Show off yer Vintage thingy with wheels

Petrol & Powder

Well-Known Member
As great as those cars look, they are really no fun to drive, unless you drive like Grandpa. Power steering and power brakes helped, but they still wanted to roll over if you went around any corner at over a crawl. They are gorgeous creatures, though.

Buddy at work had a '57 Chevy hotrod with a small block. I'd dropped my car at the shop on my way into work and needed to go look at something that they found. Larry had a Scirocco and the Chevy. He rarely drove the Chevy to work. I asked if I could borrow his car and he tossed me the keys. I figure the Scirocco is out there. Nope. No problem, I drove cars like this when I was younger. I drove the car out the lot and down a back road from the office with a pretty tight right hander. I went into that corner and I really did not think I was coming out of it alive. I know all 4 stayed planted, but at the moment, I was sure I was on 2 wheels doing a bad impression of a Joey Chitwood show. Ran my chore and got the car back unscathed and never asked to borrow a car again. I was getting a slight pucker as I was typing this, just thinking about that moment.
/\ Yep /\

Large American cars got a little bit better in the handling department in the 1960's & 1970's but they were far from great. Most of the time you were working with a solid rear axle and some type of independant front suspension. Lots of weight, maybe a sway bar and not the best weight distribution. The average large American sedan would generally understeer severely at first (the front end would resist turning) and then transistion into wicked oversteer (the back end would slide to the outside of the turn).
Skilled drivers could work with that combination, to a degree, but the laws of physics would always win in the end.
 

Winelover

North Central Arkansas
I didn't sell my 57. Parked it behind the house and left for boot camp, 6 months later home on a 30 day leave to discover Mom had sold it. :mad: :( That was in 1968, haven't gotten over that yet.
My grandmother did that with my Dad's baseball card collection when he went off to WWII. Who know what that would be worth, today.
 
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Bret4207

At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
I had a pristine Takamine Dreadnought guitar in it's case when I went to boot camp. Came home found a big dent in it where one of my worthless brothers hit it with a drum stick while the other was holding it. Still have the guitar, it still has the dent, haven't talked to either brother in years.
 

Missionary

Well-Known Member
Had a very nice 55 Chevy 2 door. 327 Vette engine. Painted Vette metal flake gold. Big tires in back. Craiger spoke mags.....
While I was in the Green Machine a friend and is BIL changed registration tag on it. Faked a bill of sale and off it went.
 

Snakeoil

Well-Known Member
I had a pristine Takamine Dreadnought guitar in it's case when I went to boot camp. Came home found a big dent in it where one of my worthless brothers hit it with a drum stick while the other was holding it. Still have the guitar, it still has the dent, haven't talked to either brother in years.
Guy that I knew and played music with in my youth, stops by one day to show me his garage sale find. He opens up his hatch and there is a gorgeous hardcase, I'm talking top quality hardcase with a piece of masking tape on it that says $25. I am amazed that he got a case like that for $25. He smiles and says wait. He opens the case and inside is a Martin Dreadnaught with a factory electric kit installed. The side of the body was split wide open. My guess is pissed off girlfriend. Another friend who is a luthier repaired it and you cannot see the repair. Probably the only $25 Martin I'll ever see.
 

Snakeoil

Well-Known Member
Well since JW took us off on a lawnmower tangent, I thought I'd follow suit and take us in a slightly different direction.

Here is my vintage gas grill. My folks bought this grill in the 60's it is the first propane BBQ that Sears sold. It originally came with a cast iron burner that lasted until well into the 90's. After my folks passed, I could not get rid of the grill so I brought it up to our camp. When my folks had it, it lived under a cover unless they were cooking on it. So, it did not have to deal with the elements, other than cold. Since taking possession in 1993, it only lives outdoors in the summer and spends the winter in our shed. It has been completely stripped and repainted twice by me. But it has gotten touched up several times in between the stripping events. It's currently in need of a touch up.

Several years ago, I wheeled it out to put on the deck in the spring and when I picked it up to carry it up the stairs of the deck, it felt very light. When I tried to set it down, there was nothing there. The steel center column had rotted thru and the wheeled base was still sitting on the ground at the bottom of the stairs. Hmmmm... not willing to give up the ship just yet.

Went to Fleet Pride (trucking supply house) and asked about a short length of 4 inch truck exhaust pipe. The manager was behind the counter and got a big smile on his face. I told him what it was for and he disappeared into the warehouse. He came back with a 3' long piece of exhaust pipe. Told me he's been tripping over this piece of exhaust for at least 2 years and threatened more than once to toss it in the dumpster. I think he charged me $5 for the piece and was happy to see it go out the door.

I cut it to length, cut a hole for the controls and put the grill back in tip-top condition. I'm pretty sure that was the second stripping and repainting event since the new center column deserved the rest of the grill to look as good. I left the base silver (alum) that time. It was always black in the past.

I actually contacted Sears and told them about the grill. Sent photos and told them I was the second owner. All I ever heard were crickets in response. Suspect Sears was already on its path down the drain so no long-term Sears BBQ story was going to save them.

So here she is in all her glory. She's very deep so easy to control the heat. Had lava rocks in the bottom when new. But those were abandoned a few years after getting it to the lake. The original grates dissolved over time and the first replacements were crap. Have cast iron universal fit grates now that are holding up fine. Not sure how many new burners I've put into her. I bought 8 at a flea market years ago and they were gone a long time ago. I'll bet I've put at least a dozen over the last 30 years. Those stainless (other thread on stainless steel take note) burners they make today don't last worth a damn. Might just make one from sch 40 stainless or brass pipe when this one goes. Hard to find those H-burners now. I think I got the last one at Runnings about 2 years ago. Cousin is coming over for burgers and beer tonight. So, she's get fired up shortly.

20220630_172203.jpg
 

L Ross

Well-Known Member
I wanted to show my hotrod again but the photos are apparently too large for the server? That thing handles like a go-kart. I was headed over to the River one day with Sue in it when two of those BMW all the gear all the time riders started tailgating us in a lengthy no passing zone on a curvy hilly State Hwy. You know the bikes, big aluminum panniers.

Anyway I told Sue I'd be nice and get out of their way. By the time we made the last 10 miles to the River I could not even see them in the rear view anymore.
 

popper

Well-Known Member
My BB card collection, car parts and stuff was gone by the time I came back from boot. Closet/drawers were empty. Nobody could fix that harmony F hole with the caved in top after I left it in the dorm over vacation.
I've never had a fast car, guess I never needed it. Had a lot of slow cars.
 
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waco

Springfield, Oregon
I still have all eight of my guitars. My newest one is a Butterscotch Blonde American Fender Telecaster. It's a Professional Player II. Lucky for me none have been damaged, lost, or stolen over the last 30 years.
 

Mitty38

Well-Known Member
Lost most of my picks to water damage years ago.
So won't bore you with a long list and no pics.
My favorite vehicle was my first. A ragged out 71 Mustang. Bought it with money saved from fixing and selling bicycles at 15.
 

Mitty38

Well-Known Member
The only thing I have that is actually vintage is a 1932 Silver King. Just turned vintage this year. 90 years old. Will try and get a pick, if I can find one, or get over to my storage.

Course this old girl is 32 years old this month. Guess it qualifies as Classic. Another 13 years and it will be an Anitique.
110k miles. All original mechanicaly. Everything works, including the air, and all the pollution junk. Original paint. LOLIMG_20220630_182016912~3.jpgIMG_20220630_181950447~2.jpg
 
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richhodg66

Well-Known Member
I never have been one to consider vehicles as toys the way I do guns. Motorcycles have always been more interesting than anything with four wheels, but even then, I rode them instead of driving a car most of the time instead of just joy riding.

Always did love a British parallel twin though and broke down and bought a Triumph Bonnevile after I retired from the Army. Had three bikes them, big enduro, a sport tourer I commuted to Topeka and bac and made a few long road trips on, then the Bonnie. Not vintage really, it's a 2002, but it sat up in the barn, along with the KLR for a few years, recently got it up and running and have been riding it n to work daily over the Summer and enjoying the heck out of it. The fact that it gets close to 50 MPG doesn't hurt either.
 

Bret4207

At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
Had a very nice 55 Chevy 2 door. 327 Vette engine. Painted Vette metal flake gold. Big tires in back. Craiger spoke mags.....
While I was in the Green Machine a friend and is BIL changed registration tag on it. Faked a bill of sale and off it went.
Horse whipping is too good for people like that...:angry:
 

Bret4207

At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
I have to get going on my luthier skills. Bought an old 12 string at Salvation Army for $50 or something. The heel has a crack that may have opened up after I got it, I don't know. Has a pretty thin neck for a 12 string, so I want to save it. It's an off brand, but has the body is dreadnought enough to give me the deep tones I like so much. The Takamine was made May 31, 1976, and it needs a new nut and I've never been happy with the professionally repaired bridge. There are luthiers around but I'm hesitant to engage one without seeing their work.

Whoops! No wheels involved! Thread drift, it's what we're good at!
 

Snakeoil

Well-Known Member
I wanted to show my hotrod again but the photos are apparently too large for the server? That thing handles like a go-kart. I was headed over to the River one day with Sue in it when two of those BMW all the gear all the time riders started tailgating us in a lengthy no passing zone on a curvy hilly State Hwy. You know the bikes, big aluminum panniers.

Anyway I told Sue I'd be nice and get out of their way. By the time we made the last 10 miles to the River I could not even see them in the rear view anymore.
JW, go to file that is the pic of your car and right click on it. It will bring up a menu. Select "Open With" by putting the cursor on it. That will bring up another menu and one of the choices will be Paint. Select Paint by left clicking on it and the photo will open up in paint. In the menu bar at the top of Paint will be a selection to Resize. Left click on that and it will bring up a window. Select percentage and check Maintain Aspect Ratio if not already checked. Now type 30 where it says 100 in the Size box. You only need to put 30 in one of the two boxes, Horz or Vert. The hit OKAY and the picture will get smaller. You can do a Save As and add a number or letter to the name and you now will have the original in it's full size and a new copy that is much smaller and should be well under 1MB in size. That one will work in a post here.

If this was not clear, let me know and I'll do a bunch of screen shots and write a quick tutorial.
 

Winelover

North Central Arkansas
If you have windows, just bring up the picture and click on edit picture. Window will open up and gives you options like rotate, resize, crop, etc. Click on resize and punch in the custom resize box.....say 900, in width............length will fill in automatically at around 700. Hit OK and close it out. Next up will be a window that says save. Hit save and your photo is small enough to upload on this site. Imperative that you hit save.
 

popper

Well-Known Member
Just an Epi L.P. copy and ESP bass. They work fine, nothing fancy. Fingers pretty worn/sore after todays practice play along. Gotta keep arthritis away.
 

Snakeoil

Well-Known Member
If you have windows, just bring up the picture and click on edit picture. Window will open up and gives you options like rotate, resize, crop, etc. Click on resize and punch in the custom resize box.....say 900, in width............length will fill in automatically at around 700. Hit OK and close it out. Next up will be a window that says save. Hit save and your photo is small enough to upload on this site. Imperative that you hit save.
Never used that feature. Worked like a champ. You can actually right click on the photo and the menu that pops up will include RESIZE. Amazing how many features exist that you never know are there until you stumble upon them or someone points them out. Thanks.
 

JonB

Halcyon member
The local car show, during the community celebration (Last Sunday), isn't like the normal car show. Just show up and a dude will tell you where to park. No fees and no prize money, just a fun time to chat with other car folks. The Fire Dept sells burgers and such for a fundraiser for the Dept...they grill a great, thick, handformed burger, not the usual pre-frozen patties that dry out quick, but I digress.

Anyway, there are other shows on the same day, a few towns over that have real prize money, so we get some more interesting cars/trucks that aren't likely to win a prize. We seem to get more "survivors" than "restored". Here are a few.

Chevy truck 5 window Klausterosa 2022Jun26 640px.jpgDodge truck ACME 2022Jun26 640px.jpgjeep truck 2022Jun26 640px.jpg

Here are a few others that caught my eye.
chevy 2022Jun26 640px.jpgIH truck 2022Jun26 640px.jpgStarsky 2022Jun26 640px.jpg

The Fire Dept even polished their brush fire rig.
Chevy FD 2022Jun26 640px.jpg