47-55.1 Why I Don't Follow Trends With My Truck Builds

[MiraclePieCo]

What was cool yesterday, isn't cool today. What is cool today, won't be cool tomorrow. You can spend a lot of time and money making your truck look like the latest hot fad, but in a few years when fads change it will look as dated and regrettable as that mullet in your wedding photos.

I found this example of a 70's-style Shaggin' Wagon on Ebay, complete with sun windows, lace paint, shag carpet, etc:

[CG]

If you stick to a basic "traditional timeless semi stockish" get it? Your buyer pool will be hundreds of times bigger.

Sometimes I read the classifieds for cars over on the HAMB and people are asking huge bucks for the kind of ride you are talking about, "fad rides", and they may have huge bucks in to them. But who wants to pay that kind of dough just to change it all out?

[nvrdone]

it was ugly then & is even uglier today.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by CG

If you stick to a basic "traditional timeless semi stockish" get it? Your buyer pool will be hundreds of times bigger.

^^^This assumes you built it for a “pool of buyers”. If you built it for yourself who cares what others think!

That said, I’ve seen many 80’s/early 90’s builds for sale with tweed upholstery and pastel paint jobs.

On my truck - which I didn’t build with the intent to sell - I painted it red because I LIKE red and I didn’t delete the badges or weld shut the bed rolls and delete the tailgate chains because everybody seems to do those things.

[Second Series]

I like it! I'm looking for ideas for my panel, this is not how I'll go, but it is unique.

[CG]

Originally Posted by Dan in Pasadena

^^^This assumes you built it for a “pool of buyers”. If you built it for yourself who cares what others think!

That said, I’ve seen many 80’s/early 90’s builds for sale with tweed upholstery and pastel paint jobs.

On my truck - which I didn’t build with the intent to sell - I painted it red because I LIKE red and I didn’t delete the badges or weld shut the bed rolls and delete the tailgate chains because everybody seems to do those things.

You may have built it to your tastes with no intent to sell. But I hate to be the bearer of bad news ... you have excellent taste haha! And chances are you are going to have that "pool of buyers" others wish they had when they try to sell their pastel with tweed interior rides. And I bet your truck looks amazing without trying to be trendy ... Good Job!

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by CG

You may have built it to your tastes with no intent to sell. But I hate to be the bearer of bad news ... you have excellent taste haha! And chances are you are going to have that "pool of buyers" others wish they had when they try to sell their pastel with tweed interior rides. And I bet your truck looks amazing without trying to be trendy ... Good Job!

Thanks you for saying this^^^

I wanted the truck I had been thinking of since I was literally in my early 20's. Now that I almost have it - still a few details I will change as time goes on - It's too nice to drive as much as I originally intended. For example I wouldn't feel comfortable parking it in an ordinary parking space out of sight while I went inside a restaurant. I wish I could feel comfortable doing that but I can't.

So if someone comes along after I've had it awhile -not sure how long that would be - and offers me stupid money chances are it will interest me enough to consider it.

[slammed57]

I wish the mullet would come back in style so I can sport it again!

[MiraclePieCo]

Originally Posted by slammed57

I wish the mullet would come back in style so I can sport it again!

Business up front, party in the back, ha ha! Hey, everything comes back around; it's just a matter of time.
Heck, when I watch major league baseball I think the mullet is already back in style.

[special-K]

What's funny is most who look back and cut on old fads are at the moment following the current one. Now it's hip to do early era traditional style. I watched that go away and all the trends since and not too many guys can say they've stuck with the traditional throughout. Maybe for some it's 'going back'. But it's going back after 60 years after building the street rods of the '60s & '70s into the 'glass & billet kits through the '80s & '90s. People are doing things to trucks now that they will be cussing in the future.

Another funny thing is I can honestly say I never lost the love for how things were done in the '50s and '60s. I kept my tastes with the tradition stuff. Didn't like the wheels that kept coming and going, trick paint, etc. BUT... I can totally appreciate a ride from any of those eras done to a T. I like seeing an era taken from the past done right. Especially considering how great life was at that time. That's what the traditional rodders are doing now. Who's to say the trends of the '70s, '80s, or whatever won't come back and people who cut on those trends now won't hoppin' on the bandwagon. If you truly don't follow trends it's because you have your own creative mind and know what you like and that's all that matters.

[MiraclePieCo]

When I see current builds on forums, it's shocking to me how attitudes have changed. Used to be we built our own trucks to reduce, minimize and avoid the complexities of production vehicles. Simpler = cheaper and more reliable. Make the engine compartment cleaner, less cluttered, more accessible. We remember when you could literally stand inside the engine compartment to work on a truck. But nowadays a new generation has embraced the complexity of technology because they grew up with it. Every electronic and power accessory imaginable is added. Underdash is jam-packed and the wiring harnesses alone are nightmares. Computer controlled functions abound. Tubing, belts and plumbing are in the way of everything. "Plug and play" they say, yet what could be simpler than a single wire to a single coil? A single fuel line to a single carb? No myriad sensors to malfunction or fail? Roadside tuneable with just a screwdriver, instead of having to carry a laptop and software?

An immutable rule of mechanics is that simpler equals cheaper, more reliable, less to malfunction and easier to maintain. The whole idea of hot rodding has always been to reduce such clutter, to eschew amenities in favor of reduced weight. Power steering? Hah, a crutch for weak old ladies. Air conditioning? Hah, a performance robber. Tilt wheel? Hah, ugly accommodations for fat old men. Leather seats? Hah, money that could be spent on performance upgrades.

"Nuff said, I'm sure I've shown my curmudgeonlyness already...

[Dan in Pasadena]

^^^ Well, this is one point of view. Here's another:

Do you think modern cars are built to be more reliable or less? If your default assumption is cynicism - built in obsolescence, well I just can't agree. Modern cars are offered with 100,000 mile warranties...think car companies do that without careful financial consideration of the cost of it on tens of thousands of units?

Electronic fuel injection is infinitely more reliable than a carburetor and points. Modern cars start without a choke in any weather, at any altitude, they run infinitely cleaner than carbureted cars and they do it all giving better mileage and running air conditioning without ever overheating. Are there exceptions? Of course.

But you'll notice no one sells ice bags to hang on your radiator anymore, no one has to remember to bring a match book to gap points on the road anymore, or own feeler gauges at all anymore. I love earlier cars too for their character but not for their ease of maintenance or reliability. Just because you and I are too old to feel entirely comfortable with an ECU or tuning a car via a laptop computer doesn't mean they're less reliable. It means you and I are no longer in sync with modern technology.

[MiraclePieCo]

Originally Posted by Dan in Pasadena

Do you think modern cars are built to be more reliable or less?

My experience is that modern cars are less reliable. I can't count how many times I've had a Check Engine light that ultimately resulted in a $1000 repair. Old cars will still run fine with less than optimum tuning. New cars need a closed loop or they won't run at all.

Originally Posted by Dan in Pasadena

Modern cars are offered with 100,000 mile warranties...think car companies do that without careful financial consideration of the cost of it on tens of thousands of units?

Warranties are offered as a marketing incentive; their numbers have been driven up by competition. They have nothing to do with actual reliability.

Originally Posted by Dan in Pasadena

Electronic fuel injection is infinitely more reliable than a carburetor and points.

You are confusing efficiency with reliability.

Originally Posted by Dan in Pasadena

But you'll notice no one sells ice bags to hang on your radiator anymore, no one has to remember to bring a match book to gap points on the road anymore, or own feeler gauges at all anymore.

People SHOULD be able to do roadside repairs themselves. A roadside breakdown that once could be fixed with a match and feeler gauge now necessitates a tow to the dealership and a multi-hundred dollar diagnosis by a technician with an array of computerized equipment. This is NOT reliability.

[Dan in Pasadena]

MPC - Strokes/folks.

I remain absolutely convinced of the mechanical superiority of modern cars. Which is not to say there aren't occasionally problematic cars or systems.

But as a whole, new cars are more efficient, more reliable, more capable and safer than 50-60 years old cars and by a wide margin. Though they are nowhere near as cool looking to me/us on these forums.

I don't think the question stands up to even a cursory comparison.

[PDW HOTRODS]

I think you are both right. Modern cars are reliable for some time, but not long term. They build cars to last as long as the payments. People will probably not be restoring 50 year old 2019 cars. Cars built now won't survive what the old cars did. A new car underwater for a few days is totaled.

[1project2many]

People SHOULD be able to do roadside repairs themselves. A roadside breakdown that once could be fixed with a match and feeler gauge now necessitates a tow to the dealership and a multi-hundred dollar diagnosis by a technician with an array of computerized equipment. This is NOT reliability.

The complexity required to ensure a vehicle meets emissions and fuel economy standards is so high that it takes quite a bit of specialized equipment and training to fix many of today's problems. You can sometimes fix them beside the road if you know what you're doing and have the tools to do it. But this is the way it is with many of the objects we own today. Computers, appliances, audio and visual equipment, and phones are frequently made using a long and complex series of steps with tools and parts engineered by computers designed just to do that job. I'm even seeing home construction performed using subassemblies built elsewhere then brought in, and sometimes these homes have bonded insulation or panels that are likely to be tough to duplicate during a repair.

I believe that the time when people could easily fix vehicles, even with the correct tools and training, has passed by. There are sooo many nightmare stories from dealerships now it isn't funny. Few techs believe in "fix it right the first time" for intermittent electrical problems because there's often no way to determine exactly what causes a particular set of symptoms if the symptoms aren't present. And in many vehicles the human isn't in control anyway. When you press a pedal or button it's simply a request that the computer(s) may or may not accomodate. We're just voting members of the "drive the car" committee.

I enjoy driving my '36 Plymouth. It's crazy simple and most items can be fixed easily. I just spent the day working on a '95 Wrangler. EFI inside but nothing special other than that. It starts, runs, and drives every day. Then again, we just drove an '08 Caravan to the auction with 340k miles on the original engine. The Plymouth and Wrangler will never equal that.

[Russell Ashley]

Some trends definitely have come and gone but there are some that are timeless. Here's a car that I first saw when I was sixteen in Savannah, Ga in 1957, and I thought it was the coolest car that I had ever seen. It had an Olds engine and looked just like it does now, although it probably has been updated many times since then. As far as I know it is still in the same family. This pic was taken in Savannah at a cruise in last month.

[_Ogre]

Originally Posted by Dan in Pasadena

If you built it for yourself who cares what others think!

ogre can't agree more
and realistically... anything can be reverted back

Originally Posted by slammed57

I wish the mullet would come back in style so I can sport it again!

great minds think alike, here's to the mullet comeback

Originally Posted by MiraclePieCo

My experience is that modern cars are less reliable.

oh how soon we forget! check the gas and fill the oil!
back in the 70s, buying a sbc with 30,000 miles on it: was burning 1 qt per tank and cause for a total rebuild
now days a motor with 100k on it is a good to install, motors often go to 300k without any work
i use the oil change reminder on my 09 gmc, i often go 11,000 miles between oil changes

[jbarron]

It's all perspective.
The sbc in my 72 is about to roll over the second time for me.
It uses no oil.
My 2001 Z71 with a 5.3 uses a quart every 500 miles.
It has fewer miles by 100K.

[daveshilling]

It is absolutely okay to build a trendy truck. 100%. Why does your truck need to be timeless? Who ever said that was a rule, necessary, or even good?

Sure you can play it safe, keep it really stock, and hang your hat on how traditional you are. Go to a show, find the other guys like you, and sit in your lawn chairs patting yourselves on the back for being authentic and real and tasteful. And that's totally fine if that makes you happy.

But while you're so busy making sure the world appreciates how timeless you are, I'm going to have fun building something I want to do today, because I'm alive today. And they're just trucks. It's just stuff. Screw it.

Get your mullet back if you want.

Also: Why would you avoid doing something to your truck because someone else did? Is there an originality prize somewhere I'm not aware of? Do you win a longer life? Whats the reward? Just do what you like even if 1000 other people like it too. Probably a reason for that. Plus you I-must-be-different guys are sissies. Wow you put in a Cummins? Turn your truck into a three-wheeler. Replace the sheet metal with plexiglass. Convert the doors to removable jeep-style. Make a bed that also can be removed and used as a trailer.

[mick53]

I'm not smart enough to know what the trends are anyway. I just do what I like. They can bury me in it if they want to.

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by mick53

I'm not smart enough to know what the trends are anyway. I just do what I like. They can bury me in it if they want to.

trends are popular things like rat rods (or scrap rods, right MPC? ) or s10 frame swaps, or flat black paint jobs. or a hundred other mods that contrarians like to pooh-pooh, really its just hair splitting, that "i am better because" talk that got left behind in high school.

you have it right mick, build what you like. and if it ends up youre the only one who likes it, or it ends up someones joke on a website, who cares? at least you built it. guys knock minitrucks all the time, but the minitruck culture was one of encouragement and support. broke your truck at a gas station 100 miles away from a show? everyone waits with you, except the guys who run for parts or a trailer. project stalled? 3 guys come over on the weekend and help get off high center. no one ever posted pictures of other builds with snarky comments or knocked guys for trying something new. hope lone wolfing works out for the guys who do it better than everyone, for example the hamb is the loneliest place on the internet, lots of similar opinions on trends and lots of judgement, lots of lonely guys patting other lonely guys on the back.

the guys who buy my trendy trucks love em. they probably love them more than the guys who hate them, hate them. if they offend anyone here, send me your address and I will refund every penny you spent.

[mr48chev]

There are trends and there are fads.

Trend, moving on to the next drivetrain in the drivetrain progression. That isn't necessarily a bad thing. You can pull an LS style engine out of a donor that pulls 400 hp, gets 25+ mpg on the road and lasts 250K miles without much of an issue now. If I wasn't building to a specific build plan I'd put one in something I intended to drive a lot and far.

Trend= installing AC and power steering and disk brakes. comfort and safety. Plus probably value added when it comes time to sell if you sell. My wife turns 69 on 9-11 and in the past 50 years of me dragging her around the western US in the 48, my ol 51 Merc, the 57 Panel and the T bucket she has more than earned her creds for riding in rigs with no ac and at times no heat. Crossing the Continental Divide at 10 at night in a truck with no windows and no heater can be butt freezing even in July but we did it. On the same trip in 1981 Texas set a record for consecutive days over 100 that still stands as far as I know. It was so hot the pavement was melting in
West Texas. She has well earned the right to do the next road trip to Texas with AC in the truck.

Fad= Way oversize rims and extremely low profile tires that will probably be obsolete before you make the first show with them as what is the hot lick changes so much.

Fad. Bomber seats in trucks. Those exposed rivets in the aluminum are cute but who wants to take off on a 5000 mile road trip in them with not much more than a boat cushion for padding.

Fad= fake patina. or cleared rust for that matter. I'd rather chance the quuality of a Maaco paint job than drive around with rust and brag how great it is.

Fad= Barn find dirt still on the vehicle at an event. I saw two at a show a few months ago that the owners didn't want to wash because it would "ruin" the barn find look that they were bragging about.

Fad = Rat rods that are so obviously unsafe to drive on the street that they are trailered to events because there is no way that the owner could ever register and insure them. There is a rat rod show 2 miles from my house in June that will no doubt have a fleet of tow rigs and trailers parked out in the corner of the park as they did last year. Looks like the back lot of Goodguys in reverse.

I have seen the " I did so much on it that it is too nice to drive" thing for the past 45 years. I've got a friend with an 80K Mercedes that he will drive anywhere at any time and turn over to Valet parking without batting an eye but won't take his mid 50's Chevy Hardtop out of the garage if there is a cloud in the sky and never drives it to town for dinner or to the store. He even avoids washing it because it might get wet in spots that he can't towel dry. That car probably doesn't have 40 K tied up in it because he started with a pretty pristine car to begin with and there isn't anything expensive on it drivetrain wise. On the other hand there is a local Chevy AD truck that I know for a fact the owner paid over 10K for the paint job several years ago that you see at almost every event in what ever weather and see on the clubs burger runs to places around the valley quite often. That guy is always looking for reasons to drive his truck and it looks every bit as nice now as it did the first time out. Take it out of it's home area where it is too well know and it will be a serious award contender at any show it goes to. Here everyone has seen it so many times they are used to it.

[MARTINSR]

Originally Posted by Dan in Pasadena

MPC - Strokes/folks.

I remain absolutely convinced of the mechanical superiority of modern cars. Which is not to say there aren't occasionally problematic cars or systems.

But as a whole, new cars are more efficient, more reliable, more capable and safer than 50-60 years old cars and by a wide margin. Though they are nowhere near as cool looking to me/us on these forums.

I don't think the question stands up to even a cursory comparison.

What I believe is the big difference is that you have a warning with the old systems. Gets hard starting, stumbles when you step on it hard, rough idle, that sort of stuff. Todays cars are running....or not, done deal, no warnings.

Brian

[1project2many]

Why would you avoid doing something to your truck because someone else did? Is there an originality prize somewhere I'm not aware of?

There is a prize somewhere. For the guys that come up with unique designs, seeing another unique design is pretty cool. I always appreciate the work that goes into a build and I believe it's important to remember that we're all at different places with respect to skill and interest. But I personally find less excitement in a show with one after another LS swap. I definitely get it. It's easy and there's a bunch of support. It was that way with SBC when I was a kid. But why follow someone else's recipe? Maybe it's the difference between heating up fish sticks and fries just to get food on the table vs wanting to give others the experience of an awesome meal? Maybe it's because I favor exploration and discovery over walking the same route daily? I can't say for certain but I promise that seeing a straight eight Buick with custom made injection system and a from-scratch turbo manifold is much more exciting than seeing an LS build with an E-bay turbo kit, even if the LS makes 3X the power.