Hot Rods Has the HAMB changed your thinking?

Ya know, I love this place, warts and all and it has subtly changed the direction of my plans. I have been into old cars for ever, but it seems that the HAMB has brought me into a new comfort zone and caused me to rethink my builds and has shaped and refined my tastes.

I still do and always will do my own thing and I will never be beholden to fashion. Different has always worked for me, ever since I was a kid. But today I find that the goldmine of inspiration on here has caused me to rethink my direction.

Ryan's 'Opus Magnum' has had a profound effect on my hot rod life, as it has taught me that I am not such an oddball after all, and that there are other equally sick individuals out there. How about you guys - has the HAMB changed your way of thinking?

 

The HAMB hasn't changed my way of thinking so much as it has given me proof of what I'd suspected since the early 1980's; traditional hot rods and customs will always be cool.

 

Well put... It has reinforced what my dad always said to me... Tradititional is just that, traditional. Everything else is just a fad...

 

It totally focused my restoration of my '51 Merc.

 

The HAMB has almost totally changed my way of thinking. I stumbled into this site by accident and the more I read and learned, I knew I had to join. I was always into muscle cars and Harleys and liked the older cars too but never thought I'd be lucky enough to find the 55 chev I'd always wanted. I came across the HAMB and the 55 at almost the same time. The old car stuff had been disappearing from this area for years and then very suddeny exploded into almost mainstream. Thanks to this site I've learned I CAN do alot of the work myself and most importantly learned that there's a huge amount of help here when you need it and it's a great place to score some of those hard to find parts. Yeah, it's changed alot about me and the way I think and I guess I owe Ryan a HUGE thanks for putting this together for all of us!!

 

Changed my feelings, before HAMB i would have never considered putting a non chevy engine in a chevy, but now i love to see hemis and nailheads in tri five gassers.

 

My thoughts are that this board overlooks our early '50s Chevy shit, preferring to see flathead eights and bangers, and, oh yeah, rockets, nailheads, hemis, and early Cads in the same early Fords. At least we have found a certain amount of acceptance.

 

The HAMB is great. It hasn't changed my way of thinking, just reinforced it. I went from 'bagging my '59 Chevy p/u on IFS to deciding to use a dropped axle instead. I was always tossed about what I wanted to do. Being on here and seeing other peoples ideas and builds really inspired me to go more traditional and keep it simple. Thanks HAMB.

 

I am thankfull and very appreciative for this way cool and helpfull medium.
Judging by reading so many dumb questions,
I realize that HAMB benefits many in different ways.
The learning curve is perpetual, even for old hot rod guys like me.

 

Very well put.


I have been going back through my 50s,60s,70s, 80s,90s magazines. And remembered something I realize from time to time. That the stuff I dug as a kid still stands the test of time. In an 80s PHR, I was leafing through the sea of useless Pro-Streeters to flip the page to the sweetest Orange 29 on 32 rails. That car struck a chord with me in 1986 as much as it did 22 years later when I opened the magaizine for the fisrt time in years.

 

the thing it has done for me is : it has exposed me to a younger generation that really likes the hobby . the "baby boomers" are a dying breed , of which i am one . its good to see there is a new generation coming that will carry on the hot rod tradition . ive met some really nice young men/gals . some of you have tremendous talent !! this forum is a great medium for young & old to share ideas & the great hobby of hot rods ! .. thank you .. steve

 

HotRodFreak ... what yr were you born ? i was born in 1945 ... steve

 

Changed?
No not really, except that I am more active now than before, I lurked for years. So the change is that I came on board. (is that a qualified yes?)

I'm here because I enjoy it, feel like I am in the company of others that enjoy mostly the same things I do.

Being of modest means, I have always believed in my signature, the HAMB has prompted me to expand on the thoughts.
1) It's a car. Drive it. I don't have a clue why somebody would leave a car in the garage in fear of it getting rained on or getting brid shit on it, or that winter road-salt corrodes.

2) Work with what you got. It amazes me that some take off perfectly good parts and buy a replacement for the pure sake of change, sometimes with a reduction in effectiveness.

3) Function comes before look. The evolution of hotrods, was to take off unnecessary weight for better power/weight ratio, and lower it to reduce wind resistance, the practical aspects of that is obvious. That the results of those modifications are (now) the "desired look", is redundant happenstance. It's just what we perceive to be the better look because it has become widespread and accepted, hence 'Traditional'.

I was interested in hot rods before, still am. If it had changed me I guess I wouldn't be here.

 

The HAMB has NOT changed what I drive or what I build ...
But it has made me more appeciative to other types of builds and other's ideas.

I see some of the stuff that some of the folks pay good money for and drag home all excited about ( that I would not haul home for free ) ... and I get excited for them.
EXAMPLE ... I do not have the talent to build something out of the parts and pieces I see Jim Sibley build cars out of.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder ... so I now see and appreciate a wider variety of vehicles. I do not see myself ever wanting a Shoebox Ford or Chevy ... but I have learned to really like Bass's coupe and BobK's convertible. My folkd had a bunch of new Chevy longroofs back in the 50's and 60's ... so they were just a old used vehicles to me before the HAMB ... but now I can appreciate the love and care some bestow on them.

So the HAMB has affected the way I look at other folks choice of rides.

 

the HAMB has helped me refine my taste in all things kustom,and shown me that less is more,.......except when more is more.
Paul

 

Oh hell yes I dig the shit out of this place. First off it took me back to the early days oh my car life. It woke me up to the fact that I had stayed away from the shit I like the most. It made realize that I needed to get back to the way we built cars back in high school,"UNIQUE AND PERSONALIZED to our taste. Plus I have met tons of cool ass people on here something I could have never done without the H.A.M.B. >>>>.

 

No, my son always accuses me of "living in the past."

R-

 

What he said, except I have had my suspicions since the 60's...

 

NO ! The HAMB hasn't changed the way I think, it just reinforces what I've felt all along. My first car was a '40 Ford tudor as a high school junior in 1962, and that car would still be bitchin today! Tradition rules!!!!

 

Yeah it has! I used to think that I was swimming up hill against the flow. Now I know that there are a lot of other sick folks that share the same dedication to the history of our sport. I'm not such a rebel after all! It's nice to have some friends that understand.

 

Way of thinking ?? no..Though I feel in many ways it seem to be rewriting what was. I feel it focuses to much on the 'in the spotlight people' of the whole car world,,and less on the engine hoist from a tree limb cardboard creeper on gravel gearheads. History is fine and knowledge is great but I dunno,,it all seems so distorted anymore.

 

No, I'm a misfit, and even among misfits I'm a misfit. Ask Fat George if you don't believe me.

But I do love this place and it has given me a chance to maintain a modecum of sanity.

Carry on.

 

It's made me realize that there are other young people (I'm 21) out there that are into old cars instead of all of the imports and vehicles with the 30" rims and the stereos that will cause instant hearing loss.

It's also given me plenty of ideas and alot of motivation.

 

Iv always had a stronger attraction to a traditional car over the more modern style builds.
This place has helped to convince me that Im not alone in that thinking and real old style build cars can be realistically driven, (contrary to what my friends? were telling me for years)

Now years later, there trying to jump on the band wagon.

 

Well not really...think about it. We're here on this method of information and communication that has simply made all of the history and practice of hot rodding available to many that previously didn't "get it" and maybe even to some that never will but have a better idea of where they are. It's a good thing to shift focus around traditional practice and build techniques, styles, stance, materials (then and now like paint), and those that "did it" from the start. It's a lifestyle shared by many. It's lifestyle understood by few. Or it's simply what we all like.

On topic, has it changed my thinking? Only to look things over a bit closer (not always a good thing!). Also brings home some connections I've always felt to early OEM styles. Darrins, Lincoln Continentals, Edsel Ford's hot rods, wartime influences, coachbuilders. I feel more "at home" with much of the board's info and people. I feel I have an ultimate source of history and style.

 

It' hasn't changed my way of thinking with my current build, but it inspired me to do a traditional build in the future.

 

I have learned so much from the HAMB that I now know what it was I liked in the first place!!! So changed? A little. More Informed? YES! Rick.

 

I can see your point there

 

The HAMB hasn't really changed my way of thinking, old style rods as celebrated here, have always been my favorite style. And even at my advanced age, I've learned a LOT here about something I've been into all my life, but as much as I love this place, I do find that I have to be careful not to become so focused on "traditional" that I stop appreciating everything else. Sometimes, focusing too hard on one thing can lead to narrow mindedness, I've seen it happen to others, and it ain't pretty.

 

Its definetly changed my thinking a little and taught me so much And what bad71burb said tradition is tradition everything else is just a fad