To many in the older set, it has become almost fashionable to ridicule the young "greasers" of hot rodding. The old farts snicker at the cuff jeans, roll their eyes at the pompadours, and complain about their cars. They taste disgust and spit it out ... <BR><BR>To read the rest of this blog entry from The Jalopy Journal, click here.
That is pure truth....and fact....although.... I still feel like a kid when I drive mine around I don't begrudge the young guys their youth and energy. I also know in my heart that although they can drive a hundred miles sitting on plywood seats they won't when they're old....so yeah enjoy it now when your young but also enjoy it later when your not.....OH and young guys looking at the "old" guys and thinking they're not cool.....there YOU are in a few years....and RC you couldn't have chosen a better picture....if I had to choose one to represent the activity....it would be that one!
First off I'm with DD COOPMAN, that coupe is awesome and the picture is one of my all time favorites....period! It's funny because while I'm still relatively young at 29 and new to building hot rods I can relate with those old men when talking about the Hard Core and Punk Rock scene from my heyday which was from around 1994-2000. After that I seen a new breed of kids enjoying music a different way then I remembered it and all I could do what "scoff" at them thinking that it wasn't as good as when I experienced it. But just as your Hot Rod legend got older and realized that those kids with grease in their hair were doing the same thing he did but perhaps in a new environment and under different circumstances, I soon realized that kids were basically doing what I did if I stripped all the fluff away and got down to the meat and potatoes. I wished I could have experienced Hot Rodding when I was even younger and didn't have any responsibilities but I have a ton of fun and enjoying every minute of it now even if I'm doing it differently then my forefathers. It's still in the same spirit right?
Ryan, I think that we older fellas want to remember things in a perfect light. Life wasn't a bed of roses and we don't really want to be reminded of what it was like. Memory is selective. As for the grease and the cuffs I think it is a means to an end. By the time I was a teenager it wasn't grease and cuffs it was long hair and fringed jeans. Rebels come in all shapes and sizes, the result is still the same. Respect is earned and at least for me being yourself will gain you more respect than being what I think you should be. You just like the young fellas that are comming up now have "paid your dues" we all had to do the same. I don't know that it is right or wrong but it is the right of passage. That said I really need a haircut.
I'm 46, and feel 25 in my mind. I see a young group around a cool car, and feel as one of them. I can chat with them on an equal level about cars, music, politics, anything. I comment to my wife "how come everyones getting older but me". I remember how my parents would comment how my generations music was shit, yet I find my kid's music enjoyable at times. And yet cool cars are timeless, even with minor changes.
I day dream a lot... From left to right: 1. He's a confused kid that wants to be the kid on his left so badly that he tries a little too hard. 2. Has a reputation as a bad kid, but he grows out of it to be a man's man. 3. The driven kid. It's his car... He'll stop at nothing to be what he wants to be. 4. The late blooming dorky kid with a great sense of humor. Together, they are crew full of good times and lost memories.
One of the best parts of owning a hot rod/resto shop is watching the kids who walk by to grade school get a fire in their eyes!! I get to see my 12 years old self in a few of these kids. The high schoolers drive through and look in the windows to see what is new. They want to talk about it and I try not to make them feel stupid about the questions they ask. Pretty cool feeling to be the old guy (41 going on 18 ha ha).
that pictures great. i do have one question, i understand the grease.. but for the life of me in all these really old black and white hotrod pictures.. all the young lads have there Levis rolled up some.. WHY? was it to show off there penny loafers ( wing tips?) would love a answer from a old timer, no worries man you will always be young in my eyes if you decide to answer iv lived a hard life truth be told.. died for 2 mins.. artificial knee.. spine operation a few times.. etc etc my body is broken period. ill be 37 next month.. i hope i do not grow old and grumpy.. if i do would one of you guys slap the shit out of me and wake me up we still have cars to drool over.. thanks in advance. chris.
Hahaha! My generation scoffed at your generation. Your new punk rock and hardcore was strange and scary compared to our "old" punk rock and hardcore. In my day, there weren't 40 different kinds of "core" to keep up with. Guys my age would see kids your age and shake our heads wondering what the hell is the world coming to. One of the most profound quotes on aging I've heard was from Abe Simpson, Homer's dad. "I used to be 'with it', but then they changed what 'it' was. Now what I'm with isn't 'it', and what's 'it' seems weird and scary. And it'll happen to you too." I'm old.
That's very true even with me . In my teens I had long hair , played a bass in a band had a fast muscle car and raised hell on any street I could with my car . We hung out at the local grease pit or parking lot of the department stores until the cops ran us off to the next place . We listened to Rock & Roll and wore jeans with some really weird colors of clothing and thought we were all so cool ! Our cars had loud mufflers and lots of HP under the hood ! I guess things just never change but the cloths we wear , the music we listen to or the cars we drive now . I can still remember every minute of the things I did back in the day like it was yesterday ! Many of my friends are go now to a better place and some I can't find anymore but except closest best friend from 40+ years ago ! As I sit behind the windshield of my 55 Ford , it takes me back to a time we wish never ended . It was fun and we did some really stupid things but we are still here to enjoy our cars and fun times all over again . Maybe a little slower but in my mind , I am still a kid with a hopped up car raising hell whenever I can get away with it ! Isn't that what it's all about in the end ? Have fun , be safe and please make sure the girls are looking when you do your Burnout ! Retro Jim
Hey here's what I was thinking: 1. The rich kid, look at the jacket and the jeans. 2. The artist, look at the shirt. 3. The wrench, knows mechanics and keeps all thier cars running. And yeah, it's his car. 4. The engineer, figures out the complicated junk. LOL
As a twenty five year old I have noticed there are a lot of guys on he HAMB spouting vitriol towards the "kids" these days. It seems guys get upset when kids are not solely into cars, if kids are doing car stuff but also are trying to get chicks, grease up their hair and play rock and roll they are seen as kulture lovin posers who arent real car guys. But I honestly believe many early rodders where just as interested in getting chicks and hangin out with mates with greasy hair as they were in building cars. What a bunch of posers they must of been. I wish some of the angry old Hambers could go back in time and tell them all how lame they were wanting to slick there hair and get chicks. I don't get it, If kids can't dress all stupid and become obsessed with all aspects of a scene when they are young, when can they?
Levi didn't offer jeans with any waist and width measurement without being custom, so jeans came long for most folks (unless you were real tall) my parents would tuck my jeans in like a reverse cuff and then sew them, which was really cool as they got old they had a wear ring around the calf.... you cuffed or let em drag on the ground and get ruined...
This good, and to be honest, it's very true! “Pure Hot Rodding is not ageless. It’s a kid’s game. Once we get older, all we can do is try emulate how we were (and what we were doing) when we were younger. It’s still one of the best joys in life, but it will never be like it was when we were kids. Kids, and all of their perceived stupidity and genius, are hot rodding.” He's right, it will NEVER be the same as when you were young. But, boy, how you do wish to hold on the best things of your youth as you get older. Older guys need to resist the urge to blame or resent young people for changing things. Time and events changed things. Young people are just as susceptible to these changes as older people. They had no desire to take away anything from anyone, but just to experience things according to the way they understand them. Both sides, young and old, alike, need to be sympathetic to one another and learn to have a mutual respect. Thought provoking stuff, Ryan. You are very insightful, as usual.
I've read the article a couple of times and some of what comes to mind is that being young is GREAT. You've got energy and most things are NEW and exciting. You're learning and experiencing new stuff everyday. Ya don't believe me? Think about your girlfriends or wife. While things are great when you really get to know each other, the really exciting part is the start of the relationship when things are fresh. Same way with cars or anything you do. And as far as "lifestyle" goes, yep there were some greasers. But not all hotrodders were into it. There were jocks, nerds, socces (sp ??), hicks that all were into hotrods. So don't pigeonhole all hotrodders as black shirts/cuffed jeans/DA's/tats (????). That's just picking one part of the picture and saying that's the way it was. Larry T BTW, we wore cuffed jeans to "grow into" not as a fashion statement. And some of us are still pretty "driven" about what we do.
I identify big time with these thoughts. I went to my 55th high school reunion this past weekend (Penn Hills High, class of '56) east of Pittsburgh Pa. Unfortunately I'm one of the few still driving a rod out of my group. The memories and the d***s get shorter, but the enjoyment never goes away. Some cars were finished, but most had some primer spots. Motors were mildly modified, street racing was the thing even after drag strips opened, hey it was easier to choose off on the street rather than driving to a strip. Stupidity has no age limit. Two movies loosely defined styles:Marlon Brando/TheWild One, and James Dean/Rebel Without A Cause. Bikers and bad asses vs. the supposedly cooler guys in their rods. I think the younger rodders today put some great rides on the street with a generally higher build level. Hey, were getting old, somebody has to do it. Sorry for the long winded reply, but when I saw the photo, I thought that looks like guys I knew. Oh, one thing, girls back then nver looked like the "bettys" I see today. At least I can't remember if they did. LOL
kool read, now I feel differently about the way I dressed and slickin my hair back in high school/right after...I sure got alot of shit for that and drivin old cars from older people... girlfriends parents HATED me at the time....haha, good times.
My 86 year old Dad 1st pic he was 16, the 30 Chevy 4 door I built for him a couple years back, and the boat ? he was down from Idaho last year staying at my river pad, he calls me on a wednesday an sez, " ya remember that bitchin lookin Sanger flatty parked in front of the shop just as you come into town ? the one that WAS for sale, .............you can take the "boy" outta the "hotrod, but,.........................
Here I am at age 15 acting all cool at age 13 in my 33 Chevy sedan. I think this was the meet Wally Parks and the Drag Safari visited our strip and I bought my firsy N.H.R.A. membership from Wally himself for 50 cents. I was doing my best to try to look all cool! ~sololobo~
thanks for the info on the levis. always wonder.. iv always been tall so my pants where always a little short.. lol. now they make them the right size.. ( even tho i live in khaki shorts now being a desert rat )not so much then.. high waters chris.