custom cars of today...

[tubbs]

i am not sure how much conversation this will stir up, but here goes....

I am not much into custom cars, like looking at them and I feel it is a lost art. if some of the 50's and 60's custom car builders were alive today, what would you think the cars would look like? like put their prime time building in 2015. since all the cars look the same today could you even customize them?

just think, no fender skirts, no fins, no over/under headlights, NO CHROME OR STAINLESS STEEL TRIM, no real hub caps, the cars now don't have much to offer. what could you steal off of cars today?

[chunkypeanutbutter]

Well, the car builders back then made what was in vogue: space-y stuff, chromed frames, chromed engine blocks, shag carpeting, bubbletops, huge superchargers.

Nowadays, it's wings, turbos, the "track look," and huge rims on rubber-band tires. I assume that's what they'd build if they were the age they were then but now.

[Austin T]

Times change,availability of materials and style fluctuate a lot over 60 years. Think about it,back in say 1962 you could get any 50's car in good shape because it was only a few years old and they were cheap at the time wheares now if you wanted to get a 50's car be prepared to shell out a good sum of money AND do a restoration on it. As for the "what could you steal off of cars today" I'm a little lost by that question? Are you asking what design elements could you take away from the build or are you asking what can you rip off and run with? If it's the design elements then it would also depend on what sub culture of custom cars you are talking about; we have Euro,Japanese,muscle,resto mods,off roading,ect,ect. Speaking for myself I'm pretty glad that we don't have too many cars that were produced after a week long acid trip anymore,I mean how else can you explain something like this?

Or like this. I mean seriously some of these guys had to be on something, maybe too much bondo dust and paint fumes?

Edited June 4, 2015 by Austin T

[vettecote]

There is a thing called "IMAGINATION"! To bad it's not used too much these days!...Joe

[tubbs]

Times change,availability of materials and style fluctuate a lot over 60 years. Think about it,back in say 1962 you could get any 50's car in good shape because it was only a few years old and they were cheap at the time wheares now if you wanted to get a 50's car be prepared to shell out a good sum of money AND do a restoration on it. As for the "what could you steal off of cars today" I'm a little lost by that question? Are you asking what design elements could you take away from the build or are you asking what can you rip off and run with? If it's the design elements then it would also depend on what sub culture of custom cars you are talking about; we have Euro,Japanese,muscle,resto mods,off roading,ect,ect. Speaking for myself I'm pretty glad that we don't have too many cars that were produced after a week long acid trip anymore,I mean how else can you explain something like this?

Or like this. I mean seriously some of these guys had to be on something, maybe too much bondo dust and paint fumes?

good points Austin, I guess its if you took the knowledge and talent of those builders and put them into todays era, say they could only go back to 2000. don't want to get too technical or deep, just a modern custom of today. no retro mod or just swapping motors. I guess I am talking body customs. changing the appearance of a vehicle by putting or adapting other parts to the car. I look at old custom magazines of yesteryear and just wondered what those magazines would look like today.

[Austin T]

There is a thing called "IMAGINATION"! To bad it's not used too much these days!...Joe

Trust me,all of the current custom cultures have plenty of imagination and creativity in them. You just have to stop looking for it the way that it existed 50-60 years ago. If you don't believe me have a quick read of this short article,Much like hot rodding custom culture never died It's just adapted over the years.

Edited June 4, 2015 by Austin T

[Casey]

since all the cars look the same today

We've had this discussion here before, and I recall someone posting pictures if a '60s Chevelle 4-door sedan compared to a similar model from AMC or Ford, and they truly did look very similar, so this isn't a new thing. The auto industry in general isn't big on taking huge risks, especially when it comes to exterior styling, so there will probably always be many similarities.

There are plenty of "modern" customizers doing excellent work, but to compare what was done in the '60s to what's currently being created is kind of silly. Not everyone liked the work of the Barris Bros., Starbird, Roth, etc. back then, just like not everyone likes Chip Foose, Jimmy Shine, etc.'s work today. It's all art, and opinions will vary. Nothing is good nor bad, it's just a matter of what each of us finds pleasing.

[Jantrix]

First of all, you cannot compare the cars of today and the cars from the 50's. They are as different as the Space Shuttle was different than the Spirit of St. Louis. And the same goes for the people that work on them. The days of the shade tree mechanic are loooong gone. I can't even change the serpentine belt on my car. There's just too much involved.

Second. Cars today are so terribly uninteresting and uninspiring that they just don't fire the imagination. No one looks at their Sentra and says, "Wonder how it would look chopped."

[Mark]

If you want an idea of what a newer car would look like with Fifties custom ideas applied to it, look for pictures of the Infiniti J30 that Harry Bradley designed about twenty years ago. Don't do it right after lunch, though...

[Ace-Garageguy]

There's a lot of great stuff still being built. Same skill sets, same knowledge-base required (albeit expanded to encompass electronics and sophisticated suspension), same principles of good design involved.

Edited June 5, 2015 by Ace-Garageguy

[Chuck Most]

since all the cars look the same today could you even customize them?

Right... because a 2015 Taurus looks EXACTLY LIKE a 2015 Cadillac ATS. No difference between a Camaro and a Civic. Yep, they all look the same.

Weird question- when's the last time you saw an optometrist?

[Snake45]

What is that? It's pretty darn sharp looking. At first I thought it had a '69 Camaro grille in there, now I think it's just "inspired by..." Whatever, I really like it!

[martinfan5]

Second. Cars today are so terribly uninteresting and uninspiring that they just don't fire the imagination. No one looks at their Sentra and says, "Wonder how it would look chopped."

That is your opinion, which I do not agree with.

[Joe Handley]

First of all, you cannot compare the cars of today and the cars from the 50's. They are as different as the Space Shuttle was different than the Spirit of St. Louis. And the same goes for the people that work on them. The days of the shade tree mechanic are loooong gone. I can't even change the serpentine belt on my car. There's just too much involved.

Second. Cars today are so terribly uninteresting and uninspiring that they just don't fire the imagination. No one looks at their Sentra and says, "Wonder how it would look chopped."

It all in the eye of the beholder, or beer holder......judging by what some people think is a good idea, no matter what era the subject. You wouldn't need to go crazy with swapped out lighs, adding un-needed lights, adding skirts (which frankly haven't looked good or right on new vehicles since the late 60's-mid 70's), painting over or adding extra, tack on chrome, etc.

For example:

First gen Chrysler LHS, mild drop if not a set of air bags, shave most of the badging and door handles, swap in the chromed New Yorker grill, then find a complimentary wheels of a reasonable size (maybe even stock sized!) That simple cleaning up of the car could make it a nice cruiser.

Same with the Buick Lucerne, not a whole lot of work, basically the same as outlined for the LHS and would likely result in the same, clean cruiser look.

Edited June 5, 2015 by Joe Handley

[martinfan5]

What is that? It's pretty darn sharp looking. At first I thought it had a '69 Camaro grille in there, now I think it's just "inspired by..." Whatever, I really like it!

That is a Rocket Bunny Widebody Kit that transforms 90's Nissan 240SX into 70's Plymouth Barracuda

[Ace-Garageguy]

What is that? It's pretty darn sharp looking. At first I thought it had a '69 Camaro grille in there, now I think it's just "inspired by..." Whatever, I really like it!

Snake, it's a custom (available as a full-size body kit from Rocket Bunny) based the Nissan 240 SX (S-14 generation, '95-'99).

EDIT: Looks like martinfan5 just beat me to to response.

Edited June 5, 2015 by Ace-Garageguy

[Russell C]

That is a Rocket Bunny Widebody Kit that transforms 90's Nissan 240SX into 70's Plymouth Barracuda

I'd advise Rocket Bunny to move the headlights out wider, put a stylized Alfa Romeo grille on it, and they could get away with it being a more clever modern interpretation of the GT Junior...

[pharoah]

Yeah,it's hard to restyle or customize a jellybean.

[Austin T]

Yeah,it's hard to restyle or customize a jellybean.

Same goes for a Detroit Potato....

[Spex84]

I think the main reason modern cars are tougher to do "traditional" custom mods on, is because they're all unibody, whereas older vehicles were body-on-frame. Also, 1940s-50s vehicles tended to have headlights, taillights, and trim that was applied to the suface of the car, so it could be taken off and re-purposed on another, whereas today the those parts are blended into the unibody.

If you're looking for traditional custom tricks like roof chops, channeling (body drops), taillight and headlight swaps, extreme lowering, shaved door handles, etc...then look to the truck customizing scene. Pro-touring, drifting, and "stance" might be hot right now, but the truck crowd is still doing a lot of stuff that the 50s customizers would recognize instantly. Up to this point, trucks have basically been built like the vehicles of the 1950s, albeit with some refinements. Convenient!

There are still vehicles today that look like a blank canvas to me...the Chrysler 300... 2008-era Ford Fusion...Dodge Challenger...Toyota FJ...

Creativity is still possible, and so is atrociously bad taste!

*I love the two 60s show rods that were posted. Winfield's Reactor is an undeniable piece of history, and in my opinion looks great too.

[Joe Handley]

I think the main reason modern cars are tougher to do "traditional" custom mods on, is because they're all unibody, whereas older vehicles were body-on-frame. Also, 1940s-50s vehicles tended to have headlights, taillights, and trim that was applied to the suface of the car, so it could be taken off and re-purposed on another, whereas today the those parts are blended into the unibody.

If you're looking for traditional custom tricks like roof chops, channeling (body drops), taillight and headlight swaps, extreme lowering, shaved door handles, etc...then look to the truck customizing scene. Pro-touring, drifting, and "stance" might be hot right now, but the truck crowd is still doing a lot of stuff that the 50s customizers would recognize instantly. Up to this point, trucks have basically been built like the vehicles of the 1950s, albeit with some refinements. Convenient!

There are still vehicles today that look like a blank canvas to me...the Chrysler 300... 2008-era Ford Fusion...Dodge Challenger...Toyota FJ...

Creativity is still possible, and so is atrociously bad taste!

*I love the two 60s show rods that were posted. Winfield's Reactor is an undeniable piece of history, and in my opinion looks great too.

Most of what you outlined can still be done with a unibody, with the exception of channeing. Problem with chopping most new cars is that it would ruin the lines of the vehicles even worse than it would hurt the structural rigidity at the same time, same with sectioning and "body dropping". In my eyes, most modern cars don't need those three big mods since they are already low. All you might "need" to do is just lower the car via spring or air, modify wheen openings as needed, shave as needed, then add trick paint and wheels that actually fit the looks of the car, even if they're stock size or just OEM for a diffrent trim level on the same car.

A lot of what I have seen from the truck scene is in bad taste, especially when talking about gaudy paint, comically huge rims and short tires, cutting off the bottom edges of the cabs and even doors to get it lower, ect. Not really any better than somebody who takes a post war Merc and chops it to the point that roof has more square footahe than a small SUV's roof and mail slot windows that you couldn't pay a road toll through.

Edited June 5, 2015 by Joe Handley

[Joe Handley]

To me, this has a couple good examples of what not to do.

First the flames look aweful, not that they're poorly applied, but the way they're layed out around the front of the car just looks bad. Then there is the hubcaps, just the "Baby Moons" would have been fine, but those bullets added to it are pointlessly over the top. Now the one that can't easily be fixed........too much chop, the windshield is no taller than the spot lights are round with barely the room to stick an arm out the window, then having the top that low is out of proportion with the rest of the body, which is stock height from coel to rocker panels.

[om617]

Check out the work of Roadster Shop on facebook,prepared to be amazed by the workmanship and

variety in subjects and style. They been doing this for over 30 years but maby only recently got lot`s

of PR,and well deserved it is,even if me personally might not drool on every type of style build.

[tubbs]

First of all, you cannot compare the cars of today and the cars from the 50's. They are as different as the Space Shuttle was different than the Spirit of St. Louis. And the same goes for the people that work on them. The days of the shade tree mechanic are loooong gone. I can't even change the serpentine belt on my car. There's just too much involved.

Second. Cars today are so terribly uninteresting and uninspiring that they just don't fire the imagination. No one looks at their Sentra and says, "Wonder how it would look chopped."

hey Rob, no, I am not trying to compare, although it being hard not to. really like your second statement, why don't people look at it and chop it?

seems today, a lot of stuff is "over the-counter" instead of being hammered out in a garage.

[tubbs]

Trust me,all of the current custom cultures have plenty of imagination and creativity in them. You just have to stop looking for it the way that it existed 50-60 years ago. If you don't believe me have a quick read of this short article,Much like hot rodding custom culture never died It's just adapted over the years.

Austin, great little article. thanks for posting it. I do have to say that the statement "Hot Rodding never died...You just got old" doesn't apply to all. yea, I am older, love hot rodding, born in 1959. saw lots of fads come and go, but it's still hot rodding. I am not a fan of imports, but I can appreciate the craftsmanship that goes into them. as long as somebody is turning a wrench on something, I will look at it. may not get it, but that's OK. to each his own.