[streetpirate]

I was just thinking to myself about how most of the 90's street rod magazines I read growing up were mostly focused on tweed and billet, and later the more retro rides started showing up.

so what's the history behind period correct building? when did it start? was it seen as something new and innovative?

what I was really thinking about is how few muscle cars I've seen where someone has tried to use only vintage speed parts regardless if there are newer better performing parts out there.

[1957plymouthhemi]

I think every generation has had folks that have put together cars "the way we did them as kids", OR at least the way they remembered them OR the way they wish they had.

It's been in the last 5-10 years that it has become a fashionable thing to do. I might also might add they while a lot of folks do some very nice representations of period cars VERY FEW are actually 100% accurate, there are usually some concessions in the name of safety or simply because of parts availability.

[dinger]

I think it started back in the late 70's with the van craze. Coddington was a hard core rodder, he brought the billet look into being, it kicked started the hot rod movement, he was into the rich boy scene, he made his money that way. The period era's started, IMO, when tweed, billet, whatever was happening at that particular time, became the vogue for builders. I prefer the pre-billet eras myself, I like chrome, I like cars that are meant to be driven, not looked at like they are some work of art and way too expensive to put wear and tear on them. Muscle cars were dead from Detroit, the van craze was dying off, the baby boomers were coming into their own, it was a natural progression to describe the hobby.

[Aloha Chevy]

Aloha,
It's about,"I like to live in the past, and visit the present when I need to". I am one of those guys. I am still trying to deal with the 20 inch wheels on 32 coupes. I am not criticizing the people who like that stuff, I just like the old school stuff better.

[Bonneville462]

I think they were always in style but now that we have the internet, peoples true thoughts can be heard.. The old car culture is no longer dictated by magazines trying to sell parts for there advertisers..

Look at how many serious young people are on HAMB...

[Centerline]

Originally Posted by 1957plymouthhemi

..... It's been in the last 5-10 years that it has become a fashionable thing to do. I might also might add they while a lot of folks do some very nice representations of period cars VERY FEW are actually 100% accurate, there are usually some concessions in the name of safety or simply because of parts availability.

I agree. My 32 is being built to an early '60s period (1964 to be exact) and there are very few parts on that car that weren't available back then. But... there are a couple reproduction parts and modified later model parts that I did use like my tilt column. They were available back then but mine is a repro unit. Same thing with my seat. It came from a mini van but it was reupholstered with a design that was common in hot rods back then. Some compromises do usually get made along the way but its the guys who wind up with "confused" cars that really bug me. You know the ones I'm talking about. The "period correct" cars with A/C, disk brakes, and a Tremic or 700R4 trans.

Originally Posted by Bonneville462

....Look at how many serious young people are on HAMB...

Its just too bad that a lot of them don't have a clue how it was really done back in the day. However... that's true of a lot of the "traditional" forums around the net.. especially the rat rod forums.

In my view, "traditional" rods became popular more or less as a counter to Boyd's billet mania of the 80's and 90's. They've always been around as a sub set of hot rodding, but when the average guy saw all the $$$ being thrown into the "street rods" of the day it fueled the retro or "traditional" period correct movement and helped it gain status as kind of a... less expensive way to go. Unfortunately if you build a true nut and bolt period correct hot rod, chances are it will cost more than a billet clad street rod. Period correct speed parts are EXPENSIVE now days.

Centerline
HotRodsAndHemis.com

“It's better to go into a corner slow and come out fast than it is to go into a corner fast and come out dead." - Sterling Moss

[cboy]

In my view, "period correct" has much more to do with HOW a rod is built rather than WHAT a rod looks like.

Back in the "period" (whatever that means) we built with whatever we had available and whatever we could lay our hands on that was cheap, fast, and/or stronger than what came from Detroit. We took more OFF the car than we put ON on the car. We aimed to look DIFFERENT, not to look the SAME. Sure, we copied things that were happening on the west coast or the east coast, but in the end, each of us built to our own specifications, not those of some bygone era.

What I enjoy seeing the most nowadays are the rodders who are using their wits and their ingenuity, rather than their pocketbooks, to build cars. They might be using a basic design from the 1930's or they might be using a basic design from the 1990s. Doesn't matter. They are taking whatever design they start with and making it their own. And they are doing it with parts they gather from the bone yard or parts they have made by their own hand.

There might be a chrome piece here and there from Speedway or Summit, but for the most part these car are anti-checkbook. They reek of innovation and shade-tree solutions. And they celebrate the pursuit of what MIGHT be rather than what USED to be. For me, THAT is what "period correct" is all about.

So in my opinion, "period correct" is not making a comeback...because it never went missing. "Period correct" has little to do with styles, fads, or looks. It has to do with innovative and creative builders. And those builders have been with us always.

[TucsonJay]

I would agree with some of these guys. What is "period correct"? ...and which period are you talking about?

post war or '50s cars?
'60's - '70s cars?
Resto rods?
billet cars?
todays "big wheel" cars?

The one peice of advise I give customer is to pick and era... or a new updated version of an era, which is becoming popular... and stick with it!

If a car is '50s flathead or lakes-style, with flake paint, directional mags, and modern paint graphics, you will not impress anyone! It is like the car does not know what it wants to be! Pick an era as the inspiration, and stick to it!

I mentioned the "enhanced" era cars. I have been seeing a movement in that direction. Maybe an injected motor... bigger wheels but with the period centers... and upgraded era-style paint. In simpler terms... the new improved car, inspired by an era. I've done a couple customer cars of this style already. It isn't "era correct"... but it is clear where the inspiration came from.