Like many on here, I had high hopes for the Dogfight forum, seemed like a great place for unique stuff built to be driven. Been a while so I don't recall many of them yet, but there was a wicked shortened El Camino meant to turn corners, and a (gasp!) electric 914 conversion that had promise.
I only went there for the oval track race cars thread because the "Stock Car" thread on the HAMB got closed down and moved there. When that thread died there, I quit going there.
Just the name doomed that place from the start. When most people think of a dogfight, they think of Pitt bulls and guys surrounding them with fists full of money. Not a pleasant thing…
I’m not "most people," but when I think about a dogfight, I think of brave young men sitting behind some of the most powerful engines of their era, putting it all on the line for what they believe in. Think Lafayette Escadrille, Flying Tigers or Black Sheep. It was a pity that technical issues killed Dogfight.com before I could really get involved.
I give you that memory, but you’ve got to remember they barely teach history in schools anymore or just touch on it lightly. Animal fighting though is still prevalent in this part of the country, and not uncommon to hear about it on the evening news. So which one do you think most people related one to the other? Sure wasn’t hero’s in airplanes they thought about first…
I think Dogfight was still a thing by the time I sent that car down the road. I was about to move to Austin and get married and needed to sell it to free up some cash. I wish I could have taken it a little farther, but was pretty happy with it in the end. Dogfight had a lot of potential, I wish it had taken off more than it did. I've been building another one, a '64. It's got some of the same suspension upgrades which were just bolt on control arms, typical stuff. This time I went with a 6.0 LS and an 4l60e though. And it's not getting shortened.
Maybe its a regional thing. I don’t remember seeing dogfighting on the news around here. About the only time I remember seeing it on national news was the Michael Vick arrest. I suppose that it also makes a difference whether people watch the History Channel or TMZ.
It’s one of those crimes they know exists, but don’t seem to go after very often. Rooster or **** fighting, dog fighting, even underground mma style events happen all the time, but unless someone complains or a new DA or Sheriff goes in, it’s mostly left alone. There is more interest in fighting dogs when younger, smaller dogs get stolen for bait dogs, folks in town get riled up when their pets start disappearing, and i don’t blame them. News video of a few perps with fists full of cash being led out handcuffed and their fancy foreign luxury cars being towed, then Animal Control having to try and corral viscous animals paint a picture. Humans can be such vile creatures sometimes.
That was a picture of the car he was talking about in the original post, not the car I'm currently building.
The Jalopy Journal
