Thats some kool memory lane stuff,I really dig the pin up that came up on the screen when I hit a link from 1999.
I was in the 300's on the member list. late 98 early 99 I think. The HAMB is the shit. I met some of my best friends here. C9 got me through a flathead rebuild, Shags pickup then dragster. Redneck Mikes 3-4 different cars, Brewsirs customs, Laskeys debacle..... ahhh the memories.
I joined back when it was like 35 of us on the hamb, insidetheweb days. Then moved to network54. The JJ was never updated and more fun and less bullshit.
i remember some pretty funny shit... that guy with the "mosquito" or something in fla. germ vs. marcus anytime mike ness was mentioned nads' accelerator pedal proper cuff length, etc...
It was crazier and fun back then. But I think the knowledge and info. level is way higher now. It's easy to be nostalgic, but the board is better now. I was thinking about this a few months ago. Remember when Ryan told us that buying stock when the market reopened was payment for the HAMB? Well mine just doubled from when Sept. '01.
Then vs. Now The one single conversation that annoys me more than anything else... Just a little ironic, no? So, as a guy that has been on the H.A.M.B. for a while I'll fill ya in on what I think... scratch that... know. If you are more into the social aspect of the "scene", then most likely you enjoyed the H.A.M.B. more in the past. If you are more into the actual cars and the mind set of the folks that build those cars, then you know the H.A.M.B. is better now. I've got the historical data to prove it too... We average almost 30% less off topic posts now then we did even two years ago. That number jumps to almost 40% when comparing present data to stuff gathered five years ago. There is less bullshit now and more cars... And I, for one, like it better that way...
Me and roadstar were just talking about back in the day earlier this week. remember not to long ago when it was a big deal that there was 4000 members now there is allmost 30k Its crazy how fast this place has grown in the short time ive been here. Its ruined my life really, the friends i have the cars ive built and the memorys are all the hambs fualt. kinda crazy eh.
Christ... I thought you were making that up... it HAS to be less than 18 months ago that 10,000 was going to happen. What the hell happened?
You might notice a few other hot rod forums have registration numbers north of 50k, but have far less activity as the HAMB. There is a reason for that... We have never fluffed our registration count... I delete spam accounts as they are created and recount registration monthly. The HAMB is by far the largest (by post count and by real user count) and most active hot rod community in the world. When you think about it, that is pretty impressive being that we are so focused on the traditional...
I think it's crazy how there are 30k members, but i still see the same 40-50 avatars over & over again. do the other 29,950 members just lurk?
Ryan, What's the posts per day count though? I think the posts per day is much, much higher now than then, so that 30% less off topic posts is still a shitload simply due to the quantity of posts. This may give the perception that there's more O/T junk... I agree - overall quality is way up.
I remember the drag slick...back in the late 90's I lived in Canada and HR Deluxe and the Jalopy Journal were the rare (good) sites about nostalgia...used to browse Nervous records too... wow...time flies...
Sailor!......where the bloody hell have you been!!!!! I joined back in 2001 although i lurked for ages...i first found this place through Marts Hotrods and at the time apart from Mart, me, sailor and a couple of others from mainland europe there weren`t that many foreign geezers on here.... i`ve pretty much enjoyed all `versions` of the HAMB...never a dull moment monkey
I remember when i stumbled across it i went nuts and showed my father since i was up in the air then on whether i was going to move out of state or stay in NY...He said i should sign on and make a couple of friends..Thinking maybe they could 'guide me' to where the action was in the car world...So I signed on and got murdered...lolol....So i just lurked on there for a couple of years....I told a couple of friends about it from time to time and even downloaded pics to show them some of the cars being built & creative ideas guys had on here...I will say its been kool to watch it grow and take off like it has esp some of the build up pics we get to see here of the cars that have graced the pages of so many mags/books...It all started here & THANKS again Ryan for all that you have done plus continue to do!! If i remember right didnt Alex (from the Shifters) post the build up pics of the green bubble top roadster here and by any chance did anyone save them??
Wow!! Time flies when your having fun. I "found" the HAMB when Hatch and Fuelpump kept nagging me to check in and see for myself what was going on. We had a small computer and I refused to use it. Too much technnology, too "new fangled", "leave me alone", I was still using a rotary dial phone and everything was just fine in MY WORLD. I got the wife to show me how to turn the damn thing on and the rest is history. Still can't post pictures and I'm hanging on to my virginity in that area but my grip is slipping. Still don't know how a punk in a admittedly cool '38 coupe (and now a super bitchin Model A with a period perfect flathead) could have the brains/forsight to start something that this relic 62 year old and a snot nosed teenager could both call cool, must be dumb luck. I owe you big time Ryan, Thanks. Frank
You should be proud, you've done an amazing job, thanks is not enough for what this place has become since then. History's being documented here in a way that's never been done before. I hope it's all being saved so the future might be able to research who we were and what we did. You've got the true story of our culture and our lives boxed up in here man. Some we've already lost are even still alive in here, you've got their sense of humor and minds saved in this place. It's like they're still alive you can be right apart of their conversations like you're sitting there with them again. That's a pretty deep thing - simply awesome. Thank you man for telling our story to the future, for keeping me alive too.. You know I don't know it's been a while?? It's really crazy but I can't remember what I started out as on here. I've never had very good social skills though so I've always mostly just lurked and posted around sporadically to be honest. A few years ago I unintentionally left surfing the HAMB to go back to school. Life's been so insanely busy I haven't surfed the net or watched TV at all in a couple years. But you know I can't stay away forever haha. Plus I finally got lured in by a wild HAMB lurking hot rod woman with cable internet lol
Ryan, this site builds commeraderie and is such a resource for builders. I had walked thru Memphis, Detroit and Tulsa's Nats in '71-'73. It takes time and a lot of questions to learn how to put a rod together. You have enabled people to share an invaluable knowledge base here in the pages of the HAMB. Thanks to you! and Jeff, Corncob, Paul, Rashy and the folks who make it all work.
Oh man those were the days! I been around here a looong time too, lurked for a long time. Ahh Mud, Germ, umm Haring? Hatch? uhhh met so many cool folks through this board. Funny I remember how SMALL it used to feel & be, used to go to shows and see friends or like minded folks and someone would eventually whisper,"hey man you on the HAMB?" . Thanks Ryan for founding this, now large, community! Hell I've made lifelong friends overseas through this place...... I do miss the really, really funny rippin' posts though, guess we all grow up and get manners at some point. Anyone know what the hell Germ/Jack is up to now? Ryan is right though that we are much less "lifestyle" around here now and that is GREAT! Hats off to all the folks who have helped keep this place running as well, you make my life better.....
Well lets see. I was still a virgin!!! when I joined...Like 12 or 13 years old.... And now I have graduated high school, college, got my heart broken, broke a few hearts, own my own home , became legal drinking age, and bought and sold over 50 heaps lol.. I turn 22 july 31st...uhhh I couldn't imagine growing up without this place...
The Jalopy Journal
