History Hot Rods are Dangerous. And that's OK.

Jive-Bomber submitted a new blog post:

Hot Rods are Dangerous. And that's OK.

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Simplicity and danger is what makes them fun!

 

Sweet! Great story...fabulous pic!

 

I concur.

 

A trip without adventure is nothing to remember,
An adventure with your son and you made it home is a lifetime of memories.
(And I always try to carry a high power flashlight, cause you need to see to repair, cause my junk is always breaking down)

 

Not a bad reason to carry a little length of wire with alligator clips on each end in your car. Use it to skip the switch and get your lights back on

 

Great story, and of course glad the two of you made it home safely. Hot rods have always been about living just a little too close to the edge. When the guy showed up in a gleaming, slick painted kustom wearing a tie and a blazer, Mothers would push their daughters out the door but, when the guy showed up in a chopped Model A in primer and open headers, wearing dirty jeans and a greasy T-shirt, the same Mom would hide their daughter in the closet and swear that she wasn't home!

 

Imagine my luck with parents, I drove a pick up with a full camper for a few years.

 

As a gag, when I attended Lincoln High I had my pinstriper bud paint on the rear valance of my channeled roadster, "Don't laugh, Lady...Your daughter may be in here!"

 

ADVENTURE

 

and now under your seat is a heavy duty flashlight.....right!

 

Love the story! Making great memories is what it's all about.

Special thanks to Robert Williams for showing us what fun, excitement, and danger look like...

 

Great story.

 

To sonnyboy it sure was an unforgettable father-son-adventure! btw, i like the way you and Mrs. named that young hotrodder!

 

really? no flash light in your car? I think I would have made the lights work one way or another. automotive electrical is not rocket surgery.

 

No flashlight app on your cell phone?

 

This country was built on danger. To many people have tried and succeeded in taking away most of those rights from us. Its beginning to look like we are in the right direction to get some or all of our freedoms back. Time will tell. Its ok that some want to live a safe and boring life but it makes me sick that those people want to make us live the same. I hope we get earlier freedoms back for our kids and grandkids. Oh and Jive Bomber, excellent story and you and your boy got to experience the best part of life. Congrats to you as a father.

 

Danger is our business!

 

You taught your son a valuable lesson. More than 50 years ago on a Scout Troop outing, my Scoutmaster walked me through a very similar crisis and altered my view of resourcefulness and self-reliance forever. Your son will remember that drive for as long as he lives.

We could all drive something conventional and give up the hot rods. If we drove something less adventuresome- a car that is said to have less element of risk to it- we'd fit right in with the rest of the current culture. The current culture tells us to play it safe- don't take chances.

But it is a false choice because it would rob us somewhere else in our lives. It would be a bad trade because it isn't safety the culture is touting- it's predictability. Driving old vehicles that have an element of uncertainty provides something deeply satisfying to our souls, something important to our DNA as men. Adventure. Too many people give up so much discovery in life rationalized through the lie of safety. "I better not, something bad might happen." Sheesh.

So what if something happens out on a ramble? Well, I believe whatever it is I can handle it. No reason to be afraid. It isn't a reason to seek out danger and do something stupid. But driving these vehicles has, no doubt, changed my life and my appetite for discovery.

I am reminded of the Jack Kerouac quote while out "on the road":

“Now you just dig them in front. They have worries, they’re counting the miles, they are thinking about where to sleep tonight, how much money for gas, the weather, how they’ll get there- and all the time they’ll get there any way, you see. But they need to worry and betray time with urgencies false and otherwise, purely anxious and whiny, their souls really won’t be at peace unless they can latch on to an established and proven worry and having once found it they assume facial expressions to fit and go with it, which is, you see, unhappiness, and all the time it all flies by them and they know it and that too worries them no end”

 

Its easy to armchair quarterback, but when you've got a 6 year old boy and no cell service you've got to start trying ideas to move asap...

 

no cell service would not have even been part of the process to getting home.

 

You can't bop some asshole on the head with your cell phone as well as you can with a REAL solid flashlight. Always use the proper tool for the job!. Just sayin'...

 

I like prior planning (is there any other kind??) and being prepared, attention to detail and the rest of it.

Somehow though, the most memorable things are almost ALWAYS spur of the moment, crazy, "what were you thinking" affairs. Pretty much by definition, they can't be duplicated.

 

When you are the only hot rodder at a party and the subject of cars comes up, some says what do you need to drive your car, someone says a license, someone says registration, someone says insurance, and it gets to you and you say, fuel, spark and air...........

 

LOL Riiiiiiiiiight.

 

I'd never drive ANY car without a very large flashlight, various lengths of wire with clips, and strong non electric wire and duct tape. Battery cables, a blanket and some water and of course, oil. Been stuck too many times.
Had a OT early 60's car, carried the above, a spare coil and voltage regulator, plus a fan belt and ALWAYS at least basic tools and a BIG screwdriver!
To me, just common sense!

 

Old Hot Rods are the stuff that memories are made of. Cool story Jive, thanks.....

 

Thumbs up! Great pic!
...And story...

 

Ha! What a tale. I am sure henry will remember it for life. I have had two similar stories while on HAMB adventures. My Makita flashlight got duct taped to Shoes Triumph at the HAMB Drags a few years back to make it back to Joplin. The cops he passed just shook their heads if they even knew what they were looking at. Earlier than that, on the first Speed and Power Meet we lost the lights in Sodbusters Fabulous Trashwagon. Shit got dark REAL fast. Rocky and Jangleguy were with us and helped fix the lights with a Bic lighter if I remember right?