Are you a Purist or a Realist?

Realist I guess. I like to keep mu Junkers stock but do like the engine a bit warm. I like a nice sound but not too loud. I love to drive them on tours with my wife at my side. I even dream about touring in my Junkers. Dad always called my cars Junkers.Mother he dragging another junker home.This place is looking like a junkyard. Then he help me unload it.
 
I enjoy the freedom to do what I want with my car. Thanks, Dad, for fighting for that overseas.

My car is mostly stock; I like to optimize the existing components and make the 6V stuff work well; the place I used to work specialized in 6V systems and I learned a few tricks. I also keep the stock brakes in tip-top shape. When 6V batteries are no longer available I'll convert the car to keep it on the road.

I also have a lot of respect for those who modify drivetrains and can keep up with traffic. I've bought lots of replacement parts from people who don't need them anymore!

That old car, which is identical to the one my Dad owned, represents a lot of things to me.
 
$3500 flathead? Have you had a machine shop do a total job on a garbage truck engine lately that has to have the valves adjusted weekly............, yeh, I know, if you do your own work on it with the totally available parts it will be cheap, The parts for a flathead are not that expensive except when the scalpers run them up. There are still rod and main bearings on epay as cheap as you can get them from a jobber. Gasket sets are being scalped now. Machine work on a flathead is no more than a garbage truck engine IF you get the valves out first. And, like I said, who needs 300 hp when you can drive down the I at highway speeds and reasonable gas mileage?
 
I like mix of both - stock bodies and interiors with period correct performance mods circa 1940's
 
truly vintage ist .......

i am not sure what the difference is

Agreed .... ;)


" Truly Vintage " defined .....

" A condition, form, or appearance consistent with the authentic original
allowing for safety and use in a reasonable and practicable manner "


My definition just created .... :D



Jim
 
I vote as a realist. My car is a "restored" 40 sedan, totally original outside, interior is 1940s style----although as a Cadillac would have been. Even the paint is only a couple of shades from original. The frame is original, all changes are "bolt in", a flathead could be returned if ever desired. Front suspension is dropped cross spring, rear suspension is semi elleptic. Even the firewall is untouched.

I enjoy driving non interstate roads at 55-60MPH, but could also handle 75+MPH if needed. The car is truly a joy to drive on crooked roads thanks to a well prepared suspension with custom shocks, sway bars and radial tires. And if I need to stop quickly from 75MPH, the front power discs will do the job well.

The engine is a 289 Ford(no GMs for me) with a lot of "old school" parts on it. If I hadn't already had the engine, a hot flathead would be in it.

My next car is a 40 pickup with a "hot lick" flathead, totally original on the outside but lowered about 6" and suspension modifications like the 40 sedan. Does that make the PU a "purist or a realist"?
 
Example - Eddie Sandoval

A " truly vintage " living & breathing example ....

Eddie Sandoval in Williams, AZ

He owns Eddie's Tires and has lived in Williams his entire life

He also own a Ford Tudor that I believe you can see
peeking out of the garage below - might not be the one
I saw last year ....... or the year before ...... or the year before

Every time I take I-40 thru Arizona and it is ' business hours ',
I try to see him - he has some stories to tell if business is slow

His Tudor looks like it might belong in a junkyard,
Eddie has owned it over 40 years I think ......

But it runs - drives - just like Eddie


If you get a chance, stop in and visit .... :D


@ http://williamsnews.com/main.asp?SectionID=74&SubSectionID=114&ArticleID=10973



Jim
 

Attachments

  • Eddie.jpg
    Eddie.jpg
    26 KB · Views: 32
  • Eddie2.jpg
    Eddie2.jpg
    21 KB · Views: 38
Both - I am a purist in that I want my '52 F1 to LOOK original but I am a realist in some of the mechanical areas, etc. - still 6 volt but I have an alternator - added Red's headers and have dual exhausts (Smithy's) to eliminate the cross-over and some back pressure - put in a hot coil and a Pertronix dist. set-up as I hated the points. So except for the dual exhaust pipes it looks like it did out-of-factory but runs like a top is a always fun to take for a spin.
 
Re: Example - Eddie Sandoval

A " truly vintage " living & breathing example ....

Eddie Sandoval in Williams, AZ

He owns Eddie's Tires and has lived in Williams his entire life

He also own a Ford Tudor that I believe you can see
peeking out of the garage below - might not be the one
I saw last year ....... or the year before ...... or the year before

Every time I take I-40 thru Arizona and it is ' business hours ',
I try to see him - he has some stories to tell if business is slow

His Tudor looks like it might belong in a junkyard,
Eddie has owned it over 40 years I think ......

But it runs - drives - just like Eddie


If you get a chance, stop in and visit .... :D


@ http://williamsnews.com/main.asp?SectionID=74&SubSectionID=114&ArticleID=10973



Jim

I read about Eddie while sitting in a dentist office reading the Arizona Magazine. I was so impressed with the Hot Air Baloon Fest in Arizona I put it on my Bucket List to take a ride. I may do it this year.

Shadetree
 
Well you look at the picture and you find I am both.Lets be honest most people do not drive their cars very far. I for one drive many miles to shows and I drive it I do not trailer it. So which ever you are enjoy it. It is yours only Henry designed it!!!!
 
I don't think it makes a difference what you are as long as you enjoy what you are doing and are having fun doing what you do .Everyone has their own ideas and thoughts .It would be a pretty mundane world if we were all the same .JMHO.Enjoy your hobby.
:)
 
columbia, i will answer your question, sbc complete long block, $750, and 300 h/p. parts every where and cheap, ford flat head, $3500and maybe 150 h/p, parts very scarce and expensive, now before you roast me i was just answering your question as why people go to the sbc, i personally love the flathead engine, and have a 39 delux coupe that is all original, and wouldnt take any thing for it

Flathead parts scarce!!! Really? I think the guys at H&H flatheads in California will disagree with you on that little gem.I have never seen a market so full of flathead parts before.bottom lines is it's not 1932 and automobiles and modern freeways have changed.rules have changed,people have changed and there is no escaping that. I am adaptable, you have to be in order to survive. Recently as long as three days ago a young girl bought a 55 chevy truck and drove it home on the 805 freeway with her father behind her, steering failed she hit the side rail and flew out the windshield and died... No lap belts in the truck. Her dad saw everything. Now wether the belts would have saved her , it's probable but we won't know. Point is to adapt to todays environment is a survival matter. Purist is all well and good, but at what price?
 
I think a "Realist" is someone that acknowledges all aspects of the hobby and a "Purist" is someone that doesn't. The way you choose to build your cars/trucks is your choice and you should not have to defend or make excuses for it. Vic
 
Realist. I believe in safety upgrades like juice brakes and seat belts, but we drive ours.
I also make concessions on parts as a realist. I don't have to use Genuine Ford parts if I don't want to.

And as a Realist, I totally respect the Purists.
 
Juice brakes and seat belts are nice. Safety is good, even though I drive with a gas tank at my knees.

Whatever keeps them moving and most is in respect to your driving needs.
 
I can appreciate botht he purist and the realist, whatever you decide those terms mean. I like both the bone stock and the hot rod. I can even enjoy the Rat Rod. When I go to a rod run and see the rat rods, I recognize that someone is having a lot of fun on a minimum budget. As long as they are safe it is fine with me. Whatever floats your boat. I have no complaint with whatever a person wants to do with their car.
 
I am a realist.I have newer flathead bolted to newer drive train. The body will remain stock. Interior will capture the essence of the original.
 
I am a purist when I can be with something that deserves to be left original but I am a realist when it comes to building something that others discard as not being worth the trouble to restore.Thats why I have some of everything from an original to a hot rod to a muscle car. I like them all but they all have their place.
 
Back
Top