BRITISH Rodding history...

[kapri]

..cherish or ignore ? Following on from a few comments on the British T thread should we cherish what was achieved with little knowledge of what we were doing and a lack of instruction books / rod heritage to build on?

Or should we simply ignore it all as it was not done to the ( now ) accepted American ideal ?

I remember an article in Street Rodder back in the late 70's reporting on the BelleVue show with queries about some of the cars on show.Even with some of the rods nobody mentioned that the shiny new catalogues we had were meant to be divided into sections / styles.

Yup , a time that taste forgot in many cases but it didn't take long to find our feet and, even during those times, some timeless classics that would stand alongside the best the States could offer were built THIS side of the pond.

Much of the 'stuff built during that time leaves us with a legacy that will help us fight our corner in the future
Without those early days there would have been nothing for Lowflyers to rebel against to create the start of a global phenomenom, that surely is something to be proud of coming from OUR history?

So should we simply ignore all that and decry /sweep under the carpet anything that we did that didn't fit in the 'little books' style which is now so popular ( which wouldn't be now without OUR history that precedes it )? History is history and you have to know where you've been to know where you are going surely?

[raysal]

Kev, as you may of read in a couple of my recent posts. Though I left rodding for many years to further my career etc I started rodding in the sixties . There were no instruction books, nothing on the telly in fact I don't even know where I found out about rodding, I think I have got to use that phrase again that a few can't get their head around " it just happened, it was in the blood" I was hotrodding toy cars from as far back as I can remember.
Our style then was to get a Pop or the like as they were 2 a penny , we would go down the breakers and fit whatever engine we could, choice was usually made by the physical size and condition, sometimes the engine was not that much bigger in terms of cc/hp than the original but it was the adapting of something that was not a part of the factory build that made it fun. Most of the older people and police used to call our cars Jalopies or bitsers. We would change axles mainly so we could put bigger wheels on the back, no ballancing of welded propshafts then, just line em up and weld. No paint jobs either unless you decided to get the tin of Dulux out. This is why I can appreciate ratrods, they resemble our jalopies.
Latish 60's we got into custom cars and everyone seemed to have a 105e Anglia or mk 1 Cortina, the scene then was to fit 1500 ford engines, big bore exhaust, lower them, and of course fit a set of 5.5 Js. We were the Max power boys of the day and not to be confused with hotrodders, it was almost compulsary to race your fellow customiser if you met at the lights.
I went back to real hotrod building in about 75 and built the Pops you still see today i'e Boxed chassis, Jag IRS and Viva front, V8 or V6. We also had a few mags by then CC and car and car conversion, so you started to have a little information on building rods.
The Chelsea cruise was the meeting place for the likeminded, I remember my legs turning to Jelly at Chelsea when I saw my first real life 32 coupe (love at first sight)

I think that now days there are a few different types of rod builder, there are the ones that build no thrills rods, then there are the guys that like to build trick and a few in between lol.

So in answer to the thread I don't think we should forget the guys that almost nailed them together they are the same guys that have now got the hang of it all, lol, they are also the ones that started it all over here.

[kapri]

Ray, back when I was with UKK we started to trace early forms of what could be considered 'kustomising' in this country . These cars were few and far between and very closley linked with those bulding rods ( not specials ) in this country. We got back to the late 50's with some of the guys who were familiar names at the start of the 70's boom ( Geoff Jago, Richard Parkes, Phil Ritchie ,to name a few ).

I was sort of ignoring those guys as most think our history started with that 70's boom rather than at least a good 15 years earlier and they definitely weren't as mainstream.

Our early mainstream days were often based on cars just 10 years old but I know for a fact that lots of rodders started with them that are active in our scene today with more 'acceptable' rides.However those times were the start of rodding the venerable Pop, where would all the modern guys be without the trailblazer John Baldichinno who fitted the first Viva HA front and CC documenting it for all to follow?

[40Stude]

Posting at stupid o'clock in the morning Kev? Can't sleep?
Ignore OUR heritage? No way. It is too important for us to pretend that hot rodding in this country only exists as a pastiche of what happened across the pond.

[Happydaze]

History is history, and in an environment that's steeped in nostalgia it seems strangely ironic that we seem to fail to embrace it. So what if some of it might be not quite as we'd like to remember it?

So where exactly is the cheeseboard? Yes it was naff, but it was real, like the Billing monstrocity, but it seems it's now gone and history rewritted on the steering wheel ashes urn.

Chris

[redoxide]

It goes back a lot further than the 70s, or the 50s, try looking back as far as the 1920s It was pioneered in the UK way before it was popular in the USA.

[Enbloc]

First off, that ^^^^ is not a Hot Rod its an Austin 7 race car.

What fascinates me is the early drag racing that took place in the 60's over here.

Its been totally forgotten.
How about when all the big names from America like Tommy Ivo and Tony Nancy came over WITH there cars and crews to race at what was basically an airfield with an old traffic light!
Can you imagine that happening today?? John force and whoever coming over to race their Funny Cars and Top Fuel?

It was fascinating to see very British dragsters that where small, A Series powered and running Lotus Cortina steels going up against dragsters that were carbon copies of the American dragsters with Aluminium bodies, magnesium Halibrands and Hilborn injected Hemis!!
This is mid 60's England remember!!!

Where have all these cars and parts gone?

There was even a national magazine just for drag racing. Would something like that sell today?

[kapri]

I struggled to sell two early copies of that mag recently Clark. We had a local working military airfield ( HMS Daedalus ) host the visiting Yanks back in about '65/7 era .

Special / hotrods mmmmm, think that arguement will run and run, all in the terminolgy I think . It wouldn't be the first time Europe has influenced the Americans, what about some of those old B's cutdown to look like MGTA/F series ? Even old Edsel himself got in on the act

[weemark]

of course our history should not be forgotten - depends on what history your talking about kev? is it all modified cars or only hotrods?

or do modified cars, similar to the austin redoxide has put, which pre-date hotrods become part of our history? they must have certainly had an influence... all the lines become very blurry..

if nothing else the NSRA history should be documented and put on the site.

[kapri]

I was thinking more of our 'rodding history' as that is what most on here are interested in.Especially the period in time when many of us caught the bug.I really think that most of that was down to American Graffitti.

[weemark]

but kev the car like the austin and some of the other vinateg sprint cars are very like lakes race cars which more than a few people seem to like, another example may be.

[weemark]

but can you ignore the cars which ran at brooklands and shelesly? they are built in the same style as the early lakes cars which more than a few people seem to like... cars like these...





compared to a car on my thread about the veda orr lakes racing they aint that different.

[kapri]

but kev the car like the austin and some of the other vinateg sprint cars are very like lakes race cars which more than a few people seem to like, another example may be.

I agree with you Mark, just didn't want to drag it into this thread To me the VSCC cars also share a common bond as well.

Each nation that has been rodding longterm bring their own twist to rodding, look at how far back the Australians go AND they've even got their own lakes, their rodding history can stand alone. We were even racing on the sands wherever possible, all common links.

People moan about the Jago T's or B' and associated chassis' not being authentic enough, it was ALL we had at one stage and without them it would be very unlikley that the scene would have grown big enough to make molding more authentic stuff financially viable.


I was lucky enough to be able to hang around Jagos when they were in their prime and met some lifelong friends who worked there ( who are also lifelong rodders ) .All of them are a HUGE part of our history in my books.

[1960Zody]

First off, that ^^^^ is not a Hot Rod its an Austin 7 race car.

What fascinates me is the early drag racing that took place in the 60's over here.

Its been totally forgotten.
How about when all the big names from America like Tommy Ivo and Tony Nancy came over WITH there cars and crews to race at what was basically an airfield with an old traffic light!
Can you imagine that happening today?? John force and whoever coming over to race their Funny Cars and Top Fuel?

It was fascinating to see very British dragsters that where small, A Series powered and running Lotus Cortina steels going up against dragsters that were carbon copies of the American dragsters with Aluminium bodies, magnesium Halibrands and Hilborn injected Hemis!!
This is mid 60's England remember!!!

Where have all these cars and parts gone?

There was even a national magazine just for drag racing. Would something like that sell today?

Enbloc,
Take a wander over here and you'll see that it's definately not been forgotten... :-)

We've got a lively forum going as well...

http://www.ukdrn.co.uk/

[redoxide]

Enblock an austin racer it may be,Its a one off built for speed not roundy racing but straight line accelaration ( sound familiar) but figuring in the usual argument of whats a hot rod? its modified and it did over 100miles per hour back when people were pioneering the need for speed. Stuff like that was the fore runner to what is commonly termed "hot rodding" young tearaways emulated the racers by stripping there beaters and on occasion doing a little tunning here and there to what were otherwise stock motors, not always ford either. Ford probably got the edge because of volume and much cheapness.. so by default it became the iconic marque for "hot rodders" that it is today. BUT that pish doesnt help Mr Rooney trace the history of "hot rodding" as its become known in the UK. Most old "hot rods" built in the UK back then loked cool for the time, but in the cool light of day they were mostly ****e. Ive had oppertunity to look over the Mister T pop from way back.. what a total piece of crap it is, but thats what the average builder done back then. To some extent the modern history of UK hot rodding for Mr average revolved around painting your rear axle with stars and stripes, liberating the HA viva front end and jag back end painting starsky and hutch stripes on the Mk1 Capri. Jack up kits, and cruisin lights, whippy aierials and boot spoilers, kinda like the style of the boy racers today. Rusty 50s and 60s yanks were also popular, the occasional hearse, and a heap of other odd ball stuff for good measure. Colourfull and unique it certainly was, and inspired many a scribble on the front of my jotters back when.. But if you want to see what the "big boys" were doing back then I'm pretty sure its covered in some other posts by someone on here who has the most fantastic pictorial history through the eras. there are some howlers among them.. and some inspired cars, including 32 fords from the days when only a handfull of people in the UK even heard of the term "hot rod" But if your gonna trace the roots of the car modifying hobby you can go all the way back to them old austin racers and likewise the Mgs that the yanks so desperately tried to emulate.

[Enbloc]

Enblock an austin racer it may be, Its a one blah blah blah........

Its still not a Hot Rod.


Does the NSRA have any sort of archives?

If they do, how extensive are they and how far do they they go back?

[Pez]

Its still not a Hot Rod.

So, what is a Hotrod then?

[weemark]

So, what is a Hotrod then?

[img]http://limewoody.files.wordpress.com/2006/03/aw_jeez_not_this_****_again2.jpg[/img]

[1960Zody]

So, what is a Hotrod then?

It's about £2.50 on KFC's new summer menu...

Chicken on a stick

[Pez]

So, what is a Hotrod then?

Found one in France

http://homepages.tesco.net/~Christia...e2CVHotrod.JPG