Hello there HAMB’ers, I’ve lurked on the HAMB for quite some time and figure I should finally do a proper introduction. My name is Allen and I was born in ’61. Growing up, my Dad was always wrenching on some kind of HAMB friendly, interesting car and has passed on his love for cars on to me (He grew up in Escondido CA, drove a ’48 Chevy custom and was a member T-Timers auto club.) I was 14 when my Dad retired from the USAF and we moved to Sacramento. I hustled up a job in a skateboard shop (Skateboard City) and started saving my pennies for a car. My Dad knew that I was antsy to buy something, although I didn't know what that something was, and came home one day and told me about a ‘66 Mustang, six-banger, 3-speed manual, for sale down the street. I was 15 when I bought that, my first, car. The Mustang sat in the driveway and any money earned from my job went into the car. Went through all the mechanicals, new custom upholstery, header into dual exhaust, etc. Got all the little dings fixed and the car was ready for paint. Mom and Dad got me some chrome reverse wheels for Christmas and I had to buy the tires. Dad came home one day with a 250 cid straight six that a friend had given him. We built it up a bit and into the Mustang it went. The light duty 3 speed didn't like that motor too much as I had to replace the 1st gear in it twice when it split off the shaft. The Mustang was totaled not long after when a drunk slammed into the back of it. Got the wreck back (I wanted the interior), with some insurance money, and parted out what was left. Replaced it with another ’66 which I had kept up until 2008. I went through several different cars over the years with the only HAMB friendly vehicle being a ’56 Chevy PU (’67 327, T-400, 12 bolt). Met and married my lovely bride 30+ years ago while working at McClellan AFB (she was Butch Gardner’s, Sacramento Autorama and Thunderbolts fame, secretary for a while). We have two awesome adult kids and have lived in Tucson AZ the past 21 years. I hit the local cruise in's when I can and would always take my Dad to the "big" show in Sierra Vista. He passed away Oct 2015 and I miss him a lot. I meet some old old buddies at Barrett Jackson most every year and some times we meet up at Hot August Nights in Reno for a few days. I currently have no HAMB friendly vehicles but, after letting life’s responsibilities run their course, it’s time to start looking for something to have some fun with. '29-'31 coupes are what I like best and that's what I'll be looking for. Cheers, Allen
Hi & welcome. Nice intro. Those coupes are not too hard to find if you know how to look. I know they are still plentiful down in these parts. Good luck, Jim
Great intro, Allen. I spent two weeks there in Tucson working on Davis-Monthan AFB in the late 70's while in the Air National Guard. Beautiful area, especially the Mt. Lemon area.
Thanks for the welcome Jim. When the time comes I'll be looking for a driver. A couple of years ago I was looking for a specific OT car that my daughter wanted. I found one on the Bay Area CL that met her requirements and worked a deal for it. Had the daughter buy me a plane ticket (It's her car, right!) and flew out to San Jose and drove it back here to Tucson. I actually love little adventures like that so, I don't mind traveling a bit if the deal is the right one. Thanks lothiandon1940. There are definitely worse places to live. I work at DM and my son is a reservist with the 305th Rescue here at DM. Funny thing, when we lived in Sacramento we had a couple of the old school, stand-up Jet Skies and a bass boat and all our recreation took place at the lakes and rivers around the area. We moved here we couldn't stand not having water recreation nearby. Thought we'd be outta here in a couple years. It was tough and I was practically suicidal! I guess this place somewhat grows on you after a few years. 21 years later, here we are. Thanks lothianwilly71
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