay as it is.
Another few little bits ticked off though.

Not that there is anything wrong with people building art cars, its just that to me they are 2 completely different worlds so I wouldnt want to use the same terms for them.

And even Rat Rods, as long as they are well built ( and many are not, which where my "Artists" comment came from )
There is room for everyone...

But again, different worlds ( I cringe when people call my '28 a Rat Rod, because it is not )


And for a related personal observation, its amazing to me how many people ( even those who have been into Hot Rods for most of their lifes ), don't recognize a Traditional ( or Trad inspired ) Hot Rod for what it is.
And lump it in with a completely different category of car, with a completely different build goals.
If it's not plated or in shiny paint, they'll completely overlook good workmanship.

But thats OK.

The HAMB is an utterly bizarre place, where all those rootin’ tootin’ good old ‘murican old boys go to prove how ‘real’ they are and how they know so much more about everything than everyone else, by building a slightly different brand/finish of painting by numbers sheep build to the street rod ones they deride so much, whilst simultaneously ignoring actual facts and verifiable information that no, it wasnt actually anything like ‘they remember it’ back in the day.
Just as you think it’s about to disappear up it’s own ar$e, it’s dragged back from the brink by a few awesome builds, usually done by the “young ‘uns who werent dare back den” so the old farts sit at the sidelines sniping.
That’s just all my take on it of course 😉

I still maintain Americans have the same relationship with hotrods as the British do with cricket. They May maintain they invented it and showed the world how to do it, but it doesn’t stop other nations showing them up most of the time.
When you consider the ratio of quality to quantity, the Japanese, Scandinavians and British are all better at the game than America.

As for the quality of the Hot Rods, that is down to 2 things I think.

First, if you build a Hot Rod outside of the States, every single part is more expensive and hard to get.

So you are going to be more deliberate and careful about any decision during the build.


Second, as somebody who didnt grow up with it, you have to work to get the relevant info.

Not just on what fits what, but history, etc.


It is no coincidence that the UK based Low Flyers existed and were building cars before the SoCal based Shifters ( who claim all the glory ) , as a Trad based club.



OK, maybe 1 more...

Trad Hot rods are kind of a fad right now.

They ( together with the Rat Rods ) are kind of a reaction to the Billet fad that came before it.

Which has attracted people that do not respect the history, because they were the very people that replaced the actual Traditional cars with their brand of Street Rods, the first time around.
If they didnt respect it ( as a buildstyle ) then, why would they respect it now...


Just one guy's views...