... And DW tells me I should post an introduction so people don't think I'm just lurking. Early (thru my teens into mid-20's) were spent in Weston, Ontario, Canada. Hot rod influences would include Bob Brown (always building something, but his Model 'A' roadster pickup and his channelled 32 3-w were the ones I remember best), Al Groat (highly detailed 1930 'A' roadster), and Bob Hilton (Hemi-powered roadster pickup). Weston was, as I remember it, a great hot rod town on the north-west corner of Toronto. Something always seemed to be parked on Main St (later to become Weston Rd) in front of the Central Restaurant. Hot rods have been a part of my life since 1960 (or 1956 if we count hopping up go-carts). Started with a '35 Chev 3-window, then a Model 'A', then a track-style '23 roadster. There's actually a bio on the Welder Series website (but maybe that's "commercial" - I don't want to cause trouble!). My wife, Dorothy, and I lived in Montreal, Canada, and, since we had the garage with the welder, I became the go-to guy in our group for ch***is work. By 1978 we decided that we would move to southern Ontario (still Canada) and start a street rod repair shop. Whoa! This intro thing is getting out of hand! I'll generalize a bit... We did start the shop and it grew until we wondered how we would get to retire, if we wanted to. In 2005, Paul Barber bought most of the company but we kept all of the "intellectual property"... the parts I had designed over the years. I also got to keep all the shop equipment. So we started the company I now have. Our younger son, DW, is a main player here and enjoys the H.A.M.B. community. Fun now includes day-to-day work at Welder Series, going to events in the shop '32 3-w, playing some old rock'n'roll guitar, and watching DW and Sarah's girls play in the back yard. Thanks to the people who post. The tech info is terrific and I enjoy the build threads. I hope I get to meet some of you at an event. Happy Thanksgiving to our friends in the United States. Paul
Well Paul, nice intro (4 years later )... any pictures you can share from back in the day in Weston? Would be cool too see...
The Jalopy Journal
