I personally want to thank everyone here .ive been involved in hotrods since i was 14 (1955)--i never got out of em yet whether it be rod or custom And i must say that you people have have made the posts here the best & most interesting--i love the way all stick together to help out--(way it used to be)i love the pictures posted here a lot too--what is funny is what the younger people think it was like in the 50s,they dont know we never had any money--we moused everything to build something to go cruisin in--but we never went far from home because we either didnt trust our cars or didnt have much gas-we mostly avoided highways for 2 reasons---Cops & worn out parts.only the rich kids could afford speed equipment--we went to the junk yards for ours.new parts were out of the question.i was making 35 cents an hour and thought i was well off..money was so tight i had to jerk off the dog to feed the cat .(lol)--we used to street race too but for most of us a drag was 0-70--we didnt dare go any faster--we drove slow in what today is known as rat rodscause they were all over the road-(eyeball front end alignments,worn parts,front end would shake like hell when you hit a bump,etc--but when i see rat rods that are even more micky mouse than we had --it scares me--not only are the drivers lives in jeapordy--but all other rodders too, especially at the highway speeds of today,because one real bad accident & these guys will screw it up for the rest of us when they p*** laws against hot rods .dont know if the rest of you old rodders went thru it too but it was all we had--most of the thim we had no one to teach us. I would really like to know what you think about the badly built ones Ps ---i love rat rods but not unsafe ones
dont want to sound like a jerk , but this has been covered a billion times. conclusion is: no one likes unsafe cars.
haha got to love the age in the profile... I love hearing storys of "how it was" So lets get some going.
I was also 14 in 1955 makin 35 cents an hour (no ****). I bought a 49 Merc 4dr from the local barber for $40, had no low or reverse, and kinda rough. When I turned 16 bought a 51 Ford convert with a Merc engine and duel exhuast, was makin 50 cents a hour then. Paid $250 for it. We lived at the wreckin yards, could never afford new stuff. My brother and I bought a 32 Ford Tudor, no engine or trans but all the rest was there. The deal maker was it had chrome window frames still in the paper from the chromer. Paid $120 for it. Sold it a few years later for $300, we thought we made a killin on it.......It goes on forever, I could write a book.............OLDBEET
I was 12 years old in 1962 and a few of us surf punks had a '49 Ford we carried our boards in. We painted it with my buddies mom's canister vacuum cleaner and a gadget we bought through the mail that alowed us to put a hose on the exhaust end of the vacuum and siphon paint through it. No ****. The end result was about as smooth as a gravel parking lot. But hey, we were on it. Life is good.
I painted my first car, a 37 Chevy coupe, when I was 17 with a power puff and wipe on paint from Pep Boys then went the va*** cleaner route finally got a diaphragm compressor from Sears. Man I was in fat city. That was in 52, I had a good job, 75 cents an hour.
,,the more things change,,,the more things stay the same,,story of my life,haha....im 33(i think) and sadly,that has been the story of my life,hahaha,,,i dont have a pocket to piss in,,but always try to make things work out somehow ,its the love of old hotrods & customs ,,,,,thanks for the read,,,
Please tell me your preference...THESE: OR THESE: Everything in the history of cars has probably NOT met the 2006 mandatory safety reccomendations of the NHRA. Somehow, people survived and had a great time, too.
I never did care for yellow. I didn't get my first car until 1960 and it was a 1951 Pontiac Convertable for $10. with a blown rear end and bad solinoid. It took me all summer to earn the $11. for the rear end and $2 for a new solinoid so I could drive it. Everything was great until I was showing off for a couple of girls in the back seat and my buddy riding shotgun and rolled the damn thing into the cow pasture and my Dad buried it with the tractor to punish me.
was funny--we all had 19 cents fly sprayers---used em for priming & spotting in paint---wet sanded paint & buffed--got the idea from a gypsie that used to straighten out dents in your yard
Just remembered, had a pro do some lead work on my 51 Ford 4 dr. Removed and filled rear door handles=$7 Frenched trunk (thing over licence plate) and peaked 12 inches up the center=$17....1960.............OLDBEET
we had this cop that used to bag us all the time for anything he could-one nite we got a brainstorm---we grabbed a gallon of the old mans black trim paint & painted the white line black for as far as the gallon would go--next nite we grabbed the ceiling paint & ran the white line into his yard --lots of visitors that nite---never made the paper of ever mentioned by anyone but he got the hint.. today it would be a jail sentence & would make national news--back then a prank was a prank thats all --if you got caught you got the worse punishment of all----THE OLD MANS
My old mechanic friend told me about the bug sprayer painting to.He said some came out pretty good. He also told me he painted headliners with a brush. Hes hammering everyday still and has tons of stories.
I helped my grand dad paint his old Ford pu with a brush when I was about 10, it was great! I painted my first car when I was 15, it looked awesome the way I laid on the paint. To bad it all ran off the car over night, LOL the car actually looked like it had painted ice cicles. PS, this all took place in the early 70's lol.
Not much of a paint story - but my old man was into cars and bikes from their pre-teen days as well. They (my dad and his brothers) managed to pool their money to buy a 1937 Chevy that was half buried next to a chicken coup at a farm house out in the counrty. (of course you know they called it "The Chickin' Coupe". Dad tells stories about this car all the time. When they first got it the tiller was broke so they used two pairs of vise grip pliers to steer it. One on each side like handle bars. They didn't have a welder - so they were just snapped on!!! One time (dad explains) they were driving ou tof town and the throttle linkage broke. So what do they do? Dad lays up over the front fender to operate the gas while my uncle operates the steering (if you want to call it that) and the brakes... Yikes! Can you imagine that? I can hear grandma now...."What if a car...!!" This car eventually ended up with a blocked up straight axle and the engine moved back a few inches - g***er style? I guess you could call it. Dad said it wasn't hell for fast but it could pull the front wheels if you let a little air out of the tires....plus it scared the "squares". (grinning). He said they did with it what they could and it made lots of memories. All of the brothers ended up with cooler and better cars of their own but this one always sparks off the best stories when we talk about the old cars we've (they've) had. Dad has a few real duesies about his old 45s...(as in Harley Davidson). Being a young'n I can't say I ever worked for 34 cents an hour - or had a car older than a 1968 as a 14 year old kid. But we did some of our own backyard work and our stories are pretty cool too.... let's just say that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree....
Paint story from the early sixties. Sitting on a corner one Saturday with my buddies and a guy from across town drives past in his black 56 Ford . We're still sitting there about two hours later and here he comes in the other direction with a yellow 56 Ford. Thirty seconds after he goes by the air is filled with the aroma of fresh paint. No vacuum cleaner for this guy, his was all brush and roller. Paul
...please tell us some more! Sittin around talking with my peers is something I wish could happen every day....I'll listen as long as your talkin' --reed
Hey, come on in the garage! I've got the coal stove a glowin' red on top, it's gettin' cold out and I'm kicked back in my old chair. Pull your stool up near the stove (with your back to it of course). Tell us a story, buddy..... these are the ole' fellas that the AHRF is wanting to begin recording too........
I read your post to my wife and now I think our ****er Spaniel is getting worried. We have him and SEVEN cats! Now lets hear and see some of your great memories. Vance
i grew up in north of boston--you younger guys cant imagine what it was like driving a rod or custom back then state cops were *******s--would go outta their way to bag you--some locals the same--but the registry cops were the worst--they got their rocks off pulling your license or registration for 7-30 days or more..During the days or on holidays --we all used the side streets-when crossing a main street in certain spots we would pull up near the corner --get outta the car & look to see if they were there before crossing--most of our cruisin was after 5 or at nite--when we would hit the drive in resturants looking for girls or a race.if you beat too many of the locals they wanted to give you a good tuneup--so you got the hell outta there quick---but most of the car people would become friends ----what really makes me laugh is the guys that hated rods & customs are now the ***holes paying the moon for one --& are only in it for the glory now---buy a car & tell all they built it--its too bad we cant hook the tools up to their mouth---everyone in the world would be building hot rods --what hurts is there are a lot of people without the know how to build that buy their childhood dream car--those i have no problen with--only the ******** artists that think they are better than the rest of us---cars are a great hobby & from the people i see here on the hamb---it makes me proud & happy to be one of you----like i said before i never got outta rods & customs---being an old ******* that types with one finger --ill end it here but as the memroy works again ill tell you more of what it was like for me & my buddies
Another story I've heard dad tell was back when his mom had moved into a three(?) story apartment building. She had a lot of kids. Dad has 5 imediate brothers and another half dozen or so half-brothers - and that doesn't count any of the sisters.... Point is - after a bunch of them grew up and moved out - grandma moved to this apartment. My old man was still just a young buck and had caught the bike bug. He told me that you used to be able to drive around the countryside and see old motorcycles leaning against garages and barns just rotting away. He'd go up and knock on the door and ask what they were going to do with it. Nine times out of ten you could get one for next to nothing just for cleaning up the yard...especially the old WL45s So he'd go around and pick up these basket cases all the time. Being bored one day and looking at all of the boxes in his room - it dawned on him that he could practically build a bike just from parts....*ding* idea! So he laid it all out and figured all he was missing was the big stuff - frame and front end etc... He snuck the big stuff up the balcony and into his bedroom and started to go to task. He spent all summer cleaning and spray bombing the parts as he ***mbled the bike piece by piece. Then one day the time had come - the bike was all together. He filled 'er with gas and oil and gave a quick scan of the apartment. All's quiet - let's fire this thing up.... In the bedroom the bike sat patiently. He stood over the bike and wound up for a couple of kicks - when BBBRRRRaaAAAPPP!! She lit up. He blipped the throttle a few times - grinning his *** off at what he had just accomplished.... Then grandma popped the door open yelling her little head off. I guess the house wasn't empty and grandma was inthe other room when dad fired up the bike. She had no idea he had even put it all together. She knew he had parts and she knew he tinkered a lot - but she was totally unaware that he had (or even could) put it all together and make it run. Dad claims he was too young to even have a license then, so he must have been 15 or 16 years old. I guess the look on grandma's face was priceless and I can imagine the noise it created when that old bike coughed it's first new breath of life and let out it's first roar.... She was all over dad's **** after finding the oil stains on the floor and rugs....
well well well .. i am psyched to see this post! for those of you that know me.you will no doubt have iether heard , or read me talking about christy(hotrodder3) whom i have known my entire life! i have hung around or visited his shop since i was a toddler. he was one of my late fathers oldest,and best friends, and im proud to say mine too! and i have learned alot about what i do from him.im gonna get ray smith (safariknut) to get in on this post. he will have pictures to go with it. stay tuned
The Jalopy Journal
