See? I Have An Excuse!!

Finally! After all these years I not only have an excuse to continue with my hot rodding ways of life and have gasoline run through my veins, but I also have a psychological study and medical proof to back me up. I read a passage out of a book called "The Hot Rod Reader" that's been edited and put together by Melinda Keefe and Peter Schletty. Here it is in a nutshell - back in 1952 a psychologist named Peter E. Siegle did a study on the evolving and popular hot rod culture. His main question was: "Of what value, if any, is the hot rod to the furtherance of American cultural ideals and to American individuals?" He also looked into the psyche of the hot rodder and what makes him or her tick.

His findings were positive and monumental - just what the conservative 50's public didn't want to hear. He called the serious hot rodder compulsive; "...A hot rod addiction is a substitute action for reducing the tensions of frustration resulting from an other wise difficult attempt to achieve status in the ordinary "conspicuous consumption" sense. The American social system places many obstacles or frustrations in the path of individuals. This leads to subsequent aggression toward society as a whole." Confused yet?  It gets better... and a tad more humorous. Siegle went on to note that post-war (World War II) frustrations had led to an increase in teenage delinquency and scandals. However, participating in hot rodding left that individual no time to engage in such delinquencies. His final conclusion was that the hot rod movement was creative, educative, and constructive.

Did I mention after I read all this, my wife was still not impressed...

However, it's quite possible that this mind-set that has been in place for generations is one of the reasons why hot rodding in general, high performance specifically, and racing motorsports continues to evolve. I was reading an article this past week about some of the current trends to watch for in this coming year. A few caught my eye - one is that chrome & polished aluminum are on their way out and copper & nickel plating are the "new" chrome. The other one is more extreme; an extension of natural rust and patina, I'm starting to see more street rods & rat rods with actual ripped, gouged, and gored sheet-metal. Actual holes... with sharp edges in some cases. A few examples look like an engine part brutally failed and took out the side portion of the hood when the shit hit the fan. The owner then dropped in a new engine but said screw it to fixing the sheet-metal. It's not going to be everyone's cup of tea, but it's wild looking.

It also brings to mind the question of just how did Gasser drag cars get started? I can tell you one thing - 55+ years ago not every racer could afford a new Chevy with a hot 348, or a Bonneville with a tri-power 389 V-8. Even in the early days of drag racing back in the late 50's, cars were placed into categories. Custom framed cars were put into the dragster class and modified vehicles were placed into Competition Coupe, Sedan, or Roadster classes. These classes were then further divided (A/Gas, B/Gas, C/Gas, etc.) by overall weight and engine sizes. The year of the vehicle didn't matter. One of the more popular classifications was the Gas Coupe and Sedans. Rules called for street equipment to remain intact to include lights, horn, and windshield wipers. Engines were unlimited to include nearly any manufacturer style into any vehicle platform. The Gas Coupe and Sedan classes had to maintain stock wheelbases and engine relocation was limited to a maximum of 10% setback from the center-line of the front spindle to the front spark plug. Racers needed shorter wheelbases, a higher center of gravity for better weight transfer and the potential race car also had to be affordable. Some of the cars initially "discovered" were of little value to street hot rodders and the used car market. In other words, they were really cheap to buy. Some of these cars included the 1940-41 Willys Coupe, 1937-41 Studebaker Coupe, the 1933 Willys Model 70, and the Ford Anglia. You like that term - "...of little value"? Can someone please lend me a time machine? Of course, things got more wild every year and by 1960, the NHRA added super-charged classes to the Gasser ranks. Everything was going well, until the late 60's when then late-model Gassers eventually killed the popularity and spirit of the original concept. In that case, no - there was no excuse...

I want to finish this blog post with a massive thanks to all of you - the readers. This particular entry marks post #61 of Full Throttle (and formally Maximum Power). To date, this blog has received 15,000 views over the past 3 years. I'm unsure where all the traffic came from since there's just a sea of internet fodder out there. The sources run the gamut - from Facebook, (https://www.facebook.com/VintageV8/), my website (http://vintagev8photography.wix.com/photography), search engines in general as well as a new photography website I display my works called 500PX. I try to update these pages as often as possible, so bookmark them and check back often!

Always moving forward. Adapt and survive, people.
Until next time, peace out.
Dave