Cool Hotrods - Stable But Not Standing Still

Judging from the title of this week's blog, you might think that I'm referring to the performance and speed of vintage Detroit iron. Not entirely. For decades - literally since the birth of modern hot rodding after World War 2 - there has always been that coolness factor. Hot rods in general have always been cool, mostly because, in the grand scheme of the total number of vehicles out there, hot rods represent a very small number of this total. In other words, they are rare. The next logical connecting point is the sense of history and nostalgia they posses. Agreed, for a while, especially back in the late 40's and throughout the 1950's, they were seen as gateways to trouble that ranged from getting arrested to going to Hell. However, since the 1960's, they have been a trip down memory lane, albeit that lane, at times, had no posted speed limit.

The main point I'm driving at, is the coolness factor of hot rods, muscle cars, street rods, etc., is always changing, always expanding. And that in itself is a very cool thing. I can remember a piece of tribal knowledge that was passed down to me over 30 years ago; "If we all agreed on what was "cool" with antique vehicles, our hobby would be very boring." This statement hit my ears at the time back in the mid-80's when the first wave of popularity hit the public in regards to muscle cars. Muscle cars still contained the same coolness factor they always had, but it was when their prices got stupid expensive, rather quickly, for the first time. It was also during that period when "100% correct restorations" first reared their heads. I'm not saying that restoring a muscle car to factory stock where it looks like it just rolled off the assembly line is a bad thing. I'm saying it can't be the only way, or the "true correct" way to restore these cars - which was a line we almost crossed back then.

If hot rods from the late 20's to the early 40's are any indication of things, we will be seeing more than our fair share of modernism in vintage automobiles. I believe, in the very near future, things like an Chevy LS or Ford 5.0 Coyote motor swap will be yawn city. I've already seen transplants like Duramax diesel swaps into mid 60's Chevy wagons. How about an incredibly modified Ford Eco-boost twin-turbo V-6 in a 1932 Model A? Check. The latest issue of Hot Rod magazine contains a feature vehicle that's a 1964 Pontiac Tempest wagon that was converted from a 4-door to a 2-door and has the drive-train, and a great deal of the interior swapped in from a 2005 GTO. It wouldn't surprise me in the least to see an all-electric or hybrid setup between a pair of fenders that used to house a straight-8 motor. Anything is possible - and that's also damn cool.

Drag racing is already there. It's old news that "Big Daddy" Don Garlits has already built and driven an all-electric dragster and I do believe it may have finally broken the 200 mph barrier on batteries. This is unexplored, revolutionary ground, but that's what hot rodding and drag racing is all about - going where no one else has gone before. While there may be more than a few of you out there who will shout that anything electric or hybrid is downright blasphemy, in any kind of vintage automobile - be it street rod, old car, or rat rod. There are even a few who hold fast to the concept that the purest form of vintage street rod roadster is a Model A on Deuce rails. I get it - many of us are old enough to remember a time when there were far fewer vehicles in the hot rod mix. This, and other mindsets, have been passed down through the generations. However, times are moving forward, whether we like to admit it or not. We, as a hobby, as well as an industry, need to keep moving forward with the technology, the fresh ideas, the new concepts, and the unexplored. We need to be stable, but never stand still.

Until next time, peace out.
Dave