History Kids...

[50Fraud]

I think kid #3 grew up to be Paul Tracy.

The skinny cuffs on the jeans are exactly the way they were worn in West LA during the '50s.

[Robza]

Great story and photo.

Wouldn't it be cool if these guys were still around and to be able to hear their story/stories.

Like a "Where are they now?" but more awesome.

[autobilly]

"The older I get, the better I was."

[gnichols]

Originally Posted by autobilly

"The older I get, the better I was."

Crass commercial plug for an old friend, Gary

http://www.amazon.com/Older-Get-Bett.../dp/B004ZI7IIA

[Deuce_Eddie]

At 35 I'm in between the youth and the older guys, and can perfectly relate to both.

My life motto has always been "grow old, don't grow up". I get a lot of cr*p from my wife about that, she doesn't get the whole car thing and probably never will, no matter how hard I try to explain.

I still remember quite clearly having zero cash but wanting to make my car nice and cool. I also remember taking a lot of time to hang out in the shop of old mechanics I knew, and take in as much as I could. Most of them are gone now, and I still feel I needed some more time with them, even though I now feel competent enough do all my greasy work.

But even if things are getting really nasty as relates to cars these days, boys will always be boys. I drive my kids to school in one of my old cars most days, and I love watching all the kids' stares and comments. And I take the time to answer their questions.

In a recent past, I found myself muttering about how kids these days have stupid tastes and do silly stuff, but then it hit me... I was going down the same path as those before me, and it scared the hell out of me. I would very much do the same stuff if I was their age. So I took note to never turn into a grumpy old fart. Rebellious behaviour is a norm of youth, it just evolved with every fashion, but deep down it's all the same.

I hope I'll never get tired of having a sh*tload of stuff in the garage and thinking about future projects I can use it on, either... you're never done.

Cheers, Eddie

[fossilfish]

I don't know how much longer we will be building cars in Sealy High School Auto Tech(50 percent of the auto tech labs have been closed in Texas just in the last few years) But right now the students are building one 63 Ranchero with a 302 C4 and disc brakes, one 79 ElCamino with an 87 Tuned Port and 700R4, one 46 Chevy pick up based street rod with a 327 and 3 dueces(Holly 94's) and a 4 speed with custom student build frame, rear axle and suspension and one 76 Triumph with a inline 6 transplanted in it.
Kids can do just as much as the kids of years gone by...but nobody is expecting them to do it....and showing them how. I believe that my students could conquer the world if I told them that is what we were going to do...and of course showed them how.
These kids are doing good stuff everyday. They do all the work. I kinda show them how and put the tools in their hands...they figure it out just like I did. They are all proud gearheads.

[seatex]

AUTO SHOP, WOODWORKING (who else remembers having to cut their own "paddles"?)
HOME ECONONOMIC"S for the future Mom's of America?
Those kids in the pic were gifted to grow up in such an era, even if they didnt know it at the time.
There is one or more of them out there who is still around, or someone who knows who they are. and this is just the forum to find them, too.
Let's keep this thread alive!

[White_Attack]

Originally Posted by Ryan

What a wonderful photo... Really nice composition and exposure.

Most agreed. There needs to be more of those in my area.

[White_Attack]

I have only seen so much as 2 young men driving hot red muscle cars in my town. I could never chase them, since my poor caddi is having electrical issues and just sitt'n there in the lot. And also burned a hole in the back of this other kid, (came with no car) at Taco Bell. Wow, Black fitted v-neck t-shirt, black fitted jeans, and boots. He looked to me like he just might own a Hot Rod.

[Special Ed]

Some pretty interesting opinions written in here so far...

As many previous generations have done, snickering at how "kids" dress is pretty standardized stuff. Earlier generations wore some pretty funny outfits when they were young, as well ("flappers", "hippies", "zoot-suiters", etc.). The difference now is the "kids" dress-up based on some convoluted image of "how it was", and attempting to re-create a perceived image, instead of creating their own. I remember dressing up as cowboys and Indians to play, and of playing "Army" based on our perceptions of how Hollywood portrayed those characters.
It's no different now. "Kids" dress up as "hotrodders", believing they are accurately emulating how it really was, based upon carefully scripted and portrayed Hollywood images and magazines.

"Meanwhile, these old farts bask in their perceived fountain of youth. They take pride in the fact that they are still out in the garage… still hot rodding… still “getting it.” After all these years, they still have it.
Or do they?"
Ryan, we just might "get it" far more than you realize... The simple joy of being on the road behind the windshield of an old car is the same for us today as it was fifty years ago. The rest of the nonsense is just that. Nonsense. The gap between generations has always existed. It is what it is...

[48FordFanatic]

Great story ! Its too bad we have to put a number on our age because I think with most people the number just makes you feel older. Does that make sense ? I heard a quote on the radio a while back that I thought was pretty good. " If you didn't know how old you were , how old would you be ?"

[Special Ed]

Originally Posted by 48FordFanatic

Great story ! Its too bad we have to put a number on our age because I think with most people the number just makes you feel older. Does that make sense ? I heard a quote on the radio a while back that I thought was pretty good. " If you didn't know how old you were , how old would you be ?"

That quote was from Satchel Paige, who pitched 3 scoreless innings against the Boston RedSox when he was 59-YEARS-OLD !!!!!!! Another quote from Satchel Paige was "Age is a question of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter."

Ol' Satchel could teach a lot of us on here a thing or two...

[Ryan]

Ryan, we just might "get it" far more than you realize... The simple joy of being on the road behind the windshield of an old car is the same for us today as it was fifty years ago. The rest of the nonsense is just that. Nonsense. The gap between generations has always existed. It is what it is...

I agree, it was it is... And it makes me appreciate a guy like Alex Xydias - a guy that really understands and actually cherishes that gap for what it is. To me, that makes him ageless and a real jewel of a person to learn from.

[firingorder1]

Funny you hould mention Alex Xydias. A few years ago at the SCTA Awards Banquet he was the guest speaker. He started by saying "The SCTA asked me to speak about the good old days. But as I look around I see Bob over there and Tom and Jimmy. Hell these are the good old days!!" To hear him speak was more than worth the price of admission. It seems LSR allows a bit more for age.

I got my driving license in '61 and have been racing ever since. I notice now that it gets a little bit harder each year but it gets done. Age takes its toll no matter what but age doesn't dim enthusiasm.

[wheeler.t]

I fit into the category of young guy. I'm short, and can never find jeans that are the right length, so I have to roll mine up. I have tattoos, I have a short on the sides long on the top kinda haircut, but it isn't a pompadour. I was raised around hot rods, motorcycles and tattoos. I come by it honestly, my dad at 53 still wears a cuff on his jeans so they don't drag, that's just how he was brought up

[Steves32]

Originally Posted by 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!

Man Toby- I'm in tears laughing!

I grew up in these times- right here in So. Cal.
That car could have belonged to any of my friends.
The guys? Not so much, at least around here.
We didn't wear pomps or duck tails or any such nonsense, we saw them in the movies. We all wore flat tops or short hair cuts- like the kid on the right. My dad had a flat top to the day he died. We'd flat the tops & grow the sides longer & slick the sides back w/ Brylcream. I forget what they called it back then.
The jeans- you bought the waist size (they jumped 2 sizes if I remember right- 28, 30, 32, 34) & there wasn't an option for length. So- you cut them off & cuffed them up. We cuffed them because we didn't have to means to stop the fraying. Hanging w/ the guys- you cuffed them out. Going out- you cuffed them under. Mom was always yelling at us for stealing all the safety pins! Trust me- if jeans were available in all the sizes today back then- no one would have been cuffing.
1st guy has his cuffed under. 2nd & 4th are just rolled up. I don't ever remember that. 3rd has a 1" cuff which is the closest to what we did.
No one I knew wore button down shirts when hanging out w/ your friends. It was a white Tee w/ a pack of smokes rolled up in the sleeve. If it was cool out- the bomber jacket was worn. A letterman jacket would have gotten your ass kicked.
Shoes- always white socks but we never wore loafers. We wore those pointed boots or black oxfords or wing tips. Some wore Red Ball Jets but not too many car guys did. I did have a pair of white ones I had my mom dye black (with white sole & white laces) that were pretty cool.
Tattoos- only people I knew who had ink were those who were older & just out of the service.
There were no costumes. We all wore what we had & what was available at the time. The difference today is- kids are trying to capture a piece of the past which they never will. The worst part is the clown costumes today that they try & tell us older guys was traditional. It's not.
I haven't cuffed my pants w/ safety pins since the 50's & don't plan to dress the 50's era anytime soon. Been there-done that.
I'll smile & give the kid a thumbs up when they get it roght though. That young kid standing next to his rod made me smile. However- the whole "scenester" crap is like a circus act today & bears no resemblence to the way it was. I know, I was there.

[young'n'poor]

I'm 24 and just stopped cuffing my jeans and wearing chuck taylors a few years ago. Once you have kids and work 60 hours a week, you don't have nice enough jeans to worry about the bottom fraying, and you want comfortable shoes after wearing steel toes all day. Lol

[sun down]

I turned 70 in June, I enjoy the old days and the new days, all of the younger folks have treated me well and sometimes I think some of the customs are a bit much but if they like em then I love em...

I think it is funny when I see and hear about the first things some folks want to do is make the ride handle better, heck , I always thought that my stock 55 chevy , 49 Ford and others handle well back then... and I guess for back then they did..lol

[Deuce Roadster]

Originally Posted by Ryan

I agree, it was it is... And it makes me appreciate a guy like Alex Xydias - a guy that really understands and actually cherishes that gap for what it is. To me, that makes him ageless and a real jewel of a person to learn from.

I actually thought that maybe it was Alex Xydias that you were originally quoting

I have had the priviledge of speaking with him a couple times ... and I can just imagine him saying the things you quoted.

Great read.

[silverdome]

When I was a boy and mom bought my clothes I had to wear what she bought. Then as I got a little older I told her "Mom I want to dress like Dad, blue jeans, flannel shirts and white socks". You see Dad was my mentor. He taught me about cars and so much more. I will never have a tatto because he had one and he said any time he was stopped or had a run in with the law they asked if he had been in jail and was treated like a real criminal instead of just a young guy who was out having fun and it got a little out of hand.

By the way I'm 49 and respect both young and old alike just like Dad taught me. Respect is something that takes your whole life to earn but can be lost in a moment. I'm going to be myself and won't fault you for doing the same as long as you treat me as I treat you, respectfully.

The one thing I see here is we all like old cars. The views of what is cool is as diverse as the people on this site.