Hot Rods Just some random thoughts

I'm 67........... and a half.

I'll be very happy if I can get this old Plymouth Coupe headin' down the road.
I know I better move my ass before I can't.
I can do it.

I'm actually amazed that even after all the bad luck and having tried and fell short more than once, and even in spite of my age, I'm still completely absorbed by the desire to do this.

But I think that consequently, when I finally do take that maiden voyage, it's going to be pretty intense.

My head will probably explode.

 

I put things off in my late seventies because "I'm sure I'll feel better next year".

I didn't.

 

The main thing is to keep moving doing what you enjoy!
Dan

 

You know the more of your posts I read the more I'm reminded of the guys in their 70s-80s I used to actively hunt to drink beer with and talk hot rods in my early twenties. A few actually made me let them pay me for doing so despite my protests that the beer and knowledge I picked up was well than well enough compensation lol. Most of them were drawn to me because between my attitude and knowledge even then (early 2000s) I reminded them of hot rod buddies back in the day. That habit of mine is how I learned a lot of tips and tricks . most people now either never knew of or thought was lost to time. Basically me hanging with them allowed them to forget sixty years of wear and tear and I got to hear a first hand account of earlier hot rodding. Also how I ended up preferring the 1960 range. A few were old enough to remember when ohvs started hitting hot rods while they still ran flatheads.....most of those regretted not swapping to ohv themselves

 

I hear you sooo clearly, @tubman

 

@Rickybop get you one of those full face motorcycle helmets.
When you take that first ride,,, less mess and you'll have all the pieces

 

LOL I knew somebody here would have a solution.
Thanks Tom.

 

Keep at it, better to wear out than rust out!

 

Eastwood makes a roll on epoxy primer kit..no compressor...no problem...

 

Hello,

Words of wisdom always falls into place at the right moment in time. After our drag racing episodes, we were well into the next adventures in motorcycling. My brother had an easy time convincing our mom that a nice ride out in the desert was always appealing and good for the recovery phase brought on from a 2 year old drag racing accident.

So, surfing on most weekends we were not out in the deserts racing in one of those cool hare and hound races was our therapy. Then, when the new attraction called “motocross” was just starting in Europe and a few closed courses were springing up in So Cal, we ventured into that arena, too.

Jnaki

One weekend we spent on a closed course race track with plenty of sharp turns and jumps in front of the major seating areas. I liked that it was not two hours of driving one way to get to the course. But, the competitors were just as feisty as out in the wide open desert races. At least, when I rode by the jump in front of the audience, it was all show time and a capper to having fun racing. Out in the desert, no one was watching 40 miles out from the pits.

I was leading my class and racing all day, including the main event for our group. Several jumps later, I was getting tired, but needed to finish the last race. On the last jump in front of the audience, including my brother and friends, I made a perfect start uphill and front wheel up, the rear landed in the dirt course and I blacked out. The last thing I remember was the ground coming up fast and my gloved hands were out in front.

Early 60s full face coverage Bell 500 helmet. Similar full face race mask, but clear vision for the short course “motocross” racing. The dark version was used after the clear one was thrown away with too much evidence for our mom.

My brother told me later that I seemed like someone shot me with a sniper rifle and I collapsed while landing with the rear wheel touching the ground first. Then as the front wheel hit, I went over the bars and my motorcycle fell, with me skidding on the dirt track face first. I did not remember anything else, so my brother told me everything that took place.

I was not moving, so my brother thought I was dead. But rushing out to me laying prone found me with my helmet and full face, bubble mask half scratched off. The emergency folks were right there and gently took care of me. I woke up soon after and was being treated by the waiting doctor at the track.

Obviously, I could not drive home an 1.5 hours away. So my brother took over and packed everything up securely in the 65 El Camino. I was still in a daze, but looked ok for our mom, when we got home late.
No mention of anything being wrong, as I was feeling much better and for me, it was just taking another long nap on the way home.

Lucky me… half of the face mask was ground down so I could not see out. If I had the desert goggles on and not the full face mask, it would have made me look a little funky after the healing took place. And… hurt a lot, too. Someone was looking out for me… YRMV

 

I'm 73 and just picked up another freewheeling Saginaw/Borg-Warner overdrive to rebuild, Chevy version. Yes, they are an armful but nothing beats the joy on a friends face on the first kick into overdrive after I rebuilt, painted and together we did the install!
I have an off topic small diesel car that stretches my brain with it's computer interface tuning and all the removal of parts to get to parts deal. I have found that I am very fond of being proud of myself.

 

I dream about the next project but I need to be honest with myself, I really don't need another project, I just need to get the wagon back on the road after the accident and do some overdue maintenance on the old beater, hopefully this will get done over the winter months. HRP

 

That desire/drive is everything. Some people have it, most don't.

 

I know I’m still a kid compared to lots of you guys. But, I also watched my dad retire when he was just 4 years older than I am now and sit down to do pretty much nothing. He deteriorated quick and is now only 77 but doesn’t do much of anything. Anyway, this hobby is what keeps me going. I just try to do it as low cost as possible.

 

I am going to link this-

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/how-about-a-thread-for-the-old-timers-who-are-still-getting-it-done.1266406/

 

After seven decades of participation in life I have come to believe that the key to satisfaction and longevity is having something to do, something to look forward to and someone to love. It really doesn't matter what they are as long as they are for you. Keep the faith!

Merry Christmas to all y'all....

 

I agree, the cost of building a decent rod or custom is high, but not as high as the cost of NOT having built the car you always wished you had, if you can. Granted, we all have cars we WISH we had or could build, but don't have the means or abilities to make happen. These remain dreams or aspirations. I'm referring to attainable projects that may stretch our talents or challenge our budgets a little, but when done, result in something we can take pride in and act as a lasting reminder of someone, like my current project, Legacy '36, honoring my dad.

 

The coupe I built back in 2011 worked flawlessly, but it really shouldn't have! It was built on the cheap, with the expectation it probably was not going to last much more then a year, or two at the most. When it was 3 years old, we started driving it across the country! Change the oil a couple times a year, a check up each spring, then pretty much just put gas in in and go someplace. 80,000 miles worth of go someplace! Then a winter of fixing a few things that didn't get done when the car was first built, and another 20,000 miles!

While that last 20K miles was adding up on the coupe, I retired and built a truck. I spared no expense, that one was done right! But then I found out it was smaller then I wanted it to be. I bought a bigger truck (7" deeper from the firewall to the back of the cab, and 10" wider). I managed to sell the first truck (got most of my money back), and started on the new truck with a pile of $$$$, free time, and a vacant, fully equipped, welding shop, and a pretty nice pile of parts to install. didn't cut any corners on that one either. Wasn't in a hurry, we had the coupe to drive.
That 2nd truck was a challenge. Parts had to be positioned perfectly, ran into several defective new parts, and several unexpected challenges. The prices of parts I needed seemed to go up every month. the actual build time was 11 months, not counting body work. for the record, that pile of $$$$ was long gone by that point. The truck was plated in June 2021 and driven through the winter, before the body work started. The truck was painted in May 2022. In the roughly 20,000 miles since first being plated, I have replaced several defective new parts. The parts were replaced under warranty, but you know the warranty doesn't cover the other costs associated with the needed repair. There have been other things that have needed to be addressed, each costing time and money. This "new" truck sure seems to have more issues then the coupe ever had, but maybe those years between when the coupe was "this young" and now my memory may have lost the difficulties that may have happened.

So at the end of 2024, my shop has been empty of a project since 2022 (except many days of replacing crap new parts, I don't foresee crap new parts ending soon). It is kind of nice to park our drivers (my truck and her car) inside the shop and out of the weather.

I've built probably a dozen ground up hot rods in the last 30 years, 2 of them in the last 5. That was after 30 years of running my own welding shop, and everything I did before that. I'm tired of working! Some health issues are creeping in, and aches and pains are increasing. There is nearing nothing left here that would be considered usable parts for a new project to use, sell or swap. Everything would need to be purchased and based on the cost of the last two projects, that could have an effect on how my wife and I may enjoy our retirement. I really don't have much desire to build another ride and I really haven't seen anything that pushes any urge to have a new project.
At this point, we are in a holding pattern, I'm waiting to see what next year brings.

 

I’m 71 now, bumping 72. I bought a project a couple of years ago as a retirement project, kept working for a couple more years and kept the project. Last year I stopped working and try to work on the car daily. I consider myself the tortoise in the race, plodding along but eventually I’ll finish. I’m learning/being creative but most important is just the enjoyment from doing it. When I can’t physically do it anymore, I’ll have good memories.