The last Grasp Special '34 3 window build

The RTA (Roads and Traffic Authority) demand that the cars have those fenders for registration. Very strict Sob's they don't seem to realise these cars are our pride and joy and get better care than pretty much everything else on the road.

Doc.

 

Brant; it's part of getting our hot rods registered. Both on the regular full registration system and the limited street rod registration scheme.
Many guys after they have there hiboy hot rod registered remove the cycle fenders and lets say run the gaunlet.
My coupe looks so much better fenderless, but I always run them. Because I don't want to give a cop a reason to pull me over.
That's it in a nut shell.
Geoff aka whodaky

 

Well said Doc. You were writing that as I was writing my reply to Jaws ( aka Brant ).
Geoff aka whodaky

 

Nothing wrong with a bit more insight, tell them the way it truly is down here!

Doc.

 

I suspected as much. It's not just over there that fenders are regulation. Some states have a year that rules start or end. Over in this state it's '39 and older can run fenderless.

Idaho had a law that made them mandatory but never was enforced. They also have a mileage driven in a year or even when and where they are allowed to be driven. Special plates and reg. for vehicles 25 years and older.

I saw an old ford tow truck still in use commercially running those plates, same with some junkers that should have been crushed. Wearing those plates.


The funny thing is some folks squawked about other folks not following the rules and the police said if they keep it up, they will be forced to enforce all with everyone.

 

Doc we have it much harder down south, the moment you bring yourself around to enjoying yourself on something there will be some hair brain idea to ban it by someone fearful of it. That's why we are known as the nanny state!

Things where much better back in 1959.....

 

How do you explain two thing then....the burnout contests you do and Tim Tams..?

 

Brant we live in the lucky country.
I am not into the burnout thing though.
Geoff aka whodaky

 

Someday, I will visit this fantastic country and you my friend. It will be my honor after these years to talk with you face to face. Someday soon I hope.

 

Hey Brant;
I look forward to that day also.
So what have I been up to. Over the last couple of weeks Gary and I have been making a piece to weld into the hood of the Austin to boarder the scoop.
The centre of the Austin hood has raised area running it's full length. So me being me, I wanted a similar raised area in this piece we are making. I won't go into an explaination. I will just show images.
It is welded in now and the next step is a bit of skrinking and hammmer and dolly work to get everything straight and tight again.

Geoff aka whodaky

 

Whoops, I forgot to show the images of Gary's dog Hoover. He likes hanging out in the garage. But he especially likes Gary's new pliers for cutting MIG wire ( but we won't let him have them ).

Geoff aka whodaky

 

Maybe this was taken in '59 when things were better, as it has no fenders.

Geoff aka whodaky

 

Great thread, really enjoyable apart from the cricket mentions (stings )

Kevin UK


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Geoff love your work, very inspiring!!

I have been stuck behind books too long and need to get in the garage and learn from you and Tone sometime soon..

 

Hey Tom your garage is full of knowledge,just have a look,it takes more than books to do what you have done..Jeff

 

Tommy Flathead is one of my nephews he has been helping me in my shed ever since he could walk. Always learning and asking lots of questions. He has got degrees in engineering and electrical . Boy he has come a long way and a very talented hot rod builder, I am very proud to be his uncle and he knows lots about flatheads Tom keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars, I am very proud to hand you the torch of rodding mate....................Uncle Tony.

 

I had a special delivery the other day.
Darren when he was sorting out the stuff of his late father Nick, asked me if I would be interested in the a Champ quickchange Nick had.
I said I would like to purchase it from Darren, we came to an agreement on a price. That would have been about 2 years ago. You see it was mocked up in an 'A' pickup Darren recently sold.
Another friend of ours ( Lawry Ram ) bought the pickup and then pulled the rearend out when he got the pickup home.
So Lawry's son Glen delivered it to me last Saturday. I don't know what was neater, getting the rearend or having it delivered by Glen's cool deuce.
There was a whole lot of other pieces I got with the rearend. However I got them ages ago and they are in a cupboard somewhere here in the garage.

Geoff aka whodaky

 

Geoff did you get a crown and pinion with it?

 

Tom I just sent you a message.
Geoff aka whodaky

 

Lets back track to page 29 post # 544.
So I got the new water pump fitted, the coupe was all loaded up and I was all ready for my 4 a.m. getaway on the Friday ( the 10th ).
As it was I got up at 3 a.m. and was all ready to roll at 3.30 a.m. , I just took off.
It was a nice morning for a drive. But after about 45 minutes on the road the little 289 stopped as if it had run out of fuel. Long story short, I think I had got a bad tank of fuel when I had filled up the previous evening. So my drive to Port Fairy would take a little longer than normal. However by the time I got to Mortlake ( which is about an hour from Port Fairy ) all the bad fuel had been used and the little Windsor was purring like it normally does. The other thing was the new water pump was doing it's job well. The coupe hadn't run so cool in a long time.
When I turned into Rita and Tony's street at 9.15 a.m. there were already a number of hot rods and customs parked in and around the house.
( Be warned now, in the series of posts I do about this weekend. The images I show will contain shots of many of the same cars. Because they were at Rita and Tony's for the whole weekend. But the shots were being taken at different times! )

Geoff aka whodaky

 

As I got out of the coupe I was greeted by George Peel. George had come down with his good friend Barry, in Barry's little Dodge pickup.



When we got into the garage there were a number of guys I hadn't see since my last trip down for this rod run, some 3 years ago. But most of us are very good friends and we all talked as if we had only last seen one another yesterday!

Geoff aka whodaky

 

Surprised me to see that little Dodge as it is an Ex Castlemaine Car. Had changed alot.

 

George is one of these guys that can't stand around doing nothing. So he asked Tony if there was anything he needed doing on any of his cars. Tony said the left hand side engine pipe on Rita's spinner needed finishing. I had arrived around the time that this pipe needed to be tack welded together. I did this, then George gave it a final test fit. It still fitted OK, so I welded it up.



When I had done this, I wanted to get something out of my coupe. Going back across the road I notice Jason laying under his dad ( Charlies ) Customline ( Jason and his son Bailey had come down from Melbourne in it for the weekend ). I went over to see what Jason was doing. He said he was pulling out the starter as it had been giving him a bit of grief. Anyhow, after he got it out, a few of us got our heads together and got it fixed.

Geoff aka whodaky

 

Whilst a few of us were working on the starter, Tony and Jeff Calleja were doing a bit of tyre fitting to get some front wheels on Rita's Spinner and get it back down on the ground. I think Tony had promised Rita that it would be at that stage for the rod run weekend.
Late in the morning Tony had got a call from one of his cousin's who was travelling down from Melbourne in his T-bucket, he was ringing to say his auto had died and to ask if it was ok to have the T dropped off at Tony's. Tony said that would be fine. Just after lunch a tilt tray arrived with the T on the back.



Tony's cousin and his son arrived soon after. Following a bit of discussion it was decided to drop the pan on the transmission. Long story short, after a couple o hours it was deemed the trans had broken something deep inside and could not be fixed this weekend.

Geoff aka whodaky

 

The rest of the afternoon we all just hung out in the garage.
A few people dropped in for a vist and to check Tony's garage out.
I got to meet Garyd when he turned up in his roadster.



Early in the evening we had dinner. The Friday night has become traditionally the pasta night. With Tom being the chief pasta cook, I think Dave ( one of Tony's nephews was giving Tom a hand ), with Rita and Renee' doing all the running around and organising.
After dinner I went out and had a visit with Carol, Frank, Victoria and Rachael. I hadn't seen them for over 12 months. So it was good to catch up with them and to see how they were settling in since they moved down from Melbourne.

Geoff aka whodaky

 

As it was a full house I got to crash in the 'red room'. After a late night I arose early,as I usually do. After a shower I went for my usual walk along the beach. It is still as magical as ever, walking along that heavenly piece of coastline.



It was still early and I knew no-one else would be up yet, so I grabbed my camera and got some early morning hot rod shots.

Geoff aka whodaky

 

When I was done taking the photos, I took the opportunity to lay some lines on Barry's pickup. He had asked on Friday if I could do something for him. I thought now was the perfect opportunity. So I went for it.





When I had done this I went inside, by now people were getting up and having breakfast.
From out the kitchen window we could see Tom cleaning his amazing blue '34 coupe.
George had finished his breakfast and was out the front across the road as Barry brought his pickup around from the side of the house. I had told George at the breakfast table that I had striped the tailgate of the Dodge. So when Barry got out of the pickup, George sought of herded him around to the rear of the pickup to see how long it would take him to notice what I had done. When he did notice it, even from the kitchen we could all see his big smile. I think he liked what I did.

Geoff aka whodaky

 

These are one of the most beautiful cats I have ever seen...<object width="1" height="1" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="undefined" value="http://lovesmileys.com/f2/3/swatch_white.swf" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="src" value="http://lovesmileys.com/f2/3/swatch_white.swf" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><embed width="1" height="1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://lovesmileys.com/f2/3/swatch_white.swf" undefined="http://lovesmileys.com/f2/3/swatch_white.swf" allowScriptAccess="always" allowscriptaccess="always" /></object>

 

Geoff
I haven't been on here much for a while, but have just enjoyed catching up on the past 10 pages! Doc, I remember seeing the coupe in Canberra that same year, and it could have been when I first met you Geoff.
Michael

 

That right there is what it's all about.....Cool cars and great friends!! Thanks for sharing the weekend.