Hot Rods Quotes to live by...

If you're only going around once in life, make sure someone else buys!

 

“You're getting older when it takes twice as long to look half as good.”


Hello,

This is dangerous territory when getting an inkling of the topic floating around any discussion of the old days… The history and old photos give us the light that sparked the pursuit of happiness from the beginning. We all went through our phases of walking around “stature.” From the latest style of clothing to the move away from trying to be something we were not, phase. We learned from our ways to adapt and change with our outlook on life. The young 20 something couple melded into the scenes with minimal flash and rumble.

Of course, we cannot turn back the clock, except for, in our time capsules of family photographs throughout everyone’s family activities. If we looked good then, we have all tried to keep the status quo along the way to this day. It has been a hard road, but the changes we made and the accommodations we were able to incorporate into our simple lives all made it worthwhile.


Jnaki

Once that mental state is coming around to our way of thinking and keeping up with our healthy bodies comes next. But, for one, time is not the best friend in this pursuit. The body ages, changes and it becomes more difficult to keep the image of our 20-30 something days. We all do our best and as long as we are satisfied with how our journey has taken us over the long years in So Cal and elsewhere, we are good in our current situation.

Our hot rod/drag race days are still relevant in facts and memories. It was just that motion was during our formative teenage years, that led to our constant involvement in the world of surfing. But, that too, has changed and is different, but similar. Say hello, to the mirror… yikes…YRMV

 

The older I get, the better I was ......

I had to spit a lot, before I learned to whistle.......

 

"The power of accurate observation is frequently called cynicism by those who don't have it." - George Bernard Shaw

Hello,

Ever since the beginning, we were told to take notes in our school classes. Then as we got into the semester, then the rest of the year, we actually read those notes we took in classes. from our days in junior high school from the teachers telling us their subject was important. (Aren't they all?) To the actual fun classes, having fun was the most important to us at the time...

As fast as the facts were shoveled out, we had to make sense of what was coming at us at a record speed. I remember trying to write down every word. But, later realized, not every word counts. So, as streamlined as it got, I had to listen and pick out what was important. Then write it down, ready for the next 10-30 minutes.

Our teenage attention span was not very long. Yes, we could change oil, the filter and not forget the small gasket. But, can we remember how and why the California Aqueduct was made? Facts overran other facts and it became confusing. Later we learned to search our library books to make sure the facts were real and can be repeated back in those Friday tests/quizzes.

Jnaki

Then as a pinnacle of observation, we actually listened to the lectures and tried to make sense of our notebooks later during study sessions. It was a good thing classes were divided into 15 minute sessions during the 50 minute whole class time period. But, as a teenager, it was usually late at night, looking outside at the full moon wishing we were someplace else, instead of trying to decipher those notes.

College was different. The classes were larger, the lectures were longer and more boring to boot. So, picking out someone in the class to pinpoint and use as an excuse was a game we all played. The notes still got taken, the work was still valid and when back in our apartments, we had to still decipher the notes. Cynicism started to creep in to our lives.
things were a little “foggy.”
I suppose that the college class information was important as it was a required class. The information was more advanced, too. But, by this time, weren't we more able to understand what was being shoveled out at record speed? Where were the fun classes?

As we all learned, accuracy in notes, researching, writing and conversation is all a giant part of knowing how to cope and adjust to others. We learned by observing and adapting to others. It also helps to find the "fun" classes, like Art Metal or Photography 1,2,3 made the tedious long school year go by much faster.

Note: It does help to meet someone that has similar ideas and outlook on life in general. Then it got serious and nothing else was as important to learn. Now, both of us had a goal to meet. Ideals and values were learned and adapted to what we encountered. But, it was certainly fun along the way. What a long way it has been, too. YRMV

 

"It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."

This from Macbeth & even though it was a long time before the internet...It definitely applies to some on YouTube & Here!!!!

God Bless
Bill
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...ar-transport-hauling-open-or-enclosed.614419/

 

"Nobody cares about your problems and most people are happy it happened to you."

"It's not how much money you make its how much money you save."

" I'm too drunk to taste this chicken."

 

If it was built by man
It could be fixed by man.
You just might not be that man

 

Jim

 

“There’s enough hate in the world - you don’t need to add to it “

 

"Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better."


Hello,

When I was in elementary school, I got the top grades for several years. I liked school, activities, sports and everything that went along with being with my friends. In junior high school (middle school, today) things began to change and I could see my grades plummeting as the classes were getting specialized, there were more kids from other schools and the teachers thought they were talking to college age students and not 10-11 year old kids.

Now, my eyes were the wandering kind and sports played a major part of growing up. Success in sports had more going for me than school. So, I pursued that end. But, as I got into high school, cars, girls, kids from three other junior high schools now attended the huge campus. The teachers were friendly, the coaches were encouraging and not the yelling kind, too. So, again, sports played a big part.

But, it was the beginning of limitations in sports. In football, I had an advantage in size and speed. In basketball, my size and speed did not overcome the skills necessary to go against kids 6 inches taller than me with wing spans quite wide. So, going around them or trying to shoot over them was impossible. And finally in baseball, I could hit, catch, run the smart bases and became a good overall player.

Limitations against some of the best athletes from the general area was now showing up. There were guys on our teams that could throw a curve that I could not hit. Even switch hitting was not going anywhere, so I kept at it until it was not going to happen. It was the same for basketball, too.

Finally, I realized that my limitations were going to keep me from pursuing all of the sports during high school. I had success in varsity football and stayed with that until graduation, getting several offers for further college pursuits, if I wanted them.

During this time, I thought I was going to get a sponsorship or two for surfing as my skill levels had improved and talks were always happening in various shops and beach locations. So, there was that road to follow. But, my mom nixed the idea of a paid for tour of surf spots for the coming year(s) to go down that road, so to speak…

Jnaki

The offers were pretty good, two east coast colleges, one in Arizona and locally, the 4 year school closest to our high school. The offers were solid and I was pondering my next step. Then it became a lightbulb going off in my own mind. How far are sports going to take me in the future? The college studies were becoming more important, but my grades were holding me back. I was learning what I wanted to learn, but not fulfilling my class requirements and obviously my grades plummeted to very low levels.

It took me moving back to Long Beach, enrolling in the requirements to graduate and get going. It was not until I met my future wife that something clicked and everything started to move forward. Now, this is what college life was supposed to be and to top it off, the surfing waves I grew up with were just a few miles from the campus.

My grades were on a roller coaster ride for all of the years in school. I learned to cope with them, but, as I learned more, I adapted to how I was going to use the skills. So, I got better, but if it was not for my future wife, not much was going to change. It was something that I felt I needed to kick in high gear and get my future locked in place. I was going to do better as I learned how to adapt to all of what was going on in our 20 something lives. YRMV

 

My favorite was one I learned from my grandpa decades ago. "The smartest man I ever met didn't know a damn thing aside from the fact that he didn't know a damn thing" lol

 

"We’re not here for a history lesson, though. What we’re here for - at least for me - is just a simple and maybe not so simple little trip back in time."


Hello,

With the tons of new builds shown on various photos and the inclination of old hot rods in our vast history as seen by old photographs, photos preserve history. The value in an old photo is there in its description and pose. But, if it is a part of your family or relations several points away, then it holds more value.

The new builds over time have to get ideas from the old photos, whether it is a portion of the build, a fancy custom idea incorporated into the current daily driver. As strange as everyone’s choice of hot rods is and will be into the future, everyone gets an idea or two lodged into their mind from seeing old photos. Also, old stories play a big part of the scene from as far back as one wants to go. The ideas come from old photos, as well as new creations modified a way to fit the needs of the current hot rod build.

Jnaki

As a young teen, we saw many custom cars at car shows and always came away with ideas for our art work, model building or an add on or two for our current cars sitting in the garage. We may not have known it then, but what we saw or read, did sink in and much later, the idea, out of the blue comes into play.

When I got access to my brother’s 58 Chevy Impala, it was the opposite end of my own Flathead powered 40 Ford Sedan Delivery. They were at opposite ends of the spectrum, as far as being fast, powerful and a cruising sedan versus a low powered reliable overnight road warrior. That Sedan Delivery never seemed to give up traveling plenty of miles up and down the So Cal coastline in search of quality waves, while running at the trouble free style it constantly gave us/me.

My ideas sat around until I was able to put things in order. Ideas popped up in my own brain that I am sure came from those car shows somewhere in our early years. The Impala was now my car, but still shared with our mom, once or twice a week. So, I needed to change the look and performance to suit my needs and current cruising mode.
Thanks for the custom car modification look that took weeks to get ready…@themoose

I started out with a minor idea of a larger motor to go along with my C&O Stick Hydro. But, the idea moved more into the custom car world and I moved forward with the modifications of adding Buick Skylark Wire Wheels to the Impala. Now, the Impala stood out a little more not as just a fast car, but a mild custom car that was fast. The look inspired more attention and what seemed like easy pickings going against a custom car versus a hot rod looking sedan at a stop light.

At the time, there were no other Impalas in our Bixby Knolls area and in our So Cal cruising grounds. At Lion’s Dragstrip, they were like ants in the competition and in the spectators parking areas. But, the surprise was waiting when the light changed to green when a black 58 impala with a C&O stick Hydro pulled up next to anyone at a Red light... YRMV

 

Why Smokey Yunick Is Not (And May Never Be) In The NASCAR Hall Of Fame
"You don’t race cars, you race the rule book."
"As far as cheating goes, they’ll never stop it. The only way it can be done successfully, only one person can know about it."
"There are two types of racers- cheaters and losers."
"If you're gonna play with rattlesnakes, you better know what rattlesnakes do."

 

After a couch fire, My Captain was questioning the drunk owner: He said: "Hey Man, the couch was on fire when I laid down on it. "

 

Two guys peeing off a bridge, one Texan, one Alaskan, One says: "Boy that water is cold, Other one says, Yes and those rocks on the bottom are sharp !!!!"

 

“One of the perks of being over 60 is that there is nothing left to learn
the hard way…”

Hello,

We have grown up in different communities from the Long Beach trailer parks, to the Westside of Long Beach old 40s tract houses to the newer 60s Orange County homes to the present time. The experiences we encountered were at the time, horrendous and troubling. We thought they would never end as we grew up and did not see the “stuff” coming at us all of the time.
But, it was not all troublesome, as there were highlights we all encountered and had adapted to each one with utilizing what we had. Learning a skill and continuing on to improve oneself was the key.

Reality hit us at every stage as most have had the similar encounters. But, at 20-21, something rang a bell and allowed me to step back and see where I was going at the time. Things that we thought were so important were not so much front and center as we got older. At the time, the teenage actions were the whole world, caving into our everyday life and if we did not follow through, it would taint us forever. Teenage foibles and everything that seemed so important in those fleeting moments.

Perhaps, it was just growing up or becoming more adult in our ways. Yes, the military was banging on our doors, the parents were harping on college years and our friends were all moving away to continue their lifestyle. So, where were we in all of this turmoil during our lives?

We were trying to figure out where we stand in the ongoing relationship scenes, the workplace politics and making our way in the world with some contributions along the chosen path.

Jnaki

We succeeded in the long run, but it sure seemed that we had to go through a bunch of “stuff” to get to where we ended up in our simple lives. But, that is why we are/were always faced with some sort of calamity in our lives, family matters and just trying to get along with others. Play nice…YRMV

The end result is how we all dealt with those “bumps in the road.” It is also how to fit into the Vulcan way of thought:

“Live Long and Prosper…”

 

You don’t Know what you don’t know

 

This is from an old-timer in the breakroom at my first full-time job, post high school.
I think the general topic was about some fool being foolish.
"No matter where you go...... there you are."

 

That's what gets high school students caught for their mischief. If nobody knows what you did, there is no "cool". Once one other person knows, everybody knows.

 

GOD said : " Now Bob, I am only gonna give you enuff blood to run one head at a time "

 

Old lady said to the old man: " come upstairs and make love to me "
Old man said, " make a choice, I can't do both "

 

“It's going to be a grim day when the world is run by a generation that doesn't know anything, but what it has seen on their 2 inch phone screens, while taking photographs of every incident in the streets…”



Hello,

As sad as our history of the communities and our society has become, the above quote scares some people immensely. Not wanting to know our own histories or ones that affect/affected how we lived and still live, the current state of play is harrowing.

When any incident is happening, people tend to whip out their phones and record some film. Why? No one gets notoriety by submitting the footage to a TV station other than the first one. But then normally, no one gets credit other than …taken from the street… there must be thousands taking a film of a cat walking across the screen with hopes of it becoming the next video sensation of the internet or tv screens.

As the older generation leaves the scene slowly, the newer ones just don’t seem to care or see that “without history, there is no future…” Past events determine us, give knowledge, teach us according to examples from the history, and to prevent the mistakes that were made.

Jnaki

It is a sad day when someone who sees a rock song sung by Justine Bateman in the movie “Satisfaction,” as the original version made famous by …uhhhh The Rolling Stones? YRMV

 

Per my Mom...."If you fall out of that tree and break your leg, don't coming running to me for sympathy!"
She was a gem!!!!

 

As a sign on the side of my father’s garage read, The more I get to know some people the more I like my dog.

 

Life is much easier if you plow around the stumps!

 

"Brakes are good, tires fair"
Charlie Ryan Hot Rod Lincoln

 

This is so true in all businesses, especially businesses like mine & in life as well! Small lies in advertising are a "Big Tell" when it comes to the final outcome!!

God Bless
Bill
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...ar-transport-hauling-open-or-enclosed.614419/

 

Your quote is similar to what my father always told me, you can see it in my byline! But he always told me to be that man! I always tried to be that man…..with success! I always enjoyed going into something I had never been in!




Bones