CUSTOM

[78_oldcruiser]

i wont fighting :| were you fighting with me crossbreed?

by the way here is one of those "customs" crossbreed http://wilmington.craigslist.org/cto/1932756138.html lol

 

[mickey-d]

I have a 41 Willys Coupe, there are pics of it on this forum somewhere. When I bought the car, it had a slide out, lift off nose. Took three people to get the nose off the car. For safety reasons, and that "old gasser" look, I wanted a tilt nose. I shopped around, and found several kits from $75. to $200. I'm retired, on a fixed income, and those prices were nuts. I got under the car, looked around, took some measurements, and tooled on up to my local Lowes. I purchased 2, 6" gate hinges, and 8, 1/4" stainless bolts and lock nuts. Total cost, $9.89 with tax. I went home, drilled some holes, and bolted the hinges onto the slide out steel square tubes. Then I cut those tubes, from the centers, 1" on each side, leaving a 2" space in the middle. Guess what?? I now have a CUSTOM MADE tilt nose on my Willys!! Is it really custom? I don't know, and I don't care! It was CHEAP, and it works. Anyway, I'm happy that I also have "ranted". ............mickey-d :lol:

 

[supkylesup]

i wont fighting :| were you fighting with me crossbreed?

by the way here is one of those "customs" crossbreed http://wilmington.craigslist.org/cto/1932756138.html lol

(insert an over abundance of sarcasm)
It "haves" just about everything a custom car needs to be custom
By golly he is a regular picaso!

 

[patmckinneyracing]

Everyone has their own definition for what is "custom". The way I look at it is kind of like a ladder. There are certain levels of customization based on the level of difficulty, thought put into, and how the work was done. At the bottom of the list is those who simply throw on some stickers and a muffler. These mods (if you can call them that) are rather simple and my 12 year old sister can do them herself. At the top are people like Chip Foose, or even the regular guy who has honestly built his car completely himself, let it be stock or custom.

Everyone knows that I'm not a fan of big wheels, but in the case of that gold regal Qdub24 posted, I can see how difficult it is to convert a car to a convertible and get the body smooth enough to not show any imperfections in a paint job like that. At the same time, if they didn't do a certain level of the work and just signed checks, then I have no respect for them. There are certain things like the rear end or transmission that may be too difficult for some of us to tackle or we simply do not know how to build them.

When I planned out my malibu, I wanted the "Nostalgia" factor with the modern upgrades to the suspension and interior while keeping the motor fairly simple to some extent. Now if you want to define custom as something completely out of the box that shows no reference to other designs, then my malibu is not custom as I've seen some cars that have racing seats and chevy racing stripes. But IMO, I consider my car to be custom. It's basically up to the opinion of the person who wants to use it and in what sense they use it.

 

[treed_cutlass]

Normally I don't reply to threads like these because they're pointless.

Custom has become one of those "catch-words" that everyone spouts off to make things sound cool (often better than they really are). I believe this is what the OP is ranting about.

After throwing the word custom around for 2 pages, did anyone even bother to google what it meant? Here's a little website that I like: http://WWW.DICTIONARY.COM

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/custom
"12.
made specially for individual customers: custom shoes."
Here's another definition that fits the bill:
custom-made: made according to the specifications of an individual

There you have it. If it was made to someone's specs, it's custom.

There are very few things in this world that are completely made to someone's specs.
Unless it was designed from the ground up using raw materials completely to an individual's specs, it's not "custom-made".
Do you have ANY IDEA how much it would cost to build a custom car?

I agree with the OP, the word custom is used far too much, in fact, the word we are all looking for is MODIFIED. I don't give two $h!t$ if there are custom (or a unique combination of mass-produced) parts slapped onto a 1985 Regal, even if the roof is chopped off, IT'S NOT CUSTOM BECAUSE THE OWNER DIDN'T GET GM TO DESIGN THE REGAL TO HIS SPECS TO BEGIN WITH, THEREFORE, IT'S NOT CUSTOM, IT'S A MODIFIED BUICK REGAL.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/modify
"1.
to change somewhat the form or qualities of; alter partially; amend: to modify a contract."

Was the whole Regal changed to the specs of the individual? NO! IF IT WAS, IT WOULDN'T BE A REGAL, NOW WOULD IT????
It was altered partially, and is therefore modified.

The Regal (or Cutlass or Malibu or whatever) was an automobile designed with a GROUP of people in mind. NOT ONE PERSON. Therefore, no Buick Regal can be custom. And yes, I fully know that there are "Buick Regal Customs" out there, ie they have the little "Custom" badge on them from GM, and I'm telling you, GM was being an idiot too. They slap a "Custom" badge on a regal with a set range of options, and suddenly it's been "custom-made". NO, it's hasn't. Options are digital, you can have 0 or 1, or maybe even 2! Custom is analog. You can have 0-infinity.

So often these days people spout words and sayings that they don't even know the root meaning of, and it really makes them look unintelligent.

 

[treed_cutlass]

I don't think that's gonna happen. I also disagree w/you on quite a few of your examples, but I digress.

*Explain how that isn't "custom" please?

The windshield
The bumpers
The tail lights
The headlights
The side mirrors
The GNX style fender vents you see on easily 25% of Regal builds
The mass-produced wheels

I can go on and on...

Another funny thing is when people are selling "custom" cars... Who wants a car that's built to someone elses specs? That's like buying someone elses' custom shirt! WTF!!!

 

[Crossbreed]

Normally I don't reply to threads like these because they're pointless.

Was it really pointless if it made you stop and think?
Honestly, there was no fighting here. Slight arguing at the most.
I just wanted to get an opinion on something that all of you car-owners/builders deal with in one aspect or another, but is seldom talked about. It's an underlying cause to your G-Body disease, so to speak.
If it gets ignored it gets forgotten, so I brought it up.

A good example of this is oddly enough GM, Ford and Chrysler.
There was a good period of time when these 3 stopped being creative and quite simply all started putting out crap that nobody wanted. Sales slumped. Oddly, none of those execs and CEO's stopped to say "Hmmm... Ya know guys, our cars kinda suck".
The thought of "custom" or trying something new/different never crossed their minds. A lot of people say the big 3's need for bailout was the economy. I'm pretty sure that offering boring cars that nobody wanted had something to do with it.
Dodges genius plan was to create a fleet of cars that all had the same front end and looked like the Ram (awesome idea... tards)
Ford stepped up and redesigned the mustang as a whole. Chrysler followed suit with the Challenger. GM with the new Camaro.
But the point is, if it weren't for realizing that people weren't interested in boring anymore, these 3 vehicles would have never seen the light of day. Kinda interested in what a 2012 GN would look like. As long as they don't drop the ball (ie Dodge Charger)...
Another RANT---> ...sorry but the people that ran out and bought Chargers when they first came out bought them simply for the name. It looks nothing like a charger. Change the name to the Dodge Targos and guess what, it's just another ugly car made by Dodge.

 

[tc1959]

All arguments aside I think " Custom " is any thing that makes a ride yours, and anything that makes you happy with it. 8)

 

[Silent viewer]

damn, i guess since my car has 4 wheels then i copied someone so itrs not custom. i have a car with air ride and 20s, buitl 350 vortec with stealth ram efi planned and all leather gray interior based on a newer pontiac, shaved everything.... if what this feller is saying was a good point the fact that i do not have the first regal on air ride, or the first g body on 20s or the first guy that has had a souped up chevy motor and sure as hell not the first guy to shave something then i guess what i have been calling a full custom all this time is b.s.???? for real?? cutom IS anything that did not come stock period. i have fabbed plenty of my own parts, i was one of the first people to bag a g body almost 10 years ago before you could even get kits for it, i shaved all of my own stuff and the only thing i have paid someone to do is exhaust work but i guess i copied someone else on all of that so it is not custom....

 

[Crossbreed]

but i guess i copied someone else on all of that so it is not custom....

If you can't read between the lines, I dunno, try again I guess.
But okay, here: this entire post was directed at you. Just you. No one else. You are the sole reason for this post. You sir!!

... there, it's all about you now. Happy?

You either get what I'm saying or you don't. If you wanna be a dick about it, be a dick about it. LOL