Eric,
I was raised on a farm with 350 acres of corn, beans, and 300 pigs in Iowa.
Sweated to death in the Summer working with the bigger boys, and froze doing
chores in the winter.
After moving to Texas (age 14) I got a afterschool job with a irrigation
company, a job I still have 25 years later. I've spent more time behind a idiot
spoon, than I care to think about.
The way those older guys that have taught me more than ever learned in
school is hands on. And the ingenious way they keep something running so the job
can get done has always amazed me and filled me with a feeling of awe.
Case in point: We had a 56 Ford truck on the farm. The carb went bad and we
pulled it apart in the field. Some of the parts laid out on the fender rolled of
and I guess are still lying there somewhere cause we never found them! My Dad
set for awhile then grabbed the vise grips from the tool box and began reshaping
the fuel line, till it pointed down the throat. The he crimped it till it would
just drip...keeping the float bowl full. We finshed the day that way...and for
all I know longer than that!
Years later I thought "Hey my Dad invented the fuel injection!!" =)
To me this is what Hot Rodding is all about. Think of back when guys were
strpping the fenders, making their own hop-up parts, and actually shapeing the
aftermarket world we live with today. It was not always possible to pick up the
phone and order a front end kit, aset of fast burn heads, etc.
Your point of making things work, taken one step further. Making things work
better, is why I guess I'm a Rodder and not much interested in restoration. To
me anybody can but it back the way it was (but thank god some people do!)...But
to modifiy and improve is much more of a challenge.
True some times it's hit and miss, but that to me is half the fun.
Terry
Eric Johnson wrote:
> The farmers in this country and around the world are by far, the most
> creative and hard working folks. Which I suspect you know nothing about. The
> crop will not wait for you to go to town, order the part, install the part
> and then back to work. The same goes for any contract job. If something
> breaks and bailing wire will fix it then hell use the bail wire. 99% of all
> of us are broke and don't even think of what color we are going to paint the
> engine compartment. I have owned trucks all my (driving)life. The way some
> people treat their trucks makes me wonder. To me a truck is a tool, not
> something to look at through a glass case. I suspect allot of you guys are
> little pansy ass rich kids, who have never worked a hard day in their lives.
> That's why you can't understand why anyone would use bailing wire to fix
> something. I suggest that until you know how that meal got on your table you
> better stop bashing the people that helped put it there.
>
> Eric Johnson
> Vista,Ca (San Diego)
> 48'Carryall w/56'GMC 270
> 49'Carryall w/Rust
> oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
|