Since I first became a Hamb member in 2005 the price of paint and paint supplies has gone through the roof. We used to be able to paint a car for under $300 in supplies, now it's way over $1000. Most wages have not gone up that much to keep up. Also the cars that they can afford are in much worse shape than the ones we started with due to time and rust. Makes building one much harder. Just more reasons young people are not building or interested in Hamb friendly cars.
I also tend to use the “ like “ button, particularly if a lot of people have already posted comments on a new acquisition or build. While encouragement is great, from the perspective of looking through old threads for useful, pertinent information I find it really tedious when there is a post or two of information and pictures ( if they are still there), then three pages of yammer and the inevitable mouth breather who must relate about the one their uncle daddy’s second cousin’s best friend had. While building my truck (I did not make a build thread,not signed on but a long time lurker) I found the majority of searches brought me to the Hamb. The reason for not doing a build thread is mostly time related, that and I’ve enough dissenting voices in my own head I don’t require outside influences Afterward I joined up and did a summary thread on my build, any mistakes I made are my own and I’m good with that, it’s how I learn. Personally I think if you require constant encouragement and applause your not committed. Sure life gets in the way, happens to everyone in one way or another.... so I think that’s best handled with pm’s. So is the Hamb shrinking? I would expect so, the knowledge base for sure, if you didn’t teach someone what you know then it’s gone when you go. The number of members may be increasing but is that knowledgeable folks or those looking for it? I think the latter.
Not too many useable $1000 cars around anymore. Maybe a clapped out 4 door with 250,000 miles on it. Not exactly what the tuner crowd is into. The cars they modify have value for the same reasons ours do people want them to modify. You also have to factor in insurance premiums for young drivers have skyrocketed. It costs a new driver $7000 a year here for insurance.
Insurance companies are no longer taking on high risk policies on anything anymore without huge premiums. Lots of places where it is getting very difficult to even get home insurance now because of high risk factors. Insurance companies are not in business to lose money.
thx for the answers. kinda spooky those goggle spy bots follow every fart n ya can goggle it within a half fart. magic shit that! well I'm to lazy to hit the like button if I like somethin coz that w'd be way too time comsumin liking every single post n w'd let the conversation die somehow n making it boring. I dont really understand the like button thingy and prefer a comment in your own words and why you like it or why you dont like it. pretty fuckin simple but I hit the like button more often when I check some picture threads with art on or with wheels that I could lick half day. that's bit easier to agree that I do share the same taste. well kool Ryan, you are guilty! let's all blame Ryan now coz post 64 rides all suck... just kiddin, I know that pre 50 or 64 period correct tradition from different clubs but that doesnt fit in my brain to be honest. so there's zero reason to blame Ryan or other dudes and clubs. but sometimes I really scratch my head n think 'fuck, a 64 Mustang is welcome but a 67 aint?'. just an easy example. the mighty ass elephant hemi got banned coz some dudes made a better job n destroyed a bunch of nascar freaks who had a lil smaller mind, horizon or focussed on fixin shit. then a dude or three cried and they banned the race hemi so the came back with the street hemi and now the street hemi destroyed n keeps destroying stuff on other wheels. standing still is a step backwards, or another definition for death. what krazy other concepts could we enjoy without that ban is the question. I w'd really love to find a cheap T roadster as a daily bitch n just kruize with that turd knowin I come to late this or that way anyway. but the hemi bucket w'd be worth to open a thread, showin first drawings, metal fab from scratch, building frame and body, adding some stock and race parts, find solutions where some adventures wait (dont like the word problem), and try different ways. and that is what I understand under 'traditional period correct race engineering'. sometimes I use to say that period and rules are made for pussies. maybe some AMG pistons would fit great, a Ferrari cam n a crank only a handful of dudes seen before, high performance bearings and oil, some really hot n sexy rods, insane channeling and not just kleaned ports with a steel brush. tryin to find lightweight parts to get a bigger output nobody could imagine before. competition in one word. finding new limits again and again. I do prefer a dirty look where people ask 'that thing is running?'. 'No sir, that thing is hunting and eatin.' so what I learned so far is that a 241 (4 litre) hemi made 650 hp. what's the recipe for a 700 or 800 hp machine that smoke em big blocks for lunch? sure that could hurt some dudes feelings but who really cares? thats the sence of the game hahaha. if a guy kills ya or me coz of he came back with a fresh oily juice mixture then congrats man for teachin us where we failed but we try to beat ya and you keep trying to beat us. so I'm not the biggest plug n play fun fan but am interested in what dudes can press out of a single part with the one or another booze idea with some other boozed buddies. cheers, that's some dirt of my two cents
That can go either way. A like function cuts down on the replies, absolutely, but remember that many of those replies turned likes would have been "Nice job!" or something similar. Useless posts no one but the creator wants to read, filling the thread with "useless junk" to scroll past for anyone who wants to read it from start to finish. People who have a genuine question will usually ask it, while people only interested in giving a online version of a thumbs up can use the like function.
The "nice jobs" push the thread to the top as well so more people see it. Likes don't. I bet loads of people never look past a couple of pages of new material and miss a lot of stuff if it falls off the first couple of pages.
@BigJoeArt that's one sweeT square body hoT rod ya built man! too bad I cant reply on your thread so I hope it's ok I share some lil luv to your creation over here.
Yes. But then practically all threads get those replies instead of likes, all threads get pushed to the top more often, so all threads go back down faster again, and vanish out of sight. I rather have a couple of pages of threads with fresh "proper" replies or updates to look through, than maybe five or ten pages, where most of the new replies are just attaboys that I had no interest in reading making me lose interest in threads as all of the new content is useless to me.
Damn. The kinder gentler HAMB playing out in real time. Post number 20-something ^^^ Yes sometimes you wonder where's the old HAMB when you need it?
Like listening to an auctioneer on methamphetamine. You know he’s selling something but too confused to bid.
that's how I feel when I read a post of Losers Hero Jack Germ the duckfather ps: tryin to draw a present for him so Satan Claus can bring it over maybe
Ryan isn't concerned, so neither am I. Ad content when you can. Help out when you can. I'm sure this sight will be just fine for a long time to come.
Another reason it seems like the place is shrinking, Lloyd is super busy at the firehouse and setting up his new shop and house!
Kinder, gentler H.A.M.B.? Maybe… but to be honest and given the way leaders are on the internet these days, I have no problem with that. Internet shit talkers can kiss my ass. Sincerely. The timing of this thread is weird. We were shrinking from 2017 until around 3 or 4 months ago… and then, for reasons I can’t explain or find a reason to care about, we started a growth spurt. Traffic is up almost 40%. At the end of the day, The Jalopy Journal is mine. The H.A.M.B. belongs to you guys. Don’t fuck it up.
Odd, I just asked my son, who recently got his license and first car and first insurance, and he told me it costs him a little over a hundred dollars a month. I am in a different province though.
Bots you say? I have tons of daily calls on my cell phone regarding Medicare plans, other people who want to sell us old geezers stuff and services. As of late, I have been noticing some stilted language that seems off, all are "women" with nice voices. They are "trained" to hang up if I say something... not so nice. Say the right thing and I'm shunted off to a live person.
If I don't recognize the number I don't answer it. Marketing companies don't like to leave voice mails as many complaints to the FCC triggers a SPAM investigation that can fine those so called companies millions of dollars. From what I understand ( read on the net - but is believable in this case ) some calls as soon as you say hello and it hangs up links you to overseas phone service that charges you for the call - it ain't pretty and your phone service may or may not credit you on your monthly bill. Some nasty evil scam crap out there fellas. Be careful.
Another words, make it so expensive kids can't afford it and either they don't drive or drive illegally at the risk of everyone. Yea that works.....
Rather than "like" this post (ironically my first instinct) I'm quoting Cory because I agree entirely. Build threads are absolutely vital and the like thing is denigrating them. When Cory was building his coupe, I followed that closely, very closely and was eagerly anticipating new posts. I did post on the build thread and appreciated when he replied to my comment. A connection without any real connection. Then when my brother and I attended the GNRS in LA and saw the 33, there was this spark. Along the lines of "Holy fuck, I watched the entire build process on this car!!!" Then you are standing right next to the car. For superfluous digital era non engagement the like function is awesome. Now how about some likes. Anyone?
I like this thread and the open talk and it shows that people really do care. As I compare the H.A.M.B. with many other forums or social media platforms this is more like a worldwide car club in my eyes. So I just want to leave a lil 'Thank you' to A Boner, Ryan, all administrators, moderators and members who care and share their experience and opinions. I dont think it is shrinking but I cant compare coz I've been active on fakebook for around 12 years since 2010 and had an international group called OL' SKOOL RODS AND CHOPPERS and later I changed the name to SCARS - SICK CHOPPERS AND RODDERS. There we had around 14.500 members worldwide with lots of fun and interesting content but I deleted fakebook around 2 years ago coz of their lame communism standards, banning people for their opinion or some fun they shared but I came to the point to delete it completely. While I tried to find other places with gearheads that love hot rods, kustoms, choppers, ol skool art n music I tried MeWe for a while but there is not much action. Only a few followed to MeWe so maybe 3 or 4 months ago I created an IG account to find some old friends but there's not much communication in the comments so it's a bit boring and I also wonder why some dudes I know and they know me for many years dont follow my page too, so I dont give a big shit there. I stay in contact with some good friends via private mail but only with a few ya can chat for longer time and have more fun. It is how it is and also know that many people are busy, same as I am. When I'm busy with stuff I forget the time and can work till very late nights or even early mornings just like last week. Came to bed at 5 am, some days ago at 10 am and one or two days ago at 8 am. Now I am 42 years young and got a chronical disease 9 or 10 years ago so I do have a lot of free time. TV, radio or newspaper I dont use for over 20 years, but I like to listen to music a lot and was collecting over 10 years magazines till I joined FB and met many kool n krazy friends from all over the world and some of em I also met in real. I also send some stuff to a bunch of friends and sometimes I also got something back as a surprise. So social media can be a good thing in many different ways. Not just the question / answer game when somebody has a problem. I do my research, read stuff or books and rarely have a question but it's good that many people can help each other. On the other hand I think some platforms like shitstagram, facefook, fikfok, snapcrap and so on are more and more anti social media coz many guys act kinda cold and just want to get a bunch of likes for their egos so that they feel worth something. Side effect can be that if those guys get less and less likes and attention they can become depressive and feel unloved which is really weird but at fact these days. So I prefer conversations, good, also long and funny talks about different stuff over any single like. Without the like button the comments would be far more and interesting so to me it makes more sense to be active in a forum like this one than waste my time on some pages like FB or IG. Now the question is 'do we have to grow and grow?' or is a healthy balance maybe better with active members? It's like on the stock market imo with many ups and downs. So it is possible that there is a period with more or less activity and that is natural. So keep up the good work and enjoy the fun and time with other gearheads and see it as a gift. Sharing time is one of the biggest presents we all can share together. Making others happy also makes us happy too and that is absolutely priceless and worth more than any money ever. And if we can help a friend or even a stranger who can become a good friend to and get a lil thank you it's even better. The easiest way to find a friend is to be a friend to others. So Thank You All once again for the H.A.M.B. Much respect to every single one of ya all Gonna open soon a few threads, just got to figure out how I get it done in the correct section wish ya all a good and relaxed day or night all over the world. cheers
Well I do have two questions now 1) @Ryan how many members does the H.A.M.B. have in total actually? 2) How can I open a new thread in the correct section? Didn't figure out yet but want to open a few threads in Projects and Art & Inspiration? thx in advance question No. 2 solved and I created the first thread now in Art & Inspiration
December 6th at midnight…..4 full pages Plus 2 posts on page 5 Come on boys…..we can do better than this!
The Jalopy Journal
