hey guys, my names ben im a 28 year old new zealander and a qualified car painter by trade. im a very long time reader of the site but a first time ...joiner. i never thought about joining before as all the questions id ever needed to know answers to i have found surfing the site haha.i honed my fabrication/bodywork/mechanical skills and knowledge etc with my first car was a 66 impala you can read about and see on my profile then i wanted to go slow and low as possible so i swapped it for a 52 chevy you can also read about there too.towards the end of my ten years with painting i was doing trucks, forestry diggers, industrial and construction gear, caravans etc etc so im quite knowledgeable and well rounded and skilled i guess you could say. for the past almost 2 years ive been over in the uk on a work travel visa giving cars a rest and trying bartending through which ive scored a job in one of the best cocktail lounges and boutique hotels in the uk but now my journey of travels has bought me towards the good old USA and the birth of hotrodding because i cant stop thinkin about cars and they just dont have them over here haha and what better place to be. i work nights and besides that and the time difference it could be a little while before i reply you know but im open to making a contribution to the site
Greetings from the west coast of Florida. I have never been to New Zealand but I had an uncle who was stationed there during the war and he always told me how beautiful it was. He went back a few times over the years and at one point I really thought he might move there. Hope you enjoy the HAMB as much as I do. Best Regards Jimbo
thanks very much. yea i like the HAMB, its one of the more down to earth forums ive found so far. yea nz is a nice looking place, i was bored of it though so i came over here to see whats goin on in the happenin hemisphere haha, only getting an appreciation for home now, you dont know what youve got till its gone you know
Plenty of good Rods & Customs in the UK. Maybe the owners don't frequent cocktail lounges and boutique hotels though ..
wonder if he was stationed out at ranui/swanson , they dumped quiet a few old motorcycles an cars round the country which was handy for local hotrodders otherwise we wouldve been stuck with just crappy british vehicles thanks to our governments import tarrifs on american vehicles, , thats my rant, welcome on mate enjoy.
Sure, it was rare to see a US built car imported here because of import duties, but there were plenty of US bodied cars available here from the Model T right through to the sixties, all sourced from Canada so they paid duty at the lower rate as part of the British Empire.
The Jalopy Journal
