Post #590158 by Sabu The Coconut Boy on Sat, May 21, 2011 11:54 PM

In other threads on this forum, we've discussed how the modern Tiki Revival has mixed and overlapped with the Rockabilly, Surf, Hot Rod, and Burlesque revival movements. This is generally accepted as a modern phenomenon - It makes sense that Mid-Century Modern revival cultures connect and overlap - they accent and enhance each other and we all have the element of nostalgia in common now to bring us together.

Back in the 1950s, 60s and 70s, these cultures were distinct and not even necessarily recognized as "cultures" or "movements". They were just passions and enthusiasms of the era. If they overlapped, it was purely by accident, right?

For the longest while, the only evidence we had that Hot Rod Culture and Tiki Culture (and Surf Culture for that matter) overlapped at all was the famous Surfite model that appeared in the "Book of Tiki":

Lately, we've been seeing more overlap in bits and pieces. I recently had the opportunity to leaf through at least a hundred Hot Rod magazines from the 1960s at an estate sale and found even more connections. I still don't think that tikis were a major part of vintage Hot Rod culture, but I DO now believe that some hot rodders, (at least in Southern California), found Tikis to be very cool, and incorporated them in photographs to amp up the appeal of their cars. I have a feeling this might be because the "Exotic" nature of Polynesian restaurants and Tiki statues accented the exotic-ness of the custom cars, but that might not be the only reason.

Anyway, let's devote this thread to images of vintage hot rods and custom cars mixed with tikis or tiki restaurants, as well as discussion and debate about the intersection of the two movements back in the day. Here are some photos from my collection to get started. I wish these types of images were more common. Seeing tikis and hot rods together triggers a "cool" overload in my brain. It's hard to think of a better juxtaposition.

1. "Rod And Custom" magazine, March 1954. "The Tahitian" is a custom 1951 Ford Victoria, painted in Sunset Flame and Golden Mist, parked in front of the original Kelbo's restaurant on Fairfax & 1st in Los Angeles.

2. "Hot Rod" magazine, June 1961 - At the Winternationals Rod and Custom Show in Pomona California, a Long Beach club called the Renegades, won the Best Display award with their "Primitive" tiki-themed background:

3. "Hot Rod" magazine, March 1962 - Lawndale resident, Gary Heliker displays his custom Model-T street rod next to the local Tiki Kai restaurant to great effect:

4. "Speed and Supercar, Feb 1967" - A 1965 Dodge Coronet, named the Kon Tiki, is one of the quickest stockers running in the Midwest:

Other recent posts on TC:

TC member congawa recently posted this photo of a nice custom van parked in front of the Kono Hawaii in Santa Ana, CA, sometime in the 1970s:

TC member Lukeulele publishes a custom car magazine and recently found these great photos of Dirty Mike Gildea's tikis taken in Manhattan Beach, CA as part of a lot of hot rod photos that were submitted to him. One suspects that the original photographer might have been both a Hot Rod and Tiki aficionado. Here's the original thread and some of the photos:

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=38445&forum=1

Anyone else have any other images? Or theories on why tikis might have appealed to Hot Rod enthusiasts in the 1950s & 60s?

As a bonus, here's an AC spark plug ad from "Motor Trend" magazine, March 1963:

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[ Edited by: Sabu The Coconut Boy 2011-05-22 00:38 ]