The Wannabe Hotrodder is a blog written by and written for those of us out there that love hotrods, fast cars and the car culture. Follow along as one such wannabe chronicles his transition from wannabe to living the dream.
Showing posts with label whats in the barn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label whats in the barn. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 24, 2015
Wannabe Hotrods Excuses Excuses Excuses
Finally got back to laying under that beast of a Nissan Pickup. Lets just say that the "record breaking" temperatures that I heard about on my local TV station day in and day out severely stunted my front end repairs. I am thankful to get back on track... but part of me thinks I might not be able to cut the mustard in the Hot Rod world. What am I talking about? let me explain....
I am not sure if I have what it takes to build a hot rod frame up, that is thousands of hours and probably hundreds of problems. I let that truck front end replacement that should by all accounts have taken me MAYBE 2 weekends end up taking me months! Now there were many things that kept me from getting out there but those are all just bullshit excuses. Reality is I lacked the motivation to get my lazy ass up and get laying under the truck. So how am I going to build a bad ass hotrod? Good question!
In my defense mustering up the desire to work on a Nissan Pickup in the dead of summer while grieving the loss of my father is quite a bit different than wrenching on a 32 highboy or building up a kit shelby cobra. Right? Maybe, but maybe not. The country is filled with garages housing cars that were ripped apart and left laying in pieces never to see the light of day again. Hell, my first attempt when I was a kid ended just that way (see blog post like 1 or 2 or something like that). I am a much different person than I was back then... or am I?
I will say one thing I do very VERY well is fix things. Without sounding arrogant I am pretty sure I restore things very close to the level of Ricks Restorations (see reality TV show that may or may not still be on the air, great show but like all reality shows got a bit to goofy focusing on shenanigans and taking away from the awesome work being done). That is what makes me think my best course of action will be to get a running driving car and just restore it section by section. But after years of cleaning up and fixing what others have done to the machines I restore I would be lying if I didn't say I would be apprehensive. I got so tired of fixing broken pinball machines I bought one new from the factory just so I could see what it is like to have a machine that is actually CARED for, it is glorious. So maybe a Factory Five kit car is the way to go. Sadly this debate will not end here but I do have major concerns about my gumption, my drive, my sticktoitiveness! The last thing this world needs is another beautiful Hot Rod rotting away in a garage with shit piled all over it. THAT I cannot create, so what am I gonna be? Builder or a Loser?
Monday, August 10, 2015
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!
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