History Kids...

[seatex]

Originally Posted by Ryan

Shut up kid... And stop walking on my lawn.

HAHAHAHA, and I bet you typed that in your very best Clint Eastwood key strokes, too!

[CB_Chief]

I make it a habit to get to know a few of the young guys I meet then invite them out to the shop. That is where we all find a common ground. Besides, most of these younger guys don't have near the tools and resources us older guys have. Pass on the craft and get to know someone who will keep you feeling young.

[b-bob]

I agree with you guys on the cuffed jeans, thats the way they came from the store in those days. And it was usually the mother paying for them so she wanted them to last awhile if you were still in school.
And on the subject of hair,well i don't have much left now but back in the late fifties my mom cut my hair, and i wanted the duck tail, but mom held the clippers. Jet boots? no way mom was buying those!
Of course this all changed in the sixties when i had my way.

[sc_sonoma]

This story was pretty cool. It's sort of how alot of you guys still treat the younger guys that don't do things the way you do or people that use the term rat rod. Being an ass is being an ass.

[Silvair]

Thanks for the great thoughts, and picture. I'm sitting here looking at these kids thinking which one was I? I'm pretty sure I'm the 4th kid. little nerdy, hangin out with the cool kids havin a blast. Which one are you?

[Ryan]

Originally Posted by sc_sonoma

This story was pretty cool. It's sort of how alot of you guys still treat the younger guys that don't do things the way you do or people that use the term rat rod. Being an ass is being an ass.

No, that's a completely different issue. We don't cover "rat rods" here. It's not that I have anything against them, they just aren't on my editorial agenda.

So, you get slack for using the term... That's simply because the folks that have been on this site long enough to know the content, get frustrated by folks that haven't.

[JeffreyJames]

Originally Posted by Silvair

Thanks for the great thoughts, and picture. I'm sitting here looking at these kids thinking which one was I? I'm pretty sure I'm the 4th kid. little nerdy, hangin out with the cool kids havin a blast. Which one are you?

WOuldn't you have been one of these guys?

[Gator]

I don't have a problem with 'kids' (hey I'm only in my 40's!) cuffing their jeans, wearing a pomp, emulating the whole 'period' lifestyle, whatever that entails - hell I've worn a flat-top for years and occasionally wear cuffed jeans myself.

What I DO have utter disdain for is the scenesters with whom that's the FOCUS of their interest in hot rods. No car, or some primered shitbox moredoor, or if they DO have a decent rod it's no more than a fashion accessory same as their tattoos or their chain-drive wallet.

You know the guys I mean, they roll up to a show in a Saturn or a Honda five deep, 4 inch cuffs and 6 inch pomps. Red shop rag neatly folded and hanging out of the back pocket of and wearing a Lucky 13 shirt and matching belt buckle.

Just the same, cool pic and thoughts Ryan, maybe it will give some of us old curmudgeons pause to reflect...

[Larry T]

"To many in the older set, it has become almost fashionable to ridicule the young "greasers" of hot rodding. The old farts snicker at the cuff jeans, roll their eyes at the pompadours, and complain about their cars......"



Just looked at the picture again and I do have a question. Do ya'll consider the guys in the picture "greasers"?
Larry T

[Toby Denham]

Here's my take on these guys ........




From L to R

1) Chuck - He owns the car. That's why he can sit on the fender. Chuck bought the coupe off a neighbor for $150.00 and has been in the process of souping it up for about a year and a half. Chuck played football his junior year, but decided to not play his senior year. He had a steady girlfriend, Debbie Willdewya. However, Debbie eventually got pissed because she felt Chuck spent too much time with his friends and working on his car than he did with her. Chuck never got to feel anything with Debbie, so they broke up.

2) Phillip (Phil for short) - Phil is Chuck's closest friend. They grew up in the same neighborhood and went through Grammar school and Woodrow Wilson Junior High together. Phil has a '39 Ford coupe that is sitting in his backyard. It's not running and is in pieces, but he has big plans for it if he can just get enough dough together. He just doesn't make enough money bagging groceries down at Johnson's Grocery. Lately, Phil has been troubled (as can be seen by his expression). When Chuck and Debbie broke it off, Debbie, who was upset, ran to Phil for sympathy and consoling. What ended up happening is she got her fill of Phil. He's scared shitless that Chuck may find out!

3) Lynn - Lynn rides a 1956 Triumph Trophy 650. He's renowned for being Hell on wheels. He has an old '31 Ford Touring that he tinkers on, but he really prefers riding his bike and hanging out to drink beer. He's been known to get in a few fights. He's always had something of a chip on his shoulder. It may be because of his name. Lynn also banged Debbie, but he doesn't really gives a shit whether Chuck finds out or not.

4)Tommy - Tommy loves anything mechanical. He plans on attending MIT and becoming an engineer. He likes hangin' out with hot rodder types, and they tolerate him because he's so damn goofy and funny. Plus, he is likeable. Tommy is smart, though. He is in the Beta club and Math club in high school. He gets straight "A"s, well ... almost. He did get a "D" in P.E. for not dressing out. You can't blame him, though. The guys were always yankin' his P.E. shorts down when they played basketball in the gym on rainy days. One time someone came up behind him and not only yanked his P.E. shorts down, but also yanked his underwear too ... in front of the girls! Tommy swore he'd never dress out again. At any rate, when this photo was taken, Tommy tried sitting on the rear fender. Chuck told him he had 2 seconds to get his ass off.

By the way ... Tommy has also done Debbie, but only in his mind!

[Xtrom]

Great pic! I wonder what Debbie looks like...

[hotroddon]

To many in the older set, it has become almost fashionable to ridicule the young “greasers” of hot rodding. The old farts snicker at the cuff jeans, roll their eyes at the pompadours, and complain about their cars. They taste disgust and spit it out with vigor in between sips of their own self righteousness. They are, after all, older and more experienced… And everyone should know what they know and if they don’t, they damn well better show the respect deserved to those that actually do.
“We didn’t dress like that back in my day. Who are they copying?”
“Our cars didn’t look like that. We actually took pride in them!”

I think for many of the older guys, and at 55 I'm closer to them then the young guys, it isn't those that wish to emulate, it's those that take it to circus levels. In other words it's not a set of cuffs on the Levi's, it's triple rolled 6" cuffs. It's not a Pomp, it's the pomp piled 8" high with skunk stripes through it. Even though some Hollywood movie may have featured clowns like that, and maybe even some "Rock Star" tried that look, it wasn't what real rodders were doing. You see, it's not self righteousness, many think that it is making a mockery of the original style and see it as disrespectful. If they want to set their own style, that's fine, just don't bastardize an original style.
As for the cars, I think most of those comments are aimed at Rat Rods, Crap Rods, call them what you want, but you know what I mean - the bubblegum welds, shifters out the top and rear tires taller than the roof. Just because there was a Rat Fink drawing like that doesn't mean that's the way HOT RODS were built. Just because you can find some old picture of a piece of crap, doesn't mean that was the norm or what every young rodder was striving for.

Now all young young kids get off my lawn

[60galaxieJJ]

That was a great read. For some reason I've been thinking a lot about how I will be when I get old...like super old. I can only hope I'm as cool as some of the older guys I've met.

[squirrel]

I'm guessing I'll still be an asshole when I'm old.

[Moparhead572]

I grew up look up to the older guys, guys that have done the thing i want to do.

[RustyRedRam]

This summer I had the opportunity to spend some time talking to, or rather just listening to Ed Iskenderian. I basically asked him some open ended questions and he just talked. And talked. And I listened. This is what I gather/my take on it is. Back in the "old days" of hot roddings infancy, guys made do with what they had. Simply because 1) there wasn't a plethora of speed shops or aftermarket parts available. 2) they were just coming out of the depression, where nothing was available as a luxury(okay, so a bit of a hyperbole, but there wasn't much) and when you had something you'd make it work.

Flash forward to current times. We, and I mean virtually everyone from punk kids to gold chainers, have so much at our disposal. For the older crowd, they're trying to get back to their youth and what they couldn't afford. Case in point. My uncle just finished his A sedan. He's had it since high school. Except this time it has 5 spokes. Why? He can afford them now. He always wanted a set when he was in high school, but couldn't afford it.

As for the younger generation? The teens and 20 somethings; well they're just imagining what the hot rodding world was like, even if we know and have first hand accounts of it.

Now, I know I'm leaving the 30-50 year old crowd out. I know. But I think the largest dichotomy exists between the young kids and the grey beards.

What can you take away from this? Either, I'm just rambling because of all the cold meds or (and I think this was briefly mentioned in the beginning. Hot rodding is making do with what you have and having a great time while doing it. That, and just listen to the old timers, to our founding fathers, because sadly, we're losing them at an alarming rate.

[Broke4speed]

My 82 year old Grandma always said she hated being around old people.
Attitudes usually stay the same...endurance/tolerance changes.

[STEPHEN FIELDS]

heres my take on the coupe. It has a 265 out of a new wrecked 55 chevy (with the oil filter option) Its stock. he scored a corvette front mount off of a buddy at the junk yard and made some mounts to connect the engine to the frame. His second biggest expense was the adaptor plate to adapt the 265 to a $5 dollar '39 Ford top loader. It has the stock rear end with juice brakes mounted to it. The front end is an early moore drop axle that he also scored at the junk yard off of a wrecked hot rod for $8.00 It has 16 inch wheels up front and 15 inch mercs in the back. He looked forever to try to find 2 matching 16 inch hub caps to match the back 15 inch hub caps. The tires are used and ok. It also has a 51 crestliner steering wheel that his buddy gave him. He doesnt have a radio yet, but he mounted the antenna on the quarter panel to make it look like he has one. (he plans on getting a radio though, just doesnt have enough money yet)

[alchemy]

"Pure Hot Rodding is not ageless. It’s a kid’s game." Truth.

But most of the HAMBers reading this aren't "pure" hot rodders. I think pure hot rodding is taking whatever car you can find (cheap), and making it go fast. No real style involved. And it surely wouldn't be done to a car that cost half as much as a house.

I truly think many (most?) HAMBers are closer to restorers than pure hot rodders. Think about it, and you'll realize you spend way more time on patch panels and paint than bolting on speed equipment and drag racing.

In all actuality the twenty year old with the ten year old Honda that bolts on his turbo discombobulator is closer to a pure hot rodder than I am.

I'm no kid, and I spend more time welding than going fast.

[flamingokid]

Youth is wasted on the young.By my early 20s I was trying to suck it all in,realizing it wasn't going to be this way forever.Now,I'm that guy in his mid 40s that young guys think is cool(I hope)but it would be uncool to ask.Life is always an adventure,if you treat it as such,whether you're wearing loafers,motorcycle boots, or old man walking shoes.