Folks Of Interest 10 years without hambandy

HotRodPrimer said of him, "He was a young man that taught us more than we were ever able to teach him." I couldn't have said it better myself.
Hard to believe it was 10 years ago already.
I'd like to think he made us all (even us who never got to actually meet him) better people.

 

Amen to that. It is incredible to think it was that long ago. Folks new to the HAMB should be required to read thi\ese threads. That's the true spirit of traditional hotroddding.

 

Have to agree, remarkable young man!

 

One of the coolest things to come out the HAMB.

 

I remember that well .all the posts and banter going back an forth ,great kid and all those who helped and shared there knowledge and time AND parts ,,,so I have to ask ,where is he now .Hope all is well with him and his family.Thats why the Hamb IS the hamb !

 

Andy was a brave kid and fought hard to see his dream become a reality, we need to celebrate his life,he passed way too soon. HRP

 

Wow....simply can not believe it's been 10 years. We miss you Andy!!

 

Those 10 years have flown by!.......We still miss you Andy. I'm sure that you've met Larry by now and you two are talking hot-rods all of the time.

 

I was just starting out reading the H.A.M.B. and stumbled across some of those early threads and it really made me appreciate all the good people we have here. It was hard to believe at first all the help/donations that everyone sent his way. That's when I realized this was quite a great place to be. And yes it's hard to believe it's been 10 years [emoji22]


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10 years, That is hard to believe it sure doesn't seem that long. I still have my Hamb Andy T shirt stashed in the drawer with the other "special" T shirts. A special young man for sure.

 

The HAMB community could build and raffle a car in his honor. It was done once, why not again?

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I hope I can face my demise with the same strength and attitude that Andy showed. I think of him very often...…...very hard to believe it's been 10 years

 

......He was far more brave than most of us can claim to be, myself included.

 

Gone , but never forgotten HAMB Andy rides with each and every one of us...... Hobo Jim

 

It is always sad to loose someone that you care about, but as long as you remember them, they are never truly gone. That rationale has gotten me through some tough times and it seems appropriate in this case. Long Live HAMB Andy, may we all be as strong!

 

Thanks, Wowcars.

10 years already? Wow...doesn't seem like it.

It was one of the first things that caught my attention when I first joined the Hamb. So poignant and heartfelt...and important.

And it still is.

It was sooooo intensely touching and impressive to witness the love that everybody here showed him. And the love that he showed back with that big smile of his.

I'm very proud and grateful to even be associated with such people as you fellas.

God bless Andy!!! ....................

 

HAMBANDY. HRP



His marker reads " Knowledge, Courage and Bravery inspiring a world of hotrodders to become better people... People like him".

HRP

 

For those of us that came after him, anybody want to post some of his threads?

 

Father remembers late son’s passion with race day
Chris Dunn and his wife, Rosanne, of Kelligrews, Conception Bay South, stand alongside their son Andy’s 1930 Ford Tudor at their home on Wednesday afternoon. Andy, who loved car racing, died at age 14 from a brain tumour. and was a passion of Andy’s. This Saturday at the Eastbound International Speedway & Concert Park in Avondale, will be the the 5th. annual Andy Dunn Memorial Race Day in aid of the Ronald McDonald House.




“I feel no pain when I sit in his car, only the joy of seeing his face the day we built her,” the Conception Bay South resident and Mount Pearl businessman tells me.

The story behind his late son’s 1930 Model A Ford will shift you from neutral to inspired at record speed.

Andy Dunn was diagnosed with cancer at 10. The news ignited a drive to fulfil his dream of owning a hot rod.

The global hot rod community embraced the ambition and Andy through the boy’s participation in H.A.M.B., an online message board for gearheads.

They called him HAMBAndy and helped him get a 1930 Model A body from Saskatchewan after a donation from a doctor in Louisiana.

Then came a drop axle from someone who had heard the story in California. That was followed by tires, seats, and so on and so on.

Over the next three years, Andy and his friends built the classic car, part by part, donation by donation.



Chris Dunn shines Andy’s 1930 Ford Tudor in preparation for Saturday’s race day around the bay. The vehicle has a 239 Flathead V8 motor.
The hot rod was ready to roll in August 2008 and it was unveiled at a car show in Carbonear. Andy got to drive it a total of 11 miles. He died the following March at 14.

“Andy was at peace when he sat in his car,” Dunn says, at times fighting tears. “Even though he had trial and tribulations and pain, and he didn’t know if he was going to make it, his car took him away (from it all).”

This Saturday, Dunn is going to share Andy’s car and love of hot rods for the fifth time.

The annual Andy Dunn Memorial Race Day is organized by the local racing community, Dunn, his wife, Roseann, and son, Matt.

It takes place at the Eastbound International Speedway and includes an assortment of classic and unique autos — from antique to modern.

Many of them will duel in old-school drag races. Dunn describes it as a “car show with action.”

“It’s the only car show where you watch a 1932 Chev and a 1935 Ford go down the track like bullets,” he says, beaming with pride.

He considers it a celebration of Andy’s life and spirit.


The dashboard of Andy’s 1930 Ford Tudor.



But it also supports a cause that’s important to their family — Ronald McDonald House, a haven for the Dunns during Andy’s illness.

As Andy was treated for his cancer, the Dunns stayed at Ronald McDonald Houses in Toronto, Seattle and California.

At each location, they found convenience and peer support, for themselves as they befriended other parents and, most importantly, for Andy as he mixed with other sick kids.

“There was love at the house,” Dunn says with passion.

There’ll be love at Eastbound this Saturday, too.

The race day will open with Dunn driving Andy’s Model A Ford, which only leaves its garage for this event.

“When I get in the car, I can feel him with me,” Dunn says. “To sit in his car and drive it is the most peaceful place I can be.”

He’ll also remember his son by racing his own hot rod, a 1948 Ford pickup, “like he stole it.”

“If I can make Andy smell the smoke in heaven, I’ll do it when I screech my tires,” he says.

 

As others have already said, I can't believe it's been ten years either. They've gone by in a flash. You can never forget HAMBAndy. You can read so much in his eyes. The hurt, the fatigue, the joy and the "Kool"...

 

Yes agree. the kid had it. As someone else said it he was "the mayor of Koolsville"..... We all can take a lesson from him, cant we??

 

A great story and a great young man.

 

Dang gummit!! (3 window Larry) HRP!! Next time can you do a audio of your post, my screen keeps getting blurry before I finish reading it! RIP HAMBandy Pete

 

Amen

 

God bless the Dunn family. I never met him but I'm so impressed with his love and strength. I'm also equally proud to be a member of the HAMB. We carry on his legacy and all the other great Hotrodders before him.

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This pic is one of the pix that scrolls on my screen saver. It's no anniversary of his birthday or date of death, or any other "special" day. I was just thinking of Andy today as this pic rolled by.


As it scrolled by I thought it would be appropriate to remind us "oldtimers" of Andy and his way too short life.

Those of you who are newer than 2009 might give consideration to searching out threads by and about Andy. It's a deep rabbit hole and I'm sure you'll be glad you went down it.

@HOTRODPRIMER, in post #19, posted a pic of the dash in Andy's Model A but it's gone now. If anyone still has a pic of it would you please post it? Thanks.

I never met the kid but I miss him anyway. When his "A" was under construction I corresponded often by email and messages with him and the other folks involved in the build. I felt as if I knew him fairly well. It's my loss that I never got to meet him in person.

 

Back up for the memories.

 

HAMBANDY's First ride, the young man taught us so much! HRP

 

Has it really been 15 years? Here's to a young man who taught us how to enjoy life the right way.. He made us all better..