Hot Rods What did you do before the H.A.M.B.???

Amen to that as well as some of the stuff kids watch on YouTube instead of actually doing!

 

At my uncles service station in Kannapolis NC (R&F Service) I would always look at Motors Mechanic Manuals, all the hot rod mags of the day, hung outa Doc Eddleman's Garage, did a lot of dreaming and still don't know it all...………..oh before the HAMB, went to a lot of car shows and still dreamed a lot...…………...

 

Worked on the car a lot.

 

I can't remember.

Sent from my SM-G970U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Long walks on short beaches.

 

Read, read & read some more!
Then went to see what buds were building.
Tex Leroi Smith, Bud Bryan, Scritchfield, on the list went!

 

Shopped Hemmings Motor News for parts, dailed long distance on the rotary phone, bought money orders and licked stamps.
Once I found some stuff in street scene near enough to actually drive to the mainland and pick up.
Lived in a small town with only a couple hot rodders..
No family into cars, mostly self taught

 

For a few years just before I got on the Hamb I spent a lot of time on a sailboat cruising board. I had been totally burned out on the the whole car scene and needed a break.
I have never had a one track mind or been a one hobby / interest person. It doesn't matter what one's interest is if they are only interested in and is totally absorbed in that interest 24/7 they are usually boring people to be around after a few hours.
Hot rod / custom wise I spent far too much money on car magazines over 60 years. a few thousand of them having been ruined by a leaking roof in my storage shed. My plan since I was real young was to have a library room for them in my garage. That was from the time when all of your resource material was in print from the knowledgeable people you knew.

 

.......walked around like this a lot......

 

Me , being the stubborn, know it all S. O. B that I was, did everything the EXACT OPPOSITE of what all the " 'Ol Timers" said was the right way to do it. Those were some EXPENSIVE lessons to learn! I soon came to realize that they ALL might just know what they were talking about! Mistakes will definitely help you learn... for a price! Over the years, I've learned to ask for questions if I wasn't sure, and even then if the answer I got didn't make sense, I'd ask more questions. That's what's so great about the HAMB, so much knowledge to draw from and so many good suggestions on how to accomplish the same task. You just have to choose the one that makes sense to YOU.

LONG LIVE THE HAMB!!!

 

Hot chicks

 

Read Hot Rod magazines and questioned a few locals. The skill and knowledge that can be drawn from on the HAMB is amazing. It's also nice to see that I'm not the only one feeling my age and taking forever to get something done.

 

In addition to what has been said by others earlier, there was an Early Ford V8 Yahoo group I used to participate in for a number of years. Some good folks there helped me a lot while building my Avatar but then it withered away.
Love participating in the HAMB.

 

BH (before HAMB)...... Worked long hours 6 days a week and had a 2 hr. commute each way before retiring. When not at work, rested, worked on my car, raised family. Watched the occasional football or baseball game on TV.

Retired now, coming up on 72. Kids are grown, grandkids are grown, 1st great-grandson is 1 year old. Getting a bit gimped up, but still work on the '57 when I can. Would like to get the old girl roadworthy again before I'm too old to drive her.

NFL are dead to us now after encouraging disrespect to our nation but we still watch baseball. We're watching the 3rd inning of game 6 of the World Series game now. Just finished a DiGiorno spinach and garlic pizza and starting on 2nd 20 oz. Redbull. Go 'Stros!!!

Best regards to all,

Harry

(edit) P.S. >>> Well...... Astros didn't win. Wife is bummed out. Me...... I look at it as an opportunity to watch another great World Series baseball game tomorrow and see which team comes out on top.

 

rec.autos.rod-n-custom

Usenet, for those who remember the early internet.

 

Magazines. Read every car magazine and repair manual I could get my hands on.

 

- was raised Catholic, mandatory for school kids to become an Alter Boy that helped Priest during services - but, I was not into Latin - so, instead would just hang out at the Drug Store and read magazines - rather than spending Saturdays learning what I was supposed to - I may be going down rather than up when I leave this world

 

Not much different.....still work on my cars.....than post stupid threads.........

 

Ha! I STILL walk around like that sometimes! I just can't tell if it's reliving my youth or force of habit!

 

I ate a lot of Turkey.

 

Before the HAMB I did a lot of trial and error. There were a few local guys that knew what they were doing, some would even share what they knew after they figured you were worth telling. Even then, most were limited to a few areas of expertise, outside of which they were stumbling along just like I was. I was able to understand that certain people were knowledgeable in certain areas, so I would seek out the people that could help me in the area I needed help in.
The early HAMB was more open to different things then the current HAMB is, which is OK in my book. I think it was a bit better then, there was more discussion concerning more of the things I was doing, but much of what I do isn't really HAMB related. The off topic stuff may work with a small group of people, but when the group gets as big as the HAMB is now, the off topic stuff will kill the board.
I keep coming here because there are so many more guys with knowledge in areas I need help in, and they are much faster and easier to make a connection with then the way it was before the HAMB. I still do a lot of trial and error stuff, but now there are people I can bounce an idea off of before I dive into a new experience. This creates a much faster and much less painful new adventure for me. There are people on the HAMB that can and do answer off topic questions through PMs.
Because of my earlier assortment of early trial and error experiences, I am able to share some of those experiences with other people so they may not have to do the full pain filled learning experience on their own. I rather enjoy the thought of preventing someone from making some of the mistakes I've had to learn from the hard way. Gene

 

Like Paul said, subscribed to Hemmings Motor News. Went to a lot more shows and swap meets. Spent most of my money on fast cars and women, the rest I just wasted.

 

Great question/post. Back in the day even auto parts stores could answer questions. Back in the day I had friends that I could call. Back in the day there wasn't an internet. Even if the HAMB wasn't here, you can Google and sift through information, but what I like about the HAMB is for the most part, you get a response fro the "been there done that" crowd...kinda like when I was younger and asked those who had actually done the stuff I was contemplating and could lead me in the right direction.

So, I went to my local NAPA today...place has been in my town for 60 years or so, and a few years ago sold out to another place. I needed a 1/2in swivel socket. Was kinda odd as I was waiting for the gent to find it, I was staring at it hanging on the wall. Would I ask them now for advice? Naw, rather Google or come here

 

I also waited for the next issue of R&C and HR to read what GREY BASKERVILLE was up too...…..

 

I may be wrong but I think magazine articles back in the day did went into more detail instead of using xxx"s rear end, yyy's transmission zzz's front end etc. There just seemed to be more in depth information about how parts would work.

 

Before HAMB, I was blissfully ignorant of my inabilities. I had learned a lot on my own, but came to find I could do much more than I ever thought I could. Wish there had been a HAMB 50-years ago !!

 

I started reading Hot Rod Magazine in about 1960, later Rod Action and Street Rodder as well as a Motors/Chilton's manual, didn't really have many friends into hot rodding at the time just decided to do it. The first iteration of the 38 Chevy as "guess and by golly" as well as a little help here and there. The first neighbor/friend I had that was a real hot rodder was less than five years ago I will never know it all Really great to get assistance from a lot of knowledgeable people on this forum!!!

 

Squirrel remembers. Newsgroups! Even remembered the group name. (I couldn't) I think newsgroups are still out there somewhere. And they predate the Internet. They got passed around via "Usenet". Wow. Ancient history. The Internet is well named as it brought together several pre-existing networks. I was on one of them and newsgroups kept me busy.

 

Definitely spent more time off the couch.

 

Looking forward to the game this evening!

Go 'Stros!

HB