I was on another forum and they bet that I would not last 2 days on the HAMB and that was over 20 years ago and even made it past inspecting the explosives around here You guys were the cool kids because you didn’t have a problem with cutting up a car to fit your needs! Although I do miss seeing folks get their asses handed to them for stupid shit which fortunately never happened to me. But you had to have some thick skin and tough keyboard to hang out here I do think that a lot of the older members just come and read and maybe say something here and there like me for the most part. Although I’m fixing to start a few threads about the rebirth of my family’s Shoebox that I am getting ready to work on along with a T project that my granddaughter and I will be building this winter. So hopefully you will have more post and pictures to look at!!!
...The old monikers were fun......Newbie, Grenade Inspector and seems there was another one that I can't think of right now. I miss 'em.
When I joined 13 yrs. ago I got flamed with my first introduction post! Some asshat didn't like my user name, and made some comment about the "1971" in it. But someone else posted right afterwards telling the guy my car was plenty old enough. I stop in every morning to read what's been posted the last 24 hrs. Doesn't take long usually.
...The "established" posters would certainly "test" the Newbies back then to see if they were for real or just flakes. If you got your feelings hurt easily, it was no place to post foolishly.
I still check in every morning but it sure don't seem to take very long to get caught up. Still do it every AM though. HAMB and coffee, black.
Although not a long-time member, I have noticed some days with not as many posts. First thing in the morning with my coffee used to be 5-6 pages, now 4. Still, valuable information abounds. It is a way to see what others have done and options on builds.
Well perhaps they are all out in their garages putting to use all of the knowledge they acquired from these threads.
Most of whats posted here 'has been covered before' ... for the last 80 years. Without dredging up old info, this place would Really shrink. We even have people complaining when an old post is brought up
I don't complain when an old post is brought up, but when several folks reply to it without realizing that it's a 15 year old thread and the guy who started it already got his answer, I do sometimes ask folks to check the date of the thread.
The question “Is this place shrinking” is very similar to the question “Is the old car hobby dying” that comes up fairly often. I think the answer to both is yes. I’ve been around here since 2006 and remember when posting or reading a post within 24 hours you couldn’t even find it because it was back so far. Considering the cut off date for cars is 1965, those cars are approaching 60 years old. People tend to identify/like the cars of their youth or as young adults so conservatively that puts many of the members here in their 70’s or older. Life is what happens when you are planning other things. So death, health issues, life style changes, finances, interests, etc. all factor in. We are probably losing more folks with less younger people coming in to take their place. Yes I know there are probably exceptions. Go to any car show and see how few pre-war cars or cars in the fifties there are compared to muscle cars or cars of the 70’s and 80’s. I like this site as it is but with Mustangs, Camaros and post 1965 cars forbidden it doesn’t have the appeal to lots of folks. With all this said I agree this place is shrinking and will probably continue to. Let’s enjoy it while we can! My opinion your mileage may vary.
I get on the HAMB every morning before breakfast and then check the obituaries to see if I'm still alive.. Larry
I think we probably have a higher membership than anyone else, but the ACTIVE membership is shrinking. Just because we have big numbers on the list doesn’t mean they are all contributing, I’d say it’s less than 10% of the members that actually post anything. Many folks are simply readers, they never post anything, it would be hard to place a number on them. Go back and look at any large (3 pages or more) thread from 10 years ago, most of the posters no longer post anything. Some have passed on, some were banned for some reason, but a lot of them just quit contributing for some reason. People move on, always have, always will. The ACTIVE membership number is the important one. As it shrinks, the library of knowledge also shrinks.
I just past 13 years in November. My main focus are customs and drag racing. I can.t remember the last custom build thread and since the Meltdown drags in Byron Il. which brought Hamb members from all over the country and even the world faded into history, I haven't found a lot to inspire me. Made a lot of great online friends on the Meltdown threads and in turn met them at the event. James, aka Saltflats still post some projects from time to time but everyone else has seemed to disappear. Even out in the real world the traditional movement has morphed into patinaed 4 doors slammed on the ground and street freak so called gassers that never had any relevance to what hot-rodding or custom cars were about. The Pantina cars remind me of that first car that most kids got as a hand me down and our teenage brains thought if we did some spray bomb graphics and popped the hub caps somehow, we had a hot rod. and the street freak stuff reminds me of the if a little is good then a lot has got to be better! right? Fazes as car guys we all went through to some degree but not really what I come here for. As a car builder most of the projects I have done are not really welcome here so there wasn't much I could post and now that I am 68 and retired the cost of parts and materials are putting a number of my dream projects on the possible pass them on to someone else phase. I still check in most mornings like a lot of others., but don't expect a big revival of the old Hamb anytime soon. Have a great day. Larry
There's some pretty cool builds and knowledgeable fellers here regardless of posts and thread count. More good stuff and less BS I think.
I've changed my approach to what projects I take on, and what I want them to be when they're done. Turns out you can still build neat stuff if you're willing to adjust to the modern world. But I guess that's throwing (some) tradition out the window...and we're supposed to be about keeping the traditions alive. Of course, going back to how stuff used to be done before everyone got the perfectionist bug, might actually be going back to the real traditions?
Yep,like how to wash a barnfind or what color to paint your headbolts , maybe what the proper name is for a freeze plug ( from engineers , no less) all cutting edge info .,LOL
I’m curious how the like option changed the “face” of the first few pages. liking a post on a thread doesn’t bump it to the front page. Where before you would have to engage and comment to make the same comment. that engagement also keeps guys adding to there threads. I know a lot of guys who have started build threads and get little feed back or comments past “likes” and feel it’s not worth the effort to post updates. On a finding good threads note I’m Often surprised at what good threads are hiding behind really weird thread names. There’s a lot hiding in plane site and I’m Guilt as anyone of scrolling right past Pauls index is a great thread to find good material we all probably forget is pinned to the top. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/build-thread-index.651453/
I’m new here and compared with other car forums you’ve got a really healthy level of contribution, most of the other places I visit survive on OT content with the odd car related post. You must be doing something right.
Being relatively new here I can’t speak of, if this site is shrinking but the print appears to be getting smaller every day
I agree Jim. It has been a long 12 step program but I have made progress from the every last nut and bolt, award winning rotisserie builds to the KISS {keep it simple stupid} style, I can now afford and have enough time in life to complete. I block the body out 3 time now instead of 6 and leave the rust buckets to the younger more ambitious crowd. and I never worried that my 51 Mer having a 428-cobra jet in it, or big back tires was not traditional. lol Larry
I didn't read all the replies, but... I have a small handful of forums I have frequented for 15+ years, and most have of them seemed to have fallen off based on a variety of factors that cause me to level that assessment. My personal take is the generation ahead of me (I'm 60yo) has been passing causing alot of the change in atmosphere. Hell, I have to admit, that I took a break from many of the forums I visit for about 18-24 month because I found it too depressing to see all the new daily obit entries, this place included. I guess I made some peace with that, cuz here I is...
The Jalopy Journal
