This might have been the opposite of "creative thinking"... but it worked. The guy once locked his fairly new Caddy with his keys on the middle of the front seat. After he spent an hour ruining the weatherstripping and bending the window frames trying to open the doors, I said (half kidding) "Since you said you want to put a sunroof in it anyway, why don't you just cut hole in the roof big enough to get a wire through it and fish the keys out?" So I let him use my drill and jigsaw.
That's pretty much what I see on forums , guys going place to place , looking for an answer they like or one that validates what they've already done ..
I can't say that's a bad thing!! Places like the HAMB are an awesome resource to have, particularly when you're doing period cars. The wealth of information from the people who lived it is invaluable. That said I always try to figure out a problem myself first, but if I can't get my brain around it, having a place to ask the experts is a great thing!! I go on 3 boards and the knowledgeable guy to joker ratio is pretty good here.
For me, it worked the other way around. I remember when a problem was encountered , back in the day , while building , I would strain my eyes for however long it took to solve the problem by scouring magazines, magazine ads, and parts catalogs trying to find a solution or at least, how everyone else was doing it. When I discovered the internet, a surprising number of searches would bring up this place called the HAMB, a place like no other, as it turns out. At that point in time I had no idea that these traditional style hot rods were still being built . I found inspiration from skilled fabricators and influence from beautiful timeless builds. I found myself getting rid of street rod type components and accumulating authentic and traditional parts and working them to suit me. One of you guys said, Go out to the garage and fire up a welder, its just metal. How true.
I don't fault HAMB or YouTunbe at all. I look at it as two different issues. Those two resources are invaluable to me as sources of new nformation that any amount of 'creative thinking' on my part would have failed to reveal. They provide skills I add to my repertoire. I still constantly think up new stuff on my own. Can't help doing that.
There are parts of my builds that are pretty generic in nature, like installing glass in a rubber weatherstrip on a pinch weld. For those things, I'm pretty content with reading and watching video on how other people have done it, before I jump into the project. There are other parts of my build that are very specific to my build. Some stuff has very likely never been done like I did my stuff. When I need to change those things, I'm pretty much on my own, and I have to rely on my creative thinking to get the job done. Often projects that are specific to my build will require a few different attempts before I get a workable salutation. There becomes several ways I have learned not to do some things. Occasionally, I stumble across someone facing a situation that resembles something I've discovered doesn't work and I have a chance to share my experiences. On the same note sometimes I've stumbled across someone that has experienced something I've been considering and I get a chance to take advantage of their experience. I sure wouldn't call such things stifling creativity, I would rather call it enhancing creativity. It gives a person something to build from rather then starting from scratch. Gene
If they don't stop people from trying to figure stuff out or comer up with something different , that's a good thing .
Same BIL.. who is a tad loose in the head... asked me if I learned about cars from You Tube... like WTF dude?? He forgets that I have been working on cars since I was 16, got 8 years of college degrees and took a machine shop apprenticeship.
I do believe you are correct. What i see is people want to be told what to do, be it in person or in cyberspace. They do not want to think beyond where to find the information. And certainly don’t want to ask questions ( lurkers). Could be fear of making a mistake, ridicule, or paying too much. Better to just get in line and follow. I think that passes for doing your own thing these days for a lot of people. It takes a lot of confidence to be creative and think critically. The HAMB can be a good place to gain that. Lurkers will eventually gain confidence if they see that you do not have to know everything before you ask.
Hello, In today’s world, it is obviously not the same as those sleepy times of the 50’s and 60’s. The cool speed shops usually had a ton of information for your specific hot rod or drag racing car. The owners were involved in both and were older, as well as wiser. The information gathered from those old masters was then put into our creative minds, whether as teenagers or otherwise just an avid hot rod guy/girl. Then the real work began. We had the knowledge gained and now it was up to us as to how to incorporate it into our current build. Sometimes, it was instantly, the way to do things. Other times, the original installation as we thought it would work did well and the new information gathered went into our collective minds. Back in those early days, those old guys knew their stuff and we could not help but stand there listening, in awe, to what was coming our way. When it came time to do something we were not able to do, or do well, those old masters did do something for us. We decided to take the heads to the shop for some porting and polishing that we could not do on our motor build. We also took the “newish” (demo model) 671 to Reath Automotive at their advice on a total rebuild for drag racing specifications. It was probably their way of passing on valuable information, with the hopes that we would come back to their shop for some parts or engine work. That was excellent business sense. It worked on us and for many in our group. Jnaki The creativity end came when we put all of our own ideas into play, did the actual research through trial and error, then made a decision. We figured out which method worked best for us and completed the task at hand. So, information from old masters given freely at their choosing helped in those early times of hot rodding and drag racing. Today, it is helpful to have the internet as a source of information on what is available for your own choices. But, having those old guys to fall back on in our teenage days was so helpful for us, budding engine builders and future hot rod drag race guys. It is possible that despite the vast information on the internet, there are hot rod shops that have some information that might be helpful for you, too. P.S. These days, not all you read on the internet is, as it was in the old days. A lot of people copy and paste some sort of history as their own. It is also hard to decide whether the information provided is accurate from those early times, too. But, putting that aside, creativity still develops in your builds and techniques.
The internet is a sea of information. Some good, some bad, some stupid. You have to pick out which. It's just faster than looking through 15 manuals and old magazines to look at a picture or read an article. People haven't changed much, some still process information, some copy it, and some wander through life from crisis to crisis blaming their problems on somebody or something else. I'd rather read repetitive posts on the HAMB than watch crazy cat videos all day....
I feel ya on this... I'm such a pre-online/Smartphone old dog, used to asking for personal experience, that even in this forum can come the reply 'Google it'. Googling things can turn into a misled, frustrating affair, no personal experience shared. 'Google it.' That said: getting a texted reply from the garage (because calling people tends to throw em off), has helped alot. Waitin on the reply can vary. I was in a busy car club once, brainstormin together. Maybe we were short on sleep n high or buzzed at times, but damn I miss the teamwork we had. Sent from my SM-N975U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I agree with the man from Alabama,,,,,there are all kinds out there. And on here as well,,,,,it takes all kinds to make the world go around. But,,,,there is only one HAMB,,,,,I am inspired by something or someone almost every time I come on here ! And,,,sometimes I get tickled and laugh out loud from some of the humor here . The best ones are always the subliminal jokes,,,,you have to think a little about or let it soak in . Also,,,those jokes are really the least to hurt someone’s pride,,,,,or cause embarrassment. Still funny as all get out though ! This place is the best,,,bar none . Tommy
Paw Paw is no longer around for me to ask. Using this forum is no different than looking through magazines or brainstorming with friends. Now we have a big electronic car club.
The internet has given a place to ask a question, why not use that resou For a good 20 years I'd help my dad move some big, heavy stuff...transfer boxes from one trailer to the next, a dozer blade he made for his D4, etc...then we picked up a clapped out Clark forklift. Wondered how we lived without it. So the OP is here asking what? Why be creative if it's been done a 1000 times before?
There's satisfaction in figuring things out on your own plus it helps you develop problem solving skills that you carry over to other endeavors , there's learning how to think and do that I believe the instant availability to information stifles..
The Jalopy Journal
