Remember when.......

Remember when, many years ago, you bought an oddball vehicle like ours and it was almost impossible to get parts for? Now days, with the internet and almost free long distant calling, you can find a part in BumF@%#, Egypt and have in at your door in a few days. As a kid in the 60s, my neighbor had a Triumph sports car. One day I say it park out back, I asked him was happened, he said the starter went out, but he was ordering a new one. His car sat back there for 5 months, waitng on a slow boat from China. He finally got his starter at a 1960s cost of $180.00, which would be about $1000.00 today.
We didn't have video games, unles you call watching baseball on TV, a video game. We stayed outside. I spent many an hour sitting the watching Mr. Leonard working on his cars and God knows what else. This man could make or fix anything. Guess that is where I got my interest in using my hands to turn wrenches and make things. I am now the Mr. Leonard in my neighborhood. Lots of kids around here, but not a one has shown an interest in automobiles. They can play the hell out of video games. Everytime one of them gets a flat on their bicycle, their parents buy them a new bike. I tried to show a few how to fix their flat tires, but they would rather walk or ask for a new one.
Anyway, I was just thinking how much easier we have it today, getting parts and communicating with club members around the world.
greg

 

Nice post Greg
BTW Don't drink the water in BumF@%#, Egypt I hear it's bad for you

 

at age 4 i was out back with my dad wrenching on my tricycle while my dad worked on any one of our POS cars, or a neighbors car, or a friends... i picked up quick while watching. by 12 i was welding up bicycle choppers and had a car at 14 that i was wrenching on waiting for my 16th birthday.

i have the neighborhood kids bringing everything from flat bike tires to go carts that don't start over to my house. i help them as much as i can, but they don't want to learn they just want it fixed.

 

My dad was a Millwright so I saw lots/ did lots with him in the local mills.
I just remembered back in the 70's or 80's [?] when oil was going through the roof
that the Arab sheiks apparantly just abandonded their Rolls Rollers when they got a flat and went and got a new one.
Your bike story reminded me of that.

 

Great post! I grew up with Dad making me come out to the garage most every night to work on his milk truck. Seems like stuff was always broken on that thing, and I caught h*ll if I came out there with my school clothes on.

First bike was a much older banana seat special to which I quickly tarp-strapped an old semi steering wheel to the handlebars. Luckily I never got a flat tire, since Mom gave me h*ll for my repeated attempts at the worlds longest skid mark.

Come to think of it, I caught hell a lot!

-Andy

 

ahhhh, yes! i forgot about the great skidmark competition of '78 .... lol
and as soon as we figured out how to ride a wheelie that was the next biggest thing until i secretly learned how to ride a unicycle in my back yard, challenged a kid to $5 for a wheelie contest and came out from the garage on a unicycle... let me just say it was a quick five bucks

 

Give me the good ol' days.. "when a pair of Boobs was a couple of dumb guys"
Quote from the late and great Jackie Gleason....

 

you know...this is why it so much fun to come on to this forum every morning

i remember the long skid marks too...but living on the farm me and my brothers had only the gravel road, but man you could really lay it down...and don't forget the skid outs!! i had a red mustang (banana bike) and ya i could wheel that thing for miles. i don't have my mustang anymore but a have a hotrod (banana bike) and its red too my wife has a purple one. Good Times...Good Times

 

moderators

hey; all you moderators on this general truck info. page. these general truck threads are for japanese mini trucks discussions not for bicycles, tricycles, and wagons. some of you guys have sent me nasty e-mails for doing the same thing.

 

Since this is in the Mini Lounge I would assume it's OK. Here is what the top of the page says:

"Mini Lounge Discussion about most everything Non Mini Truck related goes here."

At least it's not some World of Warcraft spammer!

Oh, and I remember the skid mark contests, too.

 

Back in '61

When I was 15, back in '61, a friend and I decided to put a new set of rings and rod bearings in Daddy's old '52 Ford flathead V8 Mainline 2 door. It had started smoking and losing compression badly. Well, we got it done, and it ran better than ever. The only thing--we had all these parts left over here and there that were supposed to have gone back in. Oh well. Before then I was always wanting to do things to my bicycle--like hooking cardboard flappers to the fender supports to make it sound like an engine against the spokes, or adding mudflaps or turn signals. I would do anything just to change it up a little. Oh boy. Now I can't figure out this damn Sambar carburetor.

 

I think it's always interesting to find out what the people on here do for a livin'. What bike maker do you work for? I'll be in the market in the spring, maybe I can send some support your way....

-Andy

 

Jason, Before you dig yourself a hole it was in the General section first and was moved
to the Mini Lounge after it was pointed out.

 

Uh, Trek, right?

We have 3 in my immediate family...great bikes!

-Andy