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hampstead38 · 04-05-2009, 08:34 PM

I've been looking at vintage trucks, mid 60s era. What in the name of Heaven possesses people to take a great looking truck, chop it to about a half inch of ground clearance and put utterly ridiculous 22" tires on it? What exactly is the point of the low profile tires on a 1/2 pickup? Can you push a 1967 Chevy into a corner fast enough to flex the tires... without some kind of rocket booster? And what's with putting late model body parts (like beds) on vintage trucks? I'm not saying 60s American pickups were works of art... but c'mon! Or am I just getting old?

canadianguy · 04-05-2009, 09:19 PM

I hear ya.

I have a few choice words about lowering trucks, but I'd probably be kicked off the forum for using them.

ArtStream · 04-05-2009, 11:58 PM

What's the word on raising um?

wahoonc · 04-06-2009, 03:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hampstead38

I've been looking at vintage trucks, mid 60s era. What in the name of Heaven possesses people to take a great looking truck, chop it to about a half inch of ground clearance and put utterly ridiculous 22" tires on it? What exactly is the point of the low profile tires on a 1/2 pickup? Can you push a 1967 Chevy into a corner fast enough to flex the tires... without some kind of rocket booster? And what's with putting late model body parts (like beds) on vintage trucks? I'm not saying 60s American pickups were works of art... but c'mon! Or am I just getting old?

You are getting old

We had this same discussion at a local rod meet not too long back. FWIW I prefer my restored vehicles stock or mildly modified (not enough they can't be brought back to stock fairly easily) I am still trying comprehend the low pro 22" wheels on a Hummer

Aaron

jdthor · 04-06-2009, 04:06 AM

I restore cars as a hobby. I have a 1951 Mercury that has actually increased in value since I've had it, not because of anything special I've done to it, but because it is absolutely stock, exactly like it was (for the most part) when new in 1951. It seems that this model car is very popular for rodders, so lots of them are chopped, channelled, frenched, have the little flathead replaced by something that would power the space shuttle, and so on. Supply and Demand. Good examples of stock Mercs from that era are hard to find.

The guys who bought my 1937 Buick wanted it for a hot-rod project. Sometimes it seems a shame to tear up an old car like that, but I must say that I am also impressed by the skill and effort that goes into some of those rods.

**moosetags** · 04-06-2009, 05:06 AM

I've been an antique car guy since childhood. I've had some kind of antique car since high school, and still have 4 antique cars today. I, too, have never understood the radical rodders. But, I guess, to each his own.

Brian

funkill · 04-06-2009, 07:09 AM

When I was looking for my new TV (2000-2004 SUVs), I couldn't believe how many Suburbans, Yukons, etc had the 22" wheels with the low profile tires. I kept wondering if they'd be suitable to tow my AS. Figured not ... on the flip side, saw some pretty interesting raised sedans.

overlander63 · 04-06-2009, 07:13 AM

Later model beds were installed on older trucks when the original bed got destroyed or rotted away. Sometimes original engines get replaced with more modern engines because the originals have large holes in the side of them.

Mikethefixit · 04-06-2009, 07:19 AM

I don't think its a RANT at all. Now you have to realize I'm 70 and street rods were KING when I was young. But I have never seen the value In 22 in or 28 in low pros. Some of the wheels are great lookin but I have never seen the value in destroying old cars or trucks for that matter. I have never seen the value in lift kits either but too each his own.
But for me LEAVE EM STOCK.
Roger

Gene · 04-06-2009, 07:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hampstead38

Or am I just getting old?

It could be you are old, not just getting old. It creeps up on us and then one day you realize that old guy in the mirror that's been following you around is you.

Do you chase kids off the grass? Do you complain that it only cost $4 for two to go out to dinner just a "few" years ago? Do you remember when you'd get 3 bags of groceries for $5. And what about that "music" those kids listen to? Why can't they listen to Led Zeppelin?

Being somewhat more ancient than you, I couldn't resist. I agree, why mess up the looks of a vintage or classic vehicle? Even if it looked ugly when it was new, over the years it acquires a certain charm (like me) by just surviving. When I see a pre-WW II car gutted and sitting on some new running gear, new seats and dashboard, messed up body, I cringe.

Gene

Woody.303 · 04-06-2009, 07:59 AM

Fellas,

I'm going to play devil's advocate here, and say that I like highly modified vehicles.

Granted, some are done well while some are not. That is merely opinion.

My current truck has an aftermarket exhaust, intake and chip. I've added big mud tires on the stock rims, but no lift kit (yet). A few other goodies too.

I also think it is wise to use junk cars to modify instead of taking a beautiful original and chopping it up.

Woody

Melody Ranch · 04-06-2009, 08:08 AM

I know the feelings expressed here. I want a cool tow vehicle....from the 40's or early 50's to go with my 47 Curtis. Everything I like is so classic that I can't think of radically modifying it. But, I still remember all the overheated, radiator spewing, hood up, along the roadside, breakdowns. The faded brake caused accident. The burnt up transmissions. A/C and all the comforts which have evolved.....all missing.

But I can do it...and will. If a Buick could do it then, it can do it now....with some judicious "tweaking" that you won't see form the outside and won't offend my desire for originality. No 22" wheels here I promise.

Lumatic · 04-06-2009, 08:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wahoonc

You are getting old

We had this same discussion at a local rod meet not too long back. FWIW I prefer my restored vehicles stock or mildly modified (not enough they can't be brought back to stock fairly easily) I am still trying comprehend the low pro 22" wheels on a Hummer

Aaron

How about Hummer stretch limos for a contradiction in terms

hampstead38 · 04-06-2009, 08:57 AM

Actually, I don't mind kids on the grass. My iPod has music from Ella Fitzgerald and Ray Charles to Badly Drawn Boy and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Oddly enough, I prefer listening to things other than "classic rock" these days. I don't complain about prices... much. While cars are expensive, they are also far more comfortable than those of my younger days. Honestly, a whole lot of things are better today. I don't miss Bakelite rotary phones or having a party line. Like you, I don't miss vacuum wipers or crank windows.

I just don't get the "aesthetic" of chopping or rodding old trucks. Low profile tires on a vintage truck are like "moon boots" on a model wearing a little black dress. I don't know if it is fashionable, but I'm pretty sure it is ugly. Oh, I don't object to internal modifications to increase performance, reliability or safety. I don't mind an old rig feeling comfortable... but curb appeal--to me--is a inhaling a sense of time and place. Seeing a "cherry" old truck reminds of all that was good, and could be again. (A borrowed quote.) Seeing a chopped truck is like seeing a beautiful young girl with her nose and eyebrow pierced. I just don't get it.

ROBERT CROSS · 04-06-2009, 09:44 AM

It's only original once..

My DW's Grandmother's 1953 Ford Victoria, bone Stock and un-restored.

We've been caretaker's since 1976.

It's a free hobby, and others can do as they please, but not ME.

Gene · 04-06-2009, 10:01 AM

I think vintage and classic motor vehicles are for driving around town and not for long trips unless you are a very good shade tree mechanic. Yes, internal modifications for safety and practicality can be good depending on whether you want a show car or a daily driver.

I recall a beautiful LaSalle that used to sit outside a tire shop down the road from here for a long time—besides the modern engine, tranny and such, they had done subtle things to the body that compromised the outside. I don't know if it every got sold because the tire shop went out of business.

Funny how that Buick (Roadmaster?) looks good in post #12, but it's pretty much like the ugly '49 fastback Pontiac my father had. When I see a car that is like something my father owned in those days, I remember them as really big, but now they are pretty small. I know Bob loves that Ford and posts a picture of it as often as he can, and I'm sure it's in great shape, but I'm not a fan of that era. To me it's the '30's that had really beautiful cars, but I have this feeling that if I were driving a mid '30's Auburn at 90 mph (all Auburns of that period were guaranteed to go 100 mph), I'd feel pretty scared as I hurtled down the road. Everyone has different perceptions of beauty and makes different adjustments to restorations.

Gene

ROBERT CROSS · 04-06-2009, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CrawfordGene

To me it's the '30's that had really beautiful cars, but I have this feeling that if I were driving a mid '30's Auburn at 90 mph (all Auburns of that period were guaranteed to go 100 mph), I'd feel pretty scared as I hurtled down the road. Everyone has different perceptions of beauty and makes different adjustments to restorations.

Gene

Kind'a like this, right Gene?

Gene · 04-06-2009, 10:23 AM

Or the Alfa on the cover of Griot's catalog a while back, or Bugattis or Delahay's. I think Frank Lloyd Wright had an orange Auburn coupe—it's at the Auburn museum in Auburn, Indiana.

Gene

3Ms75Argosy · 04-06-2009, 11:08 AM

Ooohhhh! That C.V. would look so cool if it was lowered in the front a bit, with some nice billet rims!

Sorry, couldn't resist..... actually, I think it would be cool lowered a bit with a nice rake! I don't go for the 22's... 18" looks good to me... and you don't have to worry about the curbs or speedbumps ruining your rims.

To each their own... I do like the new "rat rod" movement... hold it kind of stock, faded paint is great, 15" wheels with big tires... even wire spoke rims (the original hot rod rims... not the new "spinners!!")... seems to be more of the backyard "drive 'em" mentality.

Have fun searching!
Marc

InsideOut · 04-06-2009, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by moosetags

I, too, have never understood the radical rodders. But, I guess, to each his own.

Brian

Quote:

Originally Posted by ROBERT CROSS

It's only original once.

If the object of the modification is a basket case carcass to begin with, oh well. It just seems a shame to take a strong, original, well equipped <fill-in the blank - whatever it is> and butch it up.

Just my opinion, yours may vary ~

Shari