I've been on & off the List since 1997 as I've drifted through the stream of life. It's been enjoyable being a part of this Chevelle family. Mesa Tactical? One of my major passions is playing with tactical/paramilitary/automatic weaponry. I've talked to someone on the phone Mesa awhile back. It might have been you,Mitch. Clint Hooper H&H Custom,owner 1969 El Camino protourer http://dalesplace.com/misc/friends/clint/clint_hooper.htm http://www.lateral-g.net/members/hooper/ "You may find me dead one day in a ditch. But by God,you'll find me in a pile of brass."
----- Original Message ----- From: "Mitch Barrie" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > If that's allowed, okay. > > First, my Chevelles. Well, just the El Camino for now, here's a few > photos on Flickr: > > http://www.flickr.com/photos/simonov/367544491/ > http://www.flickr.com/photos/simonov/367544608/ > http://www.flickr.com/photos/simonov/368997353/ > > That's how it looked before I tore it down. I'll have some more up > to date pics of it on Flickr before too long. > > Now I thought I'd tell a little story of how the List got started, > for the noobies here who weren't around in the beginning. > > Well, after I bought my El Camino in spring of 1996, I immediately > started working on it. The first thing I did was upgrade the > suspension. Problem was that back in those days there were no "how > to" instructions anywhere for these kinds of jobs. I had the Motors > Manual and the 1966 Factory Manual, but nothing that really took you > from start to finish (later I noticed the aftermarket kits started > coming with instructions, and of course there's a lot more > information on the Internet now, but back then you were on your > own). I was a computer networking guy, not a motorhead. > > Well, I tackled some jobs myself and later published write-ups online > to help the next people to come along (they are gone at the moment, > but I'll be putting them up again in the next few months). But I > needed a place to go where I could ask questions and trade > information. One of my first Internet experiences was joining a > mailing list about pet rats, which you will understand is a pretty > esoteric subject. So I decided to start a malling list for Chevelles. > > The first thing I did was buy a new e-mail account at Best.com, one > of the top ISPs in those days. They offered a Majordomo list > service. Then I did something that would be highly frowned upon > today, but those were more innocent times. Even then I had a few > complaints. What I did was I found a few classic car sites where > people were selling Chevelles (there were no forums in those days, > just want ads). I copied all the e-mail addresses I found in the > Chevelle ads, and added them to the new Chevelle List. Then I sent > the first non-test message to the list, inviting everyone to join. > > That's right, Spam! > > I immediately deleted everyone from the List, letting anyone who > wanted to join to do so on their own accord. People started > subscribing almost instantly. > > As I said, I got a few complaints about the Spam (I was young!), but > the biggest complaint was from a guy who was planning to start his > own list, and was very upset that I had beat him to it. I told him I > didn't care who had the list, I just wanted a place where I could ask > questions about Chevelles. But he didn't like how I had structured > the List, that there were no moderators. He wanted to be some kind > of List Nazi, telling everyone what they could talk about. I wasn't > interested in that at all, so I invited him to start his own list for > Chevelle-owning Fascists, but that my freewheeling Chevelle List would live on. > > I learned a lot from the List, and I was soon in a position to offer > advice of my own. We had a few hitches along the way. At one point > Best.com either deleted my account or the List or something, I forget > what, and it had to be migrated to a new account. Soon after the > List appeared Chevelles.com was set up, and as my travel schedule was > getting crazy I handed the List over to them to manage. Then in 1999 > I moved out of the country again, and unsubscribed from the List altogether. > > The Internet is an amazing thing. No one made any money from the > List, and it didn't cost much to set up and maintain. If the guys at > Chevelles.com are making money now, they didn't plan to when they > first set it up. These are just services provide by Chevelle lovers > to help other Chevelle lovers love their Chevelles. > > I've been on a number of lists over the years. The Chevelle List was > the most polite of them, the one with the fewest conflicts. I recall > there was only one fight where I stepped in and made some vague > warning (I don't recall what I threatened to do), and everything > settled down. We lost one guy, a real friendly and enthusiastic guy > in New Jersey, who I think was upset because of some remarks someone > else made about him. I said I'd hated to see him go, but it was his > own decision. I didn't want to be anyone's mom. But overall it was > always a very friendly place. > > I also made some real friends from the List. For example, my wife > and I often camp out together at the SCTA trials with Frank's > family. I met Frank through the List. And I recall how sad we all > were when a valuable and beloved List contributor succumbed to cancer > in the late nineties. > > Anyway, I look forward to getting my cars running. My new company is > Mesa Tactical, http://www.mesatactical.com/ . > > As for the weather: I am typing this in my office, which is two miles > from my house. I walked here this morning through warm morning > sunshine. In a few minutes I will walk three miles to the gun show > at the fairgrounds. Ah, California! > > > Mitch >
