Today is a day with nothing going, cold, rain/snow mixed, most everything needed out in the shop is accomplished, and I'm feeling lazy as hell, so I spent most of it just here at the computer, and except for HAMB its been pretty dammed boring. I got to thinking to myself,........self?? (and the question came up), "What drives me to be so involved in this hobby and..............keeping abreast of all things automotive as best I can?? I'll ask that of you guys/gals? I can not recall that very basic question ever being posed here on the HAMB but if it has, please just excuse this old man, I'm bored as hell. So......???????????????????????????????????????
The wind chill here is keeping me in the house rather than out doing what I had planned. Now I remember why the hell I was thinking about stopping at the hardware store though. I'm still thinking about riding out an looking at an old trailer I think is for sale to see what the car frame under it actually is.
I plan on ordering a pizza a little later and pop open a bottle of wine..... And spend some time on here....
@Deuces....great minds must think alike. I’ll have Pizza and Beer, and ask this question? Who’s up for KKOA in May @ Maggie Valley N.C. and Indy CCR 2021 in June. WHO’s goin? Sent from my iPad using H.A.M.B.
It is a lot more fun following other guys build projects, swap meets that are too far away, road trips with lots of photos of places I can only dream of seeing are really nice to see. Worked in my yard today and took one load to the dump, it was a very good day. Bob
????????????????? 1. I don't go to bars. 2.....................casinos. 3.....................strip clubs. 4......................church (sorry). 5..................hunting. 6...................fishing. 7...................river rafting. 8....................sky diving. 9.....................bungee jumping. 10...................skeet shooting. 11....................watch football. 12...............................baseball. 13...............................basketball. 14...............................hockey. 15...............................the Olympics. 16.I Don't quilt. 17.............paint. 18.............build bird houses. 19.............read novels. 20.............do art. What's left?
I'll answer my own question. This need to do something with or to a car, (ie: the drive/need/want/obsession), became ingrained in my soul when I saw Joe Bailon's 1941 Chevy Coupe, Miss Elegance. I was about 10 maybe. I always liked working on bicycles and the such and so it came natural that cars would peak my interest also. And it has, as with all of you here, never left. I had to get away from it for while, I mean owning and building rods or customs, because of family, but I was always into knowing what was what in all things automotive. Came a time when all there was living with me,............ was me. Kids were grown, wife had said audios, I had good paying steady income and like DDDenny above not much on his list interested me, except I was an ardent fishermen, so I began going to cruse-ins. That rekindled my desire to get into building and modifying. It could be called, and should be more than a desire. Joe Blow in his post calls it and "addiction", and I would add as strong as and dope addict has. I missed a lot of knowledge in the time I was raising my three daughters and being a family man, but hell, that's why there is the HAMB. So before my lights go out, I'm just going to really enjoy my addiction/obsession, enjoy the shit out of this website and ask a stupid question now and then and answer some with what little knowledge I've gained in my off and on again core desire.
For me, it was always there right from the start, but had little to do with cars in the early years. When young, I would take toys apart and put them back together, with varying degrees of success. Pushbikes got the treatment as I got older, getting aftermarket parts and bare-metal custom paint jobs. The car and motorcycle thing came in the early to mid teens, and has never gone away. I think it is just the natural progression of a 'mechanical mind '. One really interesting thing to me is that I did not have any influence toward this direction in my childhood years. My father, uncles, cousins, etc were not into it. It just seems to strike certain people, and I am thankful and greatful that it chose me, even though most of the people around me can't even begin to understand that concept. They just don't know how happy it makes me.............. What @DDDenny said also rings true. Most of the things on his 'I don't do ' list involve interaction with others. A lot of the time hot rodding is a solitary pursuit for me, and that is a huge attraction in itself...... Me, in the garage, creating...
I had a very tough childhood, I discovered the freedom motorcycles provided, I loved getting on my bike friday nites, riding far as I could, getting a motel, riding half saturday, getting a room, exploring where I was, and riding all day sunday home again. Did that for a couple years, it helped me deal with my issues, then as fate would have it, met Mrs Wonderful and her two ankle biters, so, became interested in cars, which were actually my first love. I wanted to learn everything I could about chassis, built a tee bucket that handled awesome, learned more, built more, got twelve cars under my belt, all built from scratch. As my tool collection grew, so did my yearning to know more, each car better than the last. And the circle continues, I've rediscovered motorcycles after a long absence, mechanical things just have a way to bring satisfaction that no other distraction can.
It's that gasoline in your veins, it never goes away. I get real busy with work and family stuff but the old gear in my shed is always calling me back, and sometimes its the only therapy that works.
The Jalopy Journal
