flatheadjohn
08-08-2006, 05:17 PM
I'm new to the HAMB and was recently introduced to it by some friends. I'm a Northern California native currently residing in Sacramento. I've been into cars and turning wrenches since I was old enough to hold a wrench, it's in my DNA. My grandfather was a gearhead along with my dad so I come by it naturally.
Back in the 70's my dad and I used to build hot rods. My very first vehicle, at the young age of 13, was a '32 Ford pickup that we purchased for $200 as a basket case. The plan was to run your typical small block Chevy with a Muncie 4-speed behind it and a Chevy differential. The build was slow and I got impatient so when I turned 16 I wanted a running vehicle to drive. I convinced my dad to buy me this '68 Mustang Fastback but I had to give up the truck. He eventually sold the truck and the guy who bought it finally finished it.
Meanwhile we had several other cars as well. In either 1973 or 74 my dad found his '32 3-window coupe, the one he had in high school back in the early 50's. It was in a barn all disassembled, the guy who had it built another 3-window coupe using some parts from my dad's deuce. My dad traded some old Lionel trains he and his brother had as kids for the coupe. We got back the body, frame, hood, grille shell, fenders and fuel tank, but no running gear. The car was still painted white, same as when my dad originally had the car and the interior was still complete as well.
We also bought a '40 Ford pickup that had a '56 Thunderbird 312 Y-block in it which was my dad's daily driver and the one I learned how to drive in! We had several other projects as well that included a '32 tudor sedan and a '33 Ford pickup. Going into high school my interest were girls and my Mustang so the hot rod stuff fell by the wayside. By that time my dad was working on building his coupe back the way he had it in the '50s with a 3-3/8 x 3-3/8 flathead with Navvaro heads and intake sporting 3 deuces, '39 crash box, and a Hildebrandt quick change.
Stupid me, I got married when I was 19 and had a child by the time I was 20, but I was still into cars and had several nice street machines that included Mustangs, Camaros, Torino GTs, a Barracuda, and a Challenger. My first wife and I divorced in 1991 and my car days ended at that point. I met a great gal in 1996 and we married in 1999. In 2003 I went to the NSRA Street Rod Nationals at Cal Expo and I got the hot rod bug again. I would see a nice Model A 60's style hot rod cruising through my neighborhood further fueling my fire to build a hot rod. The wife said go for it and I am working on building a traditional 50's style T bucket roadster with a flathead, '39 trans, and '48 differential.
In 2005 I purchased my grandad's '52 Ford F-1 pickup that has a '51 Merc flathead that my dad put in it that was out of his '32 that he was building. My dad unfortunately passed away in 1986 and had sold the coupe and the rest of the cars before he died but he saved the engine because Roy Brizio wasn't interested in the drivetrain all he wanted was the body. I've met a lot of great people since I've been back into hot rodding and gotten to see a lot of familiar faces. I really love this hobby and enjoy building traditional style hod rods. No billet anything for me!
Back in the 70's my dad and I used to build hot rods. My very first vehicle, at the young age of 13, was a '32 Ford pickup that we purchased for $200 as a basket case. The plan was to run your typical small block Chevy with a Muncie 4-speed behind it and a Chevy differential. The build was slow and I got impatient so when I turned 16 I wanted a running vehicle to drive. I convinced my dad to buy me this '68 Mustang Fastback but I had to give up the truck. He eventually sold the truck and the guy who bought it finally finished it.
Meanwhile we had several other cars as well. In either 1973 or 74 my dad found his '32 3-window coupe, the one he had in high school back in the early 50's. It was in a barn all disassembled, the guy who had it built another 3-window coupe using some parts from my dad's deuce. My dad traded some old Lionel trains he and his brother had as kids for the coupe. We got back the body, frame, hood, grille shell, fenders and fuel tank, but no running gear. The car was still painted white, same as when my dad originally had the car and the interior was still complete as well.
We also bought a '40 Ford pickup that had a '56 Thunderbird 312 Y-block in it which was my dad's daily driver and the one I learned how to drive in! We had several other projects as well that included a '32 tudor sedan and a '33 Ford pickup. Going into high school my interest were girls and my Mustang so the hot rod stuff fell by the wayside. By that time my dad was working on building his coupe back the way he had it in the '50s with a 3-3/8 x 3-3/8 flathead with Navvaro heads and intake sporting 3 deuces, '39 crash box, and a Hildebrandt quick change.
Stupid me, I got married when I was 19 and had a child by the time I was 20, but I was still into cars and had several nice street machines that included Mustangs, Camaros, Torino GTs, a Barracuda, and a Challenger. My first wife and I divorced in 1991 and my car days ended at that point. I met a great gal in 1996 and we married in 1999. In 2003 I went to the NSRA Street Rod Nationals at Cal Expo and I got the hot rod bug again. I would see a nice Model A 60's style hot rod cruising through my neighborhood further fueling my fire to build a hot rod. The wife said go for it and I am working on building a traditional 50's style T bucket roadster with a flathead, '39 trans, and '48 differential.
In 2005 I purchased my grandad's '52 Ford F-1 pickup that has a '51 Merc flathead that my dad put in it that was out of his '32 that he was building. My dad unfortunately passed away in 1986 and had sold the coupe and the rest of the cars before he died but he saved the engine because Roy Brizio wasn't interested in the drivetrain all he wanted was the body. I've met a lot of great people since I've been back into hot rodding and gotten to see a lot of familiar faces. I really love this hobby and enjoy building traditional style hod rods. No billet anything for me!