Thread: Of this and that...........story time.......

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The thread on “Ford in a Ford” got me to thinking about a set of different experiences from a cruise in the other night. Not wanting to hijack that thread I figured I’d start this one. Back when we were first trying to get this site off the ground we used to do a fair bit of “editorializing”, but not so much lately.

One of the local car clubs hosts a cruise in each Friday evening from May through September. A couple weeks ago it only pulled in about 40ish cars, but this past Friday it looked to be north of 150. A couple weeks ago it had been a cloudy, dark day plus it was the setup day for the last big swap meet of spring, so both those probably dampened participation. Last Friday was a beautiful sunny day that brought ‘em out in force.

As is typical for this sort of thing you see and meet all kinds. And as you might expect there’s some good and bad…………both in cars and people. It was the inaugural event for the ’36 roadster which I figured would lead to some interesting interactions.
The first was brought to mind by the engine thread. A youngish guy was looking the car over fairly thoroughly when he looked up and asked, “What’s it got for an engine?” My response, being a provocative sort and anticipating where this was going, was “The Universal Hot Rod Motor.” Based on the look on his face as he turned and walked away someone must have pooped in his mess kit……………..Debating why whichever engine choice is made, and all the rationale that goes with it pretty much bores me to tears nowadays,………………been there, done that, don’t want the tee shirt…………….Yawn…………………But really, why let something as trivial as that ruin a car for you that might otherwise hold some appeal? Yeah……..that’s just a rhetorical question. The other side of that coin happened the other Friday night mentioned. I had the ’32 roadster that is still hoodless. I’ve polished up the Vette valve covers and put factory 283 stickers on them. Some older guy (about my age) walks up, looks it over for a while, says “perfect engine for this car”, and walks away with a big grin on his face.

On the plus side, an old hot rod buddy, Bill, was sitting talking to my bride when I got back from doing a walk-a –bout (more talk-a-bout to be truthful). He had walked up to the car while both of us were gone and had no idea who owned it. He spotted the unusual dash almost immediately and got pumped about it. He has a very good eye for detail and recognized it, sort of, right away. Another friend of his owns a ’32 sedan with the same dash modification/gauge arrangement, and they had no idea what it was originally from. So there he stands, waiting patiently for “the guy” to show up so he can ask. Well, instead the bride shows up and she doesn’t know, so he gets to wait some more (but with good company now). When I get there he makes some complimentary remarks and then gets to “the question”. He starts to explain about the other car, but I cut him a bit short by describing it as a finish to his sentence. “You know the car?” he says. Yep. His pal Dennis bought it from my late buddy Bubba as a near done project some years back. Years ago Bubba and I were rootin’ through a wrecking yard looking for “stuff”; latches, lights, switches, just general parts that could be adapted for use on rods. We happened across a couple old trucks, and Bubba saw these panels, gave out a yell, and we both had the “vision”. We took a couple home that day not sure what they’d end up in, but ya just gotta buy stuff like that sometimes. A short while later Bubba bought a titled ’32 frame from me, and I found a sedan body that a ’32 hoarder was willing to part with, and a project was born. Bubba chopped the top, and welded the junk yard panel into the dash. He got the car to roller stage and then decided to sell it. Dennis, another accomplished rodder, finished the car in Orange with a built hemi and then moved to Phoenix. Apparently Bubba never did tell him what the dash was from……he, he, he. Well, I took pity on Bill and disclosed to him what vehicle donated the piece, so by now, Dennis may know as well………..almost 20 years later!

While Bill and I are standing next to the roadster chatting away folks keep walking up, looking, mostly saying kind things when one guy asks if it’s steel or glass. I tell him steel and he seems happy. But that prompts the bride to tell me that while I was away earlier some guy came up and asked her the same question. She answered “steel” at which point he reaches down under the fender edge and says to her “it’s glass.” And walks away. My response wasn’t family friendly enough for here, but that kind of jerk almost always seems to show up. I generally like to humiliate that kind of guy, but wasn’t there. Probably better that I wasn’t. Thankfully that type are a distinct minority with most being friendly, and if they see something they don’t care for they have the courtesy to either keep it to themselves or wait til they get a respectable distance away before commentary.

All in all it was a regular car gathering……………..same-o same-o………….but if any readers here are newer to the experience don’t fret…………people are people.

Excellent story! However, you forgot to tell us what the dash came out of? LOL!
It is in the immortal words of Spock "AMAZING". And you are correct, people are people, and they just can't seem to help themselves. But, if it makes you smile, it ain't so bad.

Originally Posted by 36 sedan

Excellent story! However, you forgot to tell us what the dash came out of? LOL!

Didn't forget...........tradition dictates you have to wait 20 years to find out......

But I'll give you a hint in the form of a picture. There's another detail evident that most miss, including my detail oriented buddy Bill.

As for Spock, it's not well known, but he did have an interest in hot rods.....

A couple weekends ago we were at another event when an interesting (to me anyway) interchange occurred. Somewhat a counter to the young man mentioned above who got his nose out of joint about the engine, this guy made some comments that immediately defined him as an experienced rodder/builder. He looked around the interior and his first remark was about how he admired how "clean" the column drop looked. Now to most it's just a bracket that hangs from the bottom of the dash..............and they're right, that really is all it is. But to someone who's "been there, done that" and appreciates form, function, and proportion there's more to see. It really isn't that big a deal, but, if you've ever noticed some of the clunky looking installations, then by comparison it could warrant recognition. Just one of those little things.......

He really showed his observation skills when he also picked up on the most unusual feature (in my view anyway) of the interior..........pretty sharp cat. Folks like that can make your day.......

Nice stories, and I could look at pictures of your cars all day! I could tell you some stories about comments on my engine choice in my car. Like you said, people are people. Haha

I had a guy recently say something about my Chevy motor. I corrected him saying you're incorrect sir, that is a edlebrock motor, says so on the valve covers..

Puts me in mind of a couple of tales, one of them I may have told here before.

I had a friend who was not a car guy, and definitely not a hot rodder, but he liked to think he was well versed in the knowledge of most stuff. Early in our acquaintance, we somehow got to discussing cars, and my long experience with things mechanical, and he told me of his Dad's Jaguar XKE with an "Offy" engine in it. I thought that was an unusual thing, and told him I would sure like to see it, but he said his Dad was not too much on showing it off, and that he seldom even uncovered it and took it out of the garage. So years went by, and I never could get a look at that car. After his Dad passed away, he asked me to go with him to help his Mom with something, and took that opportunity to show off what he hoped would be his Jag. So we went to the garage and uncovered a very nicely preserved XKE, and flipped the front to expose a really clean, well done Ford Windsor swap, with all of the shiny go fast stuff, air cleaner, valve covers, and intake with the Offenhauser trademark cast into them. I just didn't have the heart to explain it to him, so I just said "wow, that's nice", and let it go. As it turned out, his Mom sold the car to some guy she got wind of through her nephew, so my friend went without - probably just as well.

Another fella I was acquainted with had a '39 Ford sedan with a "universal hot rod engine" in it; had headers on it that gave him the opportunity to yank on a few chains at shows and cruises. He got some spark plug wire looms from an early Olds and adapted them to Chevy tin valve covers and ran the plug wires over the top of the valve covers. That caused a lot of head scratching, discussion, and quite often, arguments among the hoi-polloi at gatherings; it was always amusing to sit back and watch.

Okay Rrum, this is your fault.......here's a story I usually only tell locally because I think it works better live than in print. But, I'll take my best shot since it ties in with your bottom paragraph/story segment.

A few years ago my late buddy Bubba put together a very nice '40 Ford Standard sedan. He dropped a small block Chev in it, but dressed it up like a vintage Olds engine: Olds valve covers (before the aftermarket began producing them), a mid-50s Olds air cleaner, a generator, and the signature Olds green paint with gold lettering on the valve covers. He was a wizard at creating an original looking vibe under the hood of almost any car he did. Still, to the well informed the exhaust manifolds, water pump, and general shape/size was recognizable as a sbc.

We were parked at a GG event, sitting in the shade near our cars and all day long we listened to various folks express their opinion on the engine. Some recognizing immediately it was an imposter, others biting on the hook, but then, one guy stood out as the most humorous commentator. He stared under the hood for awhile, waving his arms and commenting to his buddy along side and then turned to us as we were the nearest bodies. "Your car?" he asked. Bubba said "Yes". He says, "It's so nice to see a vintage Olds engine instead of a cookie cutter 350.". It was all we could do to not roll on the ground laughing as he turned to walk away. Embroidered on the back of his wind breaker was the legend, "Oldsmobile Club of America". Another example of people is people..............

I'm actually looking forward to the chaos, when I install the Pontiac 301 in my Vega.

But.. not until the 140 gives up the ghost.

Originally Posted by firebird77clone

I'm actually looking forward to the chaos, when I install the Pontiac 301 in my Vega. But.. not until the 140 gives up the ghost.

Well,that could be at any moment now!