Event Coverage I think I'm getting numb to the hobby

I'm sure, many of you guys remember. I used to go to every show in SoCal, take pics and post them on here. That was before Instagram and camera phones. Now, I just go to swapmeets and very few events. The thing that I love to do now is just drive my car. I drive it everyday...There are only a few shows I go to.... LARS, GNRS, Antique Nats, RPM Nats, and occasionally when something new happens. I get asked all the time..."come to our Cruise Nite or Cars & Coffee". Not my thing. One thing for sure though....I will NEVER get burned out on old cars! As soon as I "officially" retire, i'll be building some stuff I always wanted. I do love Reliability Runs, Ralleys and Caravans!!! Everybody's different, so you have to live the life that keeps you happy.

 

For me the word is desensitized to all of it more than getting numb to it!

I see so many amazing cars, be it while transporting them or seeing them at shows & cruises that I sometimes don't appreciate how much work was put into them & just how amazing each one is! Just this past Sunday a very close friend & I were discussing this. He debuted his 49 Cadillac extreme custom & won best of show!

God Bless
Bill
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...ar-transport-hauling-open-or-enclosed.614419/

 

I think there are plenty of things out there that still haven’t been done. I am constantly amazed at some of the craftsmanship that comes out of this site. Makes me wanna up my game. You can be ingenious and still traditional.

 

As a relative newb, I think I understand the intent mostly, but never 100% sure. Honestly, I’m not sure why my build thread hasn’t been removed since it really isn’t what I see most would consider a hot rod or traditional. I’m trying to keep my build within the spirit of the “original” builder, who himself created his build from his own imagination strictly using only pre-war (WWI) period correct items. I since decided to deviate slightly from his build, to replicate the 3D model (my avatar) conceived by someone else of their vision of the original builder’s creation. All this leads to innovation. No way for me to duplicate the 1 of 3 in existence air cooled 5.0L V8 used in the original, so I decided on a Ford flathead V8. Didn’t want my engine to look like a V6 with the 3 exhaust ports on each side, so found the appropriate 2 into 1 splitter so I can have 4 exhaust pipes/side. Not sure if anyone has ever tried that before. Still not sure if I’ll block one of middle pipes as I do not want to lose the iconic exhaust note of the Ford V8 flathead. Can’t use wooden frame rails like the original due to the weight of the flathead, so I had C channels made, but I also searched for wooden oak beams that I could use to mimic the original wooden beams. Believe it or not, I found some really nice aged oak wooden beams the correct size and length that someone had kept for over 20 years while working for Bluebird school blues which were used to crate the side panels. The air cooled V8 didn’t have a radiator, but the flathead will need one. I can’t mount it at the front as doing so would entirely destroy the look of the original. I’ll need to mount it in the rear somewhere. Doing lots of digging, I did find a few “traditional” builds where there was no front mounted radiator. Great, it can and was done, but that’s a bridge too far right now. All to say, most here seem to be of the creative type, and being such, one will always innovate no matter what.

 

I’m certainly jaded at 75, and having gone to runs and shows for 45 years.
My choice is.......

Working on a project in my garage with heat and air, and satisfying a need to complete a task.

OR
Driving for hours, just to.....
Melt on a frying pan of a parking lot
Pay money to show my car to people who don’t care, + gas + room + food.
Walk through past many, many cars that I don’t have ANY interest in (1-800’s, trailer queens, r*trods, poser snob owners, 30 year rules).
To be rewarded by the 1/100 that pulls me in.

The law of diminishing returns has taken over.
I’m even scratching off the Shades run this year for some of those very reasons, even though it’s only a 100 miles away. Don’t even mention the traffic there. Last one? Oh well.

But I can’t seem to make it to the runs that everybody raves about on here,
i.e. LSR, TROG, The ROC, Bonneville, LARS, Hot Rod Hill Climb, All Deuce Run, for one reason or another. All my fault, I’ll admit, but it’s a bummer.

Hell, even the closest one turned to sh*t when the flathead in my 40 overheated and blew just miles from home a couple of weeks ago.
Jaded and numb. Yep.
Don’t see a cure.

 

Your cure is in the garage in the form of a PU with a Hemi crammed in it. Take 2 and call me in the morning.

 

It's funny I went through this about four years ago, and it's why I have gotten back into oval track racing, with vintage cars.

Not only are they racing vintage cars with stock chassis, but every car looks different there are no cookie cutters!

 

The one that will reinvigorate me will be the the traditional Gasser I am going to build out of the 57 Pontiac I have waiting in the back of the building! I bought the front axle with brakes & springs last year & am constantly learning exactly how to make it look like it was built in the 60's, including paint, stickers, wheels, etc! I want this one right & can afford to do it right. I am excited, but I have 3 others that absolutely need to be finished first. All three are painted & 2 are close to being done, the 3rd is OT by 2 years. Once they are done & either stored or sold (depending on whether or not I like them enough to keep them) That Poncho will be built traditionally!

God Bless
Bill
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...ar-transport-hauling-open-or-enclosed.614419/

 

Sorry, not a condolence,,, a consolation pic.

 

I agree. They almost all appear as just a collection of catalogue bought kits assembled as per instructions. Most have sbc or sbf and auto. All have just common aftermarket gauges and bolt on shiny bits. I don't even go to a lot of car shows now. Especially in QLD Australia. The rules and rego inspection system makes it difficult to do otherwise.

 

I spent the morning watching my mother's last few hours on this rock and went home and hand lettered my tailgate so I can clear it in the morning. Stop yer whining. Let's build cars and remember a simpler and better way of life. Maybe time travel isn't impossible.

Did you eve see that Christopher Reeves movie Somewhere in Time? It is a cheesy chick flick but I watched it. He travels back in time only to be brought back to reality when he pulled a modern penny from his pocket. Maybe building traditional cars is like time travel. A modern pertronix or radial may be all that is necessary to ruin the adventure and bring you back to 2022.

I am not claiming I am a traditional purist but I want to go back in time, too much loss here. Now quit your damn complaining and go build something you can be proud of and something I can see at car shows.

 

Condolences to you and your family.

 

Sorry to hear that Billy.
I’m trying to build something that gets the Billy stamp of approval.

 

If you build it, I will...never mind

 

I hear ya on the 1-800 car-shit. Last year I took my single seater to a show that probably had 200-250 cars. I had a guy track me down (and it took him all day)because my car is hand built and definitely not the norm. It just takes one car to spark someone’s interest. I guess it’s how you look at it.

 

When i take my RPU to the few local shows in my area ( an hour each way) it is the only Hot Rod that is close to HAMB friendly and is considered by many to be a Rat Rod. It was at Bonneville in 1950 as a support car. While rebuilding the T i hand made most of the brackets trying to keep it somewhat period to around the late 50's except tires and the double rear radius rods that were my idea, does anyone know of another, so that is not Traditional...or is it? JW

 

To be innovative, you have too put your own stamp on it. The only way to accomplish that is custom make it out of nothing but an idea. Anything else is just bolting on parts produced by someone else. That’s why Speedway Motors, Jegs and Summit are still in business and why the majority of hot rods are mundane. BUT if you are going to just bolt parts on parts, at least do it in a way that sets your car/truck off to make it interesting/unexpected.

 

After Drag Racing my entire life, I'm close to having a Hot Rod ready for the street. I've gone to a couple local cruises and I realized something. I can't possibly sit in a lawn chair in some parking lot looking like an old guy waiting to die, when I could be working on or driving my car. I may attend a few but I'll roll in, BS with a few friends, and roll out.
After attending @Don Moyer's Rock n Race this past weekend something else became apparent. My Hot Rod will eventually get a roll bar and belts so I can race it.
I also prefer Swap Meets to Car Shows.

 

Same here! I bought my '39 Chev coupe in April 2019, so just before all Hell broke loose and shut things down. I spent two years in the garage shop building it, and once it was finished things were still somewhat shut down. But I didn't care at all as I had fun during the shutdown, and simply started putting miles on the '39 after things slowly returned to normal.

 

Nothing really changed for me during the pandemic. We didn’t change anything. Just worked from home instead of the office. Saved some gas.

 

We used to go everyyear to Goodguys and NSRA weekends, not so anymore. My buddy and I used to hit every swap in our area, was always a good time and many treasures were found BUT the best part of all those outings was usually cruising thru the main parking lots looking at the project/ beaters that were driven there. Always saw skme really interesting stuff. Now on Saturdays I drive the Chevy to Cars and Coffee in town, usually I'm the only guy there with an car older than 1950. 10 minutes after I get there I'm looking forward to the drive back home or where ever. Thats life I suppose. Mitch

 

Put some steel wheels and whitewalls on your 32 3 window to give it "The Look" and drive it.

 

I've always loved Traditional style cars, even before I heard of the term. Never been a fan of Streetrods or Pro Turing. Don't even get me started on Ratrods!!! When I found the HAMB, I was floored! Nothing looks worse than A BITCHIN OLD CAR, FULL OF MODERN STUFF.
GRAY'S ROADSTER IS THE ONLY CAR I'VE TAKEN A PICTURE STANDING NEXT TO, THAT WASN'T MINE. SAW IT AT WALDENS OPEN HOUSE, ONE YEAR. IT WAS AT THE LARS TOO.

 

Well Ryan, you've managed to surprise me yet again. Yes, innovation will be hard to do, but not impossible. I'll only disagree on one point; the 'rich and brave' comment. I believe that smart and determined can also get the job done... LOLOL

I've never bought into the 'common' theory of what's 'traditional' or that we're mere 'copiers' or restorers. It's almost always been the 'outlier' cars that changed the hobby's direction. In a lot of cases these cars went on to become icons, but many more sunk with little fanfare... but that doesn't make them any less 'traditional'. Or maybe worth a second look for inspiration.

And the less imaginative among us feel they need 'rules' to be sure they're doing it 'right'. But their contradictions in those rules can be confusing. The accepted definition here to me has become badly muddied. Things like OHV conversions and Kinmont discs were never 'common' even back in the day but are traditional, some things that were common fell out of favor and are now frowned on (quad lights anyone?), some parts that pretty much disappeared after WW2 were rehabilitated during the 'resto rod' era in the late '60s/70s and became traditional (early wires and the 'big' OEM headlights). The blurring of lines between eras bugs me no end...

For me, a traditional car has never been controlled by the sum of its parts. It's much more of a style thing, and even more importantly, having the right vibe. And let's face it, the parts well that existed 50+ years ago is drying up. A lot of us are under budgetary restraints, putting some of these bits out of our reach.

And as I was the guy who brought up 'innovation' in the first place, I'll note that I also added 'creativity' to the mix. This quality isn't something you can get out of 'rules' or that can be easily taught. Some people have it, some don't but we sure shouldn't punish guys for displaying it.

 

Show rods are "of the period", but by definition cannot be considered traditional.

They are icons. They are one-of-a-kind.

I take my inspiration from show rods. By transitive property, nothing that I am building for myself can be considered traditional.

My current build will be an actually-functional (because many back-in-the-day weren't) show rod.

It will will have handful of parts that at slightly "too new" for this site, such as the transmission, which, although designed in the HAMB-era, did not appear until 1966. Others are a nod to having to operate it on 2022 roads, with the average battle tanks and distracted drivers.

There will be a build thread, just not on this board. I understand the limitations.

 

You'll have to explain to me how those aren't traditional. Built in the period, just a sub-genre in the big picture. Or are you subscribing to the 'common' theory which is what I blame for the 'sameness' that currently exists. To me, the show rods are the ultimate expression of creativity, that urge to have your own personalized, unique car which I hope is why most cars get built, whatever the type.

 

I feel like this joke was undervalued.... Lmfao