Fat Hack
03-31-2004, 12:41 PM
There are only a handfull of "other people's rods" that I've ever truly lusted after to the point that I would just about kill to own them, but one of my dearest Objects of Desire is sadly destined for new ownership!
I got the Heads Up this morning, and I know it won't be long until SOMEBODY here finds it on e-bay and proceeds to blast away at the poor thing and it's humble creator, so I figgered I'd get my warm-hearted farewells in now...before any silly flame wars start up!!
My Favorite HAMB Ride...which I've come to regard affectionately as "El Blanco" after someone here made the comment that it looks alot like a Graboid from the "Tremors" movie trilogy and TV series...is going off to find a new home!
(El Blanco is the perpetual Graboid...being an albino, he can't morph into a Screecher or an Ass Blaster!)
I saw pictures of this truck last Summer and just couldn't believe it...
"Nah, that's gotta be some Photo-Hacked foolery!", I said to myself..."That thing can't possibly DRIVE!?"
Then, Thom (aka Kulturepimp) posted an invite for one and all to come on down to a big party at the shop in Indianapolis, Indiana for a free beer and chili open house/bash/concert/car show extravaganza...how could I resist???
I got there to find El Blanco resting outside the shop in a state of mild disassembly...the radiator was out and Thom was working on new bed sides to help increase cooling efficiency at speed. The fact that it wasn't roadworthy at the time really didn't phase me (although I had really hoped for a ride in it!)...it was real, and I got to see and touch it!
It's everything a terrifying freak of nature ought to be...rough, crude, raw and savage...but despite it's horror show fascade, it also envokes a feeling of awe and respect, with a touch of genuine admiration for the fact that it makes no appologies for being what it is...it just exists on it's own terms and does so proudly!
Below this truck's ramshackle exterior, lies some truly inspired vision and craftsmanship. Not content to just drop the body on a stock chassis, Thom fabbed up a unique set of rails that tapers along with the hood up front and features a generous kick-up out back. The foundation is solid, even if the exoskeleton carries a less polished demeanor!
The radiator is in the bed, along with the home-brewed collection of gas cans that feed fuel to the beast...testamony to form following function rather than life imitating art! You gotta love it!
My encounter with a El Blanco was truly a memorable one, and I left loving him more than I ever thought I would. Some cars just GET to you, and you find yourself fondly personifying them as if they were almost human...or animal, at very least.
It's just my luck that I can't afford to bring him home to stay with me...but I hope that wherever he ends up, he will be preserved and respected...as well as genuinely loved and cherrished! Like the "real" El Blanco, he's one of a kind, and though locals may fear and loathe him...they'd be saddened and left somehow empty if he were ever to go away, too!
Yeah, I got my hands full with my Chevy, and I love that car! It's also crude and nasty and something only a Mother could love, and I don't see myself ever letting it go.
But El Blanco got to me first, and will always be dear to me...maybe someday our paths will cross when the stars are aligned and we can enjoy the pleasure of each other's company for a good long time...like Burt Gummer and his beloved nemisis...I'll keep my eyes open for El Blanco and give chase when I can!
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif
*sappy, teary-eyed rant over* http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
I got the Heads Up this morning, and I know it won't be long until SOMEBODY here finds it on e-bay and proceeds to blast away at the poor thing and it's humble creator, so I figgered I'd get my warm-hearted farewells in now...before any silly flame wars start up!!
My Favorite HAMB Ride...which I've come to regard affectionately as "El Blanco" after someone here made the comment that it looks alot like a Graboid from the "Tremors" movie trilogy and TV series...is going off to find a new home!
(El Blanco is the perpetual Graboid...being an albino, he can't morph into a Screecher or an Ass Blaster!)
I saw pictures of this truck last Summer and just couldn't believe it...
"Nah, that's gotta be some Photo-Hacked foolery!", I said to myself..."That thing can't possibly DRIVE!?"
Then, Thom (aka Kulturepimp) posted an invite for one and all to come on down to a big party at the shop in Indianapolis, Indiana for a free beer and chili open house/bash/concert/car show extravaganza...how could I resist???
I got there to find El Blanco resting outside the shop in a state of mild disassembly...the radiator was out and Thom was working on new bed sides to help increase cooling efficiency at speed. The fact that it wasn't roadworthy at the time really didn't phase me (although I had really hoped for a ride in it!)...it was real, and I got to see and touch it!
It's everything a terrifying freak of nature ought to be...rough, crude, raw and savage...but despite it's horror show fascade, it also envokes a feeling of awe and respect, with a touch of genuine admiration for the fact that it makes no appologies for being what it is...it just exists on it's own terms and does so proudly!
Below this truck's ramshackle exterior, lies some truly inspired vision and craftsmanship. Not content to just drop the body on a stock chassis, Thom fabbed up a unique set of rails that tapers along with the hood up front and features a generous kick-up out back. The foundation is solid, even if the exoskeleton carries a less polished demeanor!
The radiator is in the bed, along with the home-brewed collection of gas cans that feed fuel to the beast...testamony to form following function rather than life imitating art! You gotta love it!
My encounter with a El Blanco was truly a memorable one, and I left loving him more than I ever thought I would. Some cars just GET to you, and you find yourself fondly personifying them as if they were almost human...or animal, at very least.
It's just my luck that I can't afford to bring him home to stay with me...but I hope that wherever he ends up, he will be preserved and respected...as well as genuinely loved and cherrished! Like the "real" El Blanco, he's one of a kind, and though locals may fear and loathe him...they'd be saddened and left somehow empty if he were ever to go away, too!
Yeah, I got my hands full with my Chevy, and I love that car! It's also crude and nasty and something only a Mother could love, and I don't see myself ever letting it go.
But El Blanco got to me first, and will always be dear to me...maybe someday our paths will cross when the stars are aligned and we can enjoy the pleasure of each other's company for a good long time...like Burt Gummer and his beloved nemisis...I'll keep my eyes open for El Blanco and give chase when I can!
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif
*sappy, teary-eyed rant over* http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif