The Motor Underground: A Hot Rod Revolution Ep. 2 

I have always been into the scene, i'm 63 yrs. old and have had drag cars, muscle cars and am just now building my first HOT ROD. I have a small garage and a smaller budget but I am doing what I can with what I have. Watching your videos makes me think that I am living in the fifties/ sixties and wish I was part of that whole scene, I love it. Thanks for sharing your stories and I will try and keep them alive.

I remember helping that yellow car with the white walls on the the side of the freeway a few years back. His power cable broke off the battery and luckily I had a couple in my jeep that I used for a welding kit. It was cool helping him out and getting that hot rod fired back up.

Damn, I miss those times. Brings back memories. I am glad I was around OC at that time.

WOW. If episode #1 wasn't amazing enough. I'm convinced that the Shifters kids (not kids anymore) were at the forefront of this Hot Rod & Rockabilly resurgence. What strikes me as amazing is that they were aware of Cadillac, Oldsmobile, Flathead, Pontiac, etc engines , at a time when that was unpopular. Could we go so far as to say that they were ahead of their time? I feel so. Lastly, the archival photographs and footage compiled blows me away.

🏴‍☠There is Never Enough "Betty Pagers" Best Ladies Style Ever😎🏁

I like Billy's Majestic Z lamp. These cars were like punk rock was to 70's Rock and Roll music. It is good to see hot rods transform and stay relevant.

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! YOU MADE MY DAY!!! I LOVE THE RAT ROD MOVEMENT!!! IT IS ALL ABOUT BUILDING YOUR HOT ROD YOUR WAY. THEN DRIVE IT AND ENJOY IT. AND I ALSO ENJOY THE RETRO CULTURE THAT GOES WITH IT!!! IT IS THE 50S ALL OVER AGAIN. WITH ROCK AND ROLL AND BEAUTIFUL WOMEN. LIFE IS SHORT, AND EACH DAY IS A GIFT.

Hey. I found you by pure accident. I happy accident. I'm a 72 year old Hit Rodder. Got hooked seeing cars the older guys drove. Dreaming of the day. I had a $50.00 !950 Ford woodie with a demolished right side. I bought a 1956 Chevy 2 door wagon 6 cyl. Bought a 265 V8 thinking it was a 283. I got it running. Now I'm a retired old fart. I'm building a 54 Chevy truck.aka Ol'Beater...no Halloween car. A true build it with what you got. Keeps me young. Thank you for your Channel. JB

THIS IS TOO COOL. THIS WAS ON THE COVER OF HOT ROD DELUXE. WHEN THAT DEBUED IN 1990. IT WAS THE BEGINNING OF THE RAT ROD MOVEMENT.

So glad someone is telling the stories and showing the real car culture of doing what you can afford and making gnarly rides from scrap

Most EXCELLENT VIDEO just like #1 and can't wait till #3

I was in old town orange in the early 2000’s working at Mitchell’s Gas and those guys were a BIG influence in that town.

I ran with axle in high school in the 80s, we had a muscle car club around 1985-86 in Riverside ca. Even tho he had GTOs and was into muscle cars for a minute his heart and soul was always in the Rockabilly movement and Hot Rods!

Like Frank says below, episode 2 is even more enlightening than episode 1 and very well documented. I'm very proud that the Shifters came to me back in February of 1994 when we had only been in business for 16 years to have us make their car club plaques. And 29 years later we've made over 180,000 rod and custom car club plaques, many of which would not have happened if they hadn't opened the sport up to the younger generations that have kept it alive and growing 70-80 years after the hot rod culture started. Thanks Alex (Axle) for letting us help you. And please stop by World Headquarters again the next time you're in Massachusetts.

That's awesome what you're doing. Just so you know, the Shifters name has been part of this area since 1959. Auburn IN. Auburn Shifters EST. 1959

Great story’s. Humerus and history. Thanks for creating the rat rod…

Some of my best times were in the 60s when I had a ford roadster. Never had the money to fix it up much, but what a lot of fun. That time Era was great to grow up in, cars were cheap, a kid could do a lot playing around with old cars. Loved it, 70 years old now but still driving an old car.

I love these cars! Always wanted to build one, but no money. So I’m building my old 63 dodge pickup. I found a 440 and automatic for it now it’s just finding time to do it.

TOTALLY AWSOME VIDEO!!!! A MUST WATCH!!!!

Really enjoyed, great vid!!!! 👍👍

Love the story, love the style of Hot Rod, I’m in the same boat with my’57, that’s why I call it “Lunch Money “ gets all my lunch money. Maybe put Frank’s picture on milk cartons, keep the series coming, thanks.

Dang! This brings back memories! I got in a street race leaving the 1st Shifters party in Paso. It was probably around 1am. Elks lodge maybe? It was a pretty close race. I think I got him by a bumper. Barely got the 59 slowed down to make the turn onto Spring st!

Everything comes full circle! Kool don't die

Killer stuff! Keep it coming PLEASE and THANK YOU!!

I love the old iron. It’s getting so expensive to even do that now ( at least around here) glad y’all started the vibe!! Love it I remember my dad always had gto’s road runner’s gtx’s 442’s . And he wold call them rats lol good stuff man

im building a 57 ford currently but love the stuff you guys are doing. so cool

Well done, Dan.

Love this! Hope there's more!

This is epic stuff man! Great job, keep up the great work!

Wow Awsome video thanks

This is why Building Rods, Models, and as a 40 year old loves to play with HotWheels/matchbox cars.....

Freiburger put Purple People Eater on the cover of Rod & Custom. Paso was incredible in those days, now it's just another fairground show. RIP Anthony Castaneda

Thank you guys

Great series and seeing Ben Kahan’s name in the credits made my day, can’t recommend his RU-vid channel enough.

Very cool, good times.

Chip Foose's commentary was insightful.

Please keep these coming!

Good one! Still can’t believe it’s been 30yrs now😳

This is too badass! Love it!

This was an interesting piece. I've recently fallen in love with the Rolling Bones style car and this group is as cool for sure. Thankas for sharing the video. Nice cars, interesting cats.

Hot Rods Forever 🍻

Hot Rodding never stands still

@11:45 it caught air. Everything about that car is cool.

Great series!!!

I went poopy on myself watching this waiting on the outhouse or the half pot beside of it. It stank so damn bad but it gave me an idea of a hobby so i bought 13 bowling ideas.

Prounounced "Paso ROE-BLESS"

One of the cool threads here that we can see is that we are influenced by media. Any of us drawn to old media will be influenced by things that have become out of date. They mention in Part 1 that the second Stray Cats LP cover made them see something "new" that they had never thought of before and right away they identified with it as cool. They were drawn in by the LP cover with the A bone and its primitive features. This happens to many of us who are bored with anything we consider current. Music, cars and all types of art are completely subjective. We like what we like and no one can change it unless we say its okay do do so. For me it was the car magazines available in the late seventies. Got me started in ideas for cars. Then I got a bit older and attended my first Nor Cal car swap meet. What did I find? I found car magazines from the fifties and sixties. I bought all I could grab for a fifty cents each or sometimes a buck for a whole cardboard box full. I looked at every page. By 1985 I had Remington wide whites on my 55 Chevy and have never looked back. You guys are the best. Love these presentations. Love the conversations, stories and overall explanations of why things happen the way they do. As I heard in the recent presentation "Three Mile" the guy says "you can teach a lot of things, but you can't teach cool". Cool is in your blood or its not. Keep up the GREAT WORK! USA-1

Legend has it Frank is working at SEARS.

Very cool

Kind of an odd question but can anyone tell me the name of the lamp to the left of Billy during his interview?

The purple people eater I love that car

Nice still hot rodding myself

I remember as a kid in middle school lookin at the ugly heartbeat paint rods n the prices,n thought fuck,ill never havea hot rod,well,im 49 now and a see threw rusted 30 coupe is still more then i can afford,lol cheers!

I wish they get Frank back!

I’ve really enjoyed these two episodes, is there an episode 3 coming up???

enjoying these episodes on the shifters, is there any more to come

Thumbnail... Why is that guy urinating on the cool hotrod?

Did you interview kev Elliot. Who used to be editor of custom car uk. And the legend Tom Ingram. He used to run hemsby rock and roll weekenders, before moving to the states. Now of viva Las Vegas fame.

I have always liked hot rods, my first car was a 56 Chevy, I almost bought a Model A cabriolet, but a 56 Chevy from the neighborhood came up, factory black and white, black tuck n roll, Hurst, chrome wheels, 3/4race cam. I should have never sold it.

Need a episode about Rod Powell from salinas,ca

Back in my younger days ( soon after I was discharged in the early 70's I was in the street scene much like America Grafiti depicted ( which was the real birth of the current street scene with the mixture of "new old school " and true old school rods and customs and the cruising , sponsored by clubs, or not just like during the late 60's and early 70's 😊😅😮😢😂❤😂😊❤😊❤

I've got old eyes. What does the t shirt with Milner on it say?

Excellent documentary, engaging and easy to watch a second time. Really pleased that @6:40 you included mention of a Texas band who spread the Shifters spirit and influence to those of us not on the West Coast: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Ae829mFAGGE.html

I got really tired of the street rod scene in the 90s. No originality., just a sea of fiberglass 32 fords with a 350/turbo 400/ford 9 inch. I love my 33 dodge 392 hemi/727/8/34 , spray bomb paint job 👍🏻🤘🏻

Talking about the 90's like that was vintage, WOW! Sorry shifters, decades ahead of you on the hotrod deal. I can't believe how they're talking about the 90's, that wasn't that long ago guy's. Now the 70's were cool with the car's, the 440 six packs 4sp car's! The 396 and 427 Camaros, Chevelles and Nova's (vettes too) but they were never really in that scene. They were too good for us(so they thought). I guess it's guys digging cars regardless of year's, too bad were talking about California though, geeze that state is just trashed now! Small town USA is where it was at, back when that one guy had the "fastest car in town"!! Good times, then later in the 80's I learned the pleasure of nitrous oxide, knocked the rods out of a lot of 350 Chevy's! But they were cheap! $75-$100 bucks, we'd just throw heads, cam, intake and a bunch of nitrous at them, beat all kinds of cars we had no business even racing, took a while before people caught on! Long live the American V-8!!!

I'll NEVER ACCEPT THE RAT ROD TERM. Hot rod always and will be.

I hate the term "rat rod". It gives this scene a bad look and not in a good way. These cars are awesome looking as is. Doing what you can, with what you got.

I have always liked hot rods, just not muscle cars. Although I had a 56 Chevy (didn't everyone) I dont like cars newer than the mid 30s

It’s funny how Foose thinks the only reason(said it about three times) we don’t have SRs is because we can’t afford them. Sorry, do your thing but I have never wanted that stuff!

The true meaning of built and not bought. I never liked the term rat rod.

Motors are electric, kid....

Primer has never been cool.

all cars end up rat rodded

I hate the term " rat rod " call my truck a beater , or piece of shite.

ruined our freeking country

Have been searching "Gow Jobs". Helps a lot in recreating that pre war ratty look.