It's All Fun And Games Until A Fence Jumps In Front Of Your Truck

 

Windmills of my mind

So, if you follow this blog you know I am saving money toward a hotrod (hence the name WANNABE Hotrodder). I am lucky in that I have a regular job and also pick up work from time to time with a local video crew. It is a very cool job that lets me film concerts and the likes. I put all that money away into a fund for my hotrod. It is what they call a "long term goal" I also put away any extra money from buying and selling things, hustling for a dollar.

Recently I took a job taking a van with a huge video screen in the back to a venue like a portable jumbotron. Well, i clipped a brand new chain link fence on the way to the job, took a corner too hard and CRUNCH! Did some damage to the truck but I was WAY lucky in that it didn't ruin the generator or LCD screens. In a massive freak out I managed to get enough help to pull the bar out of the truck side and get to the job. I was embarrassed and angry and upset at myself but as long as the job goes off things will be okay. So, my boss and the owner of the truck were super cool about it (no... they don't read this, being very sincere). Long story short I need to fix the fence and fix the truck and move on in life.

Yesterday the invoice for the fence comes in... $1,265! My heart sunk, this means my long fought hotrod fund will be taking a major hit. Plus I still have more coming for the truck fix. At this point I need to take a very long hard look at if I should even continue? If I am just spinning and spinning never getting ahead then what is the point. Do I take some shit job as a part time stock boy? Do I just keep plugging away or do I abandon my dreams of owning a hotrod all together. I don't know the answer to this question right now. The embarrassing mess is still to fresh and stingy in my brain.

It is my fault and I always own up to my messes, I hit the fence and messed up a truck. The last thing I will ever do is blame others or try to shirk my responsibilities. I am very fortunate my boss and the truck owner are as cool as they are. I definitely will count my blessings but I need to take a shot and a beer or 8 to wash down this shit sandwich and really take a long hard look at what I want. Only time will tell. In the mean time, if you happen to find yourself driving a panel truck would you do the Wannabe Hotrodder a favor and ease up on the cornering... the fence companies are rich enough.

Why Velocity Channel WHY?

   So, I love the Velocity Channel but this weeks Wannabe Hotrodder installment is gonna have to rail against them. The Velocity Channel is a car guys cream dream but as of late I am a bit confused. See, there seems to be a very disturbing trend on the channel, they seem to relish in showing me glorious European roadsters from the 50s and 60s. Show after show dedicated to bringing me barn finds and auction house “deals” of multimillion dollar ferrari and lamborghini. Now, these truly are wonderful cars and have their place in auto history but, and this is a HUGE BUT, I don’t need every singe program to show me all these glorious million dollar cars that I could never own. More and more of the channels programming seems to be leaning toward this and I am not quite sure why? There are tons and TONS of awesome incredible custom cars and hotrods and all kinds of American automobiles that could be part of their programming.
    I don’t want this to be misconstrued as a knock against all those awesome technological marvels. They are freakin’ insanely awesome cars that most any car lover would be thrilled to own. The fact of the matter is I could take all the money that my entire family blood line has and will make for all time and that still wouldn’t be able to buy one, so why am I being shown these cars? I am this channels key demographic. Do they want me to like strive to be able to buy one? I can’t, and even if I did have the money I wouldn’t buy one because that kind of extravagant spending it ludicrous. So what is the end game of the programming? Do they set out to just make their viewers feel like crap? That doesn’t seem like sound programming.
   I guess in the end I just want the Velocity Channel to survive. I love it, and I hope it can stay relevant. Because I fear if it stays on its current trajectory it will fall the way of TechTV and the dodo bird. Just a distant memory of what could have been. Now show us some god damn muscle cars that the common man can relate to already!!!!

So Many Options, So Many Choices... So Much Indecision!

 

When scheming to break into the world of hotrodding how you go about it makes all the difference. See, when shopping for “your hotrod” one way is to just save up some money and go out into the market with an idea of what you like and don’t like. Then you buy a hotrod. Fix it and drive and fix it and drive it, then sell it and wish you hadn’t. That is the most common way people get their hotrods.

I am taking a bit of a different approach. I am trying to narrow down what my goal is long before I make the actual leap into hotrod ownership. By goal I mean like what do I want to do with said hotrod. See, you can buy a car for looks or performance or to show up your neighbor or to get chicks. You can buy a car for just about as many reasons as there are cars, but when it comes to a Hotrod that is often a bit different that just buying a car.

The majority of trouble I have in seeing what my future hotrod is going to be is exactly what the hell is my goal? After driving my current Honda S2000 I can’t see my car having a solid roof anymore. The joy of owning a convertible roadster as a daily driver has forever changed my perception of what is an acceptable car. So first goal is it must be a convertible.

Another major goal is my hotrod has to be FAST. This one is a bit tricky because as eluded to in one of my earlier posts we are in the middle of one of the biggest horsepower wars in history. There are no less than 10 cars being put out right now that are faster than 80% of the “fast hotrods” out there. So how can you aspire to have a super fast hotrod when there are honda Accords out there that routinely smoke older heavier cars. One of the other drawbacks to aspiring to have a FAST hotrod is it is an unattainable goal, you can never be the fastest car out there. There is ALWAYS someone faster. So my goal needs to be realistic. So for my second goal by saying fast I mean, faster than 90% of the common cars out there. Will I be able to beat the crow or the murderstang? No, never but I will be able to put down the next civic with a fart canister muffler that thinks he is a race car driver.

So to review, Goal One needs to be a convertible. Goal Two needs to be fast. The third and final goal I am going to review today is a bit of a sticky situation. I restore a lot of things, old machines and old arcade stuff. After seeing what most people do to their possessions and how they “care for” their stuff I think trying to fix up an old car that has been beaten to shit might be a bit too much for me. I always wanted to buy a running car then work on it as I go to save money but that might not be possible. I am also a bit of a control freak in that I want things done RIGHT! By right I mean by my impossible standards. So that leaves me with buying a high end kit car and building it myself. That is actually the way I am leaning. Top contenders for this are Factory Five’s Shelby Cobra replica or a rolling chassis 1932 ford (there are like a million makers of these). The rub is a kit car is always just gonna be a kit car. But I guess going that route will appease my 3 major goals. But there are still a million options out there, and a million decisions to be made. Until next time, keep the rubber side down!

Sometimes Things Change

I have been counting the days until the Labor Day Weekend Greaserama Punk Rock car show ever since I discovered last years too late to attend. I had never heard of Greaserama before but upon unearthing its glory I couldn't wait!

I built my entire vacation this year around the greaserama event. It will be an epic roadtrip starting from Clearwater Florida, spending a day in Tupelo Mississippi to honor the king then off to Greaserama. I love hotrods, I love Punk Music and I love everything about this event. I know I will have fun there but I am a bit suspicious that if I'm not careful I might gain clarity from this road trip also. As you might have guessed from some of my other posts my Wannabe Hotrod dreams are as varied as can be. There are a few contenders that are always present but maybe just maybe this zig zagging trip will give me clarity and direction. Will seeing all the pre-1965 bad ass hotrods influence my future? Maybe. How could it not?

After the Greaserama festival it is off to St. Louis, then Nashville, then Louisville... then finally Ashville as I have been dying to see the Wheels Through Time motorcycle museum from the "what's in the barn" television show. It would be pretty cool to meet Dale. So the road trip will have cars and motorcycles and Elvis and baseball bats and a crap ton of record shop and microbrew stops along the way. Rented a big ass lincoln for the trip... just counting the days until I see America and hopefully gain some much needed clarity. Mostly just gonna meet some cool hotrodders and enjoy the ride. Anything else will just be a bonus. See you soon Los Punk Rods!