Hillbilly Engineering at Hershey...

At least it isn't welded up with brass. I've fixed some fenders that were welded I wish were stitched like this one.

 

I was at the auction with my grandma's stuff and my uncle saw me looking at a mixer complete with the bowl. He said grandma bought the mixer using money from selling fireworks. He wondered when she bought it though because they didn't have electricity yet. That was in the early 1950's here in South Dakota.

This is a picture of my dad and uncle building there first race car. They did it in the yard. The only 220 power they had was at the light poe where the power came into the property. Tis must be around 1961....


Yep times have changed.

 

Really? I honestly didn't take note, but it use to be. That also may have been when it was still on grass. Times have changed I guess.

 

Looks like it was stitched and then fiberglassed over if you look close. Wonder if it held??

 

Down on the farm here in Illannoys, we got modern with electricity in '47 or '48. One of the first things Dad bought was a welder- Forney, IIRC. He did a lot of repair with it- mostly the same one over and over... Anyhoo, some where along the line, he picked up a '38 Chevy pickup that had a square patch riveted onto the left front fender- rivets, not pop rivets, 'cause they weren't around yet. It had been painted to match with a brush. I learned a lot about driving in that ol' rig...

 

I know a few guys that'll probably use the idea for body mounts.

 

In 1963 I inherited a big old WWII era 4 shelf Kennedy roll-around (Haze grey Nav-Air issue) with deep barn doors. A place for everything and all 30 or so mostly ancient tools in their place. Today I have a pair of six foot tall Macs in a shop loaded with every mech and fabrication tool I'll ever need in this life. But while every other drawer in both boxes is segregated beyond reason, there is a leather tool pouch hanging by a belt holding favorite sockets on a stick, the perfect ratchet, some rare grey handled Craftsman screwdrivers, favorite pliers and whatnot - tools I've owned for many years - that seem to get most jobs done. This got me to thinking about my dad's toolbox in the early and mid 50s - he built a couple of great old hot rods in a Model A sized garage out of of a long wooden carpenters box. Engines, trannys, rear ends, body work and painting all in the same 8 x 16 shed. He never complained and was grateful for a roof to work under. I have a 30x30 shop, have filled it to where I can't even get a car in there, then cuss and moan about my terrible "circumstances"...

 

ok ok but think alittle further he probably made this fix without electricity imagine how he drilled the holes? (I picture the guy with a bit and brace with hands going round and round)

 

Id keep it as is ... and hang it on the wall.

 

I'm seeing a tech article in OSR or all those rodz magazines in the near future.

 

Flipping through the cable at 4am... Mayberry was on ... got me to thinkin' - maybe it was Gomer asking Goober how to fix that fender, and Goober had his welding outfit out back under the sweet gum tree - 4 big six-volters juiced up with VX6 (old timers will know) and a set of battery cables - and he tells Gomer "Waal, yer gonna hafta stitch it up right-nice now..." And he did just that...

 

Back in the day there werent any mig welders and the average hot rod kid didnt even have access to a "stick welder. Ya did what you had to to get going, sometimes out in the country, two or three kids would get together and each pitch in whathey had,motor,frame,wheels,etc.,just to get going.Wheels are better than heels we always said.Rusty Ironhorse

 

Can't say I agree with with some of the methods you mention, but take offense to the HILLBILLY reference. GFYS.............................

 

Thanks for posting the shots, while laughing my ass almost of and flipping through the shots I saw my mother in the background of the photo with the Indy (Austin) pedal car. Made my Dad's day to see his car on the net!

 

the problem is, that on that truck, it wasn`t done cause thats what he did to get by, theres a weld directly underneath it and with nice tires and caps, not a poor persons fix, just something for ratty fashion......

 

It is never fair to judge history from todays standpoint, that stitched fender is true Americana IMO. Are the holes drilled or punched through with a nail? What caused the rip in the fender, blown tire? Was it done on the side of the road a hundred miles from the nearest house? Job well done, the vehicle was back in service and the owner was at work producing something. Just yesterday I saw a NEW Mercedes with a flat tire, owner (a guy) must have called the dealer on his cell phone since there was another new Mercedes with dealer logos all over it with a technition swapping out his space saver wheel and tire. Somehow we've lost a lot in this country in the last 50 years.