Austin Texas - The New Mecca of Hot Roddin'

Well, first all the good musicians had to move to Austin because the town supports them better than anywhere else. That includes So Cal and Na$hvega$. Now I see a bunch of hot rod builders and drivers heading there. Maybe it will never be as big of a scene as So Cal, but I, for one, am glad there's another hot rod Mecca.

 

Austin is great. However, it does not compare to the sheer size, scope, and quality of SoCal automotive culture. Nothing does. I love them both, but come on...

That year round roadster weather in SoCal is unbeatable too.

 

Your garage doesn't count

 

thank god

for steve and all the kontinentals

 

From outside Austin it seems like the hot rod culture is big and quickly expanding bigger, however it would take quite a lot to equal let alone surpass what the years since WWII have done to hot rod culture in SoCal.

Got to ask a question of HAMBers from Austin:
From a TV commercial a current Austin city mayoral candidate, Brewster McCracken, my home city of St. Louis has been on a downward slide into the shitter for over a century. Is that what Austin folks think of my hometown?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3fUkvuvFHg

WTF?


Marty McFly, from just outside St. Louis

 

im a hermit also
besides the roundup and i have been to the dog and duck 2 times
been in austin for a little over 2 yrs thats all i have done
i do see old cars everyday here but its the quality of people i have met
most are very outgoing from what ive seen
the cars to me are second the people are first

 

I live 16 miles south of you in Neosho Missouri. This area is hurting for car events. I can only attend so many cruise nights, to see the same cars year after year. Other than sitting around waiting for the HAMB drags once a year, what else is there to do? Do something about it. There are some great people in this area, and alot of talent.

How about a rod run, a barbecue. I know they had a breakfast run in Neosho last Jan. and had over 50 people show up. The interest is there, it needs someone to take the reigns and do something about it. With four states bordering Joplin, there has to be more people that would be interested in something like this. If not, I'll see you at the next cruise night.

 

First time there, this last Roundup and Steve W. treated me and Rachel wonderfully! The city is gorgeous! We were trying to get pics of all the country-fried signage we saw there. Like a rural store's sign that declared "we have rabbit". Or, "ATM, bikers welcome, chicken" haha, it was great! Also the downtown area is just killer. The skyline at night was almost mystical with the light fog in the air. The capitol building glows (not nuclear glowing, just LIT). The vibe on Congress is great, the Continental Club as well as so many other shops and bars there are fantastic. The locals are very laid back, I LIKE that! Years ago, comedians used to point out how super laid back Californians are vs. how edgy and 300 MPH New Yorkers were. California, hell, Arizona too, has lost that feel, almost entirely! Anyway, Austin KICKS ASS (slowly).

California will always have the hot rod mystique, but Austin is a better place to live I'd imagine.

Austin, the tiny blue dot in the big, red state (or is that the other way around).

 

I have lived in both Austin and SoCal and can say each is great because each is unique in its own way. Good people livin honestly to keep a hobby alive. If you live it and seek it out the culture is there for you to enjoy.No matter where you live. I have found the same thing here in Chicago. You can always compare apples and oranges and never get even. In this case you find the common denominator (cool cars, good people, a rich history) and what more can be said than that.

 

And FWIW, Arizona is getting to be quite the big hot roddy deal. Maybe it's due to all the retired dudes with good pensions. Maybe it's the warm nights and winters, but I sure know a bunch of folks who moved there. So Cal is getting pretty fast paced as Jeem noted. And there's a lot of attitude from pushy overachievers. But, I am a native. I have a nice place in Lakewood which as a large drag racer contingent. So, I'm happy here. If I ever took playing music more seriously than a hobby, I'd HAVE to relocate to Austin.

 

I'm divorced, no kids and ready to get the hell out of this cold...Wiscoldsin that is.
You guys know what kind of industry is in Austin? I do Electrical automation work.
Not much on careerbuilder I see.

 

Seems like the Texas people are catching on. I'm a native Texan. Been out west for twenty years. Always fun to go back and visit! Roundup was good.

 

HAHA....another hermit here as well.
We moved here last fall.
Besides the Roundup and the Flyrite x-mas party that's about it.
Haven't been to the D&D yet, seems everytime I'm ready to go something comes up.
I will say the majority of people here are awesome.
Plus it helps that it's usually sunny.

 

by no means am I an authority on any of this, just wanted to drop in my 2 pennies...I grew up in SoCal for 25 years, born and raised. Spending that much time in one area you come to think that no where is cooler than that particular place and that is how I felt when I moved here to Austin. Over the past 6 years I have been here, I have come to realize that this is the best place to live, hands down (for a variety of reasons I won't go into). Even though I do not hang out with folks from the HAMB that live in Austin, I can tell that what is going on here in Austin is what was going on in SoCal in the early 90's and trust me, that is a very good thing. There's a movement here that should not be take for granted or missed. SoCal will always be the birthplace, in my mind, of all this. Austin however is taking what they did and making it better.

 

Agree with Blake. A huge portion of the kick-ass'ed-ness is the peeps. If you pull up to one of the cruise nights with a problem...10 people are right on it helping you out. Then you're friends for life. LUX BLUE is a perfect example of this.

I've lived a lot of places (CA included) and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

 

Jeff, I think you made 2 good points here, I work at the University of Texas and have been here for 6 years and absolutely love it. UT has made it a priority to preserve not only its historic buildings but its natural settings and have seen that spill out into the city. The studies we have done show that the majority of small unique business owners loved Austin so much that when they graduated they just never left.

I work in the Petroleum Engineering department and students who graduate are almost forced to move to Houston, but they come down to Austin every other weekend. They say there is just something about Austin they can't leave behind.

As far as real estate goes, I am also a Realtor, and have seen (and sold to) the influx of Californians. But yes steady jobs and good home prices does affect the amount of people coming here. Now as far as real estate goes, property is becoming even more affordable, the problem are loans,,,anyhow I wont go into that, don't want to sound like I'm spamming.

 

awww...

when I moved here about 15 Years ago, there was dick for cars in this town.
shops...there were about 2. Manny's, and this weirdo that worked out of his Garage. (back then, he was just "charlie.")

it has grown by leaps and bounds. how much?

Larry Edelbrock just walked into my Office.

Yeah...THAT Larry Edelbrock.

 

Austin, South Austin in particular has a special vibe to it, no matter what your into there is a good chance you will be surounded with decent quality folks.
You couldn't pay me enough to live in a big city like that, I'll stay out here in the woods and visit Austin when I want.

 

im kinda tired of the inner "scene" politics in austin
im almost willing to say that i want out of austin.
this is my home and i was born here been here ever since.
grew up in a culture of iconistic local dragracers. i worked
at shops like mannys custom chassis machados custom speed
austin custom. and yet a hand full of the "hot rod" guys from
every where else move to town with trust funds in hand. look
down their noses at the people whove independently set hand
fulls of records to include landspeed records. and then i notice
a guy pull up to a local hot spot in a bad ass car(budgetless)
get out with his verry own pin up model and hes all cuffed and
slicked and swaggered, and i cant help but see the reality of
what was once a grassroots subculture in austin, turned into
a fake, pop cultured ,album cover inspired, store bought, scenester
orgy. and im all for it getting big and popular BUT when theres no
room left for the grass roots guys that started all of this. thats where
i draw the line.

tell jesse james thanks for one horse-ing the chopper scene, stay in
so-cal before you ruin hot rodding too.

 

Hot rodding in Austin has always been sort of a huge underground thing aside from your high tech street rod shows. The Round Rock Wataburger was voted by Car Craft (CRUISEN USA) as one the hottest cruise spots in the nation in 1992 until everyone was run off after so many years.

The bumper to bumper cruizen on Congress hasnt been seen since the old 6th street days in the 80's and early 90s when 6th wasnt shut down at 10:00pm and no curfews for open door loud band music. Advertisement & competition was also a huge part for car stereo shops in town. I can still rember every other car bumper to bumper on 6th playing 2LIVE CREW!

Underground street racing was also very big back in those days for the whole central area. Where? Mid Night...Decker Lane -Yes! the same road that leads to the round up show would see a line up of cars of at least 50 to 100 or more for a night of street racing. That soon died out in the mid 90s. If you moved here around then well you werent going to see action unless you knew someone in the action! (UNDERGROUND)

Cruisen (all-nighters) like we now see it on Round Up night reminds most hotrodders in town of the old days. Its still amazing to see the round up growing like it is in keeping the car culture spirit alive once again. A big thanks to who ever created this and also invited the rest of the nation to join. Just wishin it was every weekend.

 

Well being a Cali guy and planning on moving to Austin in August (If all goes as planned)
my opinion is that Austin is in its own little bubble...

I love California and Always will but I see it imploding on its self... The terminator is
Taxing the shit out of everything...The housing market is in the dumps... Business are
shutting down left and right,,, But that being said we do have a very amazin Hot Rod
history here... where else can you see the iskanderian T and the Real "Outlaw" in one
day and pass by the Barris shop on your way to Bob's big boy...

Theres not a day that I don't see some sorta of Hot Rod driving down the road...
But... we have allot of bull shit too... the Minitruckers turned Rat Rodders or the Gangmember / Greasers tend to ruin it for me... There miles of shitboxes at everyshow and fist fights every time.. never fails... we have our good shows but it
gets old going to a show every weekend and seeing the same cars.....

Now Texas... as stated the before the People...the people are the best.... So fucking friendly... The Food.. the Music... Fantastic!!!
The cars are good.. But there (as in Cali) are a bunch of shitboxes too,,,maybe more than So-Cal.. but the people that "Get it" are a tight group.. I was there for several months before "LSRU" and I saw plenty of Hot Rod action... It seems that in Austin people are more down to hang out with there cars Just for Lunch or a drink...

I think So-cal will always be the Mecca but Austin will have a huge mark in the Future of Hot Rodding.... Especially since i'll be there hhahahaha J/K

I will always love California But I'll Love living in Austin... Even in the heat..

 

watch out for them austin hipsters

 

I don't know who You're talking about, but I have never had anyone look down thier nose at me. and for the record, I didn't open my shop with a trust fund, nor did anyone else in town.

and as far as the hometown thing is concerned, it was stagnant. that's why there was (and still is) an oppurtunity for guys such as myself or Austin Speed Shop.

it's cool to have other guys to inspire You, or whom You may lend inspiration to in town.

 

SHHHHH...shut yer mouth....
There ain't a god damn thing going on in WA.....
Everyone move south....nothing to see here.

 

I moved to Arizona from Texas in 92-93 to get more involved with hot rods. It was right after the Rodney Riot so I decided to pick Arizona instead of So-Cal.

I think we (Arizona) become immune to hot rodding because we drive our cars year round, the tires show wear and we dont polish them all winter (no offense Northerners). So we post less pictures or events.
We also get immune because there are way too many cruise nights in the phoenix metro area, so many that they are all watered down and low quality.

Now Im sure the Austin Hamb members drive year round and show tire wear too.

As a whole Hot Rod scene our cars are driven regularly, nobody puts them on blocks for the winter and there is a 95% chance there will be sunny skies today.

 

Way to go, Ryan...