The Daily Soup

Moving?

2009-11-15T11:25:00.000-08:00

For you few followers, I will now be doing all my writing at shouldabeenhotrods.blogspot.com.

Hope to see you there :)

J

Perspective

2009-09-02T17:03:00.000-07:00

While doing my latest paint job on a soon to be 'shouldabeen' creation, I realized something.

When I was working on cars in a shop environment, things generally went smoothly.
There were bodywork guys, and metal fab guys, and painters, and chassis guys. There was a guy who cleaned the floors and took out the trash, people who worked with leather and tweed, the guys who made the cars go fast, and the one typical manager with a Napoleon complex who ran around yelling for no apparent reason. There were assembly guys who did nothing but made sure not to scratch the paint.
For my latest project, I have had to do

Everything.

And have had to pay the physical toll for it.
But honestly, there is not a thing I would rather be doing. Sure,there are days I wanted to throw a grinder through the windshield and roll it off a cliff, but seeing it come together is like watching a flower grow. It's all quite rewarding.

Regardless to that fact, I need people to come work with me. And when I get the Napoleon running around red-faced and the guys covered in paint dust, it's going to be even more enjoyable to me.

Here's to the next creation!

Old Car Art

2009-08-10T12:00:00.000-07:00

One of my many passions in life is old car art. Paintings or pictures of old cars rotting away is mesmerizing to me..I have literally spent hours searching the internet for scenes of that old duece coupe sitting in a field, that '40 ford hiding in the barn next to grandma's house, and that split window beetle at the old wrecking yard in Nowheresville, America.

After drooling over the art of Tom Fritz and countless random flikr pictures, I recently stumbled across a site that I should have found long ago, ironically called oldcarart.com. Dale Klee is the artist, and it is exactly what I have been looking for all these years. Scenes of those deuce coupes by the multiples next to '40 Fords and F100's. He has painted muscle cars, stock cars, motorcyles...you name it and he's probably painted it.

I just thought i'd give him a shameless plug, to those of you who see this.

Will be writing more..hope to see you all soon.

James

The New Toy

2009-08-09T15:30:00.000-07:00

Since the MINI is gone, you thought I was going to just go order another one, didn't you? Not quite. A co-worker of mine new where there was a nearly finished 1957 Volkswagen Beetle for sale, and I couldn't help myself but to go look. 45 minutes later I was standing next to one of my dream cars wanting to take it home...but like most people in this economy, couldn't. The next week the MINI sold and I needed a commuter car. Life is short, why drive something boring? :) Introducing my Oval window.

2007-2009 MINI Cooper dissection

2009-07-01T09:39:00.000-07:00

BMW's Mini brand has been hugely succesful since it was released in 2002 in the United States. They were cute, little, lightweight, and could be suprisingly powerful for a not so powerful price. I myself have owned 3 Mini's so far, but my current and longest lived is my 2008 Cooper S.

In 2007, Bmw redesigned the Mini from the chassis up, giving it more power and better safety ratings. Purists will say the car is not so 'mini' any more, as it grew a few inches and pounds in the process, but the car is still half the size of a Ford Crown Victoria.

The Good

I'll start with the biggest change from the old car, the engine. The 1.6L DOHC engine designed by the french company Peugeot is rated at 120 horsepower in the Cooper, and a turbocharger made by Borg-Warner added on the Cooper "S" models boosts it up to a burly 172 horsepower. Compared to the old 1.6 that was made by Chrysler and wedged into the 2002-2006 Coupes and 2005-2008 Convertibles, the all aluminum Peugeot motor is more advanced and generally more reliable. The engine was rated best in it's class in 2008. The turbo kicks in below 2,000 rpm, making the Mini seem much faster then its 6.1 second 0-60 time says, and the exhaust note under boost gives me chills I never thought I could get from a 4-banger.

The 6-speed manual transmission gives the car a very sporty feel in either the standard or the S, and the gas mileage is pretty phenomenal due to the extra gears - anywhere from 27 to 31 in the city for the S and 30-35 for the Coopers in my experience.

The total rework included the interior as well. The speedometer grew a couple inches and swallowed the radio, and the dash was reconfigured to incorporate another small hidden glove box. They also made the interior color choices anything under the sun basically. The seats are very comfortable, and you can get either cloth, vinyl, cloth/leather, or 2 different kinds of leather to sit on.

The new suspension is tight and stiff, and gets even better when the sport package struts, springs, and swaybars are added. This is the only car I have taken a 90 degree turn at 60 mph that I have felt totally confident in.

The issues

Every new car is going to have some bugs to work out right? Well Mini made sure to hold up to that promise. 1,500 miles in, I started getting a pretty severe rattle coming from the engine compartment whenever under boost. I took it in, and 3 days later was told there was a faulty wastegate. Here we go.

My windows developed the venerable 2008 Mini trait of hitting the top on the auto up function and then rolling back down half way. It took 3 attempts to get them up every time. Another 3 times into the shop seems to have fixed it. Till yesterday. I walked outside and my windows and sunroof had mysteriously opened from me pressing the lock button. Whoever said British cars have more wiring problems was definitely right.

At 12,000 miles, my clutch started honking like a pissed off goose whenever it was released in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd. So another week at the MINI dealer beholded a new clutch assembly which is all shiny and stuff. The problem is, the flywheel was faulty too and was not replaced at that time, so there is a chattering every takeoff from 1st. That issue has not been fixed.

My sunroof won't open at all at any temperature over 40 degrees, which pretty much defies the point of having the $1,000 option.

If you were to put anything but Premium Chevron petrol with a dash of fairy dust in the car, the check engine light will come on and make you pay a $100 diagnosis fee to get it off.

The runflat tires are great when you get a flat in the middle of nowhere, but are stiff, noisy, uber expensive (averages $250 per tire), and they wear out in about 15,000 miles.

If you get a coolant leak in your car, plan on leaving it for at least 3 or 4 days due to the water pump being a bitch to get out. It also makes a delightful whirring noise (like a cat set on fire) occasionally.

The engine is so tall (around 2 feet) that the trip the oil has to take from the oil pan to the springs allows for most "S" cars to start like diesel engine when starting up. The first time my car did it I nearly wet myself. Think of a crappy Dodge truck that is a couple quarts low on oil.

The Verdict

All in all, the car was great for the 14 months I owned it. Good power, great mileage, and phenomenal handling. The difference between that and the 2006 "S" I had was that it doesn't feel as nimble anymore, and I liked the supercharger of the old car far more. I like power now, not in a few seconds. The '06 never gave me one problem, the '08 was in the shop 9 times when I had it, and since has been back twice. If you are in the market, look into a low mileage 2002-2006 first. You will get a better car for a fraction of the price (the '08 was over $400 a month - yikes!) that you will love forever. These cars are not for the faint of heart though. Plan on spending anywhere from $200 too $1,500 for repairs on the car when they are needed. Since the 2006 got crunched by some dumbass in a F250, I regret not finding another one instead of buying a new mustang, then a new Mini 6 months later. Find yourself a 2006 "S" hardtop with a six speed and hit the bendy roads. You will not be dissapointed.

26k

2009-06-08T19:53:00.000-07:00

Here is a list of things I could of rather had then my $26,000 MINI:

-Totally restored '52-'57 Oval Beetle to drive every day
-3 used Mustangs or one really nice '66 Coupe
-A down payment on starting my own business
-An entire new wardrobe
-Down payment on a house
-right hand drive MINI from europe
-Marie and I's wedding
-26,000 things from the dollar menu at Wendys
-6,500 cups of coffee from Starbucks
-A driving fiberglass '32 Ford
-5 trips to Europe
-3 used Toyota Yaris'
-My retirement if I invested for 30 years

....crap. Well you live and you learn ;)

The kind of soup we all want

2009-02-23T18:59:00.000-08:00

"If I could only find that '55 Chevy, I would be happy..."
"I keep trying to get better at metal work, but I never seem to get any better.."
"One day i'll have my own shop. One day."

There are many different ways to want something in life. Some people want to be better spouses, some want to be able to cook, some want to know how to turn a bone stock '40 Ford into a hot rod. If you have stumbled onto this blog and give me that honor of coming back, it's most likely the latter. To help everyone better where I am coming from here, I'll show you where I want to go with my life and my career what I want to do..what I want to learn.

I have a small two car garage where I build my cars. One day, I would like to have a full functioning hot rod shop that builds the kind of cars that Boyd Coddington turns over in his grave about. Just 5 or 6 bays, with all the necessary tools and equipment to give people their dream cars. A shop that makes a quality product, not the 'shit-rods' that have been developing over the past few years, this shop will be called Shouldabeen Hot Rods and Customs, and this dream is currently under development.

I want to learn to chop the top cars from the 40's and 50's. I have done enough chops from the 1930's, but anyone can chop a '30 Model A Tudor. My goal is to be as good as Westerguard or Barris or Hines or Winfield, but in the next ten years. The one '52 Chevy I did attempt a lid lower at had to be saved by another...never want to go through that embarasment again!

I have 5 cars I need to build that i'm going to keep for the rest of my life. The first being the 1955 Olds Holiday Sedan I am currently restoring. After my beloved Olds, I am going to start on a '28-'29 Model A 5-window coupe, with a six inch chop, Olds Rocket or Nailhead power, 3 pedals, 4 carburators, and Deuce rails. After that is my most useful hot rod, a '53-'55 Ford F100 pickup. That one i'll use to pick up every other piece that I need to build my next car, a '39 Ford Deluxe Coupe. That coupe will drive me to my next and final saurkraut-smelling car, an early oval or split window VW Beetle. Everything else will be just mostly disposable...daily drivers to put tons of miles on and re-sell. There are plenty of other cars I want and want to build and buy ('36 Ford 5-window, '52 Chevy Deluxe I just picked up, 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T, 2007 Shelby GT500, '32 Ford 5-window, '49-'52 Olds, RWD Hemi two-door PT Cruiser, 2006 MINI Cooper S, etc..) but I won't really be devasated to sell them.

I want a small, cozy older house with enough room for me and my darling Fiance' to love and enjoy for the rest of out lives. Luckily, I found that house up in the Olympus Cove owned by my good friend Mel, and I hope to one day buy and restore that gorgeous cape-cod house. We'll see what happens :)

What do you want in life? What do you want to learn? What makes you happy?

Roadrage

2009-01-22T22:06:00.000-08:00

For some reason, people driving in this state seem to, somehow, be getting worse. Living in utah for the last 20 years has given me a somewhat narrow-minded view on traffic, but a bit of traveling has shown me some comparison. When I started driving 5 years ago, it seemed like everyone was in almost a better mood while behind the wheel. I could drive on the freeway at night with noone tail-gating me while I am doing 85 in the slow lane, there were only occasionally the idiots weaving in and out of traffic with no turn signals, and I had never been honked at if I take more then 0.1 second to move after a stop light turns green. The more time that passes though, the more I dread having to drive to work every morning.
For example. Yesterday I was on my regular route home from work, about 5 miles away. Everyone is generally well behaved around there due to the SLC Police beehive is fairly close, and the Impala's and Crown Vic's are buzzing around. At a stoplight, a pedestrian was crossing the road. Some goober in a shitty old Toyota was trying to turn right at a 'no right turn on red' intersection, and proceeded to honk repeatedly at the pedestrian to get out of thier way. The pedestrian had to jump to the side to avoid being turned into roadkill. As everyone still waiting at the stoplight shakes their head, a Salt Lake cop pulls out of the line a few cars back and races after the idiot who wasn't smart enough to see the big "POLICE'' written on the side of the car. Serves him right.
I don't know exactly why it has seemed to get worse over the years, but the theory I hear is the more stressed you are, the worse and less impatient you are in traffic. One trend I have noticed is the people with $400 old Chevys and one month old license plates seem to be the ones driving like there is a fire chasing them moreso then the ones with newer cars. Generally speaking, those who have reliable cars usually worry less about thier cars breaking down. Those in the $400 cars bought from pick-n-pull have to rush wherever they are so their car doesn't overheat as fast and the tires don't pop. Also, they don't care about thier cars as much as new car owners due generally. Any one have any other ideas?The exception to that rule here, is the nepoleon-esque people with lifted trucks (mostly diesels) with gaudy wheels, even more gaudy chrome, and usually blaring music you can barely hear over their stupid 6-inch exhaust tips. It doesn't matter if it's brand new or 40 years old, they all drive like they are invinsible on the road. (These people should be loaded into a ship and blown up near the bermuda triangle.)While being in New York, California, Idaho etc.. I have had some comparison. The people in major cities like Manhattan and LA are terrible drivers. But they are awesome at it. If people drove like that here in Utah, There would be an accident on every corner. The people in Idaho drive like the idiots. Always. Like Grandma on nyquil. But I digress..

Everyone mellow out. Please. I love driving, but not when you all make it a battle field.
Yours,

James

Lettter to an idiot

2009-01-08T19:09:00.000-08:00

Dear idiot driving your brand new Dodge Charger,

The other day you flew past me doing 80+ on the freeway during the middle of a winding snow storm. Now, I don't know if it was your stupid limo tint that made you not see that there was 4 inches of fresh snow on the road, but I have absolutely no mercy or sympathy for you after seeing you cause a 4 car pileup and total your car before you even get your license plates. Most likely, your gaudy-ass chrome wheels not having the traction to stop you to 30 (what everyone else was going) had something to do with it. Or, maybe, the fact that you were driving a rear wheel drive car in Utah in winter. Or the Dodge craftsmanship decided to self destruct even earlier then usual.

No matter the case, I hope the Insurance company makes you pay for the car, and you end up driving a Chevy Celebrity. Or a Geo Metro.

Forever yours,

James

The $13 Chrysler Hemi

2009-01-02T19:01:00.000-08:00

A few years ago, I was driving down a road in northern Nevada (don't ask me why) looking for the address of a friend. This was before I was aware of Mapquest and Google text, so I was pretty much screwed. Down one of the many deadends I hit on those dusty, bumpy roads, I noticed an old house with a big gray barn/shed thing next to it that was nearly as big as the house. One of the doors was open to that barn about half way, and in it I cought a flash of old chrome in a familiar shape. Naturally, my caraholic instincts kick in, and I hit the brakes and pull over to investigate.
As I walk up the dirt driveway that was at least 50 feet long, the adrenaline of the chase kicks in of what I think it may be. I get to the door, and slowly creak it open, revealing a stunning, completely original (from the outside) 1941 Ford Standard Coupe. It had boxes and old lawn mowers and suitcases all around it, and the license plate indicates that it was last registered in 1964. As I walk on my toes trying to get around the side to look into the thing, I hear, "Is that you Ed?" At this point, I freak out due to the fact that the part of town I was in seemed to have gun racks in the windows of every single pickup. I stand up straight and say "oh, sorry I was just driving by and couldn't help noticing your beautiful old Ford!" The old woman that had confronted me was easily in her 90's. With a big smile, she proceeded to tell me that this was her husbands car, the one he bought new in '41, loved it, and put a few thousand miles on it before he was drafted. When he did come back, he had 'caught a wierd bug at sea' as the old lady put it. In the mid 1950's, he decided to pull out the original flathead V8,(which was lying on a crate about ten feet away from the car), and install what he called an elephant motor. She had no idea why he called it that. When she said that, I nearly fainted. I asked politely if I could open the hood, and she said go right ahead. Staring back at me was a 1953 Chrysler 331ci Hemi with 4 Stromberg 97's. Just sitting there. Apparently his brother had bought a new Chrysler in '53 outright, and proceeded to crash it 3 months later. He parted out the car, and the man managed to score the 3,000 mile hemi. After putting about 51,000 miles on the old Ford causing hell and going through 20 or so '41 3-speeds, unfortunately the man died in '64 of a real bug aquired when he was at sea, that had been eating at him. So there the car sat until 2005. Amazingly, I was the first to ask about the old car in the 40 years the woman had been living there alone. She asked why I liked the black-laquer hunk of metal so much, and I told her I had quite a passion for old hot rods. There is nothing like the designs of the early to mid 1900's. She asked me how much money I had in my pocket. Oh crap. Is this is where she robs me? With shaking hands, I reach into my back pocket and pull out $13. She says "give me those bills, and the car is yours. I'm tired of it sitting here." After I had three heart attacks and picked my jaw up off the floor, I drove back to Utah, completely forgot to tell my friend I was't coming, got a u-haul and a truck, and picked up the car a day later.

These are the kind of stories I want to hear. Anyone have any cars in barn stories?

My definition of a Hot Rod

2008-12-28T20:45:00.000-08:00

Ask 50 different hot rodders what a 'real' hot rod is, and you will get 50 different very devoted answers of what they think a hot rod should be. From modern independent suspensions to Flatheads, I have never met two people who think the same when it comes to their dream ride. For entertainment (and argumentative) purposes, here is what I think of when I hear those words.

First of all, if it didn't come with IFS from the factory, it is in no way okay to be sporting Mustang II's from the '70s on your 1930's-era hot rod. Period. Nothing makes me more sick then seeing a bad-ass '39 Ford coupe in Rod and Custom, only to read on that it has one of these terrible-looking semi modern front ends. Granted, they ride better and you can have more adjustability with them, but that should not and does not matter if you are building a hot rod to do what it is supposed to do - haul ass.
While we are on the subject of independent suspensions, if your pre 1965 car has a Jag or Corvette IRS, you don't have a hot rod. you have a nasty Boyd Coddington piece of work.
By my definition, it needs to have drop axles, cut coils ('50s and '60s), reversed spring eyes and removed leafs, or lowering blocks. There are no air-bags allowed here.
Secondly, If you put a brand new Corvette LS7 in your '32 Ford, you will haul ass, but honestly there is nothing like hearing a bumpy- cammed Olds Rocket fly by you. If your car has fuel injection (with the exception of Hilborns), I want nothing to do with you. Carburation in multiples is the key here.
On the drivetrain subject, I believe that is your car does not have 3 pedals, its not a real hot rod. Anyone can put a TH350 in their car. Go find an old Ford top-loader. It's much more satisfying to shift your own gears.
Thirdly, billet aluminum pieces on hot rods are like a heard of raging bulls for me. They make me want to run away as fast as I possibly can. It doesn't matter how nice the rest of the car is. This also applies the the idiots who put 22 inch billet wheels on their old Cadillacs.
Fourth, hot rods do not need Air conditioning. Period. Open the freaking windows.
Fifth, the only music that you should hear is the sound of your open headers. CD players weren't around if the 1950's, sorry. Stock radios are acceptable if your car was lucky enough to be made with one.

See what I mean by devoted? Every one has their own opinion here. Let the hate mail fly.

Seperation by Modification

2008-11-18T22:41:00.000-08:00

The Honda Civic. The 1932 Ford. The Acura Integra. The Mazda RX7. The Ford Model A. The 1955 Chevrolet. The AE86 Toyota Corolla. The 1940 Willy's coupe. Anyone care to venture a guess to what all these cars have in common?

At one point or another from the early 1930's to current time, someone has looked at these relatively plain-Jane cars, and said to themselves "Hmm...I wonder if I could make this car faster...."

In the golden age of hot rodding (Up until disco, muscle cars, and The Beatles killed it) this would be accomplished by souping up your existing engine or finding a bigger, badder high-compression V8 and figuring how to wedge it into the relatively tiny cars on the 1930's. Add a set of pie-crust drag slicks, take off the fenders, drop it a few inches, and you are set to cruise for a fight.

Japanese import cars came to our shores in the 1970's (not sure on the dates here), and a whole new era of hot rodding was born. When teenagers figured out that they could turn their 90hp 4 cylinder Honda Civic into a fast, loud, turbocharged monster, it took off as fast if not faster, and much in a similar fashion, as those who modified Grandpa's 1930 Model A in the early 1940's.
As cheap and plentiful as multi-carb intakes and Oldsmobile Rockets were in the golden age, today it is very much the same with intakes, exhaust systems, nitrous, and many more speed parts for our across-the-pond friends.

Today both industries are growing by leaps and bounds every day, and with many import companies such as Toyota, Honda, Acura, Mazda, and Volkswagen releasing cars with 200-plus horsepower turbocharged little rockets as factory items. The hot rod industry is reproducing entire car bodies in both steel and fiberglass, and we can get almost anything new that we could back then.

Granted, I am more of a hot rod guy. I always have been, and I always will be. But that doesn't mean that I can't enjoy what is being offered in the market today. Case in point, I sold my nearly new 2007 Ford Mustang to buy the 2008 MINI Cooper S that I drive every day. Call me whatever you want, I love that thing! It's nice to have a reliable car to drive while I make my hot rods safe, low, and able to set off car alarms.

Magazines

2008-11-11T22:27:00.000-08:00

My name is James, and I am a caraholic.

Phew! I'm glad to finally say that. Anyway.

I have a mild obsession with car magazines, all thanks to going through old issues of Hot Rod and Car and Driver from the '60s and '70s my dad had collected over the years. For hours and hours I would scour the pages with eyes wide open looking at the car cultures and style from the days of Elvis and JFK. I have been getting monthly issues form six different magazines for the past 5 years now, and somehow I always run out of material. hmm.

Today I went to Barnes and Noble on my lunch break, and to my delight there was an issue of Hot Rod Deluxe that I (by some miracle) didn't have yet. On the cover was a perfectly chopped '30-'31 Ford Model A 5-window. Unlike most of the HRC, I prefer the looks of the Model A coupes over the beloved 1932 Ford. I just think the lines are cleaner (and they are easier to chop. But thats not the point). I thumb through the pages to see what I belive to be the picture perfect representation of a true hot rod. Deuce rails, a six inch chop, a Desoto HEMI with six Holly 94's, three pedals, and straight axles with buggy springs. I rarely covet other peoples cars, but I have to make an exception here. Props to Mark Ford for building the most Bad-ass car I have ever seen.

Election

2008-11-04T07:39:00.000-08:00

In light of the drama and confusion this Presidential election has caused, I thought i'd make a few people laugh with this. Thanks Marie! *Vote Obama*

Christine

2008-10-23T19:43:00.000-07:00

Anyone ever seen the movie 'Christine'? The one where the giant old Cadillac goes psycho and kills everyone in its path? Well Today I realized something.

I have a 1954 Oldsmobile I bought to use as a parts car/possible daily driver for the 1955 Olds i'm restoring for Mel. When I was trailering the thing home, it got dark about half way home. I look out the rear view mirror and all I could see was this dark image and a menacing grin every time I would hit the brakes. I innocently said to my younger brother 'You ever seen the move Christine? I'm starting to get scared of this 4,000 pound chunk of metal. It looks just like a scene in the movie!" He shrugged it off and so did I.

While unloading the car, it managed to slip off the u-haul and nearly go barreling through a forest of trees, another car, and my little brother. Never again would I do this, I thought. This car is cursed!

While pulling the engine and transmission, the hoist goes out and nearly crushes everything around it. As i'm trying to recover from that incident, one on the wheel stops mysteriously slides out and the car starts to roll forward. With me sitting in the engine bay.

Luckily it hit a brick and stopped.

But good. God.

I'm getting rid of this curse.

Anyone else have Car horror stories?

Rat Rod GMC

2008-10-14T18:17:00.000-07:00

Alright. Here's one of these rants I warned you all about. As I mentioned, cars are a huge part of my life. They have been since my grandpa taught me how to triple wax his 42 foot long late '70s Cadillac Eldorado when I was 7 or 8. When I was about 13 or so, I started getting into those odd creatures known as hot rods, due to an older gentleman who lives near me who drives a primered '27 Ford Model T sedan with no fenders, straight pipes, and a big block Mercury V8.
Yesterday, I was at a stoplight being mocked by the dumb red lights that always seem to plague me on my way home from work. Up next to me pulls up a brand new GMC Yukon that was flat black, lowered, and had 22 inch 5-spoke chrome wheels with the centers painted lipstick red, and pinstriping to boot. As I stare at it in disgust, the light finally changes and he pulls away, revealing a license plate frame saying 'Rat Rodz Rule' with skulls and crossbones on each corner. Okay. I can see his intentions here. He probably was watching Monster Garage on something on The Discovery Channel and thought he would start a new trend. The problem here is he is in no way original, and he is totally mixing trends that (in my opinion) aren't meant to be mixed. At all.
Now, to avoid confusion here, a 'rat rod' is a form of hot rodding that has been around since the start or modifying your ride in the '30s. It basically is just an unfinished hot rod, with original paint/rust (or even bare metal or primer) left on, with little attention to how shiny it is. Back then, they were called 'jalopies', which is a bit more endearing then being called a rat, which was made popular in SoCal, and taken to the mainstream by a writer named Grey Baskerville who did an article for Hot Rod magazine coining the term to the history books. Teenagers in the '40s would find an old Model A or '32 Ford in a used car lot or wrecking yard, drop in a hot flathead V8, take the fenders and hood off, lower it in the front or all the way around to give it a nice rake, and go looking for trouble. A shiny paint job, chrome wheels, and even a complete interior were the least of their worries. The name of the game was going as fast as possible as quickly as possible, leaving the stock car in the dust.
Most people confuse hot rods with every other genre of car customizing. Customs are not meant to go as fast normally, quite the contrary. Most times the engine was left stock, and the exterior is modified. Tops were chopped, headlights were frenched, hoods and trunks were nosed and decked, trim was smoothed, sunken antennas were molded in. Legendary customizers such as Gene Winfield, Harry Westergard, Bo Huff, and Bill Hines helped to start and continue this genre.
The culture right above hot rods on the money scale are called street rods. Basically people with too much money putting trucks of money into a car worth 1/100th of what they put into it. You all have seen the vintage cars with big flashy paint jobs, independent suspensions, 20'' wheels, air conditioning, and thousands of dollars in stereo equipment. These are NOT hot rods! Nothing pisses me off more then seeing a $200,000 Fiberglass '34 Ford roadster with those stupid little displays that say it's an 'original hot rod'. No. It's not. If your car has any of those things and they didn't come from the factory with those items (cars from the late '40s and '50s often had IFS) then a pack of rabid monkeys should be set loose on you if you say it's anything but a street rod.
What that gaudy Yukon was...well....kind of an insult to almost 75 years of customization. Now before you all call me out on my Mustang from high school, know that I have learned my ways lol. Mercedes is now building cars that are painted satin black from the factory. Now I don't care if you do this to your ride, but please don't assume that you are a 'revolutionary' or 'unique'. Everything has been done before in the car modification world.
*sigh*

Gatsby

2008-10-13T21:25:00.000-07:00

Ah, yes. The American dream.
F. Scott Fitzgerald portrays that as having all of the glamorous things in life. A sucessful career, a mansion in the Hollywood hills filled with everything you could ever need, a garage filled with all sorts of european sports cars, and a wonderful man or woman to come home to every evening. Every person in this country reaches out for this dream, but how many of us actually achieve it?
I have been fortunate enough to have a little American dream in my own life so far. A place to live, a steady job that could be a career, new cars, designer clothing, and all the Ben and Jerrys I could ever eat.
Not until recently though have I had someone to fill the one thing missing from this steady existance - a wonderful , succesful, beautiful, talented, and incredibly sexy woman that I can call my own. And this amazing being happens to by my beloved fiance' Sharpie.
Up until we met I never really knew what it meant to be cared for, and in love. Most of the others I dated were hyper little blonde things that were only concerned with what they were wearing that day, how many calories they consumed, and being home in time for the new episode of The Hills. One after another, the relationships ended in the same way - lacking, dissapointing, and making me wonder if I would ever really find someone to spoil the way I wanted to.
A couple years ago at a high school football game, I locked eyes with the most beautiful woman I had ever met. I was there with my long term blonde whatsherface, and she was with her koosh-ball headed whatshisname. Not only did I get in trouble with whatsherface for not being able to take my eyes off of her, I could not get her out of the back of my mind!
I graduated, and thought it was the end of the would be romance with this angelic girl. She re-appeared in my life, and I will never take my eyes off of her again!
She has what I believe to be very important qualities in life. Perserverance, brains, and the guts to take on things I could not even imagine. Currently, she is doing more work in a single day on blogs (justlizabell.blogspot.com), novels, and dealing with all the distractions working at home, then I can even fathom. How she does it, I don't know. But damnit I hope she teaches me! The ADD generation that her and I are a part of can learn a thing or two from her.
Along with many many other things, she is a extremely talented writer. Anyone (myself included) can write a paragraph long blog about how animal crackers grow fur if you leave them out in the sun too long. She can turn it into an episode of The Office. It's that kind of talent that is so rare these days, and I am going to tickle her until she lets me in on her secret for being so amazing.

Chicken Filters

2008-10-01T19:36:00.000-07:00

Most of my spare time (that isn't taken up by my gorgeous fiance') is spent at my shop/second home up in the Olympus cove where my dear friend, Mel Gortatowski (best name ever!) has resided since August of 1955. After graduating at the University of Chicago, He loaded up the back of his brand new Oldsmobile Holiday Hardtop with all of his possessions and drove to Salt Lake City, buying a gorgeous home on an acre of land for a mere $26,000. (Kill me. My car cost more then that!) Nearly 54 years later, he is still in the same home that is filled with stories, wit, and clutter. I have been restoring his beloved 1955 Oldsmobile for 2 years now, and I have come to know very well when he's up to something. Uh oh.

Melvin: "Hello you old fart!"

Me: "Hello young man!"

Melvin is holding a 2x3ft stainless steel tray with a great big grin on his face. This can't be good.

"Have I ever told you the story of how I got this tray?"

"Not quite.....is there a story even? It's just a tray!"

"Back in 1963, There was a butcher shop down on Highland drive (*which is still there!) where my good friend John worked. Visiting him one day, I noticed this tray leaning up against the fryer, and I thought 'now that would be perfect for holding my furnace filters!' So I asked him what it's for, and he tells me it is used to catch the blood from the chickens after they have been slaughtered!"

At this point my jaw is wide open, wondering why the devil he is telling me this story. To make it worse, I was drinking fruit punch. God.

"So I ask John 'can I buy that from you?" John laughs and says '5 bucks and it's yours'. I have been using it ever since!"

Granted, the story should be over by now, as I have turned pale and slightly naseous from the chicken sandwich I had earlier that day. But no. No, there is more.

"I still wake up toasty on winter mornings thinking about the poor chickens that had to bleed on the floor instead of in this wonderful tray!" he says while gazing at the tray with wide eyes. "Now you can't tell me thats not the best tale of a furnace filter holder ever told hahahahaha"

He scurries back into the house and I stand amazed at what I just heard.

Thank you Mel. Thats is the only furnace filter story ever told. Eeeeever. And What a story it is.

Step one: remove soup from can

2008-09-25T09:39:00.000-07:00

Never in a million years did I think I would have a blog of my own.

*Flashforward a million and one years* holycrapIhaveablog!

First off, i'll introduce myself. I am a kid early 20's who lives in Salt lake City, Utah. I love the city I am in, except for the constant weather extremes, the ever-present threat of an earthquake (I live right on a fault line), the idiots that think they can drive here, and the fact that my fiance' (who henceforth sheall be called Sharpie) lives 80 miles away in the cow/sheep/goat/cheese capitol if this strange state.

I am doing what you are supposed to do after high school, the whole go to college, get a job, work up the corporate ladder and overthrow your boss thing. I an in my second year at the fine (albeit ghastly expensive) University in downtown SLC, studying to be a high school history/automotive teacher. Yes, I am aware that is a wierd combination, and that teachers get paid next to nothing and have to deal with moody teenagers for nine months a year. But somehow, I can't wait to get my first teaching job!

I have two passions in life. The first being my darling girlfriend/fiance' Sharpie (who is probably going to kill me for using that name). We met years ago back in high school, but both her and I were taken by others for most of those 4 years. A cup of coffee and a gorgeous smile brought us back together, and I fall head over heels in love with her every time she is in my thoughts, dreams, or arms. Soul mate comes to mind here. She is also the reason I have this blog, as she is an accomplished and amazing writer herself!
My next passion is the automotive industry. Since I was very young, I can always remember being fascinated at the noisy machines that nearly everyone in this world relies on. First it was Mustangs and Cadillacs, thanks to my dad, brother and grandfather, then hot rods became dominant in my thoughts. Where that came from, i'm not sure. But it has turned into a career for my young life, and I can't imagine going back to anything else. Forgive me if I ramble about them...I turn into a deer in the headlights when an early '30s hot rod drives by.

So thats me in a nutshell. If you choose to follow me, be prepared for rants, ramblings, and odd combinations of life and love.