Another Aussie....

[GlenC]

Greetings!

It was summer (Australian that is,) 1963, I was still at high school and had time off to go to the doctor. There was a bit of a wait so I scrounged through the pile of magazines on the desk to see if there was anything there apart from 'Womens Weekly' to read. This magazine with strange looking cars on the cover appeared in my hands, and by the time the doctor was ready to see me, it had somehow vanished into by schoolbag!

The magazine was the October 1963 Car Craft, the roadster issue, and I was hooked! I stll am hooked, but now I'm 60 years old and I still don't own a hot rod. I've made a number of starts, 1941 Willys sedan, 1928 Essex coupe, Model A woodie, 1949 Mercury, shoebox Ford, 1950 English Ford Prefect, but all were sold before completion.

I intend to own a hot rod before I die, and I'm not going to start on one until I know I've got the time, money and inclination to see it through. It may take a while, but at least I've still got the dream.

Cheers, Glen.

 

[VegasBruce]

Welcome Glen :lol: Your never to old for a hotrod. The great thing about a bucket is it can cost as much or little as you want, depending on the style your after. You can start by scrounging parts, that's a lot of fun in itself. When you have a good amount of arts you can begin your build.

 

[Youngster]

like bruce said "never too old". best thing in the world too keepyou young at heart.

Ron

 

[der Spieler]

Glen, At 60 you're still a young man. A lot of us here are just about as old as dirt and I think one member actually invented dirt. I'm 62 and I'll be starting build number 2 sometime this year, as soon as life gets out of the way.

 

[GlenC]

Thanks for the welcome people. I won't make a final decision on the style of rod I build until I get some imput from my wife. After 30 years together she's a true partner in every sense, and as she'll need to ride in it and probably drive it on occasion I want to be sure she's happy with what I build. She's only about half my size so a big sedan is out of the question, I'm just not sure if a T bucket/roadster will be comfortable enough for her.

If I go the T route, then I'll use something like the original 'Black Widow' as a styling queue. Not the model pickup style, rather the 23 Turtledeck T roadster that sits pretty much flat to the road. The original ran a sidevalve V8, I'll probably opt for an inline 6 with 5 speed manual box. I'll aim for a lightweight build so power to weight won't be an issue.

As the T was my first 'dream' car and I can use one to cruise locally because we've got great weather here, it's what I'll probably end up with. I'm still at the dreaming stage so it's all pretty academic anyway at this stage. At least by the time I'm ready to make a start I'll have a real good idea of what I need and what direction I'm heading.

Here's a pic of the orignal Black Widow...

Cheers, Glen.

 

[Hot Rod Todd]

Glen,

Welcome aboard. The sooner you start building your car, the sooner you can be out driving it.

I got my latest "Cruzin" magazine yesterday - issue 103/May 2009 and its got a great article on an Ardun headed Tee owned by Cotton Werksman. Its a way clever car and close to the original he built 40 years ago.

So rock down to the bookstore and see if you can find a copy. The car will inspire you.

cheers
Todd
Christchurch NZ

 

[dan eichstedt]

Welcome, The 23 and a wife are the best was to go, the 15's are to small.
You can do a lot with the "T" that will make you and your wife happy. Don't start with out a plan and then enjoy the ride. And at 60 you have lots of "T" time left.