In our so-called English language, there are certain words that take a beating. For people like us, these words could include: custom, restored, patina, and last-but-not-least on the list, any variation of the word “tradition”. Like the others on the list, the word tradition is a perfectly good word when used properly. The trouble is that it’s been abused a bit as of late and its expanded definition can create confusion for the geezerly among us. Even so, based on what we see around us today, wouldn’t it be safe to say that the current trend is toward tradition?
Our search for components began in a traditional manor. A good-used music box from a ’64 Ford F-100 had the look that Rob Welborn was after. Keeping in-tune with the theme, a pair of ’36 Ford horn grilles made period-perfect speaker grilles. Reception however, wasn’t good. We’ll be leaving Oz now—traditional tech is black ’n’ white.
Now before you fire off a new-fangled ’lectronic letter to the editor, let me ask y’all a question: How far are you willing to go to maintain traditionalism? It’s not as difficult as many think. And true traditional styling in hot rods goes far beyond red wheels, whitewalls, and flat finishes. If you’re a true traditionalist, you’ll install a truly traditional AM (amplitude modulation) sound system in your ride right away, even though you’ll be sacrificing mandatory rockabilly road tunes for the cause.
A truly traditional hot rod music box receives AM airwaves only, and here in Southern California that means no Johnny Dollar, no Johnny Cash, only Juan Dinero, because neighboring Mexican radio stations come in clearly on AM stations.
In all honesty, we hadn’t planned to drill a hole in this finished car. During the coupe’s construction, a modern universal antenna was cleverly concealed within the confines of the left C-pillar, but much to our surprise, it failed to receive the elusive AM signal, proving that AM airwaves can be captured only by a traditional AM aerial.
So with all that said, who’d be traditional enough to poke a hole in hot rodding’s Holy Grail? More specifically, who’d willingly take a hole saw to the exterior of a finished Deuce coupe? That’s what we’re about to do for our customer/friend, Rob Welborn. Now before we continue, y’all should know this about Welborn: he was racing hopped-up gow jobs prior to World War II. With nothing to prove, Welborn is a true traditionalist. So, when cruisin’ his current Deuce five-window coupe on the streets of Los Angeles, all he needs other than the sound of his own glass packs is an AM traffic report.
