Messages

Special Ozzie window polish.      

Better not use that on the fenders, I think that's what happened to the floorboards on my Buick....musta spilled Ozzie Polish all over the * place.....

Besides - doesn't it rain upside-down in Aussieland or something? Why do even need windows at all?

Never enough backwards/upside-down jokes from the Americans, right? Ohh, and the steering wheel is on the wrong side too - can't hear that one too many times.

Regards from Gerald "Jerry" Essex....

..we were just talking about you the other day. I told him he should join up here - but I suppose he's a pretty busy fella.

Raining here now - in the N/W corner of the state.

Supposed to leave about 0800 for the 2 x 4 mile dry lake north of town.

A little SKS shooting, some home-built cannons - known as mortars, but we call em cannons - and one guy is supposed to bring a machine gun.

Must be a 50 caliber cuz he needed help to load it into his truck.

Are you out of your ever-lovin' mind !?!

Now I've seen it all.

A home-made miniature trebuche is one thing, but building your own cannon....dude - you have to be on an FBI list somewhere....

...aren't you supposed to be writing or something?

Awww....you shouldn't have.

But I'm glad you did!!


I dig it.

I have not old pics like this. My dad was a biker - all of our old pics have bikes in 'em....

Dad was driving a 67 GTO and a 69 Road Runner be fore I was born. After I started showing up in pics - he'd sold all of his really sweet cars.

I have pics of dad's hot-rod Pinto (not a joke) and a 351 Ford Grenada....
Yea - he put big-n-lil's and 5-Slot mags on both of these sweet rides. Sarcasm, thank you.

He always had a cool truck however - don't all Harley guys? He drove a 53 Ford F-100 up until the early 90's. We rarely took pics of this for whatever strange reason. Maybe it was because he had sanded the painted lettering off of the doors when he bought it (in the 60's) and covered the doors with primer - as well as the occasional patch job here and there - which left this truck with a tapestry of origional Ford (dark) blue paint and various shades of red grey and black primer...

Nothing but a truck I guess.


Thanks for the vintage pic man - got anymore? Anyone?

"I'm not an IFS/SBC/over-the-counter type of guy, and that's the bread and butter crowd here."

That's very interesting Broman, because I never saw it that way.  Certainly the doors are wide open here beyond the "traditional", but I've always thought of RRT as being more open to home built solutions than a lot of other boards.  At some sites posters will come right out and say "why would you build that when 1-800-hot-rods has a perfect solution?"  When I think I'm getting an attitude like that this is where I normally go for a reality check.  You're probably right that most of the cars here are set up with IFS & SBC, maybe that's because they're good solutions, affordable, and within the skill set of a typical garage builder.  If people are negative toward other solutions that would be wrong, but it also would surprise me.

I hate to use you own words against you - but yea, the SBC/IFS stuff really bugs the crap outta me. IFS on a rod looks as bad (to me) as putting a big wing on a Honda and calling it cool. And fiberglass bodies - not even concidered. Not to bring up a hot button word - because I would use it if I had access to it (and it fit in style wise) - but billet aluminum is even further off of my taste pallet. That puts me in a huge minority here. There are a bunch of guys who are just a-Okay with all of these things. And that's fine, I'm cool with the live and let live mindset. I'm not calling anyone a goldchainer or anything - I am simply saying that the end results of the projects being built here, no matter what budget, don't do it for me like a rod that is steeped in traditional style.

I do however have a great respect for the craftsmanship and the knowledge base here - that's why I'm here. I always listen when someone wise speaks up. Conversely I can't shut up when someone makes blanket statements and generalizations.

And don't go thinking that the HAMB is infallible. There are lot of guys (kids too) building rods that I think are way too over the top. I have been to shows that other HAMBers just loved the crap out of - and I left those shows disappointed at the overuse of decals and the way-too-low or over chopped cars. I also see a lot of shotty craftsmenship and rough-on-purpose stuff that eats at me....I used to call them out at the drop of a hat - but if I kept doing that, I'd be all day at it - so I've curbed that urge.

So basically - I like the trad stuff and I like that I can have any - and I mean ANY - question answered in a half day.

That's where the value is for me - not the classifieds and not the membership plaques and clubs and blah blah blah...

Fer cryin' out loud a guy made his own nailhead valvecovers just the other week. And that's just one of the great posts I've seen in the last few weeks. You're not going to see a guy do that with a SBC. Anyone who does that for a SBC is wasting their *' time and money. But I am getting off track. (I feel like I am being forced to defend my preferences in stead of tackling the issues).

You want to help this site? I think I will put my two votes in for the following

-> a stylistic makeover  - I'm starting to get lippy now, but the feel of this forum/website is (no way to put it nicely), a little flat. It could have some "wow" or other appeal.

I think if it were my place - I'd poke around the internet and find some good looking sites and take notes...


-> a Tech section. Address the common issues - ask for specific tech weekly/monthly or whatever. Lay it all out until you have all of the components laid ou tin articles....It's something to drive towards and it will hopefully spur member participation.

Knowing that all builders are at different stages in their respective builds - you could have a "Just Starting" post and a "Finishing Touches" post side by side....there's a ton of good reasons to go with this kind of thing.

When you get this thing fired up and there is a whole section dedicated to this stuff - people who are "googling" IFS tech will see this stuff pop up. Then when they google SBC on duece rails - will see it pop up again...after awhile the searches get filled with RRt tech artys. Traffic!

man I got me some lungs, don't I?

I'm not going to get into a * match here.

And I'm not yelling at you either (it's very hard to read the intended tones over a message board) and I am certainly not trying to single you out.

I just wanted the point to be made that there has not been any kind of pay-to-play here or there. And the mere mention of it on the HAMB should not be misconstrued. That's it. That's all.

Besides none of the options being explored were going to interfere with the real attraction - which is the message board.

I for one don't give a good crap about the classifies here, there or anywhere...


If I really needed to get rid of something there are a thousand ways to do it. Sure I'd like to give a fellow HAMB or RRT member a better shot at the deal - but if I really need the money, I'll sell it one way or another - message board or not.....


GPster

Sounds to me like you want a Tech section....I can see that being a big plus.

I'll second that.

Recently there appears to have been a reduction in the number of posts and only relatively few of the broad members posting (and often not completely hotrod orientated).  

I regularly visit the site but don't always login and am selective in what I look at.

The board has a great depth of knowledge and for people like myself (limited hotrod experience and not much to constructively contribute) it really does help to have RRT as a backstop - and I met some great people when Neil and I visited in 2004.  

To me the construction aspect could be separated out and the for sale/wanted/ebay items area could be improved.  But apart from that the board is a great place to come for a bit of relief from the daily toil.

I don't think that posting anicdotes about the goings on of my two young children will be what people want to hear about - and thats about where I am in my life cycle!!

Steve

There's nothing wrong with not posting - traffic is traffic.

And I wish more folks knew how to use the search function back at the HAMB...so many posts on the same topics...

[SIN]

I'm not an IFS/SBC/over-the-counter type of guy, and that's the bread and butter crowd here.

Hey, if God didn't want SBC's in early Fords he wouldn't have made them fit so well.

If god wanted SBCs in Fords he wouldn't have built the flathead....

Naw, Henry was just too hard headed to listen to God when he laid the 11th commandment on him.

It wasn't god's commandment that put a SBC in a Ford - that was a SIN.

I'm not an IFS/SBC/over-the-counter type of guy, and that's the bread and butter crowd here.

Hey, if God didn't want SBC's in early Fords he wouldn't have made them fit so well.

If god wanted SBCs in Fords he wouldn't have built the flathead....

I never said pay to play was a requirement.  But if it makes you feel better to call someone wrong, just because you never read it, so be it.

The HAMB has exploded over the years and the members contribute what looks like a boat load of money.   I'm not trying to point out any trouble or disrepect.  But in the same thread on the HAMB where it was suggested that only Alliance Member could sell, Ryan was talking about freeloaders.

I have bought and sold over there, very little.  Even frame boxing plates from Engenjo.  I've bid in auctions, but never won one.  But I have never just donates straight up.  I would guess that would put me in the freeloader class.   Maybe not what he ment.

Wrong again.

Ryan isn't trying to cut down on freeloaders at all - it's the deadbeat buyers/seller he's trying to axe.

And I am not an Alliance Member so I have no reason to be "selling" the idea.

The whole "Alliance Members only" for the classifieds isn't in play. Ryan is trying to work around it....

BTW, I'm not being a snot here - just pointing out the facts.

Besides - I didn't come here to promote the HAMB - I came to help RTT....

and my advise is to explore the creative/artistic side - not the functionality.

It's a message board for cryin' out loud - all you need to do is post and reply to messages!!

A graphic upgrade will make more folks who are just passing through - stop and take a longer look. Which gives us the chance to keep them - even if only a slight chance. But some is better than none.

The only thing that keeps me away from here is the types of cars...

I'm not an IFS/SBC/over-the-counter type of guy, and that's the bread and butter crowd here.

Fat Cat no rudeness taken.  The comment that I read may have been from another poster.  No big deal either way.   I see it at the HAMB big time.  Statement like only Alliance Member can use the want adds and the such. But then again it's the users making these suggestion.

Well, looks like you're wrong all the way around CaliCarl. Never seen anything like a pay-to-play here, and the HAMB is as far from pay-to-play as they come.

I think that I would live here if it were not for the HAMB - no disrespect, and I realize there are many dual members floating back and forth so I know non will be taken...I men look at me, right?

For me - it's the member involvement in events and get togethers, the feeling like I can trust fellow HAMBers -because Ryan would have my back if I were double-crossed, and the fact that the HAMB hasn't sold out just to gain members (with a constant flow of t-shirt sales and the like).

The members step up and hold auctions and make donations and it just keeps getting bigger and better.

The fact that the shirts only come around once in a while and when they do - you get 'em while they're hot. After they are gone - they're gone. Supply vs. demand ya' know?

The bad news - you can't create that kind of thing artificially. I mean - you can't go to a member and tell him or her that it's their turn to contribute...

So as far as this kind of thing - I think you just have to keep watering the orchid - some day it WILL bloom.

If I had any advice as far as the forum goes...I don't know I guess I'd say that you could use a make-over. It never hurts.

That's part of the appeal of a web site - the appearance. If it creates a mood before you even read a word - it is doing something to appeal to more readers.

Look at the magazine rack. You see the cover of one magazine and you either want to see more or you pass it up for the next...If you like it well enought to pick it up and leaf through it - whatever you see on the inside better live up to the cover or it's back onto the rack...

Look at Garage magazine (if you haven't already). It is a good looking piece inside and out. It makes you want to read whatever is in there....which I still haven't done yet!!!  So if the content of the articles are bad - it still got me to look. I doubt if that's the case - but hey if the content and the appearance complement one another - they have a winner...

I think if you just put together a really nice, classy looking format - you'd go a long way towards your goal.

Either way I am sticking around (even if I don't post much).

Maybe if he sold that car his son wouldn't need to be employed at all......

I got dibs!!!!!

This is exactly what I am saying.....7 cars?

I am too soft though because I like almost everything. Ford, Chevy, Buick, Olds and especially Pontiac...

I think I am most dissappointed in the burnout contest.

Take that out and put in a points based contest of making them go through an hours worth of slow traffic with lot's of stop and go - then go immediately to a stop-light drag-race. It is the real test of real-world performance and what would have really been done on the streets back in the day. Hell that's why you bought the * things!!!  Plus it would take the edge away from the Hemi and the LS6, because they are too radically built. The Hemi would start running out of tune and the GTO would pound it into the ground - that's what happened when Jim Wangers took factory test cars out for late night outings - with more than a little encouragemenet from Pontiac. He knew the Hemis didn't make good street drivers - so he'd tease them all night long until he felt lucky, then wham - he'd put another notch on his belt. The Hemi driver shaking his head in disbelief as he heads home to figure out what went wrong.

I went to the website and checked out the cars. They have only seven cars listed.

1969 AMX 390 GO PACKAGE

1970 BUICK GS 455 STAGE 1

1970 HEMI CHALLENGER

1970 CHEVELLE SS 454 LS6

1969 MUSTANG BOSS 429

1969 HURST OLDSMOBILE

1969 PONTIAC GTO JUDGE

They chickened out of all of the "factory" racers and dealer special type cars like the Yenkos, COPOs and stuff. So it is a test of the best "production" cars. That is almost laughable since there are so many grey areas that some really great cars got left out.

here are the categories:

0-60 mph acceleration
Standing ¼ mile
60-0 mph braking test
Slalom handling test
Burn out contest

Burn out contest? that sounds like a subjective loop-hole for a cop-out....did somebody say popularity contest? I mean do you honestly think the AMX is going to win? No offense to AMX lovers.

And what about cars like the F-bodys or the Dart or how about a Nova even? Are they not musclecars anymore? I would but my money on a 400 c.i. Firebird vs almost any of those cars in three out of five categories...and maybe even the burnout contest with the right gearing. Come to think of it that kinda bugs me too, I mean gearing in this contest is going to be left up to the luck of the draw.....and what about the tranny?

We've all read this kind of thing in every car magazine made, and they all prove the same thing - there is no way to pick the best, fastest, quickest, neatest car of all time.

The worst thing of all...........

I'll end up watching it - 'cuz I like all of those cars.

Looks like a carbon copy of the HAMB post.

MMMmmmmm......SPAMMY!!!

I keep forgetting that I can't swear........ :oops: