Thread: Young'in reporting in!

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Hullo everybody! I'll try not to take up too much of your time .

Obviously, I'm new around these parts. Throughout my childhood I was never really that interested in cars, but in preparation for my driving test, which I take in six months or so, I've recently begun driving. Apparently this triggered something in my slightly damaged brain, because after sixteen years of nonchalance I'm now (suddenly) completely and utterly hooked on cars.

Now, the main problem with this is twofold. I have always been a naturally creative person and therefore will jump at the chance to customise everything I own. All of my guitars have a custom paintjob, a lot of them are self-built. Unfortunately, I know next to nothing about cars, an area I obviously intend to gain knowledge and experience in through friends and, hopefully, these boards.

Secondly, I'm from the UK. Car customisation is a big thing here, but rather than taking, for example, a beat up '69 Lincoln MKIII (no comments about 'The Car,' please ) and making it look beautiful, the rascals take a '94 Vauxhall Nova and stick a mismatched front bumper on it, holding the whole thing together with elastic bands. I'm mainly interested in the old American muscle cars, which are kinda hard to find here.

I love quirky - often cheesy - stuff, so naturally I adore the work of Barris Industries, particularly the Kargoyle, Munster Coach and Dragula. I was brought up loving those cheap old horror movies, and so a lot of my stuff - including my guitars and the music I make - gives a nod back to those movies that used to scare me so much as a kid and entertain me so much now.

I don't think I've forgotten anything, so hello to you all! A quick question before I round up this post, though - do any of you have any tips as far as gaining further knowledge on the subject go? Obviously "listen an' learn" are good places to start, but any other tips, advice and opportunities that you wise, knowledgeable types can point out to me would be greatly appreciated.

I'll try not to be too annoying, I promise .

Seeya around,
Ben.

Nice to have you aboard here Ben, welcome

Getting started in the hobby is quite different than when most of us were youngsters. There was no internet to learn from or crushing legislation to contend with and high-octane fuel was inexpensive and readily available.

Most of us learned by reading Hot Rod, Car Craft and Rod & Custom magazines or hanging out with the older guys (19 or 20 year olds ). We also did quite a lot of experimenting and sharing information with each other about what worked and what didn't.

Today, you have at your fingertips a vast array of technical information and how-to articles on the net. They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks, but I've managed to come around to the fact that finding information is quick and easy. Previous to the net, I would spend countless hours and days at the library. Today, I can find many times the information and I don't have to leave my home to do it.

I do still order a specialized soft or hard cover book once in a while off www.amazon.com or one of the other sources of literature just so I can read it on the john. If I could move my computer to the john, it would be the best of all worlds .

At the top of this page is a search feature which you'll find particularly helpful. If the word you're searching is less than 4 letters, use an asterisk as a wild card (*cam). This forum has been in operation since 2001 and some 13,000 members have contributed to it with their knowledge.

Good luck in your quest and I hope you'll check back with us often. We're always glad to help a newbie .

Wow, thank you for the warm welcome and sound advice .

I will have a dig around and here see if I can find those magazines - or something similar, at least - here in the UK.

My location is a bit of a double edged sword really - there's a guy opposite who I've known since I was a kid who's a mechanic and a bit of a car enthusiast (although he's not too big on the older cars), so I'm gonna go talk to him when I get a chance. I'm kinda in the country though, and there aren't many hotrodders around here.

That said, there's a huge race track about 5 miles away, and I'm sure they do shows there.

You mentioned amazon, tech - are there any books that you feel are a must have? I have a bit of money to spend, so if you can recommend anything, I'll be even more grateful. I hear you in respect to the computer :P.

Thank you again for everything - hope to see you around .
Ben

Ben, I guess it depends on your areas of interest. It sounds like you may be more interested in body modifications than engine, drivetrain, suspension and steering.

You may want to persue information related to lowering, sectioning, top chopping and customizing in general.

Here's an article on sectioning the body...
http://www.autobodystore.com/ms10.htm

Tech, thanks a lot for the link.
Although I am interested in body modding, I am also - perhaps moreso - interested in "the technical side," if you will - I simply don't have much knowledge in the area, and thus far there haven't been that many opportunities available to me to learn, as the whole subject is incredibly vast and I haven't managed to find anything specific.

If I customise anything it has to be a full customisation - the amount of times my parents have walked into the garage and panicked as they found me sitting on the floor surrounded by electronics and power tools are endless, bless 'em.

Anyway, that's a great site: thank you again.

Ben

Heh! - doombuggy - I like that!

Took me back about 40 years -

Munster Mobile

Welcome to the forum Ben - Bert

Originally posted by Doombuggy
I love quirky - often cheesy - stuff, so naturally I adore the work of Barris Industries, ............

Sounds to me like you've got a good start on learning!

Welcome aboard!

Originally posted by Bob Parmenter
Sounds to me like you've got a good start on learning!

Welcome aboard!

That went right over my head..

Thanks!