What’s New?

I’m launching a new support channel: Patreon. By pledging a few dollars a month, you can directly support my traditional hot rod film making endeavors by helping cover overhead and travel costs associated with producing quality content for your eyeballs! The more of you hop onto the Patreon wagon, the bigger we can make this thing. You can read more information and find a link at the bottom of this email.

The Hard Luck Shoebox Pt. 2

The last time we were here I was white-knuckling down the freeway in a bondo-ridden shoebox Ford. Whew. Made it back in one piece.

Me being who I am, I can’t leave anything alone, so I started making the shoebox my own by changing a few things. After a day or two, I brought it into the shop to start hacking. I lifted the flat-black hulk into the air and my heart dropped a little. The steering was so loose I felt like I dodged a bullet by getting the car home as trouble-free (and alive) as I did! Time to hop online and order some parts.

I wasted no time cutting off those exhaust tips that belonged on a mid 90’s Chevy pickup to replace them with some 2” pencil tips. My buddy taught me how to fill a 1/4 “ gap with MIG welding wire and we had a more traditional looking rear end. I pulled the 2” lowering blocks and U-bolts that were bending under the tension and replaced them with some 3” blocks. The front eventually got a new steering drag link and cut down Ford Aerostar (yes, the boxy minivan) springs to bring it down and improve the ride a bit. I started driving the car around town for fun at this point.

This week I will stick to one of my most memorable stories of how this car lived up to its name, we’ll save another one for a rainy day. I had something else in the shop I was working on, but I had driven the shoebox there. I needed to make a parts run to the local NAPA, so I hopped in old Hard Luck and hit the road. The trip there, no worries!

The trip home on the other hand, nothing but Hard Luck. I could feel the brake pedal getting weaker every time I pressed it down. I was treating it right until I got a couple miles from the shop and it would barely drop the speed of the car. Anxiety set in. The last stretch before the shop driveway was a sizeable downhill stretch on the back side of an overpass. I preemptively let off the throttle and got to calm down enough so I could drop the old 3-on-the-tree from 3rd to second. Old Hard Luck was slowing down, but not quickly enough! I dropped another gear and heard that old 8BA zing up to a speed higher than I had ever heard it before as the car began to slow a little more. I got wise and reached over to shut off the ignition to let the engine slow me down and I yanked the big white steering wheel for a hard right turn. After zig-zagging through the parking lot the car came to rest just off the edge of the blacktop. I was staring into the empty wooded lot next to the shop about fifteen feet from my windshield! That was the day I learned about the cons of a single-pot master cylinder, and the pros of carrying a change of underwear.

Support Hard Luck Garage

Here’s how you can show your support for what I’m up to:

The Hard Wear Store

As always, you can find merch items designed by me, printed on-demand for you. I earn a small profit from these items, and it helps spread the word!

Click The Hard Wear Store logo below to check it out!

Support on Patreon

I have 2 support tiers available on Patreon. Patreon is a platform that allows people to pledge a monthly dollar amount to support a creator, while the creator offers exclusive items and content, or early access to content before it’s widely available.

The Ground Floor

Your $5 every month gets you early access to newsletter articles and videos as soon as they are available, a 10% discount on merch at The Hard Wear Store, and behind the scenes/uncut footage and interviews. Your money goes toward site/store hosting, travel expenses, and generally covering my time with some money to take this Hard Luck Garage thing to the next level. We can only go up from here! Are you in?

The Advertiser’s Special

This tier gets you everything the $5 tier has to offer, but if you own a small business or shop, I will put your business name/logo at the top of every video I release as long as you are a member. This means a targeted, niche audience of like-minded traditional hot rod and custom enthusiasts! All for only $20 a month.

Click the Patreon Logo below to show your support!

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Jon - Hard Luck Garage