I am just kinda wondering why the HA/GR site is falling on it's face. We use to have great discissions, Photos, and just plane ol' good BS,ing.. Seems that all has come to a hault.. We out here in the shakey state, are trying to get the HA/GR class moving. As of last count, There should be at least 8-9 cars either finished or almost finished. Haven't heard from the Okie state in ages. Bob sets up there by himself in Minnesota, We are trying to figure a way to get him down here for a race or two.. Where is Roy, 2B. Randy, Brad, Plus a bunch more.?? Do their computers freeze up during the winter months..??? If we don't keep this site going strong, People are going to loose intrest real fast. Rocky (Toymaker) has been busting his butt to keep intrest up here in Cal.. And thats why we are getting more cars, more races, And more shows to go to.. So how about jumping on here once in awhile and letting us know that you haven't fallen into a deep, dark hole yet...JMO
It is the off season for everyone except you guys in California. Most everyone is either making modifications to their cars, especially the ones up north, if they can get to their shops!! I plan on pulling mine down after the Billetproof meet the end of Feb. Robert
"Deep, dark hole"?? Nah...just too damn much "normal life" stuff this time of year. Don't worry Dick...there is progress happening out here, just not a lot to talk about yet.
I have indeed fallen down a deep, dark, hole. my HA/GR build has been at a complete standstill for months now, and as much as it's been on my mind lately, I still don't have the time or the dollars to invest right now. I started going to night school a bit over a year ago, so I was putting off alot of things/projects that I am finally catching up. I figure if I can get that stuff done I can better focus on the HA/GR when I DO finally get back to it. My 9 year job at the street rod shop has been fizzling to a slow death for a while. Fortunately the school pulled me in and asked me to take a leave of absence as a student and return the next term as an instructor!! I taught part time and gave 6 weeks notice at the rod shop. Unfortunately things sped up when I took a full week off at the shop to cover my lead instructor's absence for a conference. I lost a couple weeks of full time pay at the rod shop, and as of the last day of December I am no longer on the books. I return to school the 11th as a full time instructor.
Well mr. Thingy us senile old men are forted up until the temp gets up to at least 50. We cant afford to heat that big old shop.at 600 a month the car is all a part so we can install another roll bar .tulsa went nhra,we dont know if they are going to let us race next year . They dont return e mails or phone calls. There are so many rumors floating around it is unreal.you boys out in calif just keep on building were are suspposed to have two more being built time wil tell .hope you get a sunburn. Its 17 degrees as i type this
Its all Happening over Here Hotrodmatt just made us a new web site check it out www.hambstergarage.com QQ
QQ - Awesome web site! And I love the logo. Any decals(wink, wink, nudge, nudge)? That would be a great idea for the States too. Link it on ANRA's site among others. Wish I were more adept at this internet thing. Sometimes the HAMB isn't for the faint of heart or the timid.
Great website QQ. Drewfus writes well, too. Here's one of the winter projects. Putting in a higher horsepower 406sbc and making some other improvements. I have the slant cylinder head for the HA/GRa in a shop getting cleaned and crack checked. Preparing for oversize valves.
Here's the other diversion this winter. 1940 Plymouth. I have the MustangII front in and S-10 Blazer leaf springs and axle in the rear. This will be the Hambster tow vehicle. Sorry for the non-Hambster junk, but the thread asked, "what's going on".
Great minds think alike.... hopefully my slant will wake from it's slumber soon, with a bad case of the shits...., gotta catch up to those Mangrove Mountain guys who have hit the ground running... M.S. Sorry to hear about your work 'transition', trust the change will bring forth new (and positive) opportunities, Drewfus
Funny you should mention it ........... Today was the last day of my annual 2 1/2 month Rose Parade float insanity, we just put'er back in the float barn at 1830 this evening. Typically 10 to 16 hours a day, 7 days a week with half a day off each for Thanksgiving and Christmas (for New Year's we get to take a little ride down Colorado Blvd ). This starting the last week of October (following the ANRA season finish race) and ending the fifth day of January (the last day of our float's showings). This year's parade netted us the Governor's Trophy (best floral representation of life in California), our fifth award in as many years. The first thing I always do is sleep for a week. I'll let y'all know what's next on the HAMBster after that.
I have been doing nothing on the dragster. The engine is buttoned up so no dust or moisture can get in and that is it. It was 0 degrees this morning and is 11 at noon so working out there is not a thing to do. I plan on redoing the roll bar to meet NHRA specs. but that is all I'm going to do this year. If Tulsa doesn't run then I'm going to run at Ozark outside of Springfield. I'll run slicks there because I will be running bracket. I have no money to really go all out with more engine work just gaskets and look at bearings. I would hope that more people in this area would build cars but I think I need to run at Ozark more than once a year to spark more interest. I spent over a month in the shop building things out of wood for Christmas presents and It was miserable some days because of the cold. It is hard to get motovated to work on cold iron. Roy
I have become a HA/GR spectator. If nothing else, economics are putting me in the bleachers and I don't really see any "play money" coming down the pike anytime soon. If anything, maybe we'll blow the cobwebs out of the Custom tractor and get it back out on the pulling track. I sorely miss the sound of a mopar flathead hitting 5000+ rpms. Reworking those carbs won't cost much and I've noticed the class participants have gotten down to a group it would be competitive with. We'll take our archaic mechanical jollies where we can find them.
I have recently had some health problems, and my daughter has a chronic illness that has left her unable to work for the forseeable future. My first priority is taking care of her. My toys can come later. My Harley is for sale, and as soon as it goes, I'll have some disposable cash to go forward on the HA/GR project. Till then, I'm working on my Oldsmobile powered Morris Minor, since I have most of the pieces needed to get it done. I'm hoping to be back at work on the Hambster by mid summer. I check the board daily to see how the others are doing, and seeking inspiration. I'm still planning on attending one of the Eagle Field meets to look up you California guys and see your cars in action! THAT will light a major fire under my ass for sure....! Happy New Year everyone, and best wishes.
WELL SHIT!!!! guess my hole gets a little deeper and a little darker. I went in this afternoon to meet with the program director at school, presumably to fill out paperwork and get me lined out for the term starting Monday. Turns out he's been blowing smoke up my ass for eight weeks- there's no position for me. filed for unemployment-----anybody hiring??
Man, this hasn't been a very upbeat thread. Except for the Australian contingent it sounds like everybody is either to tired, too broke or too frozen to do much this winter. Throw in the uncertainty of Tulsa. I sure hope things work out for the better for those guys in need. I just sent in my application to put the Hambster in the 54th annual Gopher State Timing Association "Rod & Custom Spectacular" in March. We have to have our "March Meet" indoors up here. Tomorrow I will put a new connecting rod in my snowblower. Then I can blaze a path to the back garage to get the HA/GRa out and into the front garage so I can prepare it for the show. Hopefully, there'll be enough snow melt by March so I can find my trailer.
bob, just fire the hambster up, and with those side pipes, you ought to be able to make about two or three passes and melt all of the snow up there!!! Surely melt enough to find the trailer.
Hey REJ the cold is coming your way. It snowed again last night and is 11 degrees now with minus 5 tonight. I swear the earth has tilted or something because Minn. can't be much colder than what it is here. I went out in the shop and it is 22 degrees. I could turn on the propane heater but I can't afford to keep it going long. The Guys from Tulsa are working on this years races and hopefully the track's switch to NHRA won't snarl everything up. Roy
It must be that "Global Warming" thing all the folks on the TV keep talking about. It's 42 here this morning and supposed to reach 70 this afternoon.
Just bought the family farm. Due to course my woman and I had to remodel the WHOLE HOUSE before we moved in. 10 acres of hay to play with next year. Kind of sad cleaning out my grandads stuff from the shops. But I can't keep it all. Havent even started to slow down yet to work on the my projects. Good news is now I cant hear the Mexicans partying it up all night. Dusty
Hey bobw, it ain't all doom and gloom. Life just gets in the way sometimes. I'm not taking a six month setback too hard, myself. Hell, in reality it's probably a good thing in my case. I get to finish another project that's been on the back burner for nearly four years, as a result of not having the ready cash to do my HA/GR car. All those parts and pieces I had rat holed for my Morris Minor are long paid for, so I'll do what I CAN do for now, and what I really WANT to do later. I see it as a win win situation. And if I can get the little Morris finished in time for our annual Oldies but Goodies event at Firebird Raceway, I'll be able to take it out and blast it down the strip a couple passes and get myself "inspired" to kick ass on the dragster. Let me see....2100 pounds of car....325 horsepower....now where is that Moroso "Dream Wheel"???
Hey all ! Thinking about building another HA/GR !! Had a blast in mine ,and everyone loved it at the drags !! I'm just one of those guys that has to much fun building stuff !!! Sold mine ,built a honda chopper sold it ,now finishing up my 28 model A sedan , But miss my HA/GR car !!! It's on cliffordperformance.net now , not sure who owns it now .But I still have my drawings to build again !!! I have never had so much fun !! And damm ,it would look sweet behind my sedan Keep your heads up ,because it's a kick back to what was !!! In fact our local track is going to have some heads up racing this year . Now thats getting back to the days ago !!!
That picture's at a Famoso meet. The car was driven by one of the Vegas Heat folks' wives. Wish I could recall her name, seemed like a decent sort. We keep hoping to see'em again at the ANRA meets or Dragfest. Last I heard it was being pepped up a bit.
(What is going on?) Has the float coating wilted? Has the silver slipper re-apeared? Will the Rappid Rabit come out of the brier patch? Will that falcon motor do some more wheelies? Has Mr Moseley put down some black track lines? Has anyone heard from the lady with the 17dracing car? And has anyone found the 00 Okie Outlaw, it went to the left coast? Is there any new cars that I can put on the burnout list? What is going with Katuna?
Hi Ya Joe.. Yes we have put down 2 tire marks each time we ran the car,,3 times at Eagle field.. There is going to be more.. Dick M
Well, the latest. Got all my steel for the frame. The body's ready for pickup so I'll be truckin' down to Hesperia on the 15th. Just scored a sweet early Mallory dist. converted to Pertronix from GMC Bubba here on the HAMB and slowly beating the stuck intake valves out of the flatty. One of our biggest obsticle has just been where to build it. Had a great location in town at our drivers shop but office politics made thing a little shakey so we scratched that. Looks like we're going to build a shop out of a couple horse stalls out at my Dads ranch. How's that for that old timey way of doing it? As soon as we start laying things out I'll probably do a build thread. I don't think we'll be as blazing fast as Rocky and Lee's build but if we can get it on the track before the end of the year I'll be stoked.
The Jalopy Journal
