Okay-I'll have to clear up this intro thing.. As a newbie, I had an into in the "vintage race car post. Glad to put those old race car, custom car photos up to honor my late Dad, Joe Gertler Sr. on www.memaerobilia.com He taught me how to build those type cars from Scratch! Start with drawing the car full-scale in three dimensions on cut up refrigerator cartons, then making the cardboard templates in three dimensions and start cutting steel and aluminum. We made our OWN chassis (20 pieces of steel cut with a band saw and then welded to make a complete frame with kickups at rear and braces. body frame & mounts, our own wheels (band saw the centers!) our own steering wheels, springs, engine mounts, firewalls, steel radiator shells with demountable tubular grilles, fuel tanks, radius rods, bumpers (hand filing and sanding ALL welds at seams for neat chrome finish), brass radiators (from drawn & cut cardboard templates; scratch built tapered headers. rolling out the aluminum for the bodies, sometimes bending it over pieces of telephone pole in the shop..Fitting and trimming each body part and mounting bracket -sometimes a dozen or more time per piece to get the perfectly even sixteenth of an inch spce between each panel. engine turning the dash and firewall with a 1 1/2" round wire brush in the drill press, by eye,,,Lathe, milling machine & drill press all were leather belt driven..Those were the days...Won National First Prize at Hershey one year (in the race car clas) with a car that was about the 25th best of the 38 cars we did together from 1973-1990. Dad built some 200 cars from 1937-1990 and worked on or major modified-customized MANY more. NO FIBERGLASS! I have four of the cars here. Kept them to hand down one to each of my kids...I have Thousands of Early photos (and misc boxes of parts)from Dad's shop days and hundreds more from our days together, after I joined him in 1969. We didn't get BACK into race cars until a few years after I joined him. We were just doing rare and vintage aircraft, and parts and aircraft salvage when I first joined him..
Sounds like you've got some stories to tell, and there are some amazing photos on your site. Welcome to the HAMB.
Hi again Joe There is quite a few inovative builders on this site! And I glad to see you're on the site as well!! There is a lot of enthusiasm because of the intellectual properties and the desire for innovative individuality that had been seen in the early hot rod days! These were the qualities I know I thrive on and many more appreciate! I've worked on several aircraft restorations and I learned so much from the Elder tin benders! Look foreward to seeing some tech from you in the near future! Mark
Hi Wingnutz. Like that name. Yes I'm an avid collector of early aviation (as you can see on my website) Part of that was growing up in the shadow of this incredibly talented and innovative father, who I KNEW I would never equal.Felt like an apprentice for 20 years or more. But also realized how lucky I was to learn from "the Master." and get to work WITH him for all those years. I did two more restorations after he passed on. But, then I walked away,because it was no fun without him being there telling me stories of the OLD days and colorful people who built and raced the cars,or pinting out "tip" to get better working results, as we worked together, or across from one another every day. And if he wasn't there for me to TRY to gain approval of work I was doing, it no longer mattered much to me. So, I'm heavily into vintage aviation & museum projects all over the world for decades. I feel the same way as you about all these car "experimenters" & dreamers.. guys who are creative/imaginative and know how to enjoy life. Always something to learn from them. something to generate interest and incentive etc. Lots of neat cars here (and people!)
[ QUOTE ] And if he wasn't there for me to TRY to gain approval of work I was doing, it no longer mattered much to me. [/ QUOTE ] Don't worry... Start building something. These****holes will find something wrong with it, right away. That'll give you the drive to keep going. Welcome to the H.A.M.B. I've read all through your site, and your posts, here on the board. Several of the guys used words like "humbled" and "honored", and I'm right there with 'em. Your dad must have never stopped working.... and you guys put out some UN-REAL, custom, art on wheels... and wings. I'll be looking forward to seeing more. JOE
[ QUOTE ] Hi Wingnutz. Like that name. Yes I'm an avid collector of early aviation (as you can see on my website) [/ QUOTE ] Hey Joe..., do you have a "Mach Meter" I could purchase for a special project of mine??? I've been glued to your site for some time now..., we'll have to chat later! Thanks Mark
[ QUOTE ] Don't worry... Start building something. These****holes will find something wrong with it, right away. That'll give you the drive to keep going. [/ QUOTE ] That was pretty funny, Joe. Yeah you can do a thousand details just right, but leave one mistake anywhere and you never hear the end of it Mark. feel free to shoot the s--t about off-topic aero stuff on my email. No Mach meters. If it doesn't have a prop-it's not really an airplane. I DO have some cool original parts for the Lunar Modules though.. Photos: One of the coolest things about the old shop was the old oil stained office. Only about 10 x 12 but the walls were completely covered with snapshots of every job from 1946-1973 (cars boats & planes) from floor to ceiling. When we moved in 1973 to 6000 ft clear span on L.I,, I managed to save most of them. Some were so old they just crumbled when I took out the thumb tacks. Hey guys. THANKS for the warm welcome! Am I overdoing this reminiscing or is anyone in the mood for more tales of the Golden Age of Hot Rodding?
[ QUOTE ] Hey guys. THANKS for the warm welcome! Am I overdoing this reminiscing or is anyone in the mood for more tales of the Golden Age of Hot Rodding? [/ QUOTE ] <font color="#666666">Rix2Six pulls up a comfy chair and opens up a cold one </font>
[ QUOTE ] Hey guys. THANKS for the warm welcome! Am I overdoing this reminiscing or is anyone in the mood for more tales of the Golden Age of Hot Rodding? [/ QUOTE ] .......you're got to kidding Dude! That is some of the most awesome stuff I've ever seen here. My Dad was the Service Manager of a Nash dealership in the early 50's and that is what got me started. I just can't imagine the experiences you have had with YOUR Dad. Sounds like he pushed a little, but the "art" he shared..... Thank YOU for sharing it here.....
Welcome to the HAMB. Sounds like you were very fortunate to have a someone like your dad to learn from. You'll find that there are others here with an interest in aircraft. But that's stuff for PM's and other boards. Take care,
The Jalopy Journal
