Folks Of Interest Resisting Change

At 74 now and I'm a history Nerd, (always) I like the HAMB spirit of keeping Old School alive, But I think technology is great, without the medical advancements my wife would be gone and I'd be in a wheelchair. I think the automotive advancements are outstanding in my lifetime, all good in my book, not so much the 70 to 100K new Luxury car, SUV or PU Truck prices. This is what's so great in our country, You can do it your way, I have with no regrets, like Frank Sinatra sang, "I Did it My Way" I'm not interested in using an outhouse, putting wood in stove, ( do put wood in our modern fireplace) starting car with a crank, kicking over a cycle or riding a horse. I like FB, my cell phone, modern SUV for a DD, all the modern conveniences of today But I have the same common interest to share here, Cars, CarCazy all my life, check my albums, I do have pictures so it did happen and is happening thanks to technology, think about it, without technology, No HAMB, I'd miss it, my AM ritual, coffee and the HAMB.

 

As a kid living in Rural Routh Carolina my grandpa had a out house until I was in my teens, he refused to buy striking paper and always kept corn cobs & a Sears & Roebuck catalog handy. HRP

 

I go a mile down the road to my Amish neighbors when I have to use anything new fangled.

It's shorter to list what I do use than the other way around.
-I find the microwave handy. You can tell by the wear pattern which 2 buttons I use.
-Garage door opener - Mighty fine.
-Wireless phone system with 4 handsets around the house. The base station was originally plugged into a wall jack.....
but the phone company offered me a little black box that received its signal from a cell tower so my 'base' is now plugged into that...... it's half the monthly fee I was paying for the wall jack, hard line.
-I like the GPS for traveling...... as long as my wife is with me to turn it on, program the trip info, and select the screen that I like.
-They can make me use a touch screen or a signature pad, but they can't make me trust 'em.
-My gas station talked me into getting a 'card' to use for 5 cents off each gallon...... but I couldn't figure out how to activate it online so the card is sitting in a drawer somewhere.
-I have a battery-powered Texas Instruments calculator with a Liquid Crystal Display that I have used for all my business for the past 45 years.
-I have one of those toll road stickies on my windshield but I don't use any toll roads anymore. That's 30 or 40 bucks tied up in cyberspace, right there.
-I use 'spell check' when I post stuff...... but what I really need is 'mouth check' for when I actually talk to people.

 

For me, I draw the line at electronic fuel injection and IFS on hot rods. Beyond that, I think it's at least a question of fact.

 

Being born in 1953, just from my perspective, I caught the tail end of the good old days when things were a lot more simple. I love the old stuff, simply fascinated with the decades, of the 20's 30's 40's 50's 60's and some 70's, but as with most things, it seems that anything manufactured after 71, the specter of planned obsolescence raised its ugly head, and things have never been the same since.

My first time on a commercial airliner was when I was 9 years old and it was on a very cool Lockheed Super Constellation, 4 big Pratt and Whitney radial engines that belched smoke and fire on startup, real comfortable seats, and people dressed up to go flying. That was on TWA, out of San Francisco going to Oklahoma City.



Being that I was involved in aviation since I was a kid, and really had a love of flying, I am thankful for all of the adventures I had for so many years with aircraft, but now at age 69, nine years ago was my last time on a commercial airliner, there isn't enough money on this planet, to ever get me to step foot on another one, I would rather drive or take a train, but even that, in this day and age, one has to consider the cost of fuel and wear and tear on what ever mode of transportation one chooses.

I am old enough to remember the hours of great old cartoons on Saturday mornings, sadly all of that is gone and has been gone for a while, but with the advent of YouTube, I can find all of the old stuff that I really enjoyed and a whole lot more that is a treasure trove of how cool animation use to be.



I was lucky enough to experience all of the situations and scenarios, of my dad owning a wrecking yard and car and truck repair and small body shop. So I have been on a ton of tow calls in the middle of the night with him, and for a short while as a kid, I got to run the impact wrench to change tires, learn how to use the old style coats manual tire changing stand, and balance tires on one of the old style Schmilder dynamic tire balancer, with the tray of Snugel lead weights on the top, and ours had no safety enclosure that went around the tire as it was spinning, you had to pay attention and be safe. I also got stuck with all of the shit jobs such as cleaning out the grease and sludge pit from the run off of the wash rack, that was nasty.



I was lucky enough to work at a real gas station as a kid, just when Atlantic Richfield changed it's name to ARCO. Back then, it was a time period when you had to know how to count change backward, there were no ATM or Debit cards, there were gasoline credit cards, the imprinter was hand operated, the soda pop machines had just started to make the transition from glass bottle's to cans.



In high school, in typing class, we learned on old school royal manual type writers, that had type writer ribbons and manual carriage return, the sound of all of those keys being banged away at, was a sound I will never forget. I still own the first type writer I ever used, and I have a few vintage type writers that are just old ghosts that I didn't see fit to throw away, glad I kept them, they are a link to the past indeed.



Now with the advent of a computer, and an I-pad, and a smartphone, one can communicate a lot faster than we ever did with snail mail, how ever, I still do like to compose a real letter now and then to friends that can really appreciate what it is to get a letter from a friend, rather than just an impersonal e mail.

There was a time, when a timing light, was a very real tool that was a necessity, now, one must have all of the modern hook ups, for the computer analyzer to be able to talk to the cars computer, and who ever thought there would be a component called a reluctor wheel, or a crank position sensor ?

I am not on facebook, and never will be, but I do use the computer to do a variety of functions, that were never possible years ago.

I still have a check book for when I have to pay for something like the gutters I just had replaced. It took me a long time to get adjusted to using the debit card at the grocery store rather than write a check.

I do all of my banking online, its a lot easier to pay my bills and check on my accounts at all hours, my old bank office closed a few years back.

I still go to swapmeets, but its mostly just to go enjoy all of the cool stuff that is still surfacing from garages and attics and basements, I had to quit dragging stuff home, there just isn't any more room for it anymore. I still have a variety of old radiator shells around the house.



I still have old school radios and a couple of vintage wooden airplane propellers, I used to have the cool vintage BEAR MFG neon sign in the front window, sold it a couple of years ago.



Now with the advent of an extra cell phone that we kept, its just for the stereo system to be linked to via some little electronic unit that lets me listen to live streaming music from WWOZ from New Orleans, with my push button remote, I can switch stations from the local Jazz station, to the one in New Orleans, that is a luxury indeed !

Is it good to resist change ?

Maybe, maybe not.

Sure there is a ton of stuff right now that just boggles the mind, and clutters up the brain if not understood or embraced, but there is a lot of good that has come about over the last 40 years that has made it a lot easier to deal with everyday life !

But I say that with a lot of reservations as well, because there is a lot of so called NEW TECH, that has complicated our lives in so many ways that it just pisses us off, but I digress.

I still carry a few basic tools with me in any of the vehicles I own, and I still carry a pen or pencil and a note pad, and I still have a supply of soap stone, so that when I have a piece in my pocket at all times, I can leave critiques and opinions written on the surfaces ( asphalt ) next to the idiot that parked too close to my car, as a message to be read when they open their car door !

I still have and use the Swiss Army knife I bought over 30 years ago, I never leave home with out it, a good sharp blade is always very handy !

This last picture, pretty much sums it up as to, my general attitude about everything !
Your results may vary.
Thanks from Dennis.

 

What I don't like about "new technology" is how it's used to perpetuate consumerism. I don't need every little new gadget.

Someday all us old traditional hotrodders will live in 1950s era communities kinda like the Amish live now. Pre-digital Age.

 

Standard Amish hot rod buggy, power rating, 1 horsepower!

 

In theory the price of gas should drop as the demand becomes less. In my mind hating electric vehicles is illogical.

 

Man, you should use one of those backside washer Bidets... Its traditional also...

 

I agree. I'm OK with electric vehicles as long as they DON'T OUTLAW the use of gas powered vehicles, such as old cars that we sink a good chuck of our money into restoring and fixing up.

 

I use, but have an intense dislike of any device requiring a touchscreen and/or battery charger. I was just getting used to fax machines. What's up with that? Where the hell did they go? Vinyl records, 8-tracks, cassettes and CD's. I'm finished. You can stick streaming in the orifice of your choice.

 

I remember going to the Bellflower car show, on Bellflower Blvd, some years ago. Lots of old drag racers and hot rod and custom guys live in that area. There was a deuce 3 window high boy hot rod, that the owner had been driving and constantly modifying for more than 50 years. A couple of yo-yos with pomaded hair and big pants cuffs were giving the guy a ration of crap about the modern changes to his car. Change to improve speed and handling is the definition of hot rodding. Improvements in safety and comfort are part of it. So, from the perspective a guy who has been around, some of you are more restorers than hot rodders. And that’s fine. And, some of you are just weirdos. That’s fine, too. I don’t fall into the restorer category, my hot rod is a simple hot rod. Built Ford tough, with Chevy stuff.

 

Technology has advantages and drawbacks depending on how you view it. I built a passive solar home a few years ago; front loaded my expenses with the 12" thick walls (R42/R70 ceiling), high performance windows, and overbuilt construction. My heating and power bill is zero. But I really hate the quality of box store contractor grade stuff, so I have been restoring antique stuff to finish the interior. The internet came in handy for researching history and techniques for those projects. The HAMB has been a wealth of information for the hotrod community too! Cellphone is nice, but I'm not glued to it and often leave it at home. I don't own a television or even listen to the radio anymore, but I do enjoy listening to the old radio shows on my phone (currently have a long set of Boston Blackie episodes). And while it's nice to be able to text and email, I still miss my old Smith Corona.

 

Ditto on the "mouth check"!

 

I still take pictures with a camera. It is a digital one. Need to print off (if I`m saying that right) about 6000 pictures of which 80% of are customs. It`s been about 10 years since the last batch.

 

I use a smart phone and social media mostly to hunt for cars and parts. Also makes it easy to stay in touch with family who live in Kansas. There's a lot of neat car groups on Facebook. Other than that, I'm not a big fan of all the newest gizmos. Heck, I still use old Chilton and Motors manuals out in the shop. Just easier for me to find torque specs...etc...that way than sifting through 10,000 results from searching Google.

 

I understand the points being made here, but technology isn’t inherently bad. I am 29 and I have Facebook and Instagram. I use Instagram for vintage Harley parts, and Facebook has some solid hot rod groups, where I have learned a lot. I use to stand by points 100% and told people I wouldn’t change, until my distributor bushing went and I listened to some hot rod friends and bought an MSD distributor. I can’t knock it, it has worked as described for my 58 daily driver. Technology isn’t bad, it all depends on the person and moderation.

Having a solid respect for the past, and an understanding of todays technology can take people very far. I don’t resist technology, but I do my homework on it before committing.

 

I tend to spend most of my time either working on or driving my old cars, then I don’t have as much to post on the internet about how I avoid technology.

 

I average 10 hour days working on cars for my business. Usually pre 1970. Saturdays and Sundays are busy too. Wife usually watches game shows on Hulu. So I`m on the HAMB trying to avoid the modern technology of LS`s , frame swaps and bucket seat installations. Which is mainly what you see on TV. So I have a 7000 magazine collection I reference too quite often. To learn about how it was done back then. Just love the history of the Custom car and Hot Rod. And reading about the People who built them. So I guess I`m just odd. I `m not just a guy who happened to buy a car and become a car guy. I have not known any other way of life. Can`t tell you who won the super bowl or what the hottest TV show is right now. Not interested. Don`t even watch the car shows on TV either. Don`t have cable.

 

Change is bad except for zipper jeans vs buttons, I don't want to stagger around searching for button holes.

 

Man I love this thread. Im 47 and I think a handshake is still the best way to do business.

 

Business? Yep
While I’m enjoying a meal in a restaurant? No

 

I will never own an electric car. My uncle had them when I grew up, one was a Renault Dauphine with a B 17 Starter Generator, the other an MG kit with an F 14 starter Generator. I like electronic ignition. It was available in the Hamb era. I live in a house built in 1948, and use a cell phone. I could otherwise care less. I do like my H.D. TV, I watch shows about old stuff and killing Nazis . I like Facebook marketplace. I go broke buying old stuff. Otherwise I could care less. Electric cars are still a rich Man's toy. New cars are uglY and an expensive waste of time. I got bored of video games after I mastered Asteroids. I remain a .outh breathing knuckle dragger, but I do like how my 59 runs on its second hand electronic ignition, with a a flat tappet 327

 

My phone hangs on the kitchen wall, is made of wood and has a crank on the side. People are amazed that it still works and I talk to them on it. Manufactured in 1918 by Westinghouse Electric.

 

To quote Quincy Adams Wagstaff..."Whatever it is I'm against it"

 

I got tired of my cordless phones losing the sound of the ringer, so I have a phoneline strung from the basement out to the garage for my corded phone. The ring tones don`t seem to go bad on the cordless phones in the house. We did try having an antenna on the roof for local TV stations about 12 years ago. But it got struck by lightning shortly after that and it also took out the stove and our cordless phones as well. I just checked and the TV antenna is still up on the roof of out 2 story house.

 

It has to be a gradual change that happens naturally. I try not to buy into the political bullshit.

 

If they backed that threat it'd instantly put shitloads of people out of work. It isn't going to happen.

 

The last crank telephone system in the country was in use in Bryant Pond, Maine until the mid-1980's. I can still remember at my grandparents house, you had to go through the town operator to place a call; more often than not, she would know if the person you were trying to reach was at someone else's house and put you through there.

I have a 1920's Auto electric candlestick phone on my nightstand. No landline to tie into, but it's just a really neat thing to have. I also have a 1900's Singer sewing machine stand that I use for a small kitchen island. It's fun to pump the treadle, and I frequently demonstrate it to visitors who have no idea what it was for.

 

I could be mistaken, but in the 4 counties in southwest Iowa. There is only one place that has charging stations for electric vehicles. And it`s not along the interstate. Our county alone has 8 gas stations and with no electrical charging stations. We have just over 10,000 people in our county. WE are not resisting change. It a feasibility issue. Is it worth the cost? My daughter did get me an ALEXA for Christmas this year that sits next to my recliner. $20 bucks. What`s your cell phone bill run you, along with the cost of your phone. My flip phone was $20 bucks and minutes cost $100 for 400 minutes. Which lasts me 8 months or so.