Barrett-Jackson-itis

Its been awhile since I talked about a disease that has been going around in the Hot Rod world, the last one was Kustom Syndrome. Anyway there is a disease that has been going around for a few years now that hasn’t been mentioned and that is Barrett –Jackson-itis!

            I have nothing against the Barrett –Jackson auctions, sometimes I watch it when I am bored and nothing is on what I am warning you about is how a lot of car owners caught a nasty side effect from watching Barrett –Jackson-itis!

            What is Barrett-Jackson- itis? Well it is when classic car owners see the prices the restoted, custom and rare model cars are going for on Barrett-Jackson that they assume there poor or mediocre conditioned classic that has been sitting in there garage is worth tens of thousands of dollars!   

            You probably have seen it before, maybe looking around on craigslist and you find a 1968 Chevy Malibu for sale that need paint, the 350 in it needs work, the interior needs to be redone and the guy thinks its worth $25,000! Or maybe you found a shell of a car like a Plymouth Roadrunner, it’s a good condition shell no rust, but at the same time no motor, tranny, suspension or interior so you think $2,000 sounds fare but the guy wants $20,000 for it “cause it’s a Roadrunner, the one on Barrett-Jackson went for $30,000!” which is an excuse you will commonly hear.

What to do about it?

Now do you really think I would tell you about Barrett-Jackson- itis and not tell you how to treat it? Here are a few things you can do.

The wear them down method- Chances are when you find a classic car on Craigslist and you go and meet with the owner, 9 times out of 10 you are there only interested buyer! If you really want to confirm this watch craigslist for a few weeks and you will see several of the same cars been reposted in new ads.

Since you are most likely the only potential buyer you can use this to your advantage! What you can do is keep trying to wear the owner down over a period of time. Show up once to ask about the car, here the owner mention the ridiculous price, leave and come back a week later do the same thing. After a few weeks you will wear them down to a reasonable price.

Traditional Haggling- You could always try the traditional haggling method, when you are there with the owner. Maybe bring up some real facts, if the car is a project car (most likely it is) explain to the owner that it needs lots of work before its worth $20,000, maybe try to show them the difference between the cars in the Barrett -Jackson Auction and how there car isn’t worth $20,000 yet or just play Hardball and just try to lower price that way.

Barrett-Jackson-itis has been come a problem for a lot of Hot Rodders, hopefully we can stop people from believing there unfinished cars are worth tens of thousands of dollars.

Choppers by Region

Some of you guys may have noticed that Choppers built in So Cal usually look different than Choppers built in NYC or why do Choppers Built in Florida look different then choppers in the Pacific Northwest? What is the reason for this? Is it personal style or is it function?

            In the early days of the Chopper (the 60s and 70s) many builders and riders were actually building them to make it easier to ride in there area. Choppers were actually built more with function over style, compared to today. But what determined what was function?

            Well it all depended on were you lived, in the US (or the world). If you lived in the San Francisco were you had a lot of hills your bikes would be suited towards that terrain. Things like high gas tanks for better balance, the gas tanks are also made larger to get more gas out of them (some as much as 100 MPG), shorter rakes for more control on the hills (can’t be too long or it would be hard to make a u-turn on a hill), and the pegs just underneath the rider (like on a horse) rather then in front for more control as well.

            If you happened to live in a bike City in the Northeast like say NYC for example, bikes would be more suited to the high volume of traffic and rough old style roads of NYC. Things like cabs, lots of pedestrians on the street and potholes create the NYC style. Usually NYC Style bikes are built small, short front ends, very minimal with everything not needed stripped off, peanut gas tanks and rigid frames. The reasons for the rigid frames are do to the rough roads and pot holes, NYC riders need a frame that is strong, the short front ends are so the bike can handle better in a tight space, the peanut gas tank is to keep the bike small and to strip the bike down is to make sure it fits through all of the traffic.

            Another common style is the Southern California look, for this style think Denver Mullins. Whats common with this style is a long front rake, large frame and large gas tank sometimes diamond shaped. Even though this style is studied well for So Cals open, desert terrain the real reason it started in a Quote from Denver Mullins Daughter is “my dad started modifying motercycles in the late 60's because he was a BIG man (6'3" and was @#%$@( pounds) so he wanted to ride comfortably. That is when the low profile frames were designed and produced....to make the low profile frame look cool, he decided that the front end needed to be longer. The laid bake appearence of his choppers, minus the sissy bar, was so that he could ride long and easy with his size getting in the way. Also, regular tanks were to bulky so he created the diamond tank!!!” Kind of ironic that all of that also fit the terrain as well.

            The Pacific Northwest region has its own style as well, nicknamed the grasshopper style due to its appearance. This style of bike is known for its highboy frames, small rear end, and de-raked with tall tubes given it a grasshopper like appearance, also usually the front fender is left on. The reason for these mods are due to the terrain and climate of the Pacific Northwest, it rains a lot up there so the choppers have to handle well in the rain (yes they ride in the rain) and to handle the mountain terrain of the Northwest.

            There are many other styles of chopper out there as well, some by region others by look, even though these choppers were originated by there riders regions today you will see all types of choppers no matter what region. I see Frisco style choppers over here in Florida all the time, I’ve seen pictures of So Cal style choppers in NYC, I live in Florida but I like the look of the NYC style the best. So it really doesn’t matter where you live, if you like a style build that style. I just wanted to show how some of the styles of the chopper originated.

The Gaslight Anthem, An American Rock Band

Have you ever found a band that is just amazing, but you really can’t explain why? A band that has something about them but, you’re really not sure what that something is? Well The Gaslight Anthem is that band. I have been a fan of TheGaslight Anthem for over 2 years now and I can honestly say I can’t get enough of them.

            What type of band is The Gaslight Anthem? What do they sound like? Well The Gaslight Anthem sounds like Bruce Springsteen, and Miles Davis got together with the drummer from the Cure and started recording songs by The Clash, the Bouncing Souls and the Replacements and had Bob Seger, Tom Petty, John Lee Hooker, Alkaline Trio, Otis Redding, Muddy Waters and Johnny Cash all make guest appearances on the album and Charles Dickens wrote the songs . Everything from Punk Rock, to Soul, to Jazz, to Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty has influenced The Gaslight Anthems sound.

            When it comes to The Gaslight Anthem’s songs, they are very lyrically based, when you listen to them you have to listen to everything that is said in the songs. The reason for this is all of The Gaslight Anthems songs tell a story, and paint a picture of a different era kind of like a Springsteen song or a Bob Seger song. The stories that The Gaslight Anthem tells range from Hard Luck, Love, Good Times and Nostalgia for things such as Cruising at night and hanging out at drive in’s, dreaming about making it big, racing in our Hot Rods and Muscle cars around Asbery Park and remembering all of the other good times.

            Relating to this one thing I really have to praise The Gaslight Anthem is for making my Generation (the current Generation) feel Nostalgic for things we never have experienced like what I mentioned aboved. When I listen to there song Old Haunts I think about places in Town an Old Diner or Driven in use to be that people would cruise, or when I listen to High Lonesome I think about some lost love I never even had!

            Getting back to the Story telling and the Imagery, one of the songs I have to praise the band for is there song Great Expectations. When I hear the song I from the opening riffs I start to picture an old style place, but I can’t quite picture it, and after the First verse I picture a Diner full of Hot Rods and Classic cars with Bruce Springsteen’s Character Mary and Pip from Charles Dickens Great Expectations on a date thinking about the good times while listening to Bob Seger! Another great song with Imagery is there song the Spirit of Jazz which I picture a married couple through the years from the 40s when they were married till now, all old with Grandkids but still together.

            I like The Gaslight Anthem so much that I can probably Literally write articles about each song and how I picture them, but I’ll leave that up to you to deiced. Another thing you may notice about The Gaslight Anthem is there name and song tittles. There name its self just says nostalgia! The Gaslight Anthem, it makes me picture an old North Jersey Style Home built in the early 40s with a big porch at night, with the Gaslight Light and a Blues guitarist (I picture John Lee Hooker) sitting on the porch strumming his guitar.  Just everything about the Band has Imagery!

            If you are a Fan of 70s Rock, 60s Rock, 50s Blues and Soul, Swing, Cool Jazz, Punk, or Rockabilly this band is for you! If you are a Fan of Bob Seger, the Clash, Joe Strummer, the Replacements, Bruce Springsteen, Johnny Cash, Otis Redding, the Bouncing Souls or John Lee Hooker this band is for you! The Gaslight Anthem is great for when you want something to cruise to, or if you want something straight forward yet deep.