When is it truly over???

Don't take up golf.
For me the fun is in the hunt.
Finding a rare part in a boneyard, swap meet, yard sale or even on ebay is a victory.
Sort of like many small continuous victories.
That's what kept me going it the 2 years it took me to get my last car on the road.
Keep it a little smaller and set smaller goals along the way.
Set up a list of small ****, you want to do, then start working your way down the list.
This gives a constant sense of accomplishment.
My dream car has always been a cherry 59 Elky or 59 Chevy.
I know it'll come eventually.
I just have to be patient, and persistent, and work on the ones I have.
My goal is to finish the 2 Comets, with my kids help, then give them to the kids.
Somewhere,someday I will get the 59 and that will be for me.

 

Sounds like it to me.
I used to be the same way about 10 years ago.
The love of old cars is like herpes, once you get it you're stuck with it forever.
It may relapse, at times, but it always come back.
Think I found my new signature line.

 

It's over when you take a dirt nap; and for some not even then.
It's kind of like I told my kids, and now I tell my grandkids; whether you think you can, or whether you think you can't, you're right. That's not my quote, someone else's I use because it's good.
Out on my shop floor there are two signs, one is "Detirmine what is right, not who is right", which is kind of like Ronald Regan's statement that, 'there's no limit to what a man can do; or what he can accomplish, if he doesn't mind who gets the credit for it'. The other sign is "Never, never,never, ever give up". There're both good ones to live by if you don't keep a bible handy.

 

Me too.
I put down the alcohol almost 11 years ago, when I got married, and haven't touched it since.
I took a hard look around me at all my buddies lives it ruined.
It's disheartening in an era of $4-5 gas people constantly ***** about gas prices, but keep drinking.
It's about priorities and putting what's important out from.
If you're drinking, wheteher you want to believe it or not, it does affect your family.
For me my family and cars were more important than the booze, so away it went.
Wasn't easy but for me that's what I had to do.

 

I thought it was over when I sold my 50 Merc. Then I found another one. And another. Just goes to show you where there is a will, there is a way.

Now...if your question is what to do when there is no will? That I can not answer.

 

Keep an open mind and heart.
Find the joy in the build and not the object being built.
And when you get it done endjoy the drive and the many freindships involved.

When I road raced there were too many people involved, whos only enjoyment was to win a championship and forgot the joy of driving a race car, they never lasted to long and were soon gone on to something else. And then there were the ones that built such a fancy car they were afraid to race it, and were in constaint fear of wrecking it, they never lasted to long either.

When the focus is on the doing the rewards are constant, I had just as much fun in my near stock mustang race car as I had in my GT3 pinto ( full purpose built race car ).

Due to health reasons I had to retire from road racing and I though it was the end of the world, but I moved on and ended up here.

And I will be the first to admit I have had a blast in the hot rod world. My 54F100 custom will be done this fall, and my so called dream car ( 38 Ford Pickup ) is for sale, as a more interesting project has ended up in the shop and consuming my thoughts when not working on other things.

good luck to you.

jim h

 

Take a challenge personally. Find one you like that's not popular or less seen and build it to the highest quality YOU personally can, create interest in that off brand, start a new "trend" in hot rods (if that's even possible).

We often see unique, quality stuff that sets itself apart from the "everyone's got one" crowd.

Originality and quality built to perfection....ummm good!

 

I've been told that there's only two good ships in the Navy, the one you just came from and the one you're going to. I suspect that this is true for cars too. Mike

 

So we are at this new years party. This gal ask me "why do you race cars,why do you have those OLD cars,whats the reason for all that. I thought about the questions for a moment and this was my answer. I have had the hot-rod bug for along time and I have had the women bug for along time. Racing cars,building hot-rods,and going fast,and having *** all have a connection.You never know how long the ride is going last or how the end result is going to be but you strive to get the best result from all. You will find the p***ion and the drive to continue I am sure>>>>.

 

Since I originally dropped in with a shallow bang-that-car's-sister comment, here's something with more depth.

OK, now you've built something that's been done a thousand times before. No offense, great car, but done to death.

Know what makes a great chef? Invention. You ever go to a strange restaurant and order their specialty? They bring something you never saw or thought of before. And when you eat it's just the most awesome thing ever because you never had anything like it..........If you'd have got the lasagna, it might have been really good, but was still following somebody else's recipe, which ultimately makes it like all the other lasagna you ever had.

Still with me?

So now you've demonstrated that you can build an awesome car using somebody else's recipe. The cl***ic deuce roadster recipe.

Take the next step, write your own recipe. Hire a plowboy to hammer a bubbletop body, study aircraft construction for a space frame & rivet aluminum hot rod, do something drastically different......basically unhinge your mind and build the car you dreamed of at 5 before the reality of nuts and bolts got in the way.

I really like what Rick Dobbertin (sp?) did. After he built the most all-conquering pro-street showcar the 80s could offer he was king of the pro street mountain and coulda backhalved cars til retirement. Instead he shifts gears and builds that earth traveler thing out of a stainless tanker.

Challenge yourself and get outside the box

 

That's exactly what I did with the Comets I have.
Can't tell you how many people have asked, "What kind of car is that? I've never seen one before."
Do you think the 57 Chevy, 69 Camaro or old vette owner hears the same thing?
Often, it is the beginning of a 10 minute conversation.
I've had about a dozen older people tell me, "Man I remember those. I had a 6* Comet as my first car", or they want to talk about Falcons.
I think there's something to be said in building something different or something in a different way.
Where I live, tri 5 Chevys, corvettes and old Camaros are becoming about as boring as Hondas.
Take a drive on a nice Sunday and you probably see 20 of each.
I can appreciate the craftsmanship, but those cars have become very boring to me.
The exception would be some of the beautiful tri 5 cars I've seen on here.
That's a different story, but you don't see those cars in my area.

 

It's only over here when you die.
Until then, buck up and get moving...
r

 

Damn, are some of you TRYING to depress me???

To look at it another way, and maybe to explain it somewhat better...I know...I know for a FACT that I've already HAD my best day ever...a day where I had no doubt in my mind that I was the happiest person in the whole World! March 28, 2008 in West Palm Beach, Florida...to put it into a setting. Many, many people will go their whole LIVES and never be that happy, and I feel sorry for them. They'll sit in the shadows waiting to make personal attacks on anyone who happens by, taking cheap shots to cover their own shortcomings...or they'll throw out half of what they think they know about a person to fan the fires started by others...but they'll never be 100% happy, and again, I feel sorry for them.

Since then, I've come to know that even the wildest dreams can come true and that things will work out in the end. Cars are such a small part...a tiny, almost insignificant part of what makes True Happiness, that I guess it's no wonder I find it hard to be excited about them anymore. I always wanted a 74 Mustang (yeah, poo-poo...you all hate 'em and that's fine!) and I happened to find a really, REALLY nice one and was able to buy it and drag it home. I spent a lot of time cleaning, perfecting and detailing every part and piece that was going to go back on the car and it was so clean that it was certain to be something Special...if only to me.

Then, I had a decision to make. I didn't have the time or funding to finish the car the way I wanted, and another project was coming in that needed a bunch of attention, so I gave up my Mustang and went to work on that car for a very good friend of mine.

As it came to be, now I have my own place with a garage and room to park stuff...but since being in Florida and getting to spend some time with the absolute Love of my Life, I guess it's just no wonder that I'm not all that worried about car projects anymore!

I find the biggest thrills in the simplest things...hearing a favorite song on the radio, talking to friends on the phone, riding my bike on a sunny day...and seeing what the hell my friends on the HAMB are up to! This post wasn't supposed to be any sort of a "Debbie Downer" (as DIRTYT calls 'em!) thing...and I guess it had to run it's course as it did (not that I'm surprised by a few folks...some things never change, and that brings a comforting sense of ***urance in it's own weird way, too!) and I've been interested in what y'all have had to say.

Dan, you are quite the scholar, my friend!

Mike...you know what you're talking about because you know a thousand times more than most other self-proclaimed "experts" or armchair psychologists do!

Randy, yes...you get it...you always do!

Frank...you're Frank and I admire that. It may sound silly but it's true. Don't ever change.

Lehr? I don't know you and you sure don't know me...but I wish you happiness in all that you do or strive to do. I never claimed to be the "best" anything...I was refering to "second best" as in a number TWO choice for 'ultimate project' or whatever. What I've built in the past got me around and that suits me fine.

Everyone else...thanks for making the HAMB what it is...the good, the bad and the ugly. The collective "soul" of this place...it's vibe, it's energy...is nothing short of spectacular. It's something we all created together, and I've enjoyed seeing it grow over the past several years. Our lives are all a series of Ups and Downs and we **** heads now and again...it's just human nature, but it's all part of the beauty that IS human interaction, and it's something to treasure...it really is.

Thank you to everyone for being here and just being who you are, and of course for your comments, encouragement, insults, love and hatred over the years...we're all better for it, whether we realize it or not.

My Life is fine, and I hope that yours is too. Just don't get so focused on chasing after your dreams that you miss out on living your dreams (unless, of course...your dream IS to chase after your dreams...then go to it!). There's a lot of wonderful things in the Here and Now...so don't let it p*** you by...because it will.

Peace.

 

So, does this mean you're moving to Florida?
I sure would if the place/person made you that happy.

 

go for it..what makes you happy will do you good..just dont dissapear

i wish i always got it..maybe you were being sarcastic?..doesn't matter..
been to florida, it can revitalize your soul if you let it. that state changed my direction in life 19 years ago..cars will probably always be some part of your life..embrace where you are with it now, and go live out the distance of where this will take you..after all were not here for a long time..were here for a good time. try to make your time the best you can..best wishes..

and if your ever back up this way..stop in, or let us know where you end up. Ok yeah..we never got to have that Beer..so..this ones on me

 

Well dude, if you can't air out here then where can ya? Getting over the hump takes some adjusting. I wish I had a few back too but unlike you, I never had the "one"? Right now I am building it, for sure the only dam ground up build I will ever pull off.
You need a new groove and only you can decide what that will be. I wish you the best in finding it.
For me it isn't so much the car but what I plan to do with it when it's done. Brownsville to Anchorage.

 

Every project's different. After I sold my 440 Duster, I knew I couldn't ever afford to go that fast in the 1/4 mile again. But I always played with cars. Build your next project, see where it takes you. Maybe an efficient 4 cyl. track roadster. Maybe a restored '59 ElCamino. Maybe an Indian Chief.....

That thing about "Its the Journey, not the destination" is right.

 

Traditional hot rodding is a creativity thing. If you aint inspired, you jsut can't do it.

I know what your talking about. Been going through that since fall of '01, myself. So I just closed the garage, and went off to other hobbies, and took up golf. But time went by, and all of the sudden, the need comes rushing back. You solve some problem, and away you go.

You can't force it, so don't worry about it.

DO what makes you happy. The cars, tools, tallent, raw material, ideas will be here when you get back.

 

I built my dream car back in 2000. Drove it for 6 years, then sold it. Now I either build or buy what suits my fancy at the time. Life is too short to wonder what might have been............

 

Yea, I know what you mean. I've found the best way to make it through the day any more is to find a back booth in a dark bar, drink Martinis, and listen to "Is That All There Is", "Glory Days" and some Frank Sinatra on the juke box all day long.

 

Talk to Sephgato, he buys a new "One" almost weekly. Each "One" is the "One" he's always dreamed of...

 

Its never over! These are the best days of our lives!!!!!!!!!!!

 

You know, if this **** doesn't excite you anymore, you probably are in it for the wrong reason anyway. Maybe another hobby is for you.

There isn't a day that goes by that I don't dream rod some other vision of my own perfection and cannot build. So what, just gives me fodder for my next real project. I'm a car guy through and through. I can't get it out of my blood, even if the government outlaws all of this tomorrow (god knows they are trying) I will still find a way to get my kicks.

Nose to the grindstone

 

Fact or fiction...it was necessary at the time. I always felt a little sadness for those astronauts because if it was a hoax, what a thing to have to bring to your grave. I truly hope they DID walk on the moon, for each members of the teams sake and for our countries sake, but SO much has been manufactured over the years, and so much MORE has been hidden, twisted and lied about that no one can say with 100% certainty.

As far as what do you do now? You're kidding, right? There are tens of thousands of cars out there within reach. Read about automotive historics and get inspired. Whether it's the first days of Daytona, Bonneville, Freemont, Baja...you haven't done it all, and I guarantee you haven't done the best yet either, you just THINK you have. Build a tribute vehicle and challenge yourself to make it as accurate as possible or find an original with a race heritage and restore it. The sky is truly the limit...put the beer down and grab a wrench brother...

And remember this (I KNOW I'm gonna get flamed for this one) life is about more than cars... Love the ones around you, whoever that may be. Think of the legacy you want to leave behind, how will you be remembered, how did you make the lives of others richer and fuller? Can you help a young gun build the car of HIS dreams, can you organize a food drive for needy families and use car guys to help out, a toy drive for less fortunate children... There is ALWAYS something new out there, there is no way any one person can have done everything and be bored with life. Do something NEW..outside your comfort zone...and have fun doing it!

 

I don't think so...not anytime soon, at least. I've got a place here and I like it.

Her and I have known each other since we were kids (8th grade). We lost track of each other for twenty years or so, but we're closer now than we've ever been. She's as weird as I am, only in better ways...she laughs at everything, everything is funny to her! She walks as fast as I do (almost faster!), but she's far more sure of her footing on slippery rocks (the lifeguard yelled at us for climbing on them anyway). She's outspoken and p***ionate...and a bazillion times smarter than me (always was!), but she doesn't act like it. She doesn't laugh or scoff at other people's dreams or ideas, but she isn't afraid to let you know how she feels, either!

Like walking on the moon...how can anything else even come close to that?

Having my 74 Mustang (for however brief a time) was a dream come true...everytime I walked out and saw it in the driveway, I fell in love with it all over again and I'd spend hours on a single part, making it as perfect as I could (a day and a half on the fan alone...making it better than when it left Dearborn back in 74!) and I wanted that car to be the best that it could possibly be...I loved it as much as it's possible to love a car, and no...there won't likely be another one in my life...none that clean and unique...but I had it and though I never got to finish it, I still cherrish the memory, in a slightly sad and nostalgic way.

But...what I felt for that Mustang...the One car I always wanted...doesn't come close to holding a candle to how I feel for her...so maybe you can see what I've been trying to say since this post began...how can any car possibly inspire me again...it can't...how could it?!

Like walking on the moon...no matter how short the actual event...the magnitude of it will overshadow everything that follows it. There can only be one "One"...in Life, in Cars and in Love!

Walking on the moon (or just the beach will do, in the right comapny!)...

...walking on the moon.

 

OH.....For ****'s sake DON'T take up golf.

I rather hear about a diecast car collection and the dream car you used to have than a nice day on the "green"!

Marty McF.

 

This is why I am never getting married.

John

 

Hell hack it aint no cheap shot.

You're a no talent alcoholic and a rip of artist. Lowest of the damned low to rip someone who either is or has tried to help you out.

When you owe someone a debt you never intend to pay and never intended to make good on in the first place you should expect to get bruised a little.

Now if that's a cheap shot, I'll go a hundred bucks toward you makeing it to Joplin this year. You can settle it with me there.

 

I call ********, YOU might feel there can only be one love in all those catagories but in reality you fell in love once before (I know cuz you were married) and now you've fallen in love again. You are a bigger fool then I think you are if you are in love with this women and not in Florida right now. You have absolutely no ties here in Michigan, no job, your renting your place, no children. My god Hack, pack up your **** and hit the road. What ARE you afraid of? Rejection? Hell if you don't try you will regret it for the rest of your life.

 

and the plot thickens