How old's the oldest H.A.M.B. member?60+?Tell us a cool story

cool thread

 

well I guess its my time I is 74 and still going Strong I got my second car in 1951 a
1950 Mercury 4 dr. it came off the 59 st. Bridge in Queens, NY & slid on the Cobble Stones
& Slid into a ell Pillar ( winter time) & I worked Part-time in a Body Shop & Rode a Motorcycle back & Forth to work
I bought the Car on the Spot & Still have it Today!
in the 50's it was a Simple Time Except for the Korean War which I was in 52-54
in 54 I bought a 1935 Chrysler Conv. Coupe Airstream 8 paid 125. for it
I have been into all types of Car Racing & Motorcycle I opened my Speed Shop in 1960 until 1975 in Astoria Queens, NY
The Best Street Racing was the Connecting Highway in Astoria Queens, NY
Upper Laural hill Blvd & Lower and in Front of Shea Stadium for Money Runs
I could go on but it would Take forever about the Old Days & the 50's were it!

 

No 1959 Groucho , but it didn't have the cragar wheels they were red with whitewalls but that photo is to faded, Hank

 

60 here.........the early 60's in the SW Chicago area was JUST like American Grafitti. The cops couldn't come on private property, so we did hole-shot races in the Dog&Suds parking lot. One time we filled Hamms bottles with Jet near-beer (think O'doul's) and let the cops see us drinking and then drove onto Cicero ave. and they couldn't believe we blew clean on the breathalizer. There were un-incorporated towns where they could see us race, but couldn't cross the town line. fun, fun, fun..........

 

I'm only 61.5 but I have to be told to grow up once in while by my wife and others. I remember my dad bringing home his brand new 59 Chevy and putting it in the Garage and he was opening and shutting the door several times I asked what's wrong he said "ah nothing they sure make these new cars out tin and sounds kind of like its' real thin metal it's not like the 49 Buick Sedanette. I remember that like it happened 10 minutes ago.

My first car was a 55 Chevy Belair I bought it for 500 bucks that I had saved up from making 1.00 an hour at the Car wash. I took all of the chrome emblems off and tried to bondo the holes I made a huge mess of the whole thing. I drove it for a couple years until I ended up selling to a guy I worked with at the 76 union station in Lompoc California. He was an Air Force guy he cut the wheel wells out and told me was making some new style race car and was going to use something called a roller cam which I had no idea but it sounded cool. That car was still in Lompoc the last time I saw it was in the mid 70's setting on the street with a straight axle, I guess we call those gassers now. With the money from that car I bought a 57 Chevy 210, with a brand new 327 someone had put in, 4 speed, Black tuck and roll with two differnt kinds of mags in a style I haven't seen since that time. I pulled them off and bought some American Torque thrusts and some chrome reverse for the back with 10" Cheater slicks one line down the center. I have a picture of that car somewhere with my first ex-wife before we went to the Doors Concert in Santa Barbara in May 1967. We used to park at Foster Freeze which was right in front of the Police department. We would go into foster freeze and buy a cup for 4 cents go to the car and poor beer into the Foster freeze cups and set outside the cop shop and drink beer until someone puked, I never said we were smart.

 

Looks like another book here Roge (just a thot)

 

great thread. great stories.

 

Hold on!!!!---not 78 yet!!----Born in 1932(the good year!)----now 76!!!-----Don

 

I'm 68, but feel 18 when I'm driving my 32 3 window.

 

We're still at 76yrs young so far into this thread,I dont know if any of these guys are HAMBERS or not,but their all still alive and kickin and building:
Bill Hines born 1922...86yrs old

George Barris born 1925...83yrs old

Gene Winfield born 1927...81yrs old

Larry Watson[the baby]born 1939...69yrs old

I dont know about you but I find this totally inspiring,anyone in football,baseball etc. are usually washed up and forgotten about by age 45,I'm glad to be apart of something that I can be relevant in as long as I live

 

Well like I said earlier in this thread, I'll be 66 in a few days. I can still remember hanging out at the Foster Freeze.

I was in my Junior year of high school, and all of the Dudes with the Hot cars, would burn out of Foster Freeze onto Main Street and lay smoke as far as they could in front of the cute girls that were hanging out to watch.

My buddies and I figured out if we could really make one burn, we would be in chick heaven. There was four of us and all we had was a 49 Chevy 2 door delivery with a inline 6 and 3-on-the-tree. We got the idea to drill holes in each of the rear wheel wells. We bought 2 long stem oil cans and filled them with oil. Soooo 2 guys cruised up front lookin cool and 2 were in the rear. As we drove through the parking lot the two in the rear squirted oil on the tires from inside through the holes. When we left we lit 'em up and kept squirting. We smoked out the lot and fried the tires half way down Main. When we came back and parked, the car was surounded with everyone wanting to know what we had in the old 49.

Never did we lift the hood!

 

What a great thread! Really takes all of us back a few years some of innocence, some not. I'm pushing 57 in a few days & starting to feel it just a wee bit, 'specially in the hands/joints. Earliest car related memories are those with my older sis (RIP) and brother. I was born in '51, sis had 10 years on me. going with her to the high school & decorating the gym for the sock hop in '58. Ridin' in back of dad's '57 F100 thru town. Her boyfriend's new '58 Impala convertible. Brother's first car in '60, it was a '53 Ford 2 door. Sis wrecking dad's '57 pickup, she pulled out in front of a Vdub, musta been about '60. Drove the pickup home, VW was junk. Brother's first new car a '63 Galaxy 500. Then he got drafted, & was gone to VietNam. Things changed. Got my first car, a '60 Ford for $40 in '66 and drove it for 2 years. Between it and my next car, borrowing Mom's '64 Country Sedan (wagon) & going to the drive-in. Cute little galfriend next to me, a $1.29 bottle of Boone's Farm, a 50 cent "safe" from the gas station men's room, 2 drive-in tix for $1 and well..... ah the first time.... Best 3 bucks I EVER spent! And what was the name of the movie you saw last night? asked dad. I didn't answer. I think he knew. Never looked at that old grocery getter the same way again. The car's gone, the gal's gone but what memories!

 

Funny huh how women can motivate us and make you get creative.Cool story and idea.

 

71

On our farm, my Dad had two Model A pickups, a ’30 and a ’31. The ’31 was not used on the road, or to go to town. We used it like a tractor, to pull a light trailer and haul stuff; hay, fence fixing supplies, for utility around the farm. As it turned out, I took my driving test in the ’30 when I was 16. After about 9 years of experience, that driving test was a piece of cake.
Anyhow that summer Dad bought a 1946 John Deere from a man that had just been discharged from the Army. He had gotten the new tractor on priority because he was a Vet.
One day the battery went dead on the ’31. We pulled the pickup out in the windbreak under the trees, and hitched the fence fixing trailer up to the new tractor, retiring the '31 forever.

It was a routine for the entire family to go to town, on Saturday, about once a month. Our parents conducted business and went shopping, we kids hung out and loitered around on main street. I don’t think we had ever seen a stripped down Model A before. Our neighbor had a Model T without fenders, but we hadn’t gotten the ‘hot rod’ idea yet. One Saturday we came across a hot rod magazine in Duckwalls. The pictures in that magazine got our attention.
Back on the farm, during the next few weeks, we stripped that pickup. It took us a while, because all we had was crescent wrench, fencing pliers, screw driver, hammer and chisel.
Hood, fenders, bumpers, and boards came off. I can see to this day, as clear as if I had a picture, the faded and thinning blue paint on that truck, worn though in places, the red-lead primer showing through. We hung the light bar off the radiator cap with a piece of hay-wire, with future plans, that somehow never materialized, to mount them on motorcycle fenders bracketed off the front axle. Had that all figured out, just didn't have the material, tools, or expertise to do it. Oh yes!, we had plans for that truck!
That '31 never ran again. Before a couple of years had passed, the starter, water pump, tranny, radiator, etc., had all been cannibalized to keep the ’30 going. I visited the farm a couple of years ago. The present occupant still has the hood and 'boards off that pickup. The hood, all four pieces still together, flattened out and being used to close off an opening between two hog sheds. I checked it to see if it was worth salvaging, but the hinges were all rusted rigid. The running boards are hanging on nails on the back of the garage.

In the minds of two farm kids, with that magazine as a motivational tool, our imaginations ran wild. In our minds, we had the best damned hot rod in the whole wide world, even without ever driving it.

 

being I lived on a farm i had no outside income so i had to make do with a torch , welder, and grinder
in 1963 I droped out of school and went to tech school and drove a 54 chev
also had a lot of experince doing things like split manifolds, first one was spit on both ends and used potato harvester flex, a lot of enthusiasm , but little for good parts
some photos of the old toys

was quite a thrill to have a alcohol fueled late model stock car that would spin doughnuts on asphalt after having that puny stuff that i had as a kid
yes i feel my childhood was deprived and am making up full time now for it!!!

 

Well,can't say I'm the oldest,but graduated from high school in '64 like you're dad! Drove a '40 Ford tudor sedan, painted "competition" orange, powered by a 265c.i. small block Chev, wide whites, black steelies with baby moons. Terrorized Pacific Avenue in Tacoma,Washington every Friday and Saturday night! (born in '46).

 

me too, looking forward to scrolling down and doing some reading

 

Awsome stories. I wish I had some stories like those to tell but I am only 18. I am looking forward to reading more posts.

 

Stick with it, kid. I've seen too many "Greasers" do this "lifestyle" for a few summers and go on the next fad. I want to see what you're building when I'm 90..............

 

A former old-timer at work (83) is famed in our building for- during a particularly frustrating discussion with a manager, at one point, he placed his hand up under his armpit, squeezed his arm down, then offered up an imaginary hamburger in his hand up to the manager, saying, "here- have a hamburger".

He was in printing and advertising, so I know you aren't him, but I had never heard of such a thing until I heard the story 1st hand after he did it...and until you explained your story. Uncanny!

 

great story. I could read that stuff all day.

 

Just turned 50 the only time i feel my age is when I climb out of my car after a feature and crawl to my trailer o well . cool thread .c

 

I'll throw out one more of my dads stories,when he was a junior or senior[?]his best friend Nicky Garland sat down with a salesman at the local Ford dealer one day and put a deposit on a new car,the car wasnt in stock and had to be ordered.Well it took about 90days for it to arrive and Nickys going on and on at school to everyone about this car that was on the way,my dad said everyone was like"yeah...whatever"and really didnt pay much attention to him.Finally the day came when he rounded everybody up and on their lunch break piled into a couple of cars and drove up to the dealer to see this car he ordered.My dad said they looked at the transporters trailer and didnt see anything special,station wagons,falcons,trucks and 1 fairlane.The truck driver climbed up to the top and cranked the fairlane to unload it..WWWOOOMMMPPPP,BLAPP A BLAPP A BLAPP A BLAPP....no exhaust,just open headers.It was a factory lightweight Thunderbolt,plain jane to the bone,he said they all just sat there with their mouths dropped open.It was white,no radio,heater,carpet,spare tire/jack,wiper motor,etc...427/425 hp,4 speed,fiberglass hood fenders,and doors with plexi glass side windows,the price?$3900,whats that car worth today?300k-500k I'd guess.My dad said he put a tag and exhaust on it and they'd drive it to all the local drag strips on the weekends,wonder where that car is today?

 

Well here it is bed time,I have been reading the thread for 3 hours.At 70 it takes a while to absorb all this days gone by stuff.I am really enjoying it.Coming from east Tennessee I can relate to a lot of the experiences.My father (RIP) was the most tolerante person I ever knew.I have caused him more pain than you would ever know. I learned to drive a 37 Ford slant back in a pasture field.I really loved that car.I was always setting in it while we were visiting or at church.I broke the ignition key off on the sterring colum and he had to get a mechanic come and saw the portion of the column off so the wheel would turn.If you remember a 37 had a toggle type locking system.Once while coming from church smoke started pouring from the dash,while setting in the car I had pushed the cigarette lighter in and it just kept getting hotter and hotter and toasted the under dash wiring.Dad later traded for a 48 chevy.My brother and I (while Dad was not at home) took the chevy out (no drivers license) went up a hill on a wash board gravel road and broke an axle.We got the car turned around ( pushed) and headed back down the road,went to put the brakes on to make a curve---no brakes,we had severed the brake line as the rear wheel was trying to come out of the fender well.I thought this is it with Dad,to my amazement he just said son you have got to stop this nonsense you could have been killed.No long after that I got my drivers license and Dad signed a note for me to get my first car a 39 ford 2 dr 150.00 dol. I really miss those days and I visit them often.

There is more I"ll save it for later.

 

Neat thread..I'm 69..Survived two rollovers,a headon and 30 years of flying single seat, single engine jets so I guess I'm a lucky SOB when you consider the odds. Lots of funny stories but one of my favorites was when my dad convinced a fellow frat member that was a jerk that he needed to piss on another guys model T engine so it would smell bad on the guys date that night. He told the guy to pee on it after he got it running and warmed up. Needless to say that ol' T magneto sent a spark right up the stream and spoiled the kids love life for weeks! Pics are the headon and the 50 Olds roll over. Wasn't driving either time.

 

i'm only 24 but been livin with hot rods and crazy stories since birth, when i was around 16 one summer my buddy bryan and i were crusin around the main drag in my 65 galaxie 2dr ht (first car) and we went down this alley behind a vaccume cleaner repair shop and found about 6-8 vaccume cleaners just sittin out in the alley, being mischevious teens we threw the vaccume cleaners in the giant trunk of that galaxie and drove around for a while, untill we saw one of our previous evil teacher's cars in a grocery store parking lot, (we were positive it was her's, NOBODY drove a bile yellow 60 volvo sedan except her) so we got under her car and tied these 6-8 vaccume cleaners by the extension cords to whatever we could tie them to, and, we waited in a dark corner of the parking lot. about 20 min later, a gangley man walked out and hopped into the yellow volvo, HER HUSBAND! he exited the parking lot and the 6-8 vaccume cleaners shot out the back like cannons sparking and bouncing around the street, he slammed on the brakes and had the strangest look on his face when he got out.
oh man, that was hillarious, i feel bad about it though.....we didn't stick around to see what he did with the vaccumes......

 

How old is Bill Hine??? 86??? Damn he's still Kicken Ass with a Lead paddle!

 

OK, MERCMAN 1951, (And all the rest of you guys) There is a sequel to my original story--------After the hamburger & donut episode,(which I must confess, was an old joke) This guy that I worked for at that small diner,was also the cook, when I would come to work after school (8th grade) & work 3 hours, he would LET me have a small meal,----Then back to work!---For 1 more hour, then go home, homework,bed, school, repeat for about 1 month, finally this NEAT GUY says one day "You eat too much", so you're FIRED!!!
I got a paper route shortly after that, & you will NEVER GUESS who was on my route!!!!----------Seems as tho his morning paper was always in the bushes---on the roof----in the gutter---OR MISSING ALL TOGETHER!!!!--------Just had to finish up the rest of the story, & the truth!! Glad everyone had a laff!!-----------Don

 

I'm 33. Got arthritis like an 80 yr old. Does that count?

 

Few days ago a hamber turned 77. Can,t remember his ID , saw it on the birthday list on the main page.