History Monkey see, monkey do

Years ago I read in one of the hot rod type magazines that hot rodding was pretty much monkey see, monkey do.
I recently got on face book and joined several hot rod sites to see all the cool cars. It didn't take long to see 'Cartoon cars" were very popular and excepted as mainstream.
The next revelation was several things most of the rods had in common. Aside from a lot of Model A fords which I have no problem with and actually prefer, was a continuing occurrence of four things.
First, Wheels, either fake spindle mounts on anything near a gasser style. and then the ubiquitous "Artillery " wheels on all the rods.
The next continuing feature was the center mount steering that used to be popular on lakes cars. putting the steering box right in the middle with the steering arm hanging off the side of the body doesn't seem to be to useful other than clearing any engine parts.
It used to be an on going problem with the law on headlight height. Now it seems no problem put em as low as they'll go.
Lets drill a bunch of holes in those Model A visors while we're at it and call it "Old School".
Just my observations and opinions.

 

I avoid FB mainly because I find every thing here more interesting,plus i am not interested in the types of cars owned & discussed by 90 % of the FB users.muscle cars,rat traps and circus wagons.

It's almost impossible to come up with a new idea and the tried and true building styles are as common as the day is long.

Hambers also mimic what they see but they are built to their taste and built to drive. HRP

 

Fake Book. I visited it when it first came out and it still seems like a waste of time. Fake accounts abound. Basically, IMO, it's a pile of shit and enough people fell for it, to make some kid rich.

 

All of this is true. I am currently 17, created a Facebook account 3 years ago. I absolutely hated it, my account is basically a ghost account. It is what it is though.


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My interest doesn't stray to far from rods & customs,the constant political crap and cat people drive me up the wall,I can do without it. HRP

 

''Disgrace Book''. 'Nuff said.
The H.A.M.B. is all we need.

 

Tradition dictates that if something "worked" in the past, it's likely it will work once again. Personal touches are what differentiates one build from another. I often try to explain to non-hot rod folks that you can line up 15 -20 1932 Ford hi-boy roadsters at a major event and no two will be exactly alike even though they are the "same" car.........Individualism with a respect for what has "worked" in the past is what drives this hobby that we love.

 

I've got enough other interests to justify a FB presence, like architecture, medieval history, religion, not to mention cats and politics. I've found a number of fellow HAMBers there, too.

That is an eminently sane way to see tradition. Tradition puts the knowledge of how to do a thing with a good expectation of success out there; the knowledge doesn't belong to anyone. Anyone can latch onto it, and anyone can add to it: it'll take if and only if the new addition works better. This eliminates the learning curves associated with keeping reinventing the wheel on the one hand, and technological disruption for its own sake on the other.

It's called stigmergy. The open-source community is trying very hard to recreate what has worked quite spontaneously for centuries, and is only partially succeeding. When Facebook debates turn to stigmergy, I never hesitate to cite the HAMB as a living example of it.

 

Trends come and go.
Every one has different tastes, but some tried and true methods, just work.
The people who hang here understand mostly what worked in the past, still works for us now.
I had every intention to drill the visor on my Hudson, but while I was putting the finishing touches to it, I decided to go against the grain, and leave it alone. I still like the drilled look, for function, and form, but not doing it, just worked for me.
As to Facebook, there's sheep and wolves in this world, and it gives the sheep somewhere to hang, and stay out of our world.
There was a time when Hot Rodding wasn't so mainstream, the kids at my school back then couldn't understand why I liked the idea of hopping up an old car, and I was ok with that.
Now it's trendy, but I found what works for me, and I don't give a toss whether anyone else likes it, but it sure is nice to hang with people who feel the same.

 

The styles of original hot rodding was driven by racing. Very very few hotrodders race now.
Styles now are driven just by creative artist design. Much like some of the hotrod styles of the 60's and all of the custom car styles of the 50's and 60's.
Every generations imagination is driven by popularity.
In the 50's and 60's it was magazines and models emulating the race circuit and custom scene.
80's and 90's it was a race to build the best bathtub without chrome or faucets. Probably a result of the blend of original custom designs.
New millennia hot rods were driven by a rebellion of those designs emulating old hot rods with new age flair. Those designs also came from the media, cartoons and hotrod tv shows and mags.
The way I see it. Most of us are just tinkerers, artists who love to build with our own flair. Yes, I think we do use the new styles to cultivate our thinking.
If we aren't racing then how can we really consider ourselves hotrodders.
We are just posers who love to build and tinker.



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Facebook is nothing more than a place for people to post endless photos of their kids and grandkids.....boring.
I like to build a car like I like, not what others like. I fell in love with the 1960s hot rod look when I was a teenager and I still prefer that style today. I don't care for the wild graphics on a hot rod or the trendy IFS and other trendy mechanical ideas. Back when Hot Rod magazine photos were printed in green is the look I go for.

 

There are many good points to it as well. The Queen keeps us connected to the fam & friends that way. She isn't a social hermit like myself. So actually I benefit from it without having to see the cats. Guess I shouldn't bag on it. Just seems the folks who need a megaphone least, have one in FB.

 

Face Book is a family thing for me. My son has a page for his Dirt Super Stock car here in So Cal where we read about our similar interests. The SCTA club I belong to has a page but not a lot of action. The nice thing is I can look at what I want and decline any "friend" requests where I think the problem lies. Some people just want to know too much. As the they "things in moderation" are for the most part OK.

 

I tried to join the "Idaho Hot Rod history" thing, & didn't realize it was also F***book. Now I get bunches of notices about all these folks want to be my bud, & can't find anybody who can un-join me ...

 

Cowl steering is useful not just for engine/exhaust clearance but it can also free up precious foot room for pedal mounting, because the column no longer needs space on the floor.

The holes in the visor thing could help with visibility at stop lights especially in a chopped car. You would have to move your head a bit to see the stop light through a hole, and again when you want to block the sun in between the holes.

I know the 18" artillery wheels that were so incredibly valuable a few years ago (and I'm sure ain't cheap now) were used in dry lakes racing in the 40's since they were the only 18" wheel with the Ford pattern that wasn't a wire wheel, and apparently there was a surplus of 18" high speed tires that racers were trying to take advantage of.

Dropped headlight bars have some history too, although I'm not a fan of the framerail-mounted headlight height or the bolt-on spindlemount look wheels you're referring to. Those wheels might be more of a product of cost though, (originals are incredibly expensive), I don't know.

 

Nah you can't. You have to be jumped out. Blood in blood out. Thug life.

 

Hay Hay i own face page.... cant wait till markieZunkieberg give me 62million
to buy me out...lol

 

I may be one of the few that admits that I actually enjoy FB. You do have to pick and choose which groups you join and lurk a bit to make sure that the focus of the group matches you thoughts. I'll probably get kicked off one because I was a bit harsh on the guys who do the "poor me" bit every time someone mentions a really great rig being sold at big money at "that" auction but that poor me nonsense seems to abound in the hot rod world.
Main thing is that I keep track of most of my 20+ cousins and their families, something that I didn't manage much since my grandmother passed away in 1975 and her letters with all the news on the family stopped coming. The great thing is that anything I care for I just scroll past and done. I do limit the hell out of who is on my "friends" list and that keeps it in order.

 

I spend too much time here to waste it on wastebook.

 

I was on FB to keep track of family members, a lot easier now, most are in jail!

 

My wife is on Facebook. I would end up beating the crap out of someone if I was on it. I go on my wife's account just to see new photos of my Granddaughters. Try not to look at much else because it will make me crazy. Or should I say more crazy?

 

I have never been on Facebook myself....I don't participate in the 'political correct' world of fantasy and utopian dreams of 'virtual' friendships as it is. I've met way too many nuts in the 'real' world to want to pretend I care who wants to be my online buddy or online 'friend'....think I'll stick to the normal world of 'real' people....guess it's okay for some....I ain't interested in kitty pictures and sharing PC jokes....my world revolves around cars, and my wife....I can speak the truth, and not taken out of context at every hurt feeling. My wife ''was'' on it...she got tired of the hoopla too, even from family....to keep the peace, she shut it all down...guess we are on the same mindset these days.

I enjoy the HAMB....everyone pretty much speaks their mind, opinion, and point of view...it is what it is, and that's what counts most.

 

When you say "cartoon cars", what do you mean? Can you cut and paste a few, not sure what qualifies. Interesting observations.

I think FaceBook is a great idea for most people. Not for me though. I like my friends and family better when I don't read their posts. Unfortunately the guidelines that keep Hamb civil are not on FaceBook, so we all end up arguing and damaging our friendships. I went dark in November.

 

I agree with you on this. I have a large family scattered all over the place. Two of my aunts used to do a family newsletter that came out monthly. They got old and were no longer able to keep up, so one of the kids in the family started a private group to serve as our newsletter on FB. Works awesome. I've also lived and worked in 6 states. I made friends everywhere I've been. Periodically I look for old friends and on occasion I get lucky and find one. Besides Hot Rods, I'm also interested in photography and old Honda 3 wheelers. There are groups there for these things too. So I look at it sort of like a tool. I've learned how to make it work for me. Believe it or not there are some really great groups on there for Hot Rodders. There will never be anything as good as this place on there though!

 

If I was on Facebook I'd never get anything done. The time I spend on the Hamb has slowed me to a crawl now anyway!

 

I always have a laugh listening to people who feel the need to explain why they are on Facebook,either you are or you aren't,like it or not.
I'm not and I couldn't give a flyin f. k either way,who is anyone to judge what you do.
Whatever turns your crank!!

 

Cool discussion, and very traditional too. People complaining about what they like and don't like.....just like FaceBook.....

 

Nailed it..

 

Am I a hypocrite if I "liked" tferverfred's post?


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