|
Words of Advice on Rodding by SamIyam |
as posted on the Original Rodders Round Table
- Wear your seat belt while driving. Statistics show that you are more likely to survive an automobile accident if you are wearing your seat belt.
- Own at least one black car in your lifetime.
- Never let popular opinion or trends dictate what color you paint your car.
- Learn basic mechanical skills, you never know when you will need them.
- Drive your hot rod across country (and back) at least one time.
- Own a car without a top.
- When people ask you about your hot rod, be friendly. It's staggering to think of the impact rodders could make if they all did this.
- Attend at least one national event.
- Carry extra parts and a tool kit in your car on every journey that is further away from your home than you care to walk.
- Remember, rock chips and bugs are like a badge of courage.
- You also are no better for driving your hot rod than trailering it. It's all about attitude. I've met a**holes who drive their cars, and extremely nice people who don't.
- Go to the Henry Ford Museum at least one time in your life.
- Own a car that will make your butt put a death grip on your seats upholstery.
- Help younger rodders in any way you can.
- Own at least one car with a Caddy motor in it.
- Always drive slowly through residential areas.
- Make at least one pass down the drag strip in your car.
- Build at least one car in your lifetime.
- Don't be ashamed if you didn't build your car. There are very few people out there who can do it all.
- Learn to do as many aspects of car construction as you can.
- Never rush a project, it will always show.
- At the same time never take more than a decade to build a car. Trends seem to cycle every five to seven years.
- Stay clear of trends, that is unless you are the one starting them.
- If you are going to do a burnout, do it where nobody will see you.
- Never, and I mean never, try to outrun a cop.
- Build cars that are safe.
- Learn how to draw flames.
- Build your car for YOU, not for the fame and glory. Fame and glory fade with time but YOU will be around as long as you live.
- Never wax your car in the sun.
- If you get your car in a magazine, buy only one or two extra copies, not fifty. If you buy all the copies up, no one will ever know you were in a magazine.
- Subscribe! Don't be a jipper and read magazines at the news stand. This, in its own way, is bad for our hobby.
- Remember, your painted car is no better than a primered one. Maybe the owner of that primered car likes it that way.
- Don't ask "Is it Glass or Steel?" You are only showing your place on the "Hot Rodding Food Chain".
- Be modest.
- Log onto the RRT every day or two. You will learn a lot.
- Remember, Opinions are like belly buttons, everybody has one.
- Work on forming your own opinion, and don't be afraid to voice it.
- Buy your own torque wrench. Nobody likes to loan their torque wrench out only to have it returned loaded.
- Use jackstands.
- Listen to constructive criticism. But remember, there are people out there who enjoy seeing you get angry. If you learn to tell the difference between the two, you are wise.
- Take someone over age 65 for a ride in you rod. They can remember when these cars were used as everyday transportation and it will most likely trigger a fond memory that they will share with you.
- Likewise, take a child or teen for a ride. Young opinions are forming, and who knows, they may become the next generation's rodders.
- Always wear sunscreen in a roadster.
|
|
| |