MAGAZINE

RATTLE CAN NATS OCTOBER 4

Well, if you read this after the fourth, we'll tell you about it later. If this is before that, come on down. It's on the way to CHHR from the north; it's out of the way for those of us coming from the south but........we do it anyway. Ya always wanna keep going when you get somewhere in a hot rod anyway, doncha?

The official Sans-Agenda soiree is A.M. Friday, at Harris Ranch Inn. We'll have the air conditioned EZ Up running and y'all can just drive through the Inn and be admired by the gauntlet of mouth-breathing beater-boys, or stick around and breathe through your mouth with us.

****Bring literature/photos to look at and a couple of parts to sell or trade.

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SHOP NIGHT

Nothin' planned. Just decided to call the boys and wolf some tacos around some old iron and here, there was about 12 of 'em, several brought hot rods, one brought a recent B'ville Record Holder (Kitchen), and Bill (NUMMNTS) from Chi showed up; he was in town to take in as much hot rod act as he could, and for some reason chose to hang with the River City Low Brow. No accountin' for taste, is there ?

We did no work, of course (that's why it's not every week anymore) so the tales are flyin', people get caught up with one another, and, dang, we like those mugs.

Some parts moved around - handed off to one or another of the cats what was going to work on them or something; strategies were shared for projects on-going; swindles were laid out, like high zoot trades, e.g. hubcaps-for-gas caps, headlice for headlice and like that. And tacos. And brew.

One of 'em there was George B., a four barrel expert from way back, in his '33 truck with the Rutherford S.O. motor. Boy, does he know what's what or what's what?!!! You might've seen the truck at B'ville: it's there every year, orange w/ Moon discs.

Anywho, even tho' we didn't chuck any beer bottles at freight trains..........hey.................. hmmmmm...........

"Hey! This is Morty..we're gonna go again this Wednesday.......and... can ya bring bottled beer this time?"

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WHY WE DON'T GO TO 'CAR SHOWS'

We haven't railed about this for a long time......because we don't go to 'em. We don't go because the entertainment pays to get in, it suffers long, percolating lines for the privilege to do so, the spectators are clueless (some of the entrants, too) and....we haven't yet pointed out, the 'host club', is likely a group of neuvos who came to the party about 12 years ago, bought a Tri Five Chevy and a mid-thirties two door (now an expert), want to make their club famous (to whom?), and they tend to have quite the 'attitude'. Lofty. Affected by the glory. Prestige. Authority over the generally desperate poser-types who frequent such debacles.

We went anyway, and right outa the gate a member of the host club, on inspection of the car we drove, proceeded to lecture us on how it really oughta be. Pointed out he has lots of cars and went on and on about how wrong we were.

We held our mud, head-shaking, and wondered, perplexed, just what his credentials were. This lout wasn't laughing, though. We had violated his space. (No risk of that happening again, Big Boy.)

He was observed doing the 'self-appointed expert' thing elsewhere during the day, and the only indemnifying feature of the day is that none of you........................absolutely none of you ............were there.* We were alone, and so, we really don't have to tell you, Don't ever consider going to the "Show for the Unwashed at Belmont Shore".

As a counterpoint, a club member of the 'Car Guy' apologized for him......classy...but no apology will excuse the guy's hair-do.........................

* Exception: one out-of-place car we saw on the way out was a red primered full fendered '31 roadster pickup with Tacoma Cream Kelseys and Q.C. that we see every year at a Holiday Horseless Carriage Run. It is Da Bomb, and we nearly fainted when it turned up with us in that company.

LEARNIN' DOODLEY

You're in project mode, but it seems so damn far away. The hulk is gatherin' dust and ah, heck, you got another one to drive anyway. But, wait.

You're showin' no drive. No moxie. No ambition. And ya ain't learnin'....... doodley.

We gotta advance those projects every day. Above, where we claimed we did no work at shop night... we still advanced projects (just about every guy there has a project) by talking them out, handing parts off or getting leads on where/how to get some piece (that some mag readers would never recognize) improved. Changed. Machined or welded. Broke. Stretched or bent; morphed in to the piece of metal that, for years ever after, you will appreciate when you are under the car, or in it ....or it may just be the hidden piece you flash back on when you relish the completed project 10 years after.

And if it's a day like we had today....you accomplish the parts-moving requisite for that day and the current project, and you even pick up a part for a future project, keeping the symbolic hook set on that one, advancing the project, furthering the image, the vision, the interest in one that really is waaaay out there.

And you may get to talk to an older guy while you're there. Hear a story. Vow to come back for more. More, about the first '36 Ford he had ("....picture of me with it up there on the wall.......") and how his brother had owned it in '52 and sold it to a Marine who blew the motor on the way to Pendleton and abandoned it and the State made his brother come after it so he bought it for the impound fees ($7) and got the engine rebuilt for $189, and his dad sold it for $150 after he had got drafted for Korea..............and it didn't have one dent in it.......was Washington Blue with that white corrosion on top from sitting outside for a couple of years......."

Advance your projects. Learn doodley. Go out there and make a hot rod. Today.

You got room in there for more memories..................

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Why is it that the trend is to make wheel/tire combos look like those on die-cast toys? Do they sure nuff think that real cars should look as though the builder couldn't get them the right size?

Now one of our fav mags is telling them just how to do it.

"Life imitating art", ain't it?

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