DRAMA! DRAMA! DRAMA!

Well, the drama keeps coming on TV. It seems every few weeks there is a new car building show. They air a new group of car builders that build more DRAMA than cars!

They manage to set themselves on fire, break stuff, and forget to do something important to the build just to add to the drama.

Is this good for the Industry? Maybe yes and maybe no. It’s like pro-wrestling or as they call it “Sports Entertainment”. So is this now called “Car Entertainment”?

All these car building shows have help promote the Industry on one hand and on the other have hurt it.

They find some wreck for $1,000 – spends $7,000 to fix it up and sell it for $15,000. And they do this in 8 days!

But in reality any one who has built a car, knows this is not a realistic formula!

This is nothing more than “Car Entertainment”!

But it IS FUN to watch. The only two shows’ I enjoy are 'Overhaulin' and 'Wheeler Dealers'. Chip Foose is the BEST! And those two guys in England have a great show. The rest just fall into the “Car Entertainment” slot. They try to outdo one another in the DRAMA department.

In my opinion, the car building Industry has benefitted from these shows AND these shows have also hurt the Industry with false hope and unrealistic expectations, not to mention unrealistic time frames.

It’s a 50/50 deal. If you enjoy watching the DRAMA keep watching, if you want a car built do some real extensive car builders search online and talk to some real car builders, not the “DRAMA kings”.

Hey, that’s a great name for a car building TV show!

Keep Them Rolling!

Bill

National 'FOOLS Ball' League

I have been a football fan since 1958. I've watched players come and go...some of the great ones like Unitas, Starr, Peyton, Sanders, Lombardi, Butkus and so on. Over the past few years, it's been a disgusting situation in the NFL. Some of the players have ruined the sport and are nothing but a bunch of fools, buffoons, rapists, women beaters, murderers, and dope fiends. Even some of the coaches have joined this disturbing trend.

Where is their personal responsibility for their own actions? Their drive to be a great role model? Their integrity? Their morals?

So as of this blog posting, I am no longer a fan of the NFL. I will not watch any games or purchase any merchandise associated with the NFL. I also cancelled the NFL newsletter.
I encourage anyone else who shares my opinion to do the same.

Bill

Keep them rolling!

YELLOW CAR! There's one >>>>!!

I stopped at a yard sale and there it was, a Little Deuce Ford Coupe roadster - canary yellow with red flames, chrome wheels and exhaust, V-8 with a blower! I had to have it, no matter the cost.

I found the person who has in charge and pushed her to the car. I asked her "How much?" She said it was her son's car at one time. I didn't care whose car it was, I told her I wanted it. I couldn't take out my wallet fast enough.

She looked at the car then at me and then the car again, finally she said, "Would you take care of it and give it a good home?" I immediately said YES! With a little tear in her eye she said the price $1.00. I gave her the dollar as fast as I could . I would have paid twice as much for the yellow car. She reached down and picked it up and gave it to me. I held it, it was MINE!

By now, you probably figured out that it is a toy car with 2 "M&M" figurines sitting in the seat. 

The "Yellow Car" story started when my oldest granddaughter was 5 years old. We'd go somewhere and to keep her occupied I would play a gamed called "Yellow Car". 

When one of us spotted a yellow car, we would yell out "yellow car". The car could be on the road, in a driveway or in a car lot; we'd keep score! We continue to play this game to this day with our younger grandchildren. 

So when I saw the yellow roadster I had to buy it no matter what the cost.

My oldest granddaughter is now 17. A few weeks ago she came for a visit and as we were driving down the road, I yelled out "YELLOW CAR!" and she started to laugh. For the rest of the ride, we played and she won. Great day, great memories.

Some day, I'll give her the yellow roadster so she will remember all of the fun she had with her grandfather, playing "Yellow Car".

I'll look around and find some more yellow cars and give them to my other grandchildren so they will remember the fun playing "Yellow Car" with their grandfather, too.

East Providence Welding Co. "Billy the Welder"

When I was 14 years old my Dad told me to do some welding on a 1951 Studebaker, get it set up for a stock car track. I built a roll bar, crash bumpers and exhaust system. Well, I worked on it for a few days. My Dad was impressed with my work and the car owner was even more impressed. Instead of building the run of the mill stock car, this car looked more like a professionally built car. It won several races and was very successful for a couple of years. 

I built several more stock cars and was building a reputation at 16 years old. I got into drag racing and my rep took off. Soon I was doing work on most of the cars that were racing in Southern New England. Such cars as Tasca Ford, King & Marshall, Frank Federicci. 

From 1959 - 1980  - I built Funny cars, Dragsters, Wheel Standers, Stock cars, Sport cars and Street cars or tricked out more than 400 cars - 22 of them were N.H.R.A. National Record Holders. I worked on Jay Leno's 1967 Olds 442 - modified the engine and suspension.  

Back them I didn't have a computer or Aftermarket bolt on stuff. I built everything by hand or went to a junkyard and found something I could adapt.

In the late 60's and 70's, E.P.W. was the place to go to get your car to go faster or get something built that would be competitive from stock cars, drag cars and sport cars. In 1968, with a friend of mine we successfully campaigned a C Sport Racer in Region I to back to back championships. Later we campaigned a 1967 Camaro in Trans Am race -it was the fastest un-sponsored car in the circuit.

I also built motorcycles and custom choppers. One of my customers and I built a twin engine Harley Davidson drag bike which was very competitive.

In the past I met such greats in racing as:

Mario Andretti

Paul Newman

Bob Tasca

Mark Donohue nicknamed "Captain Nice"
Tommy Ivo

Jimmy King

John Healey

Jackie Stewart nicknamed the "Flying Scot"

Steve McQueen

Carroll Shelby
Don Garlits

Bill Jenkins nicknamed "Grumpy" or "The Grump"
and the list goes on...

In 1982-1983, I built and maintained Offshore Race boats that won back to back World Championships under the name "Newport is Sports" out of Newport, Rhode Island.

My wife and I now own a company called OLD IRON AZ LLC. We list cars, trucks, hot rods, classics, muscle cars on www.oldironaz.com website. I am back doing what I love dealing with cars. We connect the Seller with Buyers. We've been doing this for a year now and we are meeting some interesting and very nice people and having fun doing it.

Keep them Rolling!

Bill Abatecola

aka "Billy the Welder" - Widely known as Billy the Welder

Southern New England business trip

My wife, Miki and I just returned from Southern New England on a business to promote Old Iron.

 

Spent some time with a dear friends and fellow car enthusiasts from way back. Some are still racing.

Spent time with Bob Tasca, Jr. and Carl Tasca (Tasca Ford). Had breakfast with John Healey and talked about old times and cruise nights.

 

We enjoyed some New England seafood, rode around looking at the foliage. Met some interesting people to help promote Old Iron.

 

It was a great trip. Now it's time to work here in Southern Arizona for upcoming car shows:

• October 19, 2013 - St Gregory's
• November 2, 2013 - Cops and Rodders
• March 2, 2014 - Ford on Fourth

and many more...plus all the cruise nights we love to attend - all held in Tucson, Arizona.

 

Some new and exciting things are coming up for Old Iron - so keep watching.

Bill

Keep them rolling!

Car Chasing ?

Chasing Classic Cars - Velocity with Wayne Carini is a good car show to watch.

But let's face it >> some rich guy calls him and says that he has a Ferrari for sale. Wayne drives to the seller's home. The Ferrari is in an air conditioned garage with a black and white checker board floor. It looks like someone's living room with plush furniture and a big screen TV.

After the sale they go to a restaurant and have champagne and $100 steak dinners.

When I go out chasing for classic cars it's in my beat up 92 Ford F150 with no a/c. I drive around Southern Arizona in 117 degrees; fend off rattlesnakes, scorpions, Gila monsters and irate gun totting home owners who question my presence on their property until I explain why I am there. I just wanted to check out their old classic car sitting in their yard. I'm lucky to find a hot dog stand and a warm cola. 

There is chasing cars and then there is CHASING cars.

I like Wayne's show, but I don't think he would last two days out here in the desert.

Keep them rolling!

Bill

Bill's Top 10 Favorite Cars

1. 1964 Ford Cobra 289
2. Any Ferrari
3. 1932 Ford 3 window coupe any motor combo
4. 1967 350 Shelby Mustang
5. Any Yenko Chevy
6. 1970 Boss 302 Mustang
7. 1962 Chevy Corvette 327 FI
8. 1970 Hemi Cuda
9. 1966 Ford T-Bird Convertible
10. 1957 Olds J-2

Keep them rolling!

Bill