Mort's Shorts

MORT’S SHORTS

Well. We done had a 3 month hiatus so we had lots to say last month…but …the hiatus got us t’ thinkin’ about some stuff that has gone by in the 7 years we been writin’ to you.

Like we said in the beginning: we like axles, and carburetors and like that.
An’ we like hot rods that are hot..and sinister…..although our early correctrods (T’s and like that) weren’t sinister….they were neat, clever, inspired. The goofy kids what drove/built them had sinster actin’ offspring later on. See, sinister was a later thing that got in to hot rods more in the 50’s-60’s than any time before. It had derived from mysterious…avante garde…..then anti-social. A kid in a sinister hot rod in the 60’s might actually come across tough.

‘Specially if he had lost his fenders somewhere. Had holes in his mufflers. Had t’ lean down a little to look out the side light.

And if he smoked non-filtered. (Lucky Strike worked here.)

Bad ass. Whadaya think of when you say that?  We think of noisy slammed hot rods that need manual gear changes and are a little prone to gas spurtin’ up somewhere once in a while. Yeah, the winders gotta be small or non-existent;  they generally gotta be two springers.

An’ the driver be wearin’ cheap sunglasses.

So, there has always been a culture, but one that was more centric to the cars..and didn’t require a uniform except the one that evolved.. in time… to jeans, rod run tee shirt and a grey beard. None of these sartorial traits was derived from a conscious choice to make a statement, rather’ just evolved. That’s who we became after the 60’s ,70’s and, 80’s.

But the cars were/are the meat and……. to their credit, it really was/is…. about the iron.

And it is bad- ass.

And oh, yeah…..Hop Up Guys got hot rods and jobs. Not all of ‘em out there do, ya know?

And the truth is in Hop Up. Truth in rodding, and, let’s see…no fool-suffering going on here. ... on the contrary.

And it ain’t the writer that’s all that, either…..he’s just the custodian of this noble title; at your service. It’s a mission.

What it is, is you cats and your hot rods…...and slammed customs…... and your attitude.. tempered with humility and your craft, and the soulful experience you have with one another, and your history - written as you are catching and even overtaking the icons…...‘cuz you are…admit it…....

It’s just so……simple. Most anybody could do it, right? 

Definite maybe.

en hopup veritas

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