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

I smacked rocks together.

 

I did just fine, thank you very much. The HAMB is an interesting place but not the center of the hot rod universe. No offense intended.

 

What Gene said, I learned by doing, asking, reading stuff by Baskerville, Bill Burnam, I read and copied on a copier the stuff I needed, street rod builder, what ever I could to learn something specific. To this day I have a library of magazine articles stapled together on shelves for reference. Plus, I have all the books ever printed in the "how to" years of rod builders, engine swaps, bodywork, chassis books, etc.

 

I Relied On Patient Pioneers To Steer Me (Mostly)...

 

Had cars and girlfriends.

 

Before I was old enough to drive at fourteen I bought a 39 Plymouth coach to make a hot rod. Studied the Hot Rod mags. till I memorized them and went to work . Dechromed hood and trunk lid lowered the rear end 6 inches primed it gray with my Mom's vacuum cleaner sprayer . Painted the wheels red and added white porta walls to tires . Split the exhaust manifold in shop class and made dual pipes with glass pacs . Sent to Almquist Speed Shop for cast iron risers to make a dual carb. intake . Had the head milled . The old Mayflower really moved after that . After I got my license I was constantly being pulled over for loud pipes , had three sets the glass pacs , straight pipes and stock mufflers .
My first drag race I beat a 49 Ford with a 6 cyl. second race was a 49 Ford with a flathead V8 . I liked to hang around garages and watch mechanics do there thing ! I picked up a lot of speed tricks from them. That takes care of my life until 16 years old. Then got a 41 Merc. cp. and blew the flathead , got a 50 Merc. mill and installed it myself and installed Offy heads and headers and that's another story !

 

My mechanic buddy, 72 years young last month, was my mentor, my go-to guy, my drinking buddy and the source of all kinds of inspiration. He hasn't slowed down one bit other than being on the wagon now about 10 years, and is still my go to!

 

Sleep

 

Just played on the computer!

 

The short of it !
First off,in the 1950s,got mags,Car Craft,Hot Rod, and others,joined local hot rod club an then two more clubs. When WWW got kicking,there were a few hot rod sites that came an went,one I liked as long as it lasted,Ruffroders,but the HAMB been cool,ya I do Fordbarn an some other little places off an on,FB has a few pages that are OK.

 

The same, I'm only on this box for a few minutes a day, why look at pictures when I got the real thing down in my garage..

 

Read a some magazines when they didn't suck... went to more shows for sure... picked old timers brains... had a good time all in all... Not much has changed... We all don't really like technology but the love of keeping things of the past alive keeps us coming back.

 

Nobody knows it all. Having a cpl decades of restoration under my belt was an influence in and of itself. Exposure to older gents with their own tastes and perspectives was always interesting. Dear ol Dad raced and hot rodded well before the days of '1 800 STREETROD' and for a lifetime before the 'net. The HAMB made the information easier to quantify now and then and also opened a multitude of previosly unknown product or practice from the glory days. So I guess before it was books and practice, now it's right in your hip pocket.

 

I read everything I could get my hands on the pertained to history & the automobile, piles of hot rod magazines and worked my tail off raising and educating our girls & if there was any spare money working on my hot rod or someone else's. HRP

 

I'd just quit medical school to become a clam digger, and I hate clams. Then I found the HAMB. I'm much better now.
But seriously, I'd been called out for a CAT Scan on an ER patient, in the middle of the night, but they were't actually ready when I arrived; it took roughly an hour while I waited. While I waited, I searched online, and found JalopyJournal.Com/the HAMB. What is this????? That was 2003 or so, and the HAMB was a whole lot different then; profanity, hostility, and anger, but there was also a "message" there. It was't until about 2006, when I quit lurking,. that I took the plunge and joined up. A lot of things I like, some things I don't, and some I hate. But, I really don't know what I'd do without the HAMB in my life now. Sounds a bit corny, but it's true. I am butch/56sedandelivery.

 

Library, and car magazines. I still have a few of the photocopied pages from tech books I found at the library. Then there was my redneck friends who ran the truck shop at my other friend's landscape biz. They were way better than the internet, well, more fun anyway. And they also told great jokes. And some bad ones; "I'm so 'T-U-R-D' tired I could "F-A-R-T" faint." Thanks, Casey. That one's still stuck in my brain.

 

I never knew a time before the HAMB, but the ancient ones regale me with tales of this ancient form of communications called "magazines", and "talking to people" I guess it's like facetime but without a phone and you're standing next to a person when you do it....I don't understand it, all to confusing to me.

 

I built ground scraping Vws, ground scraping 60s American stuff and fast BMWs.

 

Used to stare at my heap and wonder "HTF am I gonna fix, make, or replace this or that?"

NOW I know where to turn for expert advice. My favorite surf spot.

Thanks, Ryan!

 

i wear glasses now.

Sent from my SM-G973U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Remember how good the magazines were. I still read them and get ideas from them I was just reading a 1960 Hot Rod about gauges.. They had these real cool Eelco gauges in the photos..

 

Read magazines when they had real hot rods and customs. Now try and find one. GoHAMBGo


Sent from my iPad using H.A.M.B.

 

Didn't go to Asbury once a year.

 

I see what you did there.

 

I used to read magazines and have meaningful conversations with my better half- come to think of it If I am not on the H.A.M.B.-I still like reading magazines...

 

Mostly my family, My fathers's side one great uncle was crew men on a Indy Car pre W.W. II, a second great uncle was chief steward for Fonda Speedway, and my father built and crewed for several local short track cars.

My mother's father was a body man

Great Uncle Don Wyel (In Car) crewed for Sam Car on this A.A.A. Big Car (Indy Car)


My father Willard-

 

Read a lot of car magazines built a 31 A coupe hot rod/street rod It took 3 years and learned as I built it. Lots of mistakes and rework but I got it done.
Everyone thought I was crazy until it was a driver back in late 80's drove it all the time. After it was on the road everyone said I could not build a car by myself. After I joined the forum I have been distracted and never finished another car. I have plenty of good material traditional and modern (pre-computer) and have given and sold a lot of nice projects. I need to kill the computer and just go out to my shop.
I enjoy the forum and it was a lot more exciting even when I was getting slammed for my spelling. The Ford Barn has a lot to offer too.

 

Before the HAMB I bothered people in person rather than digitally.
Chappy

 

Before the HAMB, I was a musician. Some of my on stage antics ( like going as a used tampon on Halloween ) ended my musical career


TOXIC SHOCK

 

Spent a lot less time on the internet.