What should one do when this happens...

I know when I first started in rodding thousands of years ago I was really into the driving my rides. Things went a million different directions and I can honestly say I really don't like explaining everything about my car every time I stop, so I tend not to take it out very often. I really enjoy building them and wrenching and that is kinda where I'm at in my Hot Rod life right now. It doesn't help things that it is also how I make my living so I really do get my fill of this stuff but I was curious where your passion lays in regards to hot rods?

For me it isn't really about Hot Rods. A 30's style is still among the most beautiful for me so I decided I had enough of the muscle car era and wanted to build a rod.

Like you I don't have any desire to explain my decisions to folks I don't even know and I refuse to even think about entering a show! I'll stick to attending a cruise night or two a season.. that's enough for me!

Like I said, it isn't about the car it really is about all the little challenges to build a car. And this one I can honestly say I touched everything and did it all, paint / body work / chassis / interior is all me... yeah theres parts I don't like and will redo but that's the fun for me!

Bob,
I was a fringe, wanna-be hot rodder for many years but with the demands of work, business travel, family, kids, and life in general I never focused on really getting into a build. When I retired I said, "why not now?" and bought a fiberglass roller. Like Mike, I pretty much did all of the fabrication myself, but it's pretty much a mail order hot rod - Summit, Speedway, JEGS (and others!) recognized my customer number and I became well acquainted with my UPS man!!

I love driving the '33, but I really enjoy the build. I'm not the sheet metal craftsman like some of the guys here, and I aspire to learn more as time goes by, but I enjoy making and modifying "stuff" as the need arises, and figuring out how to do things I've not done before. I admire the ingenuity of builders, re-purposing some obscure piece or part into something useful and functional on their hot rod.

I'm getting less enthused about the weekend shows like Goodguys, NSRA, etc, and enjoy local cruises, parking lot "show & shine's", the "Ford Show" at the local dealership, over driving to another city and doing the weekend motel thing. We still go to some, but not all that come up. I have nothing against trailering cars to events, but it's not for me. I'm just having fun!

Count me in on the thousand years of playing & working on cars. I love them all and really like the chalenge of taking one apart and reassembling it to my standards, fixing things that others say can't be done. I used to go to all the big shows back in the early 90s (Vett fest and the ISAC shows) but out grew them. Now its local (if I have one to take) right near home. I spend all my time building and trying to figure out why things don't fit where I want them to. Enjoy the hobby the way you like it.

Anything that goes fast and makes noise, still building and enjoying it. Love my trailer, hate all the inattentive drivers on the road today!!! Did all my long distance cruizin' in coupes, sedans, roadsters years ago anyway... Really bored with the "1-800-HOT-RODS" cars these days, takes something unique in engine, drivetrain, suspension, or all of the above to trip my trigger. Hot Rods are still about competition for me!

Mine is a lot like yours Dave. I grew up in the late 50s-60s. I lived in Ca. between Fresno and Bakersfield. I along with a friend a couple years older then me built a old chev pick-up. We put a olds engine and trans in it. He was in auto shop in HS so he knew all about it. Later I got a 55 chev heated the front springs to drop the front, put a 57 olds j2 in it and was a hot little car that didn't handle all that good. But the thrill was draging main on saturday nites in Visalia. It would be bumper to bumper with cars. A lot of stop light to light runs, or heading to palm drive. Sun to drags at Famosa or Raisin city. My joy has always been the smell of gas, and most of all driving. They were fun to drive. I have always had hot rods but they began to ride and handle more like my family car. The ones I'm building now are as close to the cars as I had in the 60's. Forgot to mention about the 2nd greatest place on earth was the wrecking yard. As is was shopping headquarters for parts., staying up all nite putting a clutch or trans in to get it ready for school on monday.
Hank

Very interesting, I think we all go through an evolution of sorts with these rides. Back when I was very young I remember my Dad chopping cars and selling them to get another and do it again. Kind of odd behavior for a Coroner. LOL My first car was a sweet little Model A Ford coupe that I took from him and never gave back. :3dSMILE: I'm still borrowing it by the way. I have worked on so many of the local cars I really have no desire to go to shows and sit in circles and talk about a subject that has been beat into the ground. Specially when I probably know their cars better than many of them.

Now on Friday nights I discovered a bunch of new young guns that love the old tin but all live in condos or associations where wrenching is not possible. I open the shop so they can wrench and do their thing. I'm finding a lot of satisfaction in what they are doing and encouraging them to stretch the envelope. Instead of following the old school ideas I'm helping them to build their own hot rod identitys. Kinda cool to see what they find cool. I hear things like "wouldnt it be cool if" then helping that become reality is fun to watch. Then to here them showing others what they have accomplished is pretty sweet. At times its hard to keep an open mind after seeing decades of the same hot rod patterns but it is fun and creative what these guys are doing. They are taking cars that are almost given to them because they are 4 doors and not 2 doors and doing all kinds of nice things to them to bring them back to life. I think it just shows that hot rodding still has a ways to stretch and its taught me to be more open minded and less criticle on the changes these guys are making. Good Hot Rod stuff is still going on out there guys...

Where are you at mentally in your Hot Rod World? Expanding, Ideling, Creating, Watching, Reflecting, Driving, or ?

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Originally Posted by M.T.

Very interesting,
Where are you at mentally in your Hot Rod World? Expanding, Ideling, Creating, Watching, Reflecting, Driving, or ?

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HMmm.. now we go introspective... :HMMM:
expanding? = I hope so!
Idling? = NEVER!
Creating? = Always!
Watching? = With the highest interest!
Reflecting? = Not so much... only when you've asked! :LOL:
Driving? = Once in a while.. it isn't my end goal tho'..

Good thread! Thanks for returning and participating!! :D:p:D

Good question MT, I have always been one looking at the future, and excited about something new. But for some reason after I retired a few years ago I find myself thinking more about yesterday and remembering those days growing up. Not a depressing type of reminisce but I sometimes just start laughing to myself about things that happened back then. It is funny that I remember a particular car or race or event that happened 50 years ago and can't remember what I did last week. It sounds goofy but it is like it encourages me to get these hot rods done, like it's a race to the past. I love it.

Hank

I think, as we grow older, we tend to think more of our yesterdays than we do of our to-morrows because we've got more yesterdays behind us than we have to-morrows in front of us.

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Originally Posted by johnboy

I think, as we grow older, we tend to think more of our yesterdays than we do of our to-morrows because we've got more yesterdays behind us than we have to-morrows in front of us.

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I agree and all the more reason to play this thing called the "Hot Rod Lifestyle" out to the very end. The memories are remembered because they were unique times in some way, Extra effort was invested in those times thus being remembered. My goal is to put in as much extra and unique effort into as many days ahead as possible. Then when I absolutly cant do it any more I will have a full and running over plate to reflect on. The mind is still 20 and the body is 60... Think I'm going to put things into hyper drive and follow the mind! LOL Thats the plan anyway... unless life gets in the way again! :LOL:

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Originally Posted by Dave Severson

...Really bored with the "1-800-HOT-RODS" cars these days, takes something unique in engine, drivetrain, suspension, or all of the above to trip my trigger.

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:LOL::LOL::LOL: Hey, I resemble that remark!!:LOL::LOL::LOL: Sorry to bore you, Dave.;):LOL::LOL::LOL::p

My daughter posted this picture on FB, pointing to me. She knows me too well!!

Attachment 60708

Thanks for posting that up.... I needed a chuckle today.

Please remove... Duplicate post **)

I started out at a really young age liking old hot rods. I had a couple before I was old enough to drive, but never could afford to finish one as the ones I had then were prety rough. I then got into pick ups and by the time I graduated high school I was into muscle cars as well. I'm still in the same stuff, but I like doing things differently. Haha I have had a side business working on diesels the last 8 years and it has really made me not like dealing with other people lately. Right now I'm more on the path of building vehicles for others and I'd like to keep it this way. I enjoy going to some out of town shows but we have a real young family so things are limited as to what we can do. I really like to hear that guys as your self are helping out the young guns and keeping them in this hobby. I'm not real old, but I see it fading faster each year.

Ryan, you're way too young to hate the general public already!!!!! That's reserved for old farts like me. Friends used to pick on me because the shop had an unlisted phone number and a sign on the door that said "Private Shop, Stay Out". I've still got a customer base who refuse to believe that I'm retired, Mike alone has 4 more cars that "we're" going to do----ie, he finds parts, I do work! Drag racing starts soon, we'll be at the dyno and tune up shop a couple days this month learning how to tune with a lap top and use a Data Acquisition system to analyze the runs---Heck, I thought we were state of the art when we had a movie camera that would play back in slow motion!!!! Point is, guy's your age are approaching the peak of your potential. Learn from the lessons of the old and embrace the new technology with equal fervor! The "go fast" opportunities are there for the people who are willing to learn the new technology and help advance it! Enjoy the time now, later you can have a shop with an unlisted number and "keep out" sign!!!!!!:LOL::LOL::LOL:

I'd be fine with dealing with these people if they'd just pay their bill and not jerk a guy around. It happens all to often. I'd rather spend time with my kids than repair some dead beat's vehicle and then find out I'm not getting paid on top of it.

For me the main thing has always been the build. There’s just something about taking something out of a junk yard and making it into something just a bit different than what anybody else has. I enjoy figuring out how to make things that weren’t designed to work together….work together.

Most of the regulars here know I make at least one 4000 mile drive to Illinois and back every year. I enjoy the trip and it has always been the test to see how well I’ve built the car/truck.

I used to do the car show thing a lot but anymore I usually park in the parking lot and wander around seeing and talking to old friends more than looking at the cars.

As far as where my passion currently is, I would have to say it’s working with my 11 year old grandson and trying to teach him a few things while I can. Watching him grasp new (to him) concepts and get better working with his hands is really about the most satisfying thing I thing I’ve done.


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