Folks Of Interest Moderation Clarification... or a lack thereof...

Here Here !!!

 

All the hot rods I have built in my lifetime have had tube axles and cross springs. A hot rod is supposed to ride like a hot rod. I got no time for IFS. Now and beautifully plated Jag IRS is a different story. They date back to the late 60's. I got no problem with those. How old does something have to be to be traditional?

You have the best car guy forum on the net Ryan, but I wouldn't want your job for love nor money. I'm just glad you keep doing it. Good job!

 

Here is one of the gray ares.

4. We cover traditional '65 and older American cars only.

How about this?

4. We cover traditional '65 body style and older American cars only.

This small clarification lets the holdover models in. A perfect example is a '66 Ford or Chevrolet Pickup. Other than some trim both are the same as 65. The same can be said for a 66 Impala. On those it's pretty much just the taillights.

 

I dunno... but the 40 ouncers came out well beyond 1965...

 

Why shouldn't women drink beer on the beach.. because they get sand in their Schlitz....

 

I would think most posters would edit themselves if asked. I guess the question becomes if it has offending material what is the line? If the picture is showing some other aspect of the build and a Mustang II can be seen is that needing to be deleted or just posts and pictures focused on the offending material?

 

The problem with rules is that everyone has their own interpretation of them and this forum has a lot independent souls who do their own thing, devil take the hind part. Some stray into the gray area and it is still fun and games. Then someone sticks a toe into the black and Ryan/Mods have to decide, " Am I sending them to there room or taking off the belt". Nooooobody is happy. Welcome to the world!

 

Thanks Ryan and all the Mods for trying to keep up with all this stuff. The HAMB is the only forum I'm on. I used to belong to a go-kart forum until it crashed (no pun intended) and I lost interest.

I love the HAMB. I'm on it everyday. I enjoy the fellowship and the vast array of experiences. This is the era that I grew up in. Thanks for overlooking some of our dumb mistakes.

Maybe there is a better way to add another forum to your already "Atomic Industry". Maybe just add a "sticky" forum or a Street Rod forum. But, what do I know, I'm just a painter. You guys are the network geniuses.

For the most part, I think everybody on here likes the way you run your forums and the simplicity to your objectives. This ain't Fakebook, and that's why I keep coming back.

 

I believe the main problem is new people NOT reading the posting rules. Perhaps have a page with the rules that have to be read and signed off on before allowing anyone to post.

 

don't ask, don't tell is the most logical method but just throwing this out there, not a hard written rule, but maybe a moderator guide: points given for "off topic" modifications. when a build hits a certain number the thread gets deleted, points subtracted for "super" modifications. example mustang II 300 points, roll a and pleat interior subtract 50, ls subtract 500 points, 3 97's add 75 points etc.........

 

I'm no proponent of the Mustang II front end and never will be. It has ruined a lot of otherwise perfectly good cars, but that front end has been around for 44 years. Not exactly high tech anymore.

 

I just want to add my thanks to Ryan and the mods for this place and the work they put into it. Moderating a place like this is often a miserable task, you have my sympathy, and best wishes.

 

I suppose points ^^^^ could be +/- automatically like post total just hope it does not add more work for the hamb workers or hope a new can of bit__n words

 

The problem is the rules are contradicted by content that has been allowed in the past. So a new member reads the rules and then sees posts that don't follow the rules it's easy to see where confusion comes in.

 

When did the T5 transmission come out? There have been threads on how to put them in every type of car supported by the Hamb, and never to my knowledge have been deleted or locked. Crate engines, what can I say. Lets not forget all the threads about aluminum radiators, which one is best? Explorer and Mustang rear ends, where does it end? Plastic body fillers, and any paint other then lacquer. 350, 400 or 700r4 transmissions. There is no end to it. If all this stuff is banned, 50% or more of the cars on here will have to leave, or just talk about the body, provided it was done with lead and painted with lacquer paint. We are all getting old, and need to be a little more flexible if we want to attract the younger car guys to keep this hobby going. Old engines are getting harder to find and very expensive to rebuild, same goes for all parts of the running gear. Hot rodding has always been putting the newest engines and transmissions in old bodies. That's what makes a hot rod. Maybe we need another forum here on the Hamb, that caters to the same car bodies and cut off year, as the rest of the Hamb, but anything goes with suspension, engines, and transmissions. That may keep the young builders here on the Hamb, just in their own forum.

 

@Ryan
PM sent, Merry belated Christmas, and thank you always. Owe ya' for that thing. haha Adult signature required. ( Cheers ! )

 

A GREAT BIG AMEN

 

I think these are valid points. There are many threads where a novice/newcomer wants to use "modern" components and are given advise to use what they have rather than a front end or frame swap. But the fact is most of the traditional cars and parts have become spendy and hard to find. Instead of a exclusive club for old timers maybe a move to accomodate change would benefit everyone. It seems to me we should encourage participation.

My take is; traditional cars are objects - traditional hot rodding is a philosophy to make a better performing and looking vehicle. In 26 years I have never seen anyone look under my '37 to see the suspension. They certainly knew it was a hot rod.

 

I have heard this before in everything from hunting, fishing, camping, black powder firearms, and electric trains about attracting the young and frankly I could care less.

The thing is, it's not about the young. The young guys are not putting T5s and Crate Engines in old cars.....it's the old fat guys. Those guys have the cash and they want the comfort.

It's that older crowd telling the younger crowd you must have.....this this and this.....If you can't afford "Fatman" or Pete and Jakes, go to the U Pull and get S10 Crown Vic or whatever.

Lots of real young guys start with a pretty good original car. Maybe if they are lucky they have a little to money to spend.

Case in point my F1. Every time I see my FIL he tells me what I need to do to it. It always involves a frame or suspension swap. This guy has worked in the automotive repair industry all his life. He is old and very fat.

What a young guy needs is a different point of view. They need to know the old stuff can be fixed. They need to know that they don't have to get this this and this. Instead they can fix and maybe even soup up that that and that. That being what they already have.

Most of the time that's always more cost effective.

 

Ditto above.

 

There are thousands of people registered on this board and every single one of them have a different, no matter how slight, view of what "traditional" is. The Moderators face an overwhelming task, but to make this forum work and there must be a person or persons to set the standards of the forum and then enforce those standards. Anything else would be anarchy. By the very nature of the HAMB participants, we're all "hooligans" to some degree - independent and yes, even egotistic. You may disagree with one thing or another, but should do so in recognition that to mount opposition to the set standards will only allow this forum to fail and no one here wants that to happen, AFAIK !

Bottom line, if you get 90% or 20% of the content you'd like to get, appreciate the fact that you get any at all, enjoy the amount you get and thank God Ryan sticks with it and provides the "fix" we all crave.

 

Man Cob, if you came to me as a thread owner and asked me to self moderate with what could probably be a semi-canned explanation, I would gladly do the work for you. I can't imagine the hours it would take to moderator-edit this stuff yourself? Why not ask the thread owner to do the lifting?

Maybe I'm being naive here.

To all the moderators and Ryan... THANKS! Babysitting a pile of grownups is often a thankless job.

 

What's happening here seem like a few car shows I've been to latley that say traditional car and no Bullitt parts. I get to shows and maybe a 1/8 of the cars are correct. Keep up the hard work and keep a great site alive. Thanks

Sent from my SM-G530T1 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Hi Ryan.Thanks for a great thread.RE:Tequila."Tequila makes your clothes fall off?".
Thanks also for a swell site.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

 

And GM used air ride/bags on the 1957 Cadillac.

Serviceman had worked with them on Aircraft and trucks during WWII,with customs I always thought they were traditional. HRP

 

I think the confusion lies in the 1965 date. Some people interpret that as the cutoff date for the car’s body, but not the parts used in its build. Others interpret that as the body AND parts cutoff, period.

What interpretation is the HAMB actually? I would say it is probably something in between. Ryan can correct me if I’m wrong.

Is it possible to build a car that has nothing newer than 1965 in it? Yes, and I have done it. Is it easy? No. Because of that it is impractical to think that everything posted on the HAMB must always be pre 1965. Regularly we have threads that deal with pre ’65 bodied cars built as they were in the late 60's and 70's. I dig those and I believe most other folks do too. But there has to be some line drawn in the sand as to what parts/build type is acceptable (traditional) and what is not or the HAMB is just like every other forum. Thru default that line is probably the mid 70’s when Hot Rod’s turned into Street Rods. Coincidently the same time that MII front ends and subframe swaps came into use. And well before modern bags.

Are there going to be cars that have “banned” parts? Of course there are. The ‘33 Tudor my Dad built between ‘73 & ‘76 had a Pinto (MII) front but it also had a hammered chop, seaweed flames, smoke painted dash, and 35 wire rims. From every aspect except the MII it would totally kick *** on the HAMB. If he still had it and I did a thread on it, I just wouldn’t show the MII. Problem solved.

 

You know, if enough people continue to ***** and moan about inconsistencies as to what content is allowed, Ryan could just throw up his hands and say to hell with this place and just shut it down permanently. He's a smart guy and there's no doubt that he could make a living doing other things, a good living. The moderators do it for free, most have real jobs that require them to work for a living. I for one would miss this place tremendously. I've made friends on here, both in the real world and the internet world. I've learned a bunch on here and gotten help with issues both hands-on in my garage and from the forum itself. I've had posts deleted, probably should have had even more deleted. No big deal. It's all worth it to me to have this resource to go to and I refer to it everyday. For all of these years, Ryan and the moderators have done their level best to keep this forum focused. Does it piss some people off at times? Of course it does. That's life, it's not always pretty. I commend them for their efforts. It's NOT a simple task. If you don't feel like you belong here, well, you probably don't. Rant over.........Don.

 

air ride in the 50s is a myth like dinosaur bones, they were placed so we would find them just to confuse us
ITS A CONSPIRACY MAN!

photo of a "factory" air bag from a 59 Caddy.........or so they would have us believe
maniacal laugh

 

(bold added for clarity)

This is the crux of the matter. Really low cars have always existed, but 'back in the day' many of them really weren't 'drivable'. I recall seeing a 'vintage' pic here of a 'traditional' custom '56 Chev that had about 1" of ground clearance under the frame. Had 'the look', but would have been an accident looking for a place to happen. Soooo.... enter airbags. This allows the look, but now the car can be driven by simply raising it up when on the open road. Possibly more important, those that need to have the vehicle inspected for licensing can p*** that inspection, or to eliminate issues with LEOs when driving. If the alternative is a trailer queen, who wouldn't do this? Another reason is many of us have gotten smarter and/or more cautious and safety is now important. While many are willing to take their chances with a 'pure' build, not everyone feels that way anymore, particularly if you're hauling loved ones/children/grandchildren around.

I 'get' the 'traditional' forums. That's the place for the purists (and I'll be the first to admit I'm not one), and I don't blame them for getting irritated when OT stuff shows up there. But other than the really egregious 'violations' that need to go away, rather than closing/deleting the threads, why not just move them over to the general forum?

And defining a 'traditional' hot rod has always been much easier than customs. Customs has always been the main place where the weird stuff hangs out, some good, some bad but always interesting.... LOL.

Suggestions? More clarity in what's acceptable where, and the idea of having to read the rules before posting will help. A 'terms of service' page like you find on CL where you have to 'accept' before posting will at least eliminate the *****ing when something is obviously over the line. And adding a caution that if the poster isn't sure, they should contact a moderator for clarification and post a list of the mods somewhere. This would probably be helpful for new members who don't know who they are.

Pet peeve? I've seen this multiple times; a new member comes on and proudly shows us his just-bought street rod while asking for help in making it 'his car' and people pile on about how it's 'OT' and either drive them off or the thread gets deleted. Pretty tough to educate people under those cir***stances. Yeah, there's always a dim bulb that doesn't 'get it', but not all of them are like that.

And leave room for the weird. I hesitate to bring this up as I'd hate to see the thread closed, but threads like RacerX's nitro street coupe, while definitely non-traditional (alloy late hemi, EFI, etc, etc) is just too much fun. I doubt you'll be inundated with copycats (who can afford what he's doing? LOLOL) but this is really the innovative spirit of hot rodding at work and he's trying his best to keep it traditionally flavored.

Lastly, you might consider expanding/specializing the moderator pool. Maybe ***ign 'purists' to the 'traditional' forums with direction to kick OT stuff over to the general forum, where those mods can decide if a post is really over the line.

I love this site, but fear that if the focus gets too narrow, it'll get boring in a hurry.