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***U.S.A 1966 a Hot Rodding Trip of a lifetime.MANY pictures***

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by flatoz, Feb 26, 2007.

  1. Scratchbuilt
    Joined: Jul 19, 2010
    Posts: 155

    Scratchbuilt
    Member

  2. Wow. Glad this thread popped back up, I'd somehow missed it before. Fantastic shots, story and trip. Just wow.

    I saw the shot of the xPak and laughed. I had the trading card when I was a kid (still do, I think)...

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    Last edited: Apr 10, 2013
    kidcampbell71 and Dog_Patch like this.
  3. Malarkey_BS 13
    Joined: Dec 8, 2012
    Posts: 108

    Malarkey_BS 13
    Member
    from Chicago

    There's only one word that comes to mind when i see this thread, and that word is ENVIOUS.... Awesome!
     
  4. flatoz
    Joined: May 11, 2003
    Posts: 3,237

    flatoz
    Member

  5. What a trip.....today's reading and of course 45 years ago. Excellent show. Two thumbs up.
     
  6. No book yet, ay? Googled what I thought would hit a switch, but only a link back to here. Would totally buy it too...just like everyone said 8 years ago. LOL just sayin'.......thanks though!! Awesome story, and pictures.
     
  7. falcongeorge
    Joined: Aug 26, 2010
    Posts: 18,341

    falcongeorge
    Member
    from BC

    I love this car.
     
  8. flatoz
    Joined: May 11, 2003
    Posts: 3,237

    flatoz
    Member

    I had always dreamed of doing a book , but they take time and money and I have a young family, and both Dad and I are building another car each so focus is else where, but I would still like to document it a bit more.

    Luckily for me, one of the guys on the trip told me that dad wrote a diary everyday, so it shouldn't be to hard to sort it out. He also did a map of exactly where they went and most of the slide I think were dated too.

    On top of that, his memory for this trip is as sharp as a tack, I only wish it was that good as to where he put some of the hot rod parts I have given him to store that I want back!
     
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  9. bt34
    Joined: Dec 22, 2006
    Posts: 294

    bt34
    Member

    Awesome...great story..thanks...
     
  10. gnichols
    Joined: Mar 6, 2008
    Posts: 11,345

    gnichols
    Member
    from Tampa, FL

    I wish I had seen this thread earlier, it's just fantastic. Thanx for the time capsule / trip. Gary
     
  11. 80WTI
    Joined: Sep 16, 2012
    Posts: 319

    80WTI
    Member

    Great thread wish i found it years ago.
     
  12. BrerHair
    Joined: Jan 30, 2007
    Posts: 5,006

    BrerHair
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    A shot of "Back in the Day". You have one cool old man!
     
  13. This is a great treasure, thanks for sharing with all of us...Tim
     
  14. poss51kustom
    Joined: Oct 4, 2009
    Posts: 61

    poss51kustom
    Member
    from ohio

    Really enjoyed this thread. It brought back many memories of 66 and that whole time period.
     
  15. C0ra1l1
    Joined: Sep 24, 2010
    Posts: 233

    C0ra1l1
    Member

    Truly captivating - these pictures are invaluable. The story greatly enhances this time-capsule experience.
    I spotted one show rod "Little blue pearl", Plymouth Sport Roadster 1932 which is nowadays owned by a Finnish rodder, though I'm not sure if this one pictured might be the black colored clone built by Howard Armstrong.
    Little blue pearl was on ISCA 1965-66 show tour, so the time frame would be spot on. Screen shot 2014-08-23 at 7.15.19 PM.png
     
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  16. USMercUte
    Joined: Nov 11, 2008
    Posts: 178

    USMercUte
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    This site is amazing and the inter-tie between the US and OZ is still alive and well at least in the Hot Rod world. I recently received a P.M. from Peter Swift advising me of the fate of a mutual friend who lives very close to him. Harry Wright, a New Zealand hot rodder who moved many years ago to OZ so that he could be near more hot rods, old4dlvr here on the HAMB, has been hit with dementia at the age of 64 and was missing for a few days on his way home from a swap meet. His future is not bright at this point. Harry and I have been friends for 20+ years and he has introduced me to Eddie Ford and I have stayed at his home in Chewton, as he has stayed with us when in California. When we were first hearing bits and pieces of what happened to Harry, out of the blue, Peter (who I knew of but never had the pleasure of meeting) P.M.'s me to bring me up to date on him. After reading this post and being close to the age of these guys, they would probably have driven through the Northern California town I grew up in and still live today on their 1966 trip. Fast forward to 2015 and we still have hot rods and friendships. Thank you Peter for your kindness and concern. Thank you HAMB for the inter-tie. Regards, USMERCUTE
     
  17. Wow, this is an amazing thread!!!
    Thank you for sharing a great adventure and memory.
     
  18. Wow, I missed this thread before now, and what a thread it is! Thank you for sharing the trip in the time machine!
     
  19. 2935ford
    Joined: Jan 6, 2006
    Posts: 3,843

    2935ford
    Member

    Ok....this is great!
    but I do have to ask........
    so you decide to take a trip to the US to do the "Hot Rod" scene......
    my question.......all the folks you met.......did you just bump into them along the way......Weiand, Scritch etc?
    There is definitely a book due with all of this!
     
  20. Just found this thread for the 1st time. Wow!
    To travel back in time and ride along..
    Spring of '66 I was born. It would be cool to see the world then.
     
  21. slowmotion
    Joined: Nov 21, 2011
    Posts: 3,330

    slowmotion
    Member

    Glad this one got bumped back up, never seen it before. '66 I was heading into adolescence (12), car crazy, & chicks were becoming more interesting all of a sudden. Damn good times, thanks for posting this great trip and jogging my memory!
     
  22. Rice n Beans Garage
    Joined: Dec 17, 2006
    Posts: 1,658

    Rice n Beans Garage
    Member

    Awesome stuff thanks for sharing
     
  23. Baumi
    Joined: Jan 28, 2003
    Posts: 3,043

    Baumi
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    What a trip of a lifetime... thanks for sharing! Did that book project ever happen?
     
  24. flatoz
    Joined: May 11, 2003
    Posts: 3,237

    flatoz
    Member

    Baumi.

    Not as such. Its been rolling around in my brain a lot of late. Even moreso as i was planning a US trip and am now here and visiting some of the places my dad went to.

    We have been conversing via email and skype and his memories are still very sharp and vivid of his time here, even now 50 years on. So i think i would like to look into doing something. I did start to video him. So need to get back onto it. Even if i just get his memories down on video. Then sort it out later. To be honest even if just for myself.

    As regardless of this trip. He also built, before this trip one of , now , Australia's best known early hot rods. It won some trophies and got into some mags. So personally i really need to document this before its too late. for family reasons if nothing else. Piero from mad fabricators did a bit on him in one of his videos. Luckily the old mans pretty fit for his age.
     
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  25. brad2v
    Joined: Jun 29, 2009
    Posts: 1,652

    brad2v
    Member

    To reiterate what's been said often, how did I miss this, and, wow, what a fantastic story and set of photos
     
  26. Kiwi Tinbender
    Joined: Feb 23, 2006
    Posts: 1,155

    Kiwi Tinbender
    Member

    Yeah. Hey Peter- I remember meeting you and your girlfriend when you were over. That was when Steve was staying at Chuck and Nancys, I think.....

    Hey MercUte....Harry and I go back a long way as well. In fact he sent the rudest Telegram when My wife and I tied the knot. Nearly 20 years ago now. I saw him when he was over last and staying with Mike and Judy Lawrence, but have not heard how he is doing of late....
     
  27. Just went thru this thread and am also wondering how I missed this before..............although I must admit that I remember reading about this trip in the 1st issue, Winter 1967 of Australia's Custom Rodder magazine that Eddie Ford published.........brought back a lot of memories as I originally bought that issue at the local newsagent on the way to school back then..........lol........many thanks to Flatoz and especially his Dad for keeping the slides all these years.........regards, Andy Douglas
     
  28. flatoz
    Joined: May 11, 2003
    Posts: 3,237

    flatoz
    Member

    Well I got back up the farm and the planets aligned and got Dad to drag out the slides. I managed to get some more photos that weren't included in this thread and better shots of others. There are a lot more scenery shots and just general day to day shots as well. I have some of those here that are the more prominent places in the US as a comparison to now. I'll try and post them up in groups with explanations so it might take a few days so check back.


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    Fred Steele's Center door T , Swifty standing in it.


    checking out the Fall foliage in New England in Fred Steels A Tudor, chopped but they seats aren't lowered, made for a really bent neck. Fred and Eddie Fords standing next to the A.

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    Covered Bridges tour.

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    Hershey swap Fall 66

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    Freds company car parked outside the hotel at Hershey. Barry Fletcher standing at the door.

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  29. flatoz
    Joined: May 11, 2003
    Posts: 3,237

    flatoz
    Member

    Freds wagon, nice looking car this one.

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    Hershey again.

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    The Steele Family residence

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  30. It is a shame to have low resolution scans when it isn't terribly expensive to pick up a used 35mm digitizer such as a Nikon Coolscan. I used an LS2000 for my thousands of family slides and they're now on ebay under $100. Capable of quickly extracting all the resolution available within any focused slide.

    Don't want to rain on your parade, the content is great but if this information if helpful to anyone, my pleasure and your gain.
     

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