Yeah actually I thought about that and did some research. Mitchum wrote the song and sung it himself based on mountain lore about a similar kid that met his end. There is quite a bit of discussion over whether it was a true story or not but seems like it might be with some major differences. At any rate he also wrote the screen script but it didn’t necessarily fit the song details. It seemed like the route taken in the movie was similar to the song and one guy tried to trace it again. Kind of interesting that he developed the idea for the movie over several years of discussions and research. So the lore came first that he based the song on. I’d much rather see 57 Fords though anyway.
I watched his final interview on youtube last night. It was interesting that the guy who played his brother was actually his son Jim. He offered it to Elvis but they wanted what amounted to half of the whole film budget so he picked his son instead. He wrote it, financed it, directed it, and starred in it. Interesting guy anyway.
A properly chopped '49 to '51 Merc is one of the most beautiful customs ever. Chopped top, shaved chrome, frenched antennas and headlights and dropped to the ground with those triple lakes pipes.
The Oldsmobile and this car above both likely have airbags instead of springs. To slam the car to the ground when parked, the air is lest out of the airbags. An on-board compressor pumps them up so the car can be driven away.
The terminology that describes this Merc is chopped, shaved, frenched, slammed and bagged!
To me the '40 Olds in Street Rodder magazine (background in the attached image) is the best of its genre. I also like 30s-vintage phaetons, and T-buckets with the high windshields and droptops. My favorite phaeton is probably the Munster car.
Things I like in a hot rod or roadster are at least 4" clearance, driver visibility, full three-season road equipment (rearview mirrors, windshield wipers, a hood, etc.), proper hardware (door handles, trunk latch, etc.). To me these things make a hot rod drivable.
I dislike extreme chops, poor road clearance, no hood with velocity stacks, open pipes, “tank turret” windows, shaved exteriors, extreme louvering, and other things that compromise road ability. Cars are meant to be drive. “Trailer queens” do nothing for me.
I’m glad to see this thread has generated more controversy than the Trump thread. That’s how it should be around here.
With a bagged suspension you can have it both ways. Low for show, and then raise it up to make it drivable.
If we were just talking about a drop kit that left the car permanently a couple of microns above the asphalt then yeah, I’d hate that too, but you can raise those cars up to a perfectly normal height when necessary.
I tend to view hot rods more as automotive art than a car that’s meant to be practical. We all make compromises in our toy cars. My MR2 can only carry one other person, and if I get more than 3 bags of groceries I run out of cargo room. The engine is in the absolute worst place for doing any sort of work - for some stuff you almost have to lie face down on the trunk to get to things. Tires are very hard to source, it scrapes going over curb cuts, the T-tops drip in heavy rain, and being 24 years old it forces me to spend a lot of time fixing it instead of driving it.
Practical, it ain’t! But it looks great, is tons of fun to drive, and I wouldn’t trade the compromises that allow it to be the car it is just for drivability.
I bought my dream car last July. 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T Classic in B5 Blue.
For a long time I wanted an older “classic” car, like a 60s-era Mustang. But as time went on, I realized I value things like factory A/C and decent fuel economy. And reliability. And avoiding potential money pits.
So for the past 8 years or so, I’ve had my heart set on a blue 2008-2012 Dodge Challenger R/T. Last summer I came across one in my hometown, of all places, that was exactly what I was looking for from a private seller. Turns out the gentleman had bought it for his fiancé about a year earlier, and they had to put a new transmission it shortly after they bought it. I researched the car a lot, and it had been well taken care of otherwise. They were selling it because they were about to get married, and their small kids in car seats were just not working out getting into a 2 door car, and soon-to-be wife had decreed they needed something with 4 doors. So we were able to get the price right, and the deal was done.
I love the car and daily drive it. Lots of fun, and I’m glad I did it.
I like low riders in the proper place, like sitting still or on flat city streets. I would raise the car on the highway for fear that pot holes, eleven pavement, or bridge joints would damage it.
When I was a kid, the neighbor kid’s (same one that got his finger in the lawn mower) brother had a chopped, lowered, etc. 49 Ford. He was in the service at the time and the thing just sat in the garage locked and covered up. We used to look at it often but dared not touch. When he got out of the service he traded it for a 59 Chevy. I guess a little more practical daily driver.
Blue 67 Big Block Chevelle with S/S Cragars wheels. Yeah old school muscle.
Or if I can track down the current owner of my old 69 427 Corvette I would take that also. I still have the vin number I think I have to pay a cop to look it up.
I don’t believe they’ll release that information to the general public and a police officer checking the data base would be in big trouble. I used to be able to do this in Minnesota but then it really really tightened up about 20 some years ago.
I feel your pain. For many years I inspected, maintained, repaired, and modified Aviation Life Support Equipment (ALSE). It drove me crazy when it was constantly referred to as ALSE equipment.
