afx Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 I have been wanting to build a ’32 Ford for quite a while now. But honestly I am intimidated by the thought. I would like to build a 50’s era hot rod but such a build is way outside my comfort zone. It is such an iconic car and an important period in rodding history I really want to do the build justice. I really enjoy researching my projects before I jump in. So I would like to request help finding good reference material. If you know of any good books or other sources of information I would appreciate your suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longbox55 Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 If you can find it, Hot Rods of the '50s by Andy Southard Jr. is a very good reference. All of the pictures in it were taken in the '50s, so there will not be any modern built "traditional" cars in it. Only original cars built during the actual time period. You might be surprised at how many small block Chevy powered cars were really built during the time period, contrary to what most of the "traditional purists would want people to believe. Hot Rod Deluxe is also a good source, lots of old pics from the '50s-'60s era from Hot Rod Magazine, may never before published. I would also suggest Hot Rods and Customs of the '60s and Custom Cars of the '50s, both also by Andy Southard Jr.. There is some overlap of the '50s style rod into the early '60s, and some of the customs featured in both books straddle the line between a rod and a custom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BTK Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 I like to use Petersen photo archive on Facebook, they post a tremendous amount of old photographs. I can get lost in that page for a few hours. https://www.facebook.com/Petersen.Photo.Archive?fref=ts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longbox55 Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 Skylar, I didn't even know that existed! Thanks for putting a link to it, just added it to my Facebook likes section, will be using for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 I build a lot of that kind of stuff, and for reference material and inspiration, it's hard to beat OLD Hot Rod magazines...starting in 1949. I started collecting them again in about 2005 (after having given all of them away in the early 1980s). Rather than seeing recent interpretations of "period correct", you get the real deal...often significantly different in concept and execution than the "tribute" , "traditional" or "nostalgia" cars built these days. I've got a couple of go-to books that I don't recall the exact names of at the moment, but I'll post some in a while. For online research as to how stuff is done on real traditional cars, or for an extensive variety of historical posts and threads, the ol' HAMB message board is hard to beat too. This is one of my '32 build threads, and it doesn't get any more "traditional". There's a lot of tech stuff concerning the real cars on this thread too, so it may be of some small value to you. http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=59708 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brett Barrow Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 The HAMB. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxer Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 (edited) All good advise here from some real experts, but most period hot rods were all made up in people's garages from parts found in the local junk yards. So pretty much anything you do works. It's all the "hot rod experts" that are difficult to handle. Edited June 4, 2015 by Foxer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longbox55 Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 Got to be carful when going to the HAMB, it can get to be a rough crowd sometimes, especially when dealing some of the self proclaimed "experts" on there. Not saying everyone there is like that, but they do have their fair share of Know-Nothing-Know-It-Alls. BTW, many of the pictures in the early Hot Rod Magazine issues Ace speaks of were taken by Andy Southard Jr., and I agree, they're also a great source. I don't have much in the line of original issues, but I do have the 6 issue reprints they did during their 50th anniversary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake45 Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 Another excellent book is Hot Rod Chronicle. I got mine cheap on the "remainders" shelf a few years ago but it's worth tracking down a copy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afx Posted June 4, 2015 Author Share Posted June 4, 2015 Anyone familiar with this book? I build a lot of that kind of stuff, and for reference material and inspiration, it's hard to beat OLD Hot Rod magazines...starting in 1949. I started collecting them again in about 2005 (after having given all of them away in the early 1980s). Rather than seeing recent interpretations of "period correct", you get the real deal...often significantly different in concept and execution than the "tribute" , "traditional" or "nostalgia" cars built these days. I've got a couple of go-to books that I don't recall the exact names of at the moment, but I'll post some in a while. For online research as to how stuff is done on real traditional cars, or for an extensive variety of historical posts and threads, the ol' HAMB message board is hard to beat too. This is one of my '32 build threads, and it doesn't get any more "traditional". There's a lot of tech stuff concerning the real cars on this thread too, so it may be of some small value to you. http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=59708 I am familiar with your build Bill. I have read the tread a few times and it has some great information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 Got to be carful when going to the HAMB, it can get to be a rough crowd sometimes, especially when dealing some of the self proclaimed "experts" on there. Not saying everyone there is like that, but they do have their fair share of Know-Nothing-Know-It-Alls. That's entirely true, especially if you go asking questions. Some of the folks there are just downright a..holes. BUT...you don't need to join to read the threads. Click on "Traditional Hot Rods", and just scroll down until you find something of interest. There WILL be much worthwhile stuff. There are lots and lots of really good threads that have been posted over the years. One I can remember right off hand has pages and pages of photos of late '50s and early '60s gassers. Not what you're looking for, but the real stuff is there if you dig. Another problem is that it takes a while sifting through all the info that's available before you begin to get a real feel for what's true and what's BS. The flip side is that the early rods were pretty basic mechanically, and mix and match of the essential bits from various manufacturers (via the junkyard) was the name of the game. And anything specific you need to know is right here, only a few clicks away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 Anyone familiar with this book? Yes, it's definitely a good book to get your feet wet....and everything in it works in smaller scales too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Most Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 I'll second "How to build a Traditional Ford Hot Rod". Vern Tardel is a traditional rodding expert (no quote marks there) who actually deserves that title. He knows his stuff. He was still building them the way guys did 70 years ago... decades after they'd fallen out of favor and decades before people started jumping back on that buggy-sprung bandwagon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longbox55 Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 One I can remember right off hand has pages and pages of photos of late '50s and early '60s gassers. Not what you're looking for, but the real stuff is there if you dig. Is this the one you're thinking of? http://www.gassermadness.us/index.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longbox55 Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 One thing I will say in the HAMBs favor, while some on there can be very rude and belittleing to those asking questions, or fly off the handle when someone who actually knows more about the subject then they do or calls them on BS, they are nowhere near as bad as the guys on Pirate 4x4 and Marlin Crawler. Those guys can be downright ruthless, to the point of actually hunting down personal information about people and posting it for all to see. I won't go into details, but there was a member of another site I was one that also on there, and the tore this individual to pieces simply because of an off comment about not wanting to post a picture of themselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 Is this the one you're thinking of? http://www.gassermadness.us/index.htm No, but that's a good site I've had bookmarked for years. It almost disappeared when its founder died a while back, but happily for those of us who love the old gassers, it lives on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 Here's the kind of thing I like to look over on the HAMB. Pretty well BS-free, with a ton of mechanical and chassis shots, and some nice evocative photography too. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/old-32-ford-hot-rod-gets-updated-part-ii-progress-report-06-03-15-on-the-road-again.861297/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 Join this forum JC....http://trakinscale.proboards.com/ Nothing but traditional rods and kustoms there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afx Posted June 4, 2015 Author Share Posted June 4, 2015 All great information gentlemen - thank you! I pretty much know what I want it to look like. Now its about doing the research so I can get as many of the mechanical details right as my skills will allow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Haigwood Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 I get some of my inspiration from Kustomrama - Traditional Hot Rod & Kustom Encyclopedia. (I would post a link put I haven't figured out how to paste yet) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brett Barrow Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 I get some of my inspiration from Kustomrama - Traditional Hot Rod & Kustom Encyclopedia. (I would post a link put I haven't figured out how to paste yet) http://www.kustomrama.com/index.php?title=Main_Page Also throw Rik Hoving's Photo Collection in here, too. http://public.fotki.com/Rikster/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 Here's a good model car magazine devoted to traditional rods and customs...http://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/838724 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afx Posted December 16, 2015 Author Share Posted December 16, 2015 Finally purchased this book and after skimming through it last night I can tell it will be a big help. I highly recommend it to all you novice hot rod builders, like me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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