Why Is 1,320 Feet So Fascinating

I was updating the Vintage V8 Photography website on Friday where I stated that the car show / drag racing season here in northern New England is drawing to a close. Columbus Day weekend is always a busy time, vintage vehicle wise, here in my neck of the woods. It's almost like the last weekend before Christmas and you gotta get all this stuff done before it's too late. I took Friday off from my regular job to take all this go-fast goodness in stride. So far, it's been three car shows as well as an end-of-the-season drag racing bash. The weather has been absolutely spectacular, and just a tad cool, which was a huge plus especially when it comes to quarter (or eighth) mile action. As I look back over the past 50 years, what is it about drag racing that still holds so much appeal? Even if it's just for myself? How 'bout you? You feel the same way?

I can vividly remember watching NHRA and AHRA sanctioned action on TV back in the late 60's. I preferred the AHRA coverage, even though it was less commonly covered on the tube, because the AHRA was a more flexible and liberal organization especially when it came to A/FX, Gassers, and other crazy shit that was coming down the pike. At that time, it was the closest I could get to the track and it would remain that way until I was in high school when I attended my first event at New England Dragway in Epping New Hampshire in the late 70's. Fortunately, there was still a mix of old and new back then. However, through the years, the nostalgia aspect was never really thought about until two events happened; 1). Older racers located in the mid-western United States started racing their vintage vehicles again and 2). 1960's muscle cars reached their first wave zenith in popularity (and price) the very late 80's. Even with this resurgence, vintage quarter mile cars were divided into two groups - the group that raced their cars, dollar value be damned, or the group that owned rare vintage race cars, but rarely exercised them due to their monetary value. It was only occasionally at national events, that these trailer queen vintage super stock, Gasser, A/FX, and funny cars would, for a brief moment, fill everyone's collective memories with the smell of nitro, racing fuel, and burnt rubber, along with the beautiful sound of open headers.

It wasn't until the turn of the century when the old car hobby was truly diversifying, with genre's like rat rods, radical street cars, and barn finds, that nostalgia racing finally came back into it's own. Don't get me wrong - I'm not knocking the current NHRA racing, although I must admit it has to get it's act in gear if it's going to survive. Television coverage is down, as is event attendance,. but that's another kettle of fish I'm not going to cook. However, events like The Race Of Gentlemen, Goodguys, and other local and regional events too numerous to mention, have attracted a great deal of ink due to their uncomplicated racing template, rules, as well as making the entire event family friendly.

Whatever the event, big or small, for me, it's still the memories burned into my brain from when I was young. The sights, sounds, and action; it still hasn't changed a bit. Did you also realize that drag racing is the only sport where you have just one shot at winning, usually within just a couple of seconds? There are no halves, periods, quarters, innings, rounds, frames, sets, or multiple laps. It's just two vehicles; one will win, the other will not and thus gets eliminated. The winner gets to race again. No mulligans, no do-overs, no restarts, no relief drivers. You'd better be on your A-game or you're done. Intense, but oh so cool.

Until next time, long live nostalgia.
Dave

Changes

Something happened over the summer - I had my hand in all of it, except for the too-fast passage of time. I can't believe in just over 2 weeks it will be officially autumn and the car show / racing season will draw to a close. I've had some faithful followers email me from time to time asking why the blog posts have been less frequent. I must now admit - mostly to myself - that publishing a blog post once a month is about as good as it's going to get at this juncture. Between my full time job, my photography (which exploded in volume this summer), as well as other tugs on my schedule, I just can't find the time to sit in front of the laptop like I used to. As time and my trips around the sun go forward, I'll have more time to write, but that won't be for a number of years. I'll probably write between 10-14 blog posts a year - and I'm okay with that. I hope you are too.

One aspect of my life that has truly revealed itself in the past 10 years is my photography. If you told me back in 2005 that I'd be writing a bunch of malarkey, cleverly disguised as blog posts, magazine articles, and other online diatribes, in addition to taking, displaying, and selling photographs less than a decade from that date, I would've laughed at you. But life is like that... and that's okay. One of my most popular and controversial photographs came about by accident via a sculptor who deals with metal, welding and rust. For a brief time, he had on display at the entrance to his property and studio, an old rusty and gutted early 50's Ford truck that had a red, white, and blue enamel paint job. He was gracious enough to let me photograph it and for payment of his time and generosity, he has three of my prints - one of this truck as well as two other trucks on his property.

The photograph is popular because it's of an old American truck with some resemblance of mag wheels. One can almost vision an old hot rod or drag truck that is now decaying into the Earth. Other people have seen it as a symbol of our American culture, how it's deteriorating, and the fact that we are no longer the greatest country in the world statistically. As far as other aspects, the rest is up for debate which I'm not getting into here. When I first photographed this truck, I thought it was a vintage piece of pure cool. Now that others have voiced their opinion and in a few cases outrage, I can also see the other side of the coin. The outrage problem however, is still their problem.

The same can be said for the diverse styles of vehicles I saw and photographed over the summer. I saw everything from beautifully rusted 1934 Ford roadsters that were active race cars back in the 1950's and still are today. One even competes in The Race Of Gentlemen every year down in Wildwood New Jersey. Others included a stunning '55 Chevy that had been modified within an inch of it's life into a circle track car, but still kept it's original sheet metal flanks, as well as a nasty twin-turbo 1967 Olds 442 street / strip car, with the emphasis on strip. Those two vehicles received quite a bit of admiration, but also pissed a few people off. Why? Because the owners "ruined" a perfectly good classic automobile, or they could have restored it back to stock, or some other reason that tickled their grey matter at that point. The owner of the Olds handled one critic beautifully; "I'll tell you what - the next antique I purchase, I'll let you dictate the restoration as long as you pay for all of it. And I'll guarantee you don't know shit about how much that process costs." Being a critic is cheap - in fact it's free. Being an owner requires time, talent, blood, sweat, and yes money.

There's that old saying about hot rodding an old vehicle - if one has to ask, especially a great number of questions, they won't understand. That's still true.

Until next time, most likely next month, peace out.
Dave

It's Not The Destination - It's The Journey

Relax - I'm not going to get all zen and philosophical on you; at least not too much. By the time you read this, it will be way old news, but the headline is just starting to make the magazine and print life cycle. Tom "The Mongoo$e" McEwen died more than two months ago on June 10th. I'm not going to expound greatly on his life, career, and other worthwhile signposts of his time on Earth. Back in my youth, I can remember playing with the matching Hot Wheels sets of the Snake & Mongoo$e Plymouth Duster and 'Cuda funny cars as well as the top fuel dragsters. I still have those die cast gems. I'll admit the dragsters are in better shape than the funny cars because the dragsters couldn't roll for shit because of the uber-skinny front wheels, their light weight, and the fact they were so long, they never worked all that great on a track, so I didn't play with them nowhere near as much as the funny cars. I have other Mongoo$e memorabilia ranging from magazines, Fleer drag racing cards, as well as historical books on the golden era of drag racing. The kicker was, I was never really a huge fan of Tom.

Looking back, I can honestly admit that I wasn't a huge fan because McEwen was never in the winners circle all that much. I can remember grunge match races he had with Don Prudhomme when I was younger. The number of races McEwen won you could count on one hand... and they match raced a lot. Reading into Tom's career, I discovered that his razor sharp skills were in sales and marketing. In this arena, he was a master pitch man. It was McEwen who nailed the multi-year contract with Mattel and Hot Wheels back in late 1969 and carried that relationship going almost into the mid-70's. Ditto could be said for his sponsorships with Coors and English Leather and also after he retired from driving in the 90's, with Drag Racing magazine when he worked as Motorsports Director.

You could say, when looking at McEwen's career in the rear view mirror, that while he was not a frequent winner, or set cake-loads of NHRA records, it was how memorably he raced and engaged in the sport of drag racing. And the sport is better for it. Good speed Tom.

Now that were done with what has passed, I wanted to delve briefly into what could very well be the future. I was at a car show last month where there was an absolute plethora of muscle cars, street rods, antique trucks, and drag racing machines. I was chatting with a friend of mine who owns a screaming yellow 1963 Chevy II that has a nasty blown 327 that competes regularly throughout the Northeast in nostalgia events. A woman and her 5-year old son approached us and asked if we knew the owner of the Chevy as her son thought it was cool. My friend spoke up and informed her that he was in fact the owner. Mom asked if her son could look inside the car. My friend is a more than gracious person, especially when it comes to kids. He told her, "We'll do even better, " squatted down and asked her son, "... how would you like to sit in it?" The young lad was so psyched, looked at his Mom for approval, and she replied, "If you want to." My friend opened the drivers door, hoisted him into the front seat, and even had him put his helmet on. While the boy couldn't even reach the pedals or steering wheel, you could still see his smile through the helmet. His Mom was so thrilled, she was almost in tears. After about 30 seconds in the car, the boy got out, as both he and his Mom thanked my friend. He said the pleasure was all his. My friend turned to me and said, "You know this as well as I do. Start them young. That's what will keep this hobby going. And they're not on the damn cell phone. It's a good thing."

This is one of the major reason why I dig car shows and family drag racing events. It's the people. Despite our differences, we all have to get along. Will this one event make a difference in the boys life? Maybe. Maybe not. But that's not the main point. The bottom line is, if all of us can make positive differences, big or small, we'll all enjoy the journey more than arriving at the destination. Way more.

Until next time, peace out.
Dave

The Older I Get, The Older I Go

I was talking with a good friend of mine just this morning whom I haven't seen in about seven or eight months. I finally had a chance to congratulate him personally (Facebook doesn't replace this, I'm sorry), on him getting his pilot's license. He encouraged me to do the same because he knows I'm a dye-in-the-wool gear-head regardless of the type of transportation. I agreed with him, because even though I'm not a "aircraft" kind of guy, I do have a private love affair for planes built from the 1910's through the 20's, especially bi-planes. There is a transportation museum only a few miles from my house that has numerous examples of these winged wonders, and the staff flies several of them on a bi-monthly basis in conjunction with car and air shows. His immediate response was extremely enthusiastic stating how cool that would be. Who knows - flying, at least in the air and not just on a drag strip or the tarmac, may be in the cards of the future.

It's strange - when I was younger, say in my 20's or 30's, I really didn't care for this type of vintage. In fact, my window of vintage was quite small. It was all muscle cars from my youth from 1964 through 1971. However, as I grow older, (I'll be 55 next month), I find I'm stepping further back in time as I age when it comes to purchasing cars, save for the Fox-body Mustang I purchased five years ago. While I still dig 1987-1992 Mustangs as well as late 70's Chevy Malibu's (both are excellent examples of going fast on the cheap), I've found I've been slowly drifting backwards. After muscle cars became stupid expensive, I got into old trucks; mainly from the 50's and 60's. When they became stupid expensive, I grooved on late 40's / pre-1955 American coupes. And while they never experienced the same phenomenon as the first two categories, price wide, I outgrew them because it was somewhat of a bitch to stuff nice examples with big block power without some extensive work and surgery.

Now it's American iron from the late 20's through the mid 30's. Yes, one could say, "Hey Dave - you'd better wake up. A decent example can run you up to 20-25 large. And that's cheap." If I browse the wants ads, whether it's Facebook Marketplace, Racing Junk, or wherever, I can totally agree with you. However, there are some screaming deals out there, as well as off-beat models (ie; not Ford or Chevy) that have a cheaper entry fee. I found a nice 31 Ford example that is about 90% done (just needs paint and a few interior touches) with a 392 Hemi engine that's super-charged with a BDS blower for $15 grand. You can't beat me to the punch, because it's already sold... and not to me. Be that as it may, it proves there is still decent stuff out there that is being sold by people still breathing oxygen, if you look hard enough.

I also bounce back and forth with the T-bucket thing. I've seen some beauties with big-block power, vinyl tops and even heat. And while they tend to be less expensive, (on the grand scheme of things with vintage automotive), you have to deal with an engine bay that's always open to the elements as well as a rig that does not have windows at best, and no roof with most examples. Definitely something that's a challenge to drive in a sudden shower or in the crisp fall air in September and October. Even with those challenges, I can still drift back and make excuses for the impracticality because the coolness factor is way up there. You just don't see that many here in the Northern New England. But maybe there's a reason for that...

I'm too worried about the next go-fast vehicle in our family. I'll probably change my mind a dozen times or so between now and then.

Until next time, peace out.
Dave

New Vs. Old

I realize it's been weeks since I've posted a blog entry and get ready for the myriad of excuses. Between going on a much needed vacation, working overtime at my regular job, as well as other things that life tends to throw at you, all I can say is... it happens. You also know that as well as anybody. Whether it's finding some spare time to work on an old car "project" that seems to take forever, or possibly missing that huge national car event out in the mid-western United States yet again. And then you vow to get to it next year. Then we'll see what next year brings.

I did have the opportunity to drive a brand new Chevy Malibu rental car over my vacation. It also gave me the chance to truly engage in much of the new technology that is now standard in numerous vehicles. I looked up my vehicle on the Chevrolet website, and with the options my car had, the Malibu had an original MSRP of just over $28,000 dollars. While not that outrageous price wise in today's car market, I came to the conclusion that while the car had such cool amenities as heated leather seats, satellite radio with a Bose sound system, and really decent mpg (thanks to the 1.5 liter turbo-charged engine), I would not want to repair this car when shit starts breaking down. 

For example, all the lights are either LED or HID bulbs. While LED bulbs are more expensive than regular bulbs, it's the HID headlights that get uber expensive. The Malibu had more computer systems than one would realize - over 25 according to my research. It also had the annoying "rear seat reminder" which would ding louder than hell almost every time you shut off the vehicle. But by far, the most troublesome feature, was the "auto stop" mode the car goes into at almost every intersection. I remember reading about this about two years back as a way to save gas as well as cut exhaust emissions. While the concept seemed kinda cool on paper, it took new vehicle owners a bit of a learning curve when this system debuted as they weren't used to a car that just shut off - or in their words, stalled out. GM even modified the tachometer to show drivers the car was doing what it was supposed to do. While this feature does not engage in any highway traffic scenario, and actually very little in a bumper to bumper traffic jam type situation, it does do it's thing over and over in a more urban area with traffic lights. I guarantee this car will need a new starter in 2-3 years as well as the sensor that operates this system that's behind the brake pedal.

While the Malibu performed almost flawlessly - the transmission computer got confused at times at stoplight situations where the stopped time frame didn't last as long as it "thought" it would - I only spent $75 in gas over the course of 1,500 miles. However, I still longed for those vacations of yesteryear. Maybe it was because gas was only 40 cents a gallon. Maybe because a 1967 Dodge Monaco was considered a full size car back then, while the Malibu is considered one today. Perhaps because the cars were way simpler then; the Monaco had a 383 engine that most likely came with A/C. If it ever broke down, it was easy to fix, and pretty cheap as well. If the A/C worked, you were still cool as a cucumber on hot sunny days. You could tow a boat with that full size Dodge. You can barely tow a small U-haul trailer with that Malibu due to the 1.5 liter engine. Say those numbers again - 1.5 - that's the same size engine that's in a 2nd generation Toyota Prius or an older Yaris or Echo. That's sub-compact territory.

It's on my bucket list to take a late 20's / early 30's street rod for a vacation road trip. As long as it's super reliable (as much as I can make it - stuff is always going to break), I believe it will add a very unique flavor to the trip... even if I spend way more than $75 in gas over the course of 1,500 miles. Until that time comes, I'll continue to rent new cars. Like a certain destination you go to while on vacation - it's nice to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there. Ditto with new cars; I like driving them, but I wouldn't want to own one.

Until next time, peace out.
Dave

How Extreme Are You?

Every once in a while, I like to take a slight detour on things and this week is one of them. Now that I'm over a half century old, I can look back on some of my personal automotive history and think to myself that I've done some crazy things in my life. Examples that come to mind quickly are as follows:
 - The time I drove through the 2nd largest city in New England on an early Saturday morning in my 1971 Dodge Charger R/T with a 440 six-pak, to a buddy's garage to fix the front brakes. What made it eventful was the fact it had zero brakes at the time. The fact the car was a 4-speed helped. My loving wife drove in front of me as we crawled down the four lane road with our hazards on doing about 20 mph, until we got to the side street and snaked into the garage where my friend worked on old cars in his spare time. To this day, I'm grateful that the old-style Ford Bronco my wife was driving had the rear bumper prepped with heavy duty foam and several blankets wrapped around it, just in case she had to apply the brakes and I bumped into her; which of course happened. Thankfully, neither we nor the vehicles were any worse for wear. Why didn't we just tow it? Simple - nobody we knew had a trailer, nor a tow vehicle, and the local AAA drivers were clueless about towing an old vehicle. But more honestly to the point, we were just young, way to adventurous, and slightly stupid.

- The 2nd example was the time I installed new u-joints in a 1968 Coronet R/T I had after the Charger. One of those u-joints just didn't feel right, but I test drove it anyway. Of course, I didn't give it a gentle test drive; after all, it was a Hemi 4-speed car. I power shifted into 3rd going up a hill, doing well over 90 mph, when the rear u-joint let go and the driveshaft came up through the floor board. Now I had to explain to my wife about how two u-joints suddenly blossomed into more u-joints, a driveshaft and bodywork... lots of it. And this took place back in the day before the flood of aftermarket parts hit the market by the late '80's and early '90's. Again, I was young, too cocky, and stupid. However, both events were pretty extreme in my book.

Fast forward to last week. I was writing an article for a client about some bizarre automotive sports. Some I was familiar with, others were a new discovery. One of these discoveries was the unofficial sport of Automotive Polo. It followed the same rules as regular polo, except they used cars instead of horses. After viewing several photos for the article, I can honestly say these guys were hardcore. Apparently, the sport was very popular at fairs, exhibitions and sports venues across the United States and several areas in Europe from 1911 until the late 1920s. The man who is credited with being the inventor of auto polo is Ralph "Pappy" Hankinson, a Ford automobile dealer from Topeka who devised the sport as a publicity stunt in 1911 to sell Model T cars. Leave it to a car salesman to come up with such an insane idea. The reported first "game" of auto polo occurred in an alfalfa field in Wichita on July 20, 1912 and was witnessed by over 5,000 people. While there was numerous injuries and broken bones as one can imagine, not just to the players, but sometimes the spectators, there were only one or two deaths during the span of the almost 20 years the sport existed. As you examine the photo above right, groove on the lack of body padding, and totally open cockpit vehicles.

That was then, let's look at now. One motorsport that is still extremely popular, as well as downright hilarious, is extreme Barbie Jeep racing. Whenever I see highlight footage of this stuff, I laugh so hard, my sides hurt. I honestly don't know why. My wife, on the other hand, just shakes her head, and tells me, "This is why as a society we cannot have nice things. Because we're just too stupid." Nevertheless, what most likely makes this sport extreme are two facts; One, is that the drivers gain so much speed, the cars literally fall apart from the drivers weight as well as the bumps. We're talking tires, hoods, and even steering wheels. Face it, Mattel (or whomever) never made these rigs for this type of punishment. Two, is the fact that some drivers wear little else besides a helmet and jeans (which are required). Some of the participants have been doing this gig long enough, (I'm still unsure if that's kinda sad in a way), that they know you can get really banged up if you have a bad spill. Some of these guys literally dress as if they're in a full-on motocross race. And for good reason. Google it if you don't believe me.

I guess it all goes back to that famous phrase, "There's a hobby or sport for everyone." 'Nuff said.

Until nest time, peace out
Dave

Is Your Car Honest?

Before we get started, I'm going to lay down a few confessions: I'm aging, (not old - that's a negative state of mind), and I like things, especially go-fast vintage automobiles, to be honest. Let me explain a little deeper. I can dig just about any year or make, car or truck (heck I've even seen some flat-out cool buses and oil delivery rigs) as long as there isn't some sort or level of bullshit involved. I can remember a few car aficionados talking with this young guy about the 1974 Roadrunner he had brought to a car show last summer. He said the vehicle ran 8's in the quarter mile. "It's unbelievable!" he told us. Yup - he was right; it was totally unbelievable. It had a modified 440 engine (unsure of the year), no turbos, no nitrous, and almost a stock suspension setup. As bad ass as the Plymouth was, there was no way in hell this Mopar B-body was that fast. We asked him details about the drive-train, chassis, etc., to which he had none... because it was his old man's rig.

I kinda get the same feeling in my gut when I browse the classifieds on Racing Junk. I have a yen for the "Radical Street Cars" section under the Drag Racing Cars section. But how many grains of salt do I take when I see a beautiful classic car that's "regularly street driven" but the motor has 13.5:1 compression? I don't know about you, but racing gas is stupid expensive to buy and not widely available. We're lucky if we get 93 octane. And with what passes for gas these days, even that can be a crap shoot. Maybe racing or 100-octane fuel is available in your neck of the woods. If it is, be uber grateful - because most of us don't have that Cadillac problem.

Remember a few years ago that insane 1970 Chevy C-10 that came out of Oklahoma that went viral all over the net and even eventually found it's way into the pages of Hot Rod magazine dubbed "Farm Truck"? The formula was simple - take an absolute beat C-10 (but with a nice interior I might add), stuff a massive big block between the front fenders, give it nosebleed amount of nitrous, add some massive slicks on the back and viola - one of the best sleepers that went deep into the 12's at first and finished into the 11's. The details on this truck

were incredible as well as honest. Like many popular rigs, it spawns copies -  which is not a bad thing - as long as it's honest. A guy in our local area built a similar truck, (except his was a '67), and he used a small-block LS motor with twin turbos. The truck never pretended to be something it wasn't. It was beat, but well thought out, the time slips spoke for themselves, (as well the rubber from the racing slicks), and it was totally true to itself. 

So whatever you're building, riding in, about to purchase, or pass on to a new owner, stock or heavily modified, make sure your ride is honest - no bullshit. The hot rodding world will thank you for it.

Until next time, peace out.
Dave

We Hate Change & We Hate The Way Things Are

I don't know who coined that phrase about society in general, but if I ever get the chance to meet that person, I will warmly shake their hand. Why? Because nothing could be closer to the truth. I've been cruising the classifieds lately, not only for a possible replacement for my wife's daily driver, (it's starting to get a little finicky for her liking at 210,000 miles), but also the possibility of another go-fast ride for myself, as I'm currently without one at this juncture. My wife and I agreed that we really don't want to spend a great deal of money on her replacement. Her current ride we pulled out of a snowbank three years ago for $500 from a family friend, and while we've done some repairs over the years at the shop where I work, we have racked up well over 50K miles and it's been a decent car. It's not perfect, but hey, what used car is?

The problem I'm running into in 2018, is that it seems like vehicles (or at least 90% of them) that are $2000 or less are absolute junk. They've been sitting since last August, (when the registration and inspection sticker ran out), but the vehicle will run when certain parts are replaced, (which by the way are dirt cheap at Auto Zone), and even though I can see numerous problems with the vehicle, even with the crappy cell-phone thumbnails that have been posted, the car will pass a state inspection no problem. I haven't even called these people yet, and they're already lying. Now - do I need to come to the realization that this is just the way things are and I hate the changes that have occurred in the past few years? Or, are my convictions correct, that the seller is hard up for money for whatever reason, and is hoping a sucker with zero knowledge of automobiles comes along to lay down their hard earned cash and run for the hills?

A friend of mine went through a similar experience back in 2012 when he purchased a rough 1965 Galaxie 2-door hardtop. He's owned several example before, so he's very knowledgeable about them. He traveled down to Pennsylvania to look at one that seemed to fit his criteria; in addition to the 2-door hardtop aspect, it was also had the original big block engine and 4-speed transmission. He knew from the pictures that the front grille, headlights, and bumper were missing - he was okay with that - he had those parts in his garage from previous projects. Considering the interior had 50+ years of use, it actually wasn't in bad shape. When he arrived however, the vehicle looked like it had been sitting outside in the same spot for quite some time, not just the "few months" the seller described. When my friend mentioned to the seller that he needed to move the car from it's present resting spot to get a better look underneath, the seller strongly objected. He finally reasoned with the guy by showing him the cash he had in hand to purchase the Ford - never mind he brought three other friends and his trailer along with him.

After viewing the underside of the Galaxie, my friend still purchased the car, but for 75% less than the seller's asking price, because the car needed shitloads of metal-work. This, of course, was a complete surprise to the seller stating that the car was in good shape (and running) when he parked it. Fast forward a few years to the Spring of 2017. The car is now done. However, it is heavily modified from it's original state. To add some intrigue to this story, here's a few discovered tidbits that happened over those five years; One, the Galaxie was indeed a factory big block car - optioned with the 427 side oiler V-8. It was an original 4-spped vehicle, even though the original top-loader was long gone. Be that as it may, my friend did not restore it to factory original. Why? Because even after looking underneath the vehicle prior to purchasing it, there were still sins that were hidden. The vehicle was just too far gone. It was actually way easier and cheaper in the long run to install an after-market frame, suspension, brakes, and drivetrain, rather than to chase down 1965-era parts. The paint isn't even a factory color. The only remnant of what the Dearborn Michigan manufacturer installed back in 1965 is the interior.

When he brings the finished rig to a car show in May 2017, this Ford is right. It's got looks, cake-loads of power, handling and braking. You could even say, it easily rivals many new luxury cars. He parks it in with other similar era Galaxie's and large Ford vehicles. He happens to park next to a guy who had a for sale sign on the windshield of his 352-powered 1965 Galaxie. My friend shuts off the motor and pops the hood. Numerous people fall to their knees in awe of the work that was done to this car, especially when they view the photo scrapbook of pictures my friend has taken. The odd thing is, the guy next to him seems pissed. That's because he is. When there's a break in the crowd, he tells my friend that "... he's bringing down the value of these vehicles by modifying it." My friend explains that was his opinion, but also the fact that the car was in too hard of shape to bring back to original. Besides, it was his ride, his money, he could essentially do what he wanted with it. He then wished him the best of luck selling his ride and walked away.


Different perspectives; my friend loved how his Galaxie turned out. Another person, for whatever reason, didn't like it. I will admit that even though sometimes I don't like change, I am better at adjusting and adapting to it. As to the way things are, well... give me some time and I'll get back to you on that one.

Until next time, peace out.
Dave

Skewed Perceptions... Or Are They?

I was visiting a casual friend of mine named Jack who's about 25 years my senior the other day. He lives in a nice apartment building and does what he can to keep himself from "going crazy in his old age" as he puts it. He used to be a very active member in a local photographers group, but ever since his eyesight deteriorated a few years ago, he only attends about one or two gatherings a year (we meet once a month). We always encourage him to attend more get-together's, and other group members are always psyched to see him, but he feels he has nothing to contribute since he doesn't photograph anymore due to his poor sight. He mostly goes when he truly needs a dose of positive fellowship. It's easy to offer someone reasons for positive change; it's a whole other deal for the other person to except it. For example, with my casual friend, I can tell him until the cows come home that while he doesn't have his eyesight like he used to, he still has tremendous knowledge. It's still up to him to take that truth, digest it, and make it part of his mindset. I can't do it for him.

I brought along a mutual street rodding friend named Bobby when I went to visit with Jack - it was a beautiful Spring day, about 62 degrees. Bobby's been itching to air out his '38 Plymouth street rod, but hasn't been able to due to his recent shoulder surgery. Together, we accomplished that mission - I drove and power shifted, he listened and observed how the new 6-speed worked that he installed over the winter. That business coupe with the 440 magnum between the front frame rails drove like a bat out a hell. Jack, who is also a hot rod aficionado, commented on the progress Bobby was making with the Plymouth. At about the same time, another gentleman who lives in the same apartment building, walked by and asked in a rather snarky voice, "Are you boys going to do burnouts in the parking lot with that thing? We're already dealing with those punk kids across the street and their ATV's. That's all we need - more noise."

Instead of ignoring this resident who was passing by, I asked him why he thought we would do burnouts. He then looked at me as if I assumed he was an idiot. He mentioned the big tires, the engine, and the fact hoodlums owned cars like that. Bobby let out a howl of a laugh (he's like that) and Jack told me and Bobby to just ignore him, but I was too curious by now. The more I talked to this passer by, the more history and perspectives I gained from him. He recalled earlier times in his life (and we're talking the 1950's here) when hot rodding was still fairly young. He mentioned that he had numerous buddies who got hit with go-fast bug, but"...they were all unsafe jalopies because they were young and broke. Between those things and their girlfriends." Apparently, a few got hurt. Unfortunately, this still rings true in some cases today.

He also shared a memory of a girl he dated back then who was killed because she couldn't control the car she had. "She always told me that her car was so fast. I told her to slow down, use the brakes more, or get something smaller, but she died in a car wreck before that happened. These companies have always made cars that are too fast." While I agreed that there is some impressively quick machinery out there today, both vintage and modern, it is our responsibility as owners and drivers to know our limits and take responsibility for our actions, a bitter a pill as that is to swallow. It's the same with almost every aspect of our lives - from crossing the street, to taking medications, to our thought process and actions. We have to be aware as well as responsible. I assured the guy that we would not do any burnouts in the parking lot. The fact that there were cameras all over the place kind of puts the kabosh on that, including the fact this car is 80 years old... it kinda sticks out. The passer-by actually cracked a smile; "Yes it does," he agreed.

As the older gentleman continued on his way, Jack mentioned that he is pretty grumpy all the time. If however, we bridged some sort of gap between him and us, then all the better. We waged that battle back in the late '40's and all through the '50's. Hot rodders, like motorcyclists, or any other motor hobbyist, are not bad people. In fact, in most cases they'll be some of the nicest people you'll ever meet. Every once in a while though, we just have to gently tear down those walls.

Until next time, peace out.
Dave

It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time

I'm gonna go out on a limb here, and it may piss some people off. After all these years, even with all the different hot rods, muscle cars, trucks, and street machines I've owned, I can still admit that occasionally I'm a fickle gear-head. What I mean by that is, despite the popularity of a particular movement in our hobby, I still can't get behind what was done and accomplished. Case in point - I can vividly remember the Pro-Street movement during the mid to late '80's and how so over-the-top it finally became, that it had nowhere to go but crashing down for while. The thing is, I never had an issue with classic Detroit iron being tubed out with a huge BDS blower stacked on top of a big block sticking out through the hood. What I had a problem with was when this treatment was applied to late model vehicles with hideous colors. Do you remember when Hot Rod Magazine ran a story on building a pro-street car that could actually be driven regularly on the street? Don't feel bad - probably not many enthusiasts do. In fact, try using Google to find a picture of it - you can't - and I think there's a reason for that. The platform was a late-model Chevy Beretta. Yeah - a Beretta. Not the Camaro trim level option but the 2-door turd that was based on the 4-door Corsica. It leaves you speechless.

It probably seemed like a good idea at the time, because so many pro-street vehicles were literally race cars that were an absolute bitch to drive on the street. I should know - I built one in the mid-80's. It was a 1968 Plymouth GTX with a blown big block 440, automatic, huge Mickey Thompson's in the back and more roll cage than a jail cell. I sold it about a year after I finished it and purchased something more sane to drive. One of the big limiting factors back then was the fact that we did not have the engine and powertrain technology that we have today. Turbos, electronic fuel injection that you could program with a computer, overdrive transmissions, and cam profiles that resemble a modern car with variable valve timing weren't even on the horizon.

I used to bracket race on and off throughout the years, but I don't have the time (or money) to engage in the sport today as much as I would like to, but that's okay. I've been fortunate enough because of my love for hot rods, muscle cars and drag racing machines that I've ridden shotgun and have even driven some truly fast machinery - some to the tune of a mid 8-second quarter mile. I can truly appreciate what goes into going fast as well as the technological advances we've made. I frequently look at old photos from the mid to late 50's, especially when it comes to diggers. That was a time where both experimentation as well as life-or-death situations were common place. Back then, when a driver was making a pass at well over a buck ten, there was little to no room for error. Groove on the picture on the right. Yeah, the guy's wearing a brain bucket, but the roll bar doesn't extend north of his head and he's only wearing goggles. Can you imagine if that rig flipped over or suffered a fuel and/or nitro leak? Good night, Irene.

But, I guess that's the way mankind has always learned - the hard way and through trial and error. I still learn through trial and error, but I try to turn to the gods of speed for important lessons when I think my idea is a good one, but there's something niggling at my ego to double check some aspect. I think that's advise we could all live by.

Until next time, peace out.
Dave

Accessing Thy Self

I don't want you to dwell on this for too long, but I want you to take a quick mental inventory of everything you have in regards to vintage American automotive as well as relating memorabilia. If you've taken more than 10 minutes to get to this sentence, then you've taken too long. This could be anything from a hot rod or muscle car (or truck), associated parts, neon signs, old gas pumps, vintage car magazines, posters, toys - the list is almost endless. But the idea is to get a general idea of what you have, be it a lot or a little. Then add this to the mix - what if a natural disaster came along and wiped it all out? Or, if you had about 60 minutes warning to get out safely, what would you take with you? It can be a daunting task if you get really caught up in it.

If you really think about it, most likely about 99% of it is replaceable. That's one of the main reasons why insurance for this stuff (or your stuff) exists. Think about it - we have insurance for our car, our house, maybe even for an RV or boat we may own, but what about your hot rod? Or going even further, your cool automotive memorabilia? I'm not here to push a certain type of insurance and/or company. I'm just saying with the wildfires out west, floods down south, robberies in large cities, and anything else negative you want to throw on the collective woodpile, makes it a question of when... not if.

When I say this stuff is "replaceable", I mean a duplicate can be purchased if the first item is lost. For example, I have countless Hot Rod, Car Craft, Popular Hot Rodding, and Super Stock magazines from the 60's. More than I can count accurately in my head. I have a bunch of vintage Fleer racing / trading cards. I have hundreds of vintage red-line Hot Wheels toy cars. I also have a bunch of classic muscle car brochures, posters, and other rare advertising inventory. Believe it or not, rare as it is, it is replaceable. I have insurance on it and if anything happens, I can replace it.

However, it begs the question, "how important is it?" If push came to shove, my wife and I have already talked about what we would take; the list is very small and consists of our laptop, our DSLR cameras, our phones, our wallets, and clothes for a few days. That's it. And it would take all of 90 seconds to gather it up and get out if necessary. Someone asked us once if that list could be narrowed down even more - where you could only take one item. Of course it could; it would be the laptop. The reason being, all our irreplaceable photos are on there. Years worth of family shots, kids, grandkids, scans of old photos that are long gone.

And that's the bottom line - while our vintage American collectibles are indeed cool, rare, or whatever description you want to tag them with, they are replaceable. You, nor your spouse, your kids, etc., are not. It all comes down to how do we honestly access ourselves?


Until next time, peace out.
Dave