Hot Rods So now what do you do with it?

So ya spend the time building a hot rod of one stripe or another . Big powerful engine, good handling etc. what do do with it?
There is almost no drag racing where I live short of a two hour ferry ride.
Car shows are boring as hell.
Cruise nights are just more stationary car shows.

I’m kinda at a loss lately. I’m selling my 34 roadster project cause I can’t get it out of my head it’s going to be another boring garage queen.
At least the 34 truck gets used to do small dump runs and trips to the lumber yard.

what do you do?

 

No more shows it cruises here. Gave that up 5 yrs ago. It’s all about working in the garage and just driving in small and long trips with the boss.

 

It sounds like the build process is where the vast majority of the enjoyment is for you, so it sounds like you are making the right decision for you regarding the '34 roadster. Why keep something tucked away in a garage (or worse, outside under a tarpaulin) if you have little desire to use and enjoy it? Move on and find something you enjoy spending your time on more.

 

Drive the shit out of it. That's what I do.

Don't just take it to shows. Take it to Walmart. Take it to dinner. Just use it.

 

my hot rod days of having the fastest car around in the neighborhood was out of my system years ago. too expensive and having the cops drive by all the time and follow you every time you go to town is not for me anymore. i sold my 426 hemi i think thirty years ago.

also gone are the over the top restorations, the expensive just show car quality. sold most of those ones off. no more shows for me.

but i still like building/driving my low budget customs that look good from 50 feet away. i still like driving them around the back roads and the little towns i live in. no worry at all in getting a few more scratches in them or hitting a deer, i just move onto the next driver quality one and enjoy it while that one is getting rebuilt to my new incarnation. i still get the cops to notice me but now they put their thumbs up versus the radar gum or the ticket/violation pad

 

I just renewed the registration on the Five Seven only to realize I still haven’t put last year’s tag on it (have not driven it for a year!).

Time has its way of taking control and you didn’t even realize it.

 

I guess you need to decide if the building, or the driving, or the having, is more fun. I am starting to go over to the building part is more fun, even though there were some major pains in my ass when doing so. The driving I do enjoy but short cruises, shows, and burger nights, are not a lot of use to he honest.

 

if you really enjoy the build maybe take on some small projects that others need done to their rides. if you do, let them know you will get it finished when you get it finished

 

Ok, that’s an easy one.
Drive it.
Cruise the strip like you did when you were a kid.
Drive it to a burger joint for a double cheeseburger and milkshake.
Drive it for ice cream.
Drive it to a little town a few hours away for a piece of pie.
Drive it to some weird tourist attraction.
Get where I’m going with this?

 

Drive, drive, drive it.

We drive our old stuff all over, just because. Otherwise I also get really bored with it really fast.

 

I encourage my buddys to drive theirs by driving mine.
I just jump in it every time I can plus I joined the DTA, a good 400+ one way trip to attend their functions....
The neighbor likes to ride along and our favorite dining place is a 120 mile round trip....I keep trying to get him to drive another one of mine so they both get exercize...
Post some 'road thru the windshield' shots of your next outing

 

As others have mentioned DRIVE IT. I can't tell you how many people I know build these mega HP motors and don't drive it because the gas milage sucks or it's too noisy etc. I had a friend that built a car that almost every one told him that he was crazy to build such a motor, over 1000 HP with a 4.56 rear. He would always tell me that one day he was going to go with us to the Nat's in Louisville. Yeah right!

 

100%. It's a vehicle. I use as such. Going on 10 years with my truck.

 

I'm in the same head space as you. To make a hot rod legal to run at the drag strip would take away from it being driven on the street (at least for a roadster with a roll cage etc), so my thoughts were instead of building another hot rod, I'd build a badass teardrop or Mullins trailer to tow behind, then do weekend getaways with the hot rod.

Go to the beach, go out to the woods, go tour the national parks, go visit friends that live far away, etc. Go to work, go to dinner, to coffee, to concerts, etc. Because of that mindset, I've spent a lot of time doing things on my car I wouldn't have if I was just building a bare bones hot rod. I would way rather experience these things in a hot rod. I get fired up just thinking about it.

 

The build has always been the best part of any car I've owned, and my wife tells me I have "post partem depression" once one is done and ready to enjoy. But I don't just take mine to car shows, I drive them as much as possible. Nothing after the build gives me as much enjoyment as driving my cars, and the further I drive the happier it makes me.
If I was building a car to be a garage queen I wouldn't build them. And if you're afraid to drive them when finished you might be wise to sell it and give up on owning a hotrod once it's finished.

 

You are in a similar situation that I was in 1970. I built up a 37 Chevy coupe, primered with a 283. It had been a dream of mine from the mid-60's. When I got it done, things had changed, there were hardly any other early cars running around, and cruise ins, Street Rod events didn't start taking place until many years later. So, I sold it.

 

Wife & I are pretty well relegated to the Sunday afternoon cruise about the countryside , stopping at points of interest ( outdoor markets , historic sites , etc.) & the occasional ice cream stop . Like you , organized gatherings are painfully boring , frequented by obnoxious , know nothings , many car OWNERS included , whose soul function is to know either who built it or what you paid for it , then retiring to a nearby tavern to imbibe for a few hours . I could go on ....

 

shit, I drive 2000 miles in it to go drag racing!

Today I drove 400 miles to get a few parts, that could have been shipped to me, I supposed.

 

I’m reminded of Hamtown Al, may he rest in peace, who looked for any reason to drive his hot rods. Especially taking his trusty dog along to go get ice cream. As Al would say
Opportunities !
Take all of them while you can.
RIP AL

 

You are the only one that can turn your car into a garage queen. Take it and drive it.

 

You drive it? Unless you dont enjoy that in which case, why build em at all? I dont dobit for anyone else so whether everyones doing it and theres fun events or not Ill still be doing what I love!

 

There are lots of places to race legally all over the country.
Drag strips. Who knows how many.
Circle tracks. Thousands.
Autocross. Who knows.
Rally. ditto.
Road race. Hundreds.
LSR. At least 4.

Many circle tracks that have regularly scheduled Pro races run vintage events sometime during their shows and some even have assorted types of cars. (vintage, open wheel & late model)
If you really want to race, just pick a venue and do an internet search. You may find a track right by your back door.
I did.
Oh, by the way, my wife drives it sometimes also.

 

Yeah like most just drive it. We go with friends or without just to dinner. I've put 400 miles on it in the past 6 weeks. Winter not over yet.
This summer between 2 cars we will drive around 6 to 7 thousand miles or more.

 

Plan a trip to Lloydfest .

 

I agree with driving it. Avoid the strip club or the bars. Always end up with dings or someone backing into your bumper... edit: grocery stores as well.

 

The most fun I have with the cars all year is driving to swap meets and buddies houses. Road trips and etc. drive the dang thing.

if I wanted to go racing and go fast I sure as shit wouldn’t be building this is stuff lol

 

Drive?

demo derby?

dirt track?

Take the neighborhood kids for a drive?

 

I do enjoy the challenges that come with building a car or truck. Once that fun has past, the body wok end of it sucks, but I endure that so my ride looks pretty food from 20' away. I build drivers. Cars and trucks are suppose to be driven, and I take that pretty seriously. We put 9,000 miles on my 49 last year. From our home in the north west corner of IL, the truck was as far west as Nebraska, We did 400 miles including the WI Hot Rod 100 and the miles to and from that event, and we did the Lloydfest in KY. There were also several 200+ mile weekends in addition to the weekly daily driving. Finding an excuse to go for a ride isn't that hard if the ride is fun to drive and is reliable enough to get you back home, without killing the household budget.

My wife has ridden along on all those adventure trips, you need to understand that for her to ride along, there is a need for a certain level of creature comforts. That 49 Pickup was not designed for many of those required creature comforts, but since I kinda like having her join me as we ride along enjoying the ride, those creature comforts were included into the build process.

All most anyone can build a bare bones hot rod. Build that bare bones hot rod with enough creature comforts that the wife will ride along, is a completely higher level of hot rod. To make those creature comforts look like they belong in the bare bones hot rod is still a level higher, that I have not achieved.

 

If , as you say , almost anyone can build a bare bones hot rod it's surprising there's much of anyone asking the multitudes of questions there is on these forums .