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Stupid Newbie question: What is the function of a car club, where do you get more edu

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by bruceg, Sep 11, 2009.

  1. bruceg
    Joined: Jun 1, 2009
    Posts: 52

    bruceg
    Member
    from NWATL

    Okay, so this is a stupid question, but ...

    What is the function of a car club? Is it a social outlet? Meeting of like-minded people? Is there a sharing of knowledge? Working together on builds, or encouragement, or a place to ask questions and learn?

    How do you know if you would fit in with a club, or if it wouldn't be a good match, or perhaps you'd be better off going to night school to learn a little more.

    Example: I recently rebuilt the carb on my car. It went from just under 19 miles per gallon before rebuild to just over 12 miles per gallon after rebuild. I also replaced the fuel pump and some fuel line at the same time. If you where stuck, and didn't know if the car was leaking fuel or maybe you set the float wrong, to maybe you really hacked the carb rebuild - would that be something you'd toss around in a club, or would you go to night school to figure it out better? Or just pull it apart and do it all again?

    Would a club be where you could find out what shops rent compressors and space so you could attempt to spray your car? Or do you call around? Or just suck it up, buy a compressor and do the work in your garage?

    I guess I'm asking - is a club for when your car is done and you want to hang out and maybe go for group rides, or is it for when you're building and have questions. I know rebuilders and hot rodders often don't mix - what about just plain old 40-50 year old daily drivers. Neither a hotrod nor a resto, just an old car bombing around.

    Do you go to car shows, look for similar styles and tastes, wander up and introduce yourself? How do you know if a club is a show club, or a wrench club?

    From a guy that has done most repairs on his car twice, once to get it running, then again to get it running right (or at least a little closer to right!).
     
  2. shainerman
    Joined: Apr 18, 2009
    Posts: 820

    shainerman
    Member

    I think youre getting too deep in it. Im in a club that I had known of for a few years. Just a bunch of cool guys who share interests in the same style cars I do and like to hang out. We go to shows, have shows, help work on the cars, and basically do everything we aren't allowed to do with our wives, haha. If you want technical info, you're on the right website, if you want help, ask anyone you trust, if you want fun and some good freinds along with help, find a good club and start hanging around!
     
  3. 53sled
    Joined: Jul 5, 2005
    Posts: 5,817

    53sled
    Member
    from KCMO

    that's what the HAMB is for! I bet the Sock F*ckers could help you out. Lots of ATL guys post.
     
  4. A club is a bunch of guys with or without cars and jackets and T shirts.

    After that its a crap shoot. The club in question may have someone who knows more than you do or it may not. They may help you with problems or with your buid or they may not. They may know where you can rent a compressor or they may not.

    The only way to find out if you're going to like the guys and or gals in the club is to hang out with them.

    Like I said A club is a bunch of guys with or without cars and jackets and T shirts.

    Now if this post is to find out if you botched your rebuild on the carb I'm going to have to say (and I don't know a gentle way to say this) that you probably screwed something up.

    The only way to tell if you have a fuel leak is to look for it. You can go to school until they sell snowcones in hell and you will still have to open your eyes and look beyoned the end of your nose to see if you have a fuel leak.

    Its easy to tell if you set your float too high, is the carb drooling gas all over creation? Or is it puking black smoke out the tail pipe? then you may have your float set too high. But if its not drooling and you are still puking black smoke out the pipe it may just be that your choke is closed. Try lifting the air cleaner and looking down the choke horn.

    OK I've been mean enough for one day. Try and glean some good information out of this and toss whatever hurts your feelings.
     

  5. bruceg
    Joined: Jun 1, 2009
    Posts: 52

    bruceg
    Member
    from NWATL

    Nah, no hurt feelings. I can crawl around and check for leaks. It's not belching black smoke (not belching white smoke either, since I replaced the head gasket!). I can chase that one down. My point was more - heck - I probably didn't have a point. Oh yeah, it was along the lines of are clubs for learning, wrenching and driving or for showing a finished project. And you answered that - some are, some aren't.
     
  6. RAY With
    Joined: Mar 15, 2009
    Posts: 3,132

    RAY With
    Member

    Well, in the 50's a bunch of kids were in a car club. We did wear t shirts and in the winter Jackets. Every member of our group had cars. Each of us seem to have different talents. By pooling our resources we were able to build and operate a very competitive digger. Some were talented in engine knowledge from top to bottom, others were good in sheet metal work and others in painting. Without us working together we would have never accomplished our goals. We also made plaques that hung on the rear bumper with the clubs name. I can honestly say our group was for learning and making trips to the track and showing others if ask how to do things.
     
  7. Cabbage
    Joined: Apr 17, 2006
    Posts: 731

    Cabbage
    Member
    1. S.F.C.C.

    Bruce a club is a group of like minded guys who are all into the same thing. Usually a "type" of "era of cars". Club members are Best friends we all work togeather like one Big family. To put it straight, we are like brothers from different mothers! Hope that helps......... come out to the Hamb n Grits this sunday in Roswell "southern skillet" 9:00 am :D
     
  8. 57JoeFoMoPar
    Joined: Sep 14, 2004
    Posts: 6,138

    57JoeFoMoPar
    Member

    You're question is a legitimate one but is impossible to answer. As ponknbeaner mentioned, a club is just a group of guys based around cars to some degree. From there, it runs the gamut. Some clubs are a bunch of guys into the traditional or rat rod scene, and are more of a social/fashion/lifestyle club, with less emphasis on the cars themselves. Other clubs are just a group of average guys of all ages, with lots of automotive skills, who are organized and efficient. Clubs like the American Cruisers in north NJ pay dues, have a communal, well equipped garage, put on a weekly cruise night with 500+ cars, travel to shows together and generally all have several beautiful finished cars apiece. Then there are clubs that fall somewhere in between.

    Remember, you don't need to drag a plaque or wear a jacket to hang out with other like minded car guys. That's just friendship! Buddies on the HAMB or your local area are usually willing to share lots of information and give you advice when you need it.
     
  9. Steves32
    Joined: Aug 28, 2007
    Posts: 1,280

    Steves32
    Member
    from So Cal

    Car clubs are all about hanging with like minded people. The one I'm in now is celebrating it's 25th year (I was there in the beginning).
    It all started w/ some buddies hanging out in the garage & took off from there. Some of us help w/ builds, some come once a month to the meetings to hang & drink, some never participate in anything. It's what you put into it. We usually park together at shows, we sometimes go out as a group & drive the shit out of our rides. Now we are all getting older (I think the average age in club is about 65 now) so there's less working on friends cars now. As far as education- at our monthly meetings- we have guest speakers. We've had the likes of rod builders, drag racers, LSR racers, industry leaders, etc.
    Some clubs are difficult to get into- clubs like LA Roadsters or Outriders w/ rich history & a very low capped membership number.
     
  10. El Caballo
    Joined: Mar 3, 2001
    Posts: 6,283

    El Caballo
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Car clubs are like anything, put nothing into it and you get nothing out of it, put a lot into it gat a lot out of it. It's up to you.
     
  11. Actually some of us have belonged to clubs like many of you have described. But bear in mind there are also clubs like the Goodguys that anyone that can pay dues can join. You don't even have to own a car or part of one. I don't see them doing a whole lot to help the members build or learn how to build a car.
     
  12. Steves32
    Joined: Aug 28, 2007
    Posts: 1,280

    Steves32
    Member
    from So Cal

    I belong to GoodGuys but I never considered it a club. A windshield sticker, a hat & a check once a year isn't a club to me. It's a membership money drive. The GoodGuys game is to offer low (to them) entrance fees to members in their shows. Non member pays a very high price. Then the twist- you can be a member for a year & get a show ticket & it's nearly the same price as the non-members pays to get in.
    So- I re-up every year to go to 1 show. Same price either way. I put the sticker on my windshield for the one show & peel it off when I leave.
    Sorry Kirk! But I hate this BS game.
     
  13. Gigantor
    Joined: Jul 12, 2006
    Posts: 3,823

    Gigantor
    Member

    Consider your conundrum a luxury. I would bend over backwards to have a club to belong to. But realistically, there's just no one in my area that I've found who has HAMB realted interests in old cars. There's the restorers, the street rods and the muscle cars that I've found, and all of us would cry heresy at each other if we spent more than a few minutes in each other's company. We don't get each other and it's not for lack of trying. I'm a pretty easygoing guy and can get along with damn near everyone, I'm even able to explain what I'm intending to accomplish pretty well, but there are serious walls up and no matter how hard I try to explain that NO, I'm not building a rat rod, I'm building a traditional hot rod, it falls on deaf ears. It's a waste of my time as far as I can see. That's not to say I don't like those guys, a lot of them are very cool in their own right, we just don't see eye to eye on old cars, thus, no car club for me.
    I've contemplated getting or making one of those "Lone Wolf" patches for my car jacket since that seems to fit the bill. Someday, when my car is finished and I'm driving it around, I can see those same guys and say, "See?! It's not a fucking Rat Rod!"
     
  14. The lone wolf patch is just a waste of time if your are a lone wolf you don't need to advertise it.

    There is a very large club locally that is one of those pay your dues you're a member clubs. You can get a t shirt or a jacket but your membership and 5 bucks gets you a little decal to put in your back glass. They head honchos will come around to shows and if you are not a paid up member suggest that you should remove the decal. At least the good guys sponsor shows.
     
  15. KIRK!
    Joined: Feb 20, 2002
    Posts: 12,031

    KIRK!
    Member

    So I'm guessing you don't like the Gazette? That's really what the "dues" are for. The discounts are just a perk. Non-members don't get the 220-page monthly magazine.
     
  16. KIRK!
    Joined: Feb 20, 2002
    Posts: 12,031

    KIRK!
    Member

    Goodguys is more of a subscription with benefits, not a car club. Association not club.

    As for car clubs, keep them small and made up of ONLY your closest friends who would be hanging out together anyway. Definitely no friends of friends or guys who like your club name or logo. Otherwise they get all fucked up...believe me.

    I'm in two, The Snugglers and Thee Inland Emperors, both are groups of friends who definitely do not take themselves or much else too seriously.
     
  17. el Scotto
    Joined: Mar 3, 2004
    Posts: 4,698

    el Scotto
    Member
    from Tracy, CA

    They help bury dead hooker bodies.
     
  18. Sphynx
    Joined: Jan 31, 2009
    Posts: 1,141

    Sphynx
    Member
    from Central Fl

    Couldnt be put better!
     
  19. Well gee unless your marketing has changed it is billed as a club. I'm not down on the good guys it was just the easiest example of the fact that not all clubs are a bunch of guys who are your closest buddies and lend a helping hand when you need one.

    Now I'm not up on all things good guys these days, maybe you no longer consider it a club but I'm pretty sure that mainstream america still does.

    I certainly didn't pick the good guys to step on anyone's toes, I was just looking for an example that was easily recognizable.
     
  20. KIRK!
    Joined: Feb 20, 2002
    Posts: 12,031

    KIRK!
    Member



    No toes stepped on. I was just sayin'.
     
  21. 49ratfink
    Joined: Feb 8, 2004
    Posts: 18,828

    49ratfink
    Member
    from California

    interesting. I never thought of Goodguys as a club. though I am not mainstream.

    is NSRA a club?

    my buddy was in a club. had to pay like 20 bucks a month for the privilage. he asked the simple question of what happens to the 20 bucks and now is no longer in the club. some clubs are so a couple members can make beer money I guess.
     
  22. Can't slight ya for that.

    Hey way off topic but I was lookin' at your "paint job" in one of those magazines. I always thought that lace and cobbwebs on most cars was cheesy. You pulled it off. KUDOS
     
  23. KIRK!
    Joined: Feb 20, 2002
    Posts: 12,031

    KIRK!
    Member

    Thanks. When we were doing it we knew it was going to be amazing or complete shit.
     
  24. Nads
    Joined: Mar 5, 2001
    Posts: 11,862

    Nads
    Member
    from Hypocrisy

  25. Stevie Nash
    Joined: Oct 24, 2007
    Posts: 2,999

    Stevie Nash
    Member

    Did I just read that?

    Hey, what are clouds? Are they just puffy white things that are fun to look at, or do they produce rain that makes all plants grow???

    I guess we've gotten completely away from common sense...
     
  26. Steves32
    Joined: Aug 28, 2007
    Posts: 1,280

    Steves32
    Member
    from So Cal

    Yea, I do like the Gazette. My car was in the Del Mar coverage a couple of months ago. I guess I got off on a rant. I had brain fade about the mag- slipped my mind completely.
    I think GG would be a great deal if you attended 4-5 events per year (excluding the magazine). But 1?
    I take it back about GG. But I still wouldn't consider it a club.

    So tell me Kirk! How did you score the #1 spot in classifieds for the Starliner? ;)
     
  27. DocWatson
    Joined: Mar 24, 2006
    Posts: 10,273

    DocWatson
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Seen the Wanderers?
    Club mates are for helping to beat up other club's members.....
     
  28. KIRK!
    Joined: Feb 20, 2002
    Posts: 12,031

    KIRK!
    Member

    How do you exclude the magazine? You get it right? :D
     
  29. Ranunculous
    Joined: Nov 30, 2007
    Posts: 2,465

    Ranunculous
    Member


    El Caballo summed it up.
    Shop around for an active club.GO to a few shows and see how they function as a group.Do they look out for each other?
    There are businesses and there are car clubs.
    There are belly members and then the guys that bust their ass to keep all the balls in the air and things functioning.

    Look around,then pick your club.You can only hope they PICK you!
    Good luck and best wishes for a good organization!
     
  30. lgh1157
    Joined: Sep 15, 2004
    Posts: 1,671

    lgh1157
    Member

    Yes :D. . . . . . . .

    You will find most guys very cool and willing to talk to you, then you will find a very small handful of douchebags that are to cool to talk to you . . . . . . . .

    L
     

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