Mort's Shorts

Back to Basics? Mebbe.

The nostalgic look we had last month of the years since about 1995 (our first Reliability Run kind of kicked it off - followed by 12 more, including in ‘98 the 50th Anniversary and First Tribute to Pasadena Reliability Run) caused further introspection in to my own pleasures in hot rods.

The thing that got me defined as I’ve said, was Montgomery’s books. From the mid 80’s I wasn’t gettin’ with the evolved look, feel, act of the streetrod deal.

IN ‘88 OR ‘89 OR SO, ON THE WAY TO OAKLAND ROADSTER
SHOW; STOPPED TO PAY TRIBUTE IN..CHOLAME….........

There was nerfing from Eastwood, Carambia and like that, toward the foundings, and there was collaboration with some good guys on a project or two. Soon I was stuck with a preoccupation to exerience as much of that style of hot rod life as a guy could. Well, we got to do a whole damned lot of it in the meantime.

‘Wheel run off the road a few times… when we dabbled in other kinds of cars…and we’re still making tire tracks there… the hot rod life goes on… but got kind of comfortably passive while we started to using them, touring, like we’d always envisioned. Now, using ‘em that way would require a..(ugh)  streetroddish car. So we got one, personalized it, tried to hide the properties that define it as streetroddish (ugh) and it’s been working out fine. Yeah, fine, I guess: Three more states and it’s been in all the contiguous 48. Not so bad; even with a jiggler front end and an automatic.

NO APOLOGIES. NONE.
That rig serves it’s explicit purpose and we won’t change anything, in fact, plan on even more of that travel gig. But, see…  there’s been a void in the inspiration department. Reflecting on that, I am all the way fuflifilled in the “travel, tour, call-on-real-hotrod guys in the heartland” arena but I realize that I’ve been living vicariously for the rest of it through two particular groups: the Boners and the Flyers.

Hop Up has to employ that ‘broader brush’ stuff even if it’s not to the pitifull extent some real mags have to. We have to try to appeal to more than the 19 of you-all, though, with the print product. Thus, some departure from a very pure ideal is required. Some; just some. Message Boards are fairly well all over the place with or without a certain ‘creed’; most of them embrace anybody who wants to play…so the content gets broader and broader. But, back to the soul:

The Boners have a look. An ethic. It’s a style, that’s old but new, traditional but avante garde. Their inimitable look is imitated (how’s that?), their road-warrior sagas are well known, they are stone hooked on Bonneville (and their cool pit-neighbors) and they are doin’ what most of us would like to do with our Fords. And they do it within their own style, no departure, not much evolution if any at all. It’s a Boner car and that’s fucking that; you can envision it when somebody says it.

JOHN AND JEFF ON THE ROAD..YOU’VE SEEN UTUBE, RIGHT?

Then there’s the Flyers..and you are prob’ly gonna get tired of us talking about it, but these are the ones who - even though they’d like to see their gag grow..aren’t in it for expansion, profit and profligate fame. They’d prob’ly like the reinforcement of a large fan-base but by the very nature of their interests..they are doomed to…having more fun than should be allowed without getting very famous. That’s the one that affects a whole passel of participants new and old, celebrity or unknown and wannabe’s of all stripes; ya see, if there’s no fame potential..some folks won’t play. The Flyer purpose of re-enactment with pre-‘55 cars and parts emhasizes T’s and A’s, Ford hardware, and known elements of these things in personalized combinations. Like we always say: innovation, not necessarily invention.

WRANGLIN’ THESE KINDS O’ PARTS IS THE DEAL

What we like about this is…there is almost certainly no fame or major profit end-game here. It’s kind of what Hop Up set out to do, and while we accidently got ‘fairly famous” as Rustman says, with about 19 guys…the fortune has been successfully avoided…and that works. But I personally got away from that visceral feeling I had had those many seasons ago..and realize that when I revisit the black and white photos we have here and there…and everywhere.

I’m getting it back through the Flyers. That’s where I go for my fix. An’ I think I’m back even if my projects are all done….I’m livin’ vicariously through their handiwork and I know one thing for sure: they prob’ly already got their 19 an’ who knows, ma man….it may run up to several dozen. They got time. They’re young.

Hop Up Honor.Stay Honor

There’s a piece on the FLYERS in Hop Up Volume X - Revelation coming soon.