Folks Of Interest Hot Rods/Customs and Mental Health

Nah, it's your age and Ohio . I lived in Worthington about two lifetimes one year

 

My '3rd' grandfather was kept sane after WWII by working on Model A's and early V8's. He still had nightmares but they kept him emotionally stable. For me it is a fun hobby and I enjoy it and it is a stress reliver for me. Don't care what other people say, I may not agree or like but that is my opinion and if it makes you happy go for it.

 

My old hot rod drag coupe keeps me sane, I think, maybe. Look guys. In this day and age, have you ever sat in a chair and tipped back on the back legs, almost ready to fall backwards but at the very last second you catch yourself? I feel like that all the time!. I'm ok, No really!

 

i feel that lol. living rural gives you lots of things to do...

 

I've been going to "Shop Therapy" since I was 13 (56 years ago), the shop was my refuge from a crazy drunken home and has been my fortress of solitude ever since. Sometimes I wonder a little bit about why I do what I do, but I already know, I'm still just that kid needing a place that peaceful and quiet and fixing old broken machines is sort of like fixing myself. And yes, like many of you, I've been to therapy and it was helpful.

PS: one of my personal jokes is "my stuff looks like a 3rd grader did it, I'm trying to get up to 8th grade level". My friends and compadres are cool and nobody really cares, and I sure don't hang around with anyone snooty.

Take care all!

 

Certainly a broad brush, but a lot of truth to it.

 

For me, the garage is a good quiet place to get lost in a pile of parts. No radio, nothing. Maybe the compressor will chime in now and then. Even cleaning up or sorting stuff is a good task to keep the mind busy. I always feel better when I am done.

 

@57 Fargo,

I just saw this thread and spent the last half hour going through all the posts. I appreciate your post and want to thank you for having the grit to post it. Some of the posts have hit really close to home. It is good to know there are others. Hang in there brother.

 

I appreciate that, I’m mostly fine with who I am…other then this week I’ve gone from seriously considering an auction and selling everything to buying two more cars…..

 

life is reflects back to you what you are...you cant save the world..create your own version..

 

Awhile back I attended a funeral and a mutual friend asked where my brother was. I told him he is on a transcontinental vintage car club trip. The answer seemed woefully inadequate for all these non gearheads so I wrote them all an email that was pretty close to the note below.

He’d been working toward this trip for about a year. The destination was a national show in Florida.
He was planning on attending this funeral service just before heading east, but some issues on his car necessitated extra work, and he wasn’t able to make the service.
Saying he owns a vintage car is also not really accurate. He’s owned the car for almost 20 years and has put many hundreds of sweaty, backache-inducing hours into building the car from a soda blasted bare metal body to a painted, attention-getting hot rod.
At the lowest point in his life, right around the time he entered rehab, he nearly sold it for pennies on the dollar. It was all in pieces, exactly like his life. He was reeling from a second divorce, tons of wreckage from his years as a cop, two shootings, being shot, nearly dying that time and again in motor accident.
Both he and the car were projects, not much more than a pile of parts. In terms of selling the car, all the big money had been spent, it was painted, the engine built but the car was unassembled. It would have been a giant loser to sell. I asked him not to sell it and although he almost did - thankfully he didn’t. My caution was because he’d regret it, which he would have. Deeply.
But as it turned out, after he emerged from rehab, building the car became a vocation for him that was supremely therapeutic on his road to recovery. After his 2nd ex-wife cut off his golf membership, he needed a healthy hobby. He turned back to the pile of parts and dug in. He spent hour upon hour upon hour hand building many parts of the car that could have been bought. But with tight financing and a set of skills in machining and welding, fabricating was a better option than buying. Even if he had the money, he would probably do it himself anyway. He’s a great fabricator and he describes doing that kind of work as “therapy”… He made innumerable components for the car by hand.
So the condition of that car and the state of my brother’s being were parallel for many years. Along the way he’s become online friends with several guys on the tech boards he visited weekly, posting updates, asking questions. Those guys love his work, his high quality standards, his skill set – machining, tig welding, fabricating. Gearhead thing. Son of a truck driver.
That road trip he picked up friends along the way. His house to Montrose CO day 1, connected with 2 tech board friends. Montrose CO to Amarillo TX day 2. I’m glad he stuck with a very long and difficult build of the car and I know on some level he is reaping the benefits of all that work now. Every time he drives that car. All those long trips. He's driven it from CA to FL, TX, KS, IL, all over. Probably 40k on that car now. Only guys who’ve spent 10 or more years building a project car like this can relate. So I’m sure he digs being on trips with these hotrod guys, kindred spirits on a trip the uninitiated really can’t fully appreciate.

 

thanks for sharing such a personal family experience.

^^^^^ this………..
or taking an old car for a drive, or just having one in the garage can also be therapeutic !
.

 

Most welcome. These posts help the poster as much as the readers. My wife used to make fun of my technical bulletin board usage calling them "chat rooms". I always corrected her as the the tone and information is far too technical to call chat. Mostly true.

 

Just noticed your signature line "We live in a world of keyboard warriors who couldn't build a sandwich", I laughed out loud, funny and true!

 

switch off the TV , turn away from social media platforms , retreat from the modern world discard your mobile phone and immerse yourself in your personal interests. Nothing else really matters, In doing so you will find that there is still plenty good in the world and more than enough good people to make things worth while . Create stuff, do your own thing when you want to do it , stop being a martyr, be happy, and make other folks happy by default. Life is a burden, none of us asked to be here , it just happened and we all make of it what we can. Not every day is going to be a great day, but a 50/50 split is a decent average Get out in the hot rod and brighten the day for yourself and other folk , I lost count of the times I take the coupe for a blast and get filmed as its drives along the road.. Thats a bonus because their day has just become something less than ordinary. Be thankful that all you have to do is open the garage door and great joy is delivered to you .. No matter how bad you feel there is always someone having a worse day .. Maybe the fella that brought you down was having one of those days and yup, he perhaps did feel better for a brief moment ,, but on his drive home had a good think about what an ass he had been and piled more despair and guilt on himself ..
You just cant tell what a shit pile life other folk might have . and in this case the old hot rods worked once again by providing him with his vent.. He jumps in his boring hack, drives home to his boring house, collects his bills cracks open a six pack and gets nagged by his wife and harangued by his kids only to relive the same shit day in and day out with no escape .. His one pleasure was to comment on your breakdown.. and that made his day . Meanwhile you got the pleasure of owning the vehicle, fixing the vehicle , driving the vehicle and having a stable of other vehicles to choose from ..

I was a cop for 30 years , I've saw death, abuse, neglect, poverty, cruelty, and experienced the worst people can inflict on each other , on the flip side I've also seen kindness, humility, charity, hope and recovery. Life is all about balance. My daily driver is a Toyota Aygo, bought for £300 and now owned for 4 years , my toys are varied Ford, VW, Land Rover, Ive built them all , not to restore them as such but to restore my self esteem and prove my self worth to no one but myself . They give me pleasure and purpose, but sometimes I wonder if they give other folk more .. and that in turn makes me proud and humble, raises my spirits and makes what I enjoy doing even more worth while .

The most common question im asked is about the fenders , I just tell folk yep its not legal, but who cares, they have to catch me first ! I always let folk take pics, and step back to let parents take pics of their kids even letting them sit in the car and pose behind the wheel.. Makes me forget how bad my day might be as theirs has just been elevated to great joy. Best therapy there is.. Allow me to make your day





PS none of this is meant to undermine any issues other folk may have , this is personal opinion and how I cope with life Im thankful that I never had to walk across no mans land facing barbed wire and machine gun fire.

 

I usually drink by myself but you, sir, are someone with whom I would like to enjoy a beer.

 

Bringing this back to the top being it’s the holiday season and some people struggle this time of year. One of the things that makes this hobby great is the support from most fellow car guys!

 

Couldnt agree more.

 

Thanks Fargo. Happy New Year

 

Yes! Thanks 57Fargo. Happy New Year buddy.

 

I was told once to find my happy place, a place where I was content and comfortable and the only place I could come up with was the drivers seat of my 64. I could feel the motion the power and here the sound I love from the hyper 289. The thing I find strange is I only see the car no location.
All I can say is that it helped me with my PTSD now at a random moment these thoughts come up out of the blue , and it does help.

As far as working on my cars this same Fairlane was painted back in 03 starting a month after my mother passed, for that I like the connection with her and the car.

I will never sell my Fairlane maybe my grandson will, he is next in line, I just need to get him in the driver’s seat…

 

Yep, the holidays are tough for some people for sure. Having a group like here on the HAMB to lean on is great. Happy New Year!