Hotrod
Verse I
Wrenches clanging, knuckles banging
A drop of blood the young man spilt
A new part here, and old part… there
A hotrod had been built!
A patchwork, mechanical, quilt
Feeling good. Head under a raised hood, hands occupied, the job nearing completion. Sometimes the good feelings would dissipate though, as quickly as they came, as he cursed himself for stripping a bolt, or cursed someone else for selling him the wrong part, or the engineer whose design goals obviously did not consider “remove and replace”.
He cursed the “gorilla” that never heard of a torque-wrench, the glowing particle of **** that popped on to the top of his head as he welded, the metal chip he flushed from his eye, and even himself for the burn he received by impatiently touching something too soon after grinding.
He, and his type, cursed a lot, but mostly to their selves as they battled-on with things oily, hot, bolted, welded, and rusty – in cramped spaces. One day it was choice words for an “easy-out” that broke off next to a broken drill bit that had broken off in a broken bolt, that was being drilled for an easy-out.
Despite the swearing, the good and special feelings would always return, generally of a magnitude that exceeded the physical pain and mental frustration of the day, by a large margin.
Certifiably obsessive, the young man continued to toil dutifully, soulfully, occasionally gleefully, sometimes even expertly, in his most loved and familiar place, his sanctuary, laboratory… the family garage.
And tomorrow would be the day.
With hard learned, hard earned expertise and confidence - in this special small place, a supremely happy and excited young man commanded his creation to life.
Threw a toggle, pressed a switch
Woke up the neighbors with that *******
The heart of his machine was a stroked Chevy engine that everyone had just grown sick hearing about. Even the local machine shop to which the boy nervously entrusted his most prized possession had had enough. “Sir, I don’t want to seem disrespectful, but from what I’ve read in Hot Rod Magazine, you might be suggesting a clearance too tight for forged pistons…” then it would be something else the next day.
One must always speak politely to the machinist, and even though he always had, the usual allotment of contradictions and arguments afforded to each customer had long run out – and although the shop owner took a special liking to the boy because, as he liked to say, “he reminds me of me”, well, that man was done too. But in the end, the mill was dead-on. Of course from the start, the shop knew it would be; that’s almost always the case; it’s how they stay in business - simply doing good work. Bad shops fall out quickly, but this place had the look of times gone by. Good times.
Old porcelain signs, here and there were to be found, all original to the shop and revered by the older workers in honored nostalgia. The younger workers get it too; they can tell from the co-workers they respect and learn from, there is something special about this past. One sign advertises Carter Carburetors and the artwork depicts “three deuces”, model 97’s, sitting proudly atop a flathead engine, all speeding along in a red, open roadster. Its occupants, a blond haired boy with slight freckles (driver), and a brunette girl passenger, bright white blouse, full and buttoned low. They are in the wind-blown cool, their excited expressions proclaim… "we have escaped and are free!" (and all you need is a Carter, or three). How uniquely American.
The seasoned old engine block the boy entrusted to the shop cost him $120-even from the boneyard. Not a bad deal for a good high-nickel content block that had never had its first 0.030”overbore. In the shop, it was cleaned, checked for cracks by "magnafluxing", measured and re-measured, inspected and re-inspected. It was shaped and cut in a special way that would allow the stroker crankshaft, that was to be the special part of this build, to have all the clearance it would need. The engine block was fitted with temporary stress plates that mimic the presence of cylinder heads, then the cylinders were bored to “first oversize”, providing fresh metal for new piston rings to work against. New bearings were installed everywhere bearings are required. Parts were smoothed here and there. Some surfaces were roughened just so, to allow new parts to “work-into each other” when things are finally brought together. All of this was done with a level of precision and attention far, far greater than the old “4- bolt” had ever received at the factory on its way to a life of labor in the ¾ ton work van from which it came, and for which it had served so dutifully. They called this painstaking dedication to precision measurement and fit, to hitting all specifications on the mark, “blueprinting”, and it would continue throughout the entire build of this engine. The boy remained worried, but the shop had done it a million times.
After machining, the block was filled with new and strong parts that cost the young man everything he had. Parts selected with the greatest of effort, decision, and debate. You can compromise on paint and live with some rust, he would say, wait for good tires, but never scrimp on the engine. Right on. Someone taught the boy right, regardless of whether or not he fully understood the importance of the words he parroted. His accurate proclamation also provided ample excuse for the rough, unfinished, underfunded look of the rest of his machine. But it was just a look, his car was, in fact, “right”. And its power plant? Well the machine shop had talked their customer into letting them do the final engine assembly - even cut their price to do it. To make that go down easy, they asked to have two of their shop decals affixed to the rod on race-days. The young man thought that was a fair deal, but the shop was really just looking out for the boy, with their herring of sorts.
The mill in its final form was the proper balance of performance and durability; and with its camshaft so carefully selected, the engine's “personality” was perfectly matched to the work at hand. It would produce adequate torque in the low RPM range to get whole rig moving quickly, yet deliver enough horsepower near and at red-line to pile on the MPH, fast. No longer a polite-natured workhorse, this engine, this engine is impatient now. High compression, a rapid, choppy idle - it seems to be biting at the bit to be released. On command, it gulps its mixture and screams angrily, and often those standing around have a reflexive jump - the louder, the better - the more angry, the better. If it hurts your ears, that’s a good feeling. If its bark startles, that’s a good startle. A cacophony? No, the “music” of controlled explosions, capable of thrusting everything and everyone attached, forward, impolitely, on a rapid run to the freedom so well depicted in the ad.
This is the addictive sound and feel that has appealed to a certain type of person since engines replaced horses, and why? A surrogate voice for those who are otherwise quiet? A visceral celebration of accomplishment? Who cares. Shift once, then again - speed quickly makes its appearance. It appears as a loud, rushing wind and a visually striking, unnatural view of the surrounding scenery. At some point, in the sane, it triggers a natural response - better slow down.
He uncorked the headers, bought gasoline, dropped her in gear, tore off to the scene
Camaros and Mustangs, an old ‘55
Obediently lined-up, to get skinned alive!
Verse II (1st person)
I drove past the banner that said “Welcome race fans” took a new route, behind the grandstands
And through my chipped window, I thought I could see
Some of the racers were laughing at me
I guess rust and primer are not to their taste
But I put my bucks mister in the right place
I chugged/popped past cars that dealers had sold
Swung into a spot, next to something old
Emerging with interest from under his hood
My neighbor said two words, he said, “sounds good”
The Nova I parked next to was “classic rodding” in its outward appearance. The much overused “primer paint job”. The hood and front fenders a fiberglass clamshell, pinned affair. Dice hanging from the mirror paid homage to days its driver never knew, but wished he had. He removed them before he drove, always.
If you know how to peel the onion, secrets are revealed. Wilwood brake calipers can be a dead giveaway. Someone needs serious stopping power - maybe. Generally, owners who have sprung the bucks for this type gear let the calipers show off in bright red, to make a statement, and sometimes, these days, it’s just a fashion statement. Expensive calipers, as eye candy, seem to be all the rage. What is true, however, is very few guys spend big money on brakes only to render them inglorious and seemingly common with a shot of silver paint from a rattle can - and the owner of this half fiberglass racer that poses as a street car had done just that. I'll glean two things from this observation. One, he needs those heavy brakes because he’s fast, and two, hiding them fits his style.
Really, the message to be found in the silver paint, so cleverly applied to make your eyes simply slide across on their way to more interesting things, was “sleeper”. And sleeper really means, he’s one of those guys with a score to settle - with everyone perhaps. The list of “real parts” grew, if you knew where to look. Looking was something I had unofficial permission to do since my rod was undergoing a similar scrutiny.
“Stroked?”, I asked. That’s something you can’t see from the outside. “ No”, my racer friend replied.
“Hundred shot?” (If engines have their language, so do the people who love them). Despite the owner’s great efforts to conceal braided fuel and nitrous lines, electrical solenoids and switches, I spied his system. The chunks of aluminum posing as ordinary spacers under his two Holly's were anything but. “No”, was his one-word reply to my 100- shot question. I tried again; “Your nitrous system is cleanly installed, how much are you spraying?” “Two hundred fifty” in two stages, he said. That’s more like it, I thought, and I then figured, he too had budgeted well for the machine shop – if not, he was gambling in a game that if lost, would soon fly parts in all directions. Based on the overall neat work on display, I believed his build was up to the punishment planned.
I knew exactly what this tight-lipped guy was about, seeing someone very familiar in him as it were, and that made the “sounds good” complement I received upon my arrival all the more valuable. I liked my neighbor. And I liked the fact of our scratch-built rods having found each other - and I looked forward to us both dusting off the factory jobs. It was going to be a good day.
The voice on the loudspeaker tells us we’re up.
Pre-staged, staged, then given the green
The line becomes blurred between man and machine
Bones become linkage
Muscle, spring
Fear, excitement
Time distorts ….
Color disappears …
Vision narrows…
Noise --- becomes music
Speed, satisfaction
End
