Was Anyone Here Actually There?

I was. In my former life. But, I was an old man, and I thought this kind of shit was stupid. I had polio, and I had to wear weird shoes, so I was pissed all the time though.

 

TWO GREAT QUOTES, from two ends of the same spectrum, guys! I was there, yeah, but vintage 'rodding and customs??? Hell, it's a CONTACT HIGH! You didn't HAVE to actually be there, because you have the HAMB and guys you can hear all about it from AND get great tech info from, too! Welcome home!!!

 

I LOVE that line!
...

 

I will be 65 this july.What I miss is you could buy running 49 to 51 fords for 50 to 100 $ I passed up a 55 t bird for 1295. If I only had a field of them now.

 

I was there too...Saugus Speedway, San Fernando and all the other SoCal places to run. I just wish I could have captured some of those experiences on film...never had the time to slow down and take a picture.

Most of those memories still reside in the 'ol noggin.

 

Film was pretty expensive back then .... I think if it was cheaper alot of us would have taken more pictures ..

San Diego, Dean's Photo Service at 4849 University Ave had this neauseating little jingle ... "Dean's Photo Sevice 48 49 50 cents a roll".

 

Yes, film and especially developing was expensive. So, many chose to spend the money on more tangible things like gas and girls

 

I graduated in 1962, so remember it well..
Cheers.......

 

A friend and I used to go to all the drag strips around here. Dennis and I would split the cost of a roll of film and developing. I had a Brownie box so it was eight photos each. Had it been cheaper we would have taken a lot more photos.

 

I was there, now the wife says, how come you can remember what you did back in the 50s but can't remember what you had for breakfest today. Breakfest was not important.

 

Depends on what you mean by "participated." I was in my teens in the 60's, and I had some exposure to hot rods. My cousin married a guy whose daily driver was a rodded 50 Ford, and the first hot rod I ever rode in was his A Tudor. No windows other than the windshield, and I sat on a milk crate behind the front seat. A neighbor had a '58 Corvette I lusted over, the kid around the corner had a brand new 1963 Corvette split window (how did he afford that on a gas pump jockey's pay?), my first car was 1941 Chevy (paid $65 for it in 1966, earned from working the summer as a beekeeper's assistant), I drove a 1952 Chevy coupe to high school (but it was a heap). Lusted after a T bucket starting in about 1960.

 

I'm 75 and here is the first fire engine I ever rode on when I hired as a Rookie in the 50's and then after we found it 550 miles north of our area and restored it. the Buick is a Century and has a later inline eight 320 with the performance package. I have a '32 Chevy and a '55 first series Chevy 3100 pickup. All are heated up and I tinker every day.
Normbc9

 

I was there...and i'm trying to go back. It was a great time to be involved

in cars and racing

 

were Hotwheels part of 60's car culture?

 

Hotwheels? ... I dont think they even showed til late 60s, early seventies ... but models and the original formula glue ... wow!

 

Finished high school in 55, that summer we cut up my daily driver 29 model A roadster pick up with the somewhat modified 4 banger and channeled the body, removed the fenders and running boards,split the wish bones and installed a 40 Ford flathead engine and transmission with the 40 column shift. Picked the 40 coupe up for $75.00 and stripped it for parts then took the rest of the car to the junk yard. You have to understand that 40 Ford coupes were just old cars back then when people still drove Model A's everyday. Model 's could still be found at every junk yard in the country. Most were out in the country in a pasture that the local garage man owned and when you needed parts he just gave you directions to the pasture and you were on your own. There were few Lawyers back then and no one would sue the owner if they cut a leg on a broken fender are got stung by wasps while looking for parts, my how things have changed, for the worse.

 

I graduated high school in 1962,I'm 68.Started putting together the same 28 chev that I have now in 1959 (that was the first time). Got a 1962 Pontiac SuperDuty new in 62. That car only had a couple 426 dodges and one 427 ford that were hard to beat. Graduated college and got into drag boats in 67,did that untill the first son was born in 1979,still have the BGF I was running in 79 sitting in the barn.

edit) the wife was into it too.she bought a new 427/425hp vette conv in 1966 ,that car can tell a lot of stories. Its sitting in the barn right next to the 28 and the flatbottom.

 

I just lost a friend yesterday, 90 years young, He was there.
Back in the '40 his Father had a repair shop here in the area known as Roscoe. Herb, put together a '27 T body on a '28 or '29 frame with a Miller-Scoffeld banger.
Many stories of racing "V8 A's" and building and rebuilding the dual carb manifold.

When he left for WW2, he pulled the motor and crated it up to store at his Dads shop. When he returned, his Dad handed him $150 for selling the motor. Herb was still pissed off about that, I don't blame him either.

On one of the times we visited El Mo, he mentioned that when He used to come out there that it was filled with Teenagers, then realized that it was probably the same people.

Herb standing next to one of the tanks for the lakester.

RIP friend, may you have an endless supply of gas and tires to burn.

J

 

Here's pics of my 41 Merc. in 1957. It had a 50 Merc. flathead with alum. heads.

 

Reminds me of a tag line a friend recently used in an E-mail to me .....

 

Quote: "Anyone HERE, Actually "THERE".........
............One Night I dreamed I was Awake, I Awoke to discover I Was Asleep !

Yes, I'm in my 60's ! , No, Make "that", Living in the '60 s ..........actually, I'm in
my seventies...................I said many years ago, that CARS would be my downfall,
They haven't been MY prob., I HAVE ! But, that's a'nuther Story.
(They say, "if you been married five times ! ......IT MIGHT , BE Y O U ! " )

Ben fortunate, lucky, to have owned, Enjoyed MANY nice, and rare Automobiles,
There's a BIG Difference between A CAR , and an "Automobile " think about THAT !
Had '61 Vette' in '62, makin' $ 80 tha' weak , an car payment was $ 104. / month.
Had, 'White/ Red Interior, '57 Chevy (.040 over) , w/ Racer Brown Roller, that Sucked tha' Headlights outta' Most Big Blocks, the 5.13 rear , might'a been MY SECRET !
'42 Linc., Continental Cabrolet, '34 Linc. Roadster . Couple '49, '50 Mercs, chopped.
Built '40 Merc "chopped, an Flowed back " Coupe, enjoyed driving to Va Beach, Va,
Springfield Ohio, Lead Sled Meets in the '80's..........got out of Old Cars basically fer 22 yrs, except for '58 Buick Special H.T. an (not worth mention ) Cutlass Conv.
Now my Projects are '53 tudor Chevy, Chopped, '54 Chevy H.T. , of course !!, It's Chopped ! (4 incher )...........Glad to BEBACK !!!!!!
(one Lady, in my Life now, 29 yrs. young, Inked , on pills, don't see her for Three days at a time ? .......See , that's My Downfall ! NOT OLE' CARS) ( can't Take A Joke ??, "F" You ) ........Not Funny, Sorry Charlie !
Have A Great Life.
Smoked-up, in tha' GREAT Smokey Mts, of 10-E-C Keep a Kool Tool

 

Been there, did that. Rods and race cars. Yup.

 

I was learning by watching in the late 50s and early 60s. You could hang around the local gas stations and learn many things. We were altering bicycles and go karts and the guys would do some welding for us. I'd pump gas while he welded a project. He finally got sick of it and started me welding.

We could go to the local auto dealer and hang out with the mechanics. Those were great times. When I started working nights at the gas station, the owner let employees work on their stock car and I got hooked.

Great times.

 

This is the best thread on the HAMB....IMHO!!

 

I was there for sure, way too many good times to put into words. wouldn't trade them for anything.

 

Hotwheels came out in 1967. I still have most of mine. that makes me a Jr Hot Rod Guy when I was 7.

 

don't see many 34 Lincoln roadsters. did it look like this one

 

If it runs to 23 pages -- and still going -- I'd think there MAY be some guys here who were around back in the day. Bought my first car at age 12 (1957) ... it was a `36 Ford pickup.

 

Born in '43 graduated in '62. Drove a '51 Ford then and have one now, but now I can afford to fix it up the way I wanted to back then. Could not even afford dummy spots back then.
Seems like everything that was happening with hot rods and customs was on the west coast and we were just watching and wishing.
Muscle cars kind of killed it for me for a while. I remember being offered a '50 Merc that had been chopped and was in good street condition for $300.00 in '67, but 50's style customs were all but dead at that time.
Every summer at the local Drive-In we had to go see Robert Mitchum in Thunder Road. After the show that night I thought everone was looking at me because I drove the same car as he did .
Great thread, keep it goin.

 

born in the '40s , raised in the '50s/'60s ............................... 67 !