Look Mom! I Can Hack!
Bein's how I like this place so much, I just figgered I'd like to contribute a little somethin'. This ain't exactly recent -- I did share this with a small group of (less than a hunnerd) hot rodders on another board a few years back, but anyway; here it is, modified to git in where it'll fit in, etc.
It was just the other day; our friend Don the telephone guy stopped by to hook us up a vintage red rotary phone at Gopher Grove Garage. Once the work was finished, Don expressed some interest in pyrographic procedures -- specifically; how pounce patterns are used for flame job symmetry. Well, I didn't have anything goin' up in flames at the time. In fact, it'd been several whiles since I've even done a flame job, so we took a little journey through 'The Rotten Archives' (a BIG ol' cardboard-box full of loose pitchers of past projects). We found what Don was curious about, his curiosity is now satisfied, but before I toss them back in the box, I kinda thought that maybe a few of y'all might enjoy them as well -- if not from an artistic standpoint, then perhaps from a historical standpoint. It's story time. Here we go again...
Yes, I can hack -- with great conviction at times, and I wanna clean it out with a full confession, but first I gotta tell y'all about a guy I met back in the early-nineties: Harry (AKA The Crow), new in town, from Milwaukee Wisconsin; walks in the door at the family junkyard, and begins to tell me that he wants to build a fifty-three Stude for land-speed racing. Heck, that's somethin' that I've always wanted to do myself, and although I had a rollin' shell of one just waitin' it's turn, in an instant I came to the realization that I'm never gunna do anything with it, so I walked the stranger out back to have a look. If I've ever been guilty of anything, it's this: I have a tendency to go with first impressions (even though I'm not always right) and I couldn't help but like this guy from the moment we met. I gave Harry (The Crow) a price that he couldn't refuse -- in fact, I probably coulda' got in some trouble if my dad had checked me out, but it seemed like the thing to do at the time, and today; Harry (The Crow) is one of the best damn friends I've ever known.
Are y'all ready for some car-stuff?
One day (maybe a year or two after I sold my Stude), Harry (The Crow) stumbled upon a second; a legitimate retired fifty-three Stude land-speed racer of yore. It had been decomposing under a tree in a remote section of the Golden State for many years. Although it was beyond rough, it looked as though it already knew what to do -- all set up with set-back engine mounts for somethin' er other. I hate name-droppin' so I'll say: According to a famous guy that you've all heard of; the front axle and suspension are a Curtis . . . er, Kurtis design. The guy we were talkin' to's name (badly faded) was hand-lettered on the car's fenders, so I figgered he'd be the guy to ask, and sure enough, after the examination, some history began to unfold.
Does anybody recognize it yet? I know there might be a few land-speed types here who'll either flash-back or figger it out. How 'bout a nice prize for the first to correctly identify this long-lost / newly-found national treasure? Lemmie see . . . what do I have around here . . . um, okay -- how 'bout a one-quart (trial-size) can of BIG BROHAM TM. Magnetic Body Filler??
If you're unfamiliar with 'Magnetic Fillers' -- you're not alone. I have not yet released my brain-child to the public. It tested well in Pleasanton...
Now we're back in the 'lavatory' for further testing...
*Test data confirms: This revolutionary new 'Magnetic Filler' stays where you sling it, even over rugged terrain!
*Advanced 'Magnetic Granules' ensure that BIG BROHAM TM. won't fall off like conventional fillers when liberally applied!
*BIG BROHAM TM. "The thickerer -- The stickerer!"
It's a good thing I brew this stuff in-house, 'cause this ol' Stude is gunna need a bunch of it, as illustrated by Harry (The Crow).
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