I have thought long and well about what to write here. I do NOT have a hot rod, rat rod, g***er or slingshot to call my own; mostly due to the ridiculous German vehicle laws over here, not even a ride built prior to 1964. And on top of that, I do like the Beach Boys, although yall obviously dont. Hands down, you gotta like a boy group whose members suffered serious psychic and alcohol problems. If it helps any, it is mostly the b-sides I dug before I could get my hands on less-known and less-popular records.. Still, the H.A.M.B ist the major source for true, genuine, honest-to-god hot rodding, and a wealth of information to obtain about peroid-correct speed parts and no-frills solutions to problems that do NOT contain the following words: billet, new, electronics, big bucks. For those who care, I own a 1964 Mustang (yes, I know... a belly****on) export T-5-version sold through Ford Cologne in West Germany originally, undergoing restoration for nine years and many more to come, and a 1967 Mercury Cougar (is that a belly****on too?) that features quite a bunch of cheap speed parts thrown at it back in the day, like an Edelbrock F4B, 1962-date coded Stewart-Warner instrumentation, Stelling&Hellings air cleaner.and E.T.-unilug wheels. Oh, if that would give me a bonus, the paint is really shot.. I have been tought many things about engines for years by a Nam vet who had saved up all his bread in southeast asia to build and race a 1969 Superbee running 11 seconds flat here in Germany, and a former US coast guard. To those of you in the Service, the only US Army airfield, and current HQ of the 1st armored division in Germany is just a ten minutes drive from my place. So, why have I come here? Nostalgia and undiluted information, and no stupid advertizing for new billet speed parts. If I want billet, I turn it myself on my lathe, for myself only; and if I want electronics, I turn on my computer. Ford forums are either occupied with brand-bashing or how to put 17-plus inch wheels on and loads of billet aluminum, fibergl*** and the thinned-out junk called the 5.0. On a certain ford straight-six forum, all the old farts who still knew about how to get the most out of a load-o-matic distributor have been driven away by the aggressive marketing of a grossly overpriced HEI-distributor and aluminum head. However, nobody seems to care about the nitty-gritty history anymore, how all things started, how things have been way back, and that's what bothers me most. Regards, Simon
Hi and welcome from Scotland. I was stationed at Gutersloh in the 1980's.My daily driver then was a '76 T5.You should sell those two old clunkers and buy a Model A.Ha Ha Ha. Know what you mean about the T.U.V. test,it's a *****.I remember a guy out there who had to pay more to get his car tested than he'd spent building it!
Welcome from Central Valley Ca. just west of Yosemite... I was stationed in Kaiserslautern in 1971, I had aVW bus (very unHAMPfriendly) My friends and I travelled a lot, made it to Octoberfest in Munich, I loved Germany. My last name is Becker soooo I felt right at home there... I don't think a Cougar is a belly****on car, not everybody has one, but still won't fly with this group, good luck here...
welcome,one of the best intro's i've read,you're a car guy i'm a car guy,so it doesn't matter if you don't own a hamb car,just don't start a thread about why doesn't my tach work on my rat rod mustang! lol.
howdy back, and thanks a bunch for the welcome. Don't worry, I will not bother you with my late model junkers. Maybe I'll have a question about speed parts of the 1950's and -60's now and then, but I'll keep to just reading along mostly.
Kraut? Man that sounds harsh, but if your calling yourself that who am I to argue. 1/4 german stock myself. Eichner. Grandma was stern Regardless, WELCOME! Post some pics of any events you folks may have in Deutchland, would love to see them!
Welcome from mid mo. nice intro. i just painted a 70' cougar eliminator in my shop. i still have to do the sheetmetal. the owners picked a factory blue to paint it. they just picked up the body saturday to put the engine in and get it running. it'll be a sweet ride.
Dunno about you breaking down, but I guess so. Had to swap the groovy E.T. mags for steel wheels for now, since some ham-fisted mech really messed up one of them unilug wheels. Turned out that particular wheel had been made to fit a chevy bolt circle, so they widened the bolt holes using a file, then proceeded knocking five little holes in the hub area when they took an impact wrench to them lugnuts. It's a wall hanger at best now, and there ain't any single E.T.-V unilugs in 14x6 available on fleabay anymore... six months ago, there were plenty, in the 25-bucks-range. Bummer.
I too am a Kraut two generations removed from the homeland. It matters less about what you own here, it's about what you think!
Simon, Welcome from Maryland. I too am of German Heritage...love sauerkraut and Brats. Hell, we can find a car for you...just tell us your favorites. I've shipped a number of cars to the Fatherland...Have fun, there are a great bunch of folks here to help you. Murph
The Jalopy Journal
