Hot Rods

-
HotLines

HotLines

Realist - Free Thinker
Joined
Jul 25, 2009
Messages
2,022
Reaction score
59
Location
southern Oregon
If 99% of all the Hot Rods are Chevy powered then what year does a vehicle have to be not to be considered a Hot Rod when a conversion is in order. What I mean by this is this, I have been around long enough to know that the Chevy engine is the choice of many more builders then the tiny percentage of Ford and Mopar powered Hot Rods and I have seen tons of Chevy powered Fords, Plymouths, Dodges as well as Allards, Austin Healeys and any number of any car to be thought of yet, in which year does all this Chevy powered stuff end and restoration or custom begin?

And on a different note, anyone ever hear of Bill Frick, he was an engine guy out of Long Island in the late 40's and 50's who basically was the first to install Caddy engines into Studebakers and Fords coining the terms Studelacs and Fordalacs and although very few may disagree, it just isn't so as Bill was the man.

http://thestudillac.blogspot.com/
 
My grandpa (whose a retired mechanic) made one of those back in the 40s or 50s with the Caddy engine. I wonder if he has a picture of it. Great site.
 
My dad and his buddies put a Caddy in a little car I believe he said it was a MG back in the day. He said the had to mold coffee cans into the hood for clearance.
 
Chevy engine swaps into non-Chevies is for people whom don't like to turn wrenches ; "Put it on the Gold Card , my good man ! And while you're at it , put some of those -unique- Boyd's wheels on there ! "

Some Kadiddlehopper customers where I work recently bastardised an otherwise clean '65 AMC Marlin , by yanking its 327 Nash V8 / B-W Flash-o-Matic , and cobbled a dime-a-dozen 350 / 350 drivetrain in their place *yuck*

Now , I'm NOT anti Chevy by any means . BUT , I also despise the whole "just-put-a-small-block-Chevy-in-it " mentality .
**** ! Be freakin' ORIGINAL for once !!
Put a Buick Nail Head or Olds Rocket or ... whatever ELSE in there !
 
i did a small block chevy in my vega... it is chevy but i was it was planned to have a 340 mopar in it but went with chevy for the ease of headers and oil pan for conversion kit.
 
i put together a 47 ford coupe earlier this year. i picked it up cheap with a half-way installed 77 camaro stub already. i then picked up a 79 elcamino that ran/drove,but rusty enough to throw a cat through. any who,by the time i was done,not including my time/labor,turn-key,drive anywhere condition, i had exactly $945.00 in the whole deal. i purposely did it,to go on rod-runs,mainly to poke fun at these high-dollar,no expense spared hunks of crap,that won't idle in 95 degree traffic without puking coolant everywhere,and falling apart if driven over 25 miles. i put almost 1000 miles on that car,sat in 95-97 degree traffic,for an hour,in drive,temp sitting at 170 degrees,waiting to get in beech bend park(NHRA HOTROD REUNION)watching expensive junk pulling off everywhere. pure humor was my reason.
on the flip side,to be original,i built a chassis,mounted a 28 dodge brothers tub,1994 ford F-450 straight front axle (2wd) and dana rear axle,and powered it with a 1942 seagrave firetruck 1088 cubic inch flathead V-12 and 5-spd trans. engine and trans weighed 2100 lbs. thing was a torquey beast!!!
 
I have around 30 something into my 64 Signet and although I have owned in for 20 plus odd years I find its time for a change to something more reliable and lets say 300 stock hp with a couple of overdrives for less then 3 g's completely down to the conversion if there is one.
My needs are simple and after reading

racerkilla's story bout his Vega, I thought with a little imagination and a little fabrication, the Chevy headers would have fit on the 340 because of the configuration by using the Mopar header flanges and the Chevy headers as well as a standard Dodge truck oil pan which is also similar to the Chevy oil pan and although the dimensions leave the Mopar a little longer, a little wider and a little taller the difference is minimal and I know that for sure. The real problems arise when persons open their yap and goody two shoes appear same for the Chevy purists but the bottom line is that most anything can be built and in record time if one were to use brain power instead of looking at it without measuring it.

I've always had soft spots for Chevy, Ford, Mopar, Porsche and Mercedes and throughout my life had some awesome automobiles and once I had a streetable aluminum Porsche race car which weighed in at 825 pounds dry, a one place car which only 3 were ever made but that's when I was younger.

I love my Signet and when I put it back together before the end of the year I will show total photos of it before I strip it down for the last and final time but for now this is what the *** end looks like with its trunk open
360033.jpg
 
LH23H2R said:
Chevy engine swaps into non-Chevies is for people whom don't like to turn wrenches ; "Put it on the Gold Card , my good man ! And while you're at it , put some of those -unique- Boyd's wheels on there ! "

Some Kadiddlehopper customers where I work recently bastardised an otherwise clean '65 AMC Marlin , by yanking its 327 Nash V8 / B-W Flash-o-Matic , and cobbled a dime-a-dozen 350 / 350 drivetrain in their place *yuck*

Now , I'm NOT anti Chevy by any means . BUT , I also despise the whole "just-put-a-small-block-Chevy-in-it " mentality .
**** ! Be freakin' ORIGINAL for once !!
Put a Buick Nail Head or Olds Rocket or ... whatever ELSE in there !
Click to expand...

Nice to see something different, but this guy showed up on an AMC board looking for help.:pukel:

http://www.hotrodcoffeeshop.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=558&start=30

Needless to say, he was roasted!
 
I agree with most everyone else here most people just want to go cheap when they build a hot rod. look what it cost for a small block Chevy and they make everything for them. I will be restoring (Hot Rodding) my 38 Dodge Pickup when the Bcuda is done but I will be installing a 270 Hemi in it no mixing here.
 
I'm not one for a vehicle has to be 100% what it's branded as. I will say though, the 350/350 combo in a non-GM is lame and for the cheap man. On the other hand, I think if someone is going the LSX route, that's a bit different ball game because it actually takes a bit of engineering to do these days, considering electronics. I seriously considered it for my Dart until I found a great deal on my Hemi and electronics. The electronics side in the aftermarket of the LS world is far more advanced, from what I see, than the Mopar side, even the Ford. People do what they gotta do though, and sometimes you just use what you got. Heck, they make an LSX conversion for the Lexus now...
 
I'm gonna buy a old chevy, and stick a mopar engine it, and take it to a supper chevy show, naw, I'll stick with my mopars.
 
I agree, c'mon and be original. I actually get it now, why people do put Chevy motors in everything, after pricing stuff for my sons 79 Monte Carlo, 350 transplant, everything is dirt cheap, but you get what you pay for too.

It was refreshing to go to a car show this summer and see a 440 in a 41 Willys coupe for once.
 
Hotlines I love the sound of the super traps. Don't know why there not used much anymore!!
 
You guys kinda answered the question about the chevy motor deal in hotrods. It's because they're cheap and plentifull and they put out a decent amount of power per dollar. Add in the fact that it's a relitively tight package, and there you go. I agree now that it's the redundant go to with little imagination, but it you take a hotrod for what it is supposed to be, you can see why. The whole thing started with wanting to go fast with what you could drag home and adapt to your car. In the flathead days, it was the Ford. Caddy and Olds motor became popular performers but they were big motors. The first gen Hemi motor found its way into many a hot car back in the day and was a killer at the track. Then came the Small Block Chevy. Lightweight and available in huge numbers. It put out decent power and fit under the hood of a 32 Ford. It took Ford and Mopar eight or nine years to get a similar sized motor out to the public in volume and by that time, the damage had already been done.
 
hey hotlines..i agree with some fab work could of made it fit but when i did the vega i was 14 so didn't have a huge amount of experience to build it. the 340 went in another mopar we had gotten. I learned what worked and what didn't work on the vega. was a practice car for work. heres the pic of outcome i did the work from 14-16 including the paint my self

S5001618.jpg


S5001614.jpg


im 22 now and im redoing a 73 cuda now... i know a lot more working for the last 8 years on my cars and customers cars at my dads shop. my 73 is gonna to be a show winner around here when its done.
 
racerkilla said:
hey hotlines..i agree with some fab work could of made it fit but when i did the vega i was 14 so didn't have a huge amount of experience to build it. the 340 went in another mopar we had gotten. I learned what worked and what didn't work on the vega. was a practice car for work. heres the pic of outcome i did the work from 14-16 including the paint my self

S5001618.jpg


S5001614.jpg


im 22 now and im redoing a 73 cuda now... i know a lot more working for the last 8 years on my cars and customers cars at my dads shop. my 73 is gonna to be a show winner around here when its done.
Click to expand...

Hey, at least you put a Mudstain scoop on it.
 
i think hot rodding is making the parts you have work.

my vega for a short run down
7.5 cosworth rear, firebird center section, camaro ring and pinion cut down some for vega case, s10 axles with re drilled drums, home made traction bars, truck 11 bellhousing, camaro 5 speed (had munci 4 speed), ford hydraulic clutch set up, ford hood scoop, datsun 280z rear louver widened 6 inches by me, ebay rear spoiler, side louver off a 79 amx cut down. wheels come from something chevy and i polished them... the engine has mix matched parts all over it but runs dame good, some old race car parts here and there... list goes on and on
 
You have to remember the Chevy engines became THE engine to swap in because of the rear sump and they are everwhere.
Try to put a 5.0 motor into something..It will hang on the crossmember.
 
Motopsycho said:
does that have a chevy rearend
Click to expand...


Yes its a 10 bolt from a 65 Malibu SS that I had laying in the shed. It will have the aluminum wheels all around that are on the front. I got those front wheels and rears to match used almost 30 years ago. The engine and trans are from a Winnebago I got for 400 dollars and junked. She is low budget but is being done right.
 
Actually not all Chevys are cheap unless you're just talking about the old stove bolts as the mid 90's LT engine and the LS engines are a far cry from being cheap.

In reality by being different you have become purists where you feel Mopar is the only way to go yet many do not drive your A bodies all year round or worse yet have more then one car to drive daily. This is all too political which for me I don't want to understand as some use Ford rears because they are cheaper then Mopar and use other suspension parts from Ford which have been modified for use in their Mopar because its easier for their conversions. Now you definitely will not agree because in reality you cannot handle the truth so you make up some scenario to get with your program.

Oh well that I understand, lets play follow the leader :cheers:
 
HotLines said:
Actually not all Chevys are cheap unless you're just talking about the old stove bolts as the mid 90's LT engine and the LS engines are a far cry from being cheap.

In reality by being different you have become purists where you feel Mopar is the only way to go yet many do not drive your A bodies all year round or worse yet have more then one car to drive daily. This is all too political which for me I don't want to understand as some use Ford rears because they are cheaper then Mopar and use other suspension parts from Ford which have been modified for use in their Mopar because its easier for their conversions. Now you definitely will not agree because in reality you cannot handle the truth so you make up some scenario to get with your program.

Oh well that I understand, lets play follow the leader :cheers:
Click to expand...

I am far from a purist and feel for ya. My last coupe I built was a 51 3 window Plymouth and I took a beating at the shows for having a SBC in it with only light mods to the body to get it to fit. Funny it was only the Mopar crowd giving me a hard time. I had to hack this one big time to get the 440 to fit. One thing I see here is save that car dont part it and no one will pony up with what it will bring for parts alone. I has an S car that is about to go under the knife soon because of it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top