What lit your fire for hot rods?

[NVRRDUNN]

Here's how it all began for me. How did it begin for you?

As I start to dive headlong into this old Ford coupe hot rod project at age 57, I am reminded of an experience years ago that really lit the fire for this stuff called hot rodding for me back in the early 60’s when I was about 14. That experience was when my dad took title to a cute little grey primered ’32 Ford 5 window coupe as payment on the body work he did on the rear fenders and modified rear rolled pan on that same car.
It seems that the owner couldn’t pay the bill so he signed over the title to the car as payment. It was the quintessential hot rod of the time: full fendered, stock height top, 4” dropped front axle, split wishbones, filled grille shell with a white insert, guide sealed beam headlights in painted King Bee housings on a dropped headlite bar, full stock hood, bobbed rear fenders and a custom rolled rear pan under the decklid, round 50 pontiac taillites, a no frills black interior a little rough around the edges with a rubber floor mat, and a white dash with stewart warner mechanical temp and oil gauges (that leaked a little) hung on the bottom of the dash in a 2 gauge mounting panel, a working cowl vent and fold out windshield, white firewall, and black or dark grey primer on the body and fenders, with the name “Wee Willie” painted on the cowl in white script and some fancy pinstriping on the decklid and the grille shell top. And under the hood was a warmed up 48 merc flathead with 3 stromberg 97 carbs, finned aluminum Offy heads, offset generator, fenton headers with dual short length Smittie mufflers, a 39 Ford top loader gearbox and a 40 Ford rear axle. All this with whitewall tires on white wheels with no caps or rings (5.60x 15 fronts, and 8.20 X 15 rears). It had a great stance and just oozed “hot rod”.
The car sat beside the house for almost a year and I kept asking Dad to fire it up and take us for a ride in it…but there was always a reason that he couldn’t right then. So I would have to be content to keep the outside washed and the windows clean. I would sometimes get inside that old coupe and sit in the drivers seat and dream of someday having a car like this, and knowing how cool it would really be. But one day in September, as soon as I came home from school with my high-school band mate Darryl Wetzell in his newly aquired ride, a 41 Chevy convertible, I sorta non-chalantly asked my Dad once again about a ride in the ’32….and, to my utter amazement, he finally said yes!
So, after putting fresh water and fuel in, and borrowing the battery out of our ’52 Ford pickup, Dad hit the starter button on the dash and Wee Willie roared to life. I will never forget that sound… and the smells… of that car as it sat there rumbling and shaking under the power of the rough idling engine. (It obviously had a high lift cam…or some badly tuned carburators!) Hopped up flatheads have a distinct sound all their own that is impossible to put into words. But all of us who are old enough to recall those days know what I am talking about, and it warms up the heart when it is heard again…you cant mistake it. Darryl also wanted to go along for the ride, so after it warmed up a bit, the three of us got in the car (it is a very narrow car for 3 people!) and we turned out of our gravel driveway onto the highway in front of our house. Dad was pretty conservative as he went through the gears and we drove south on the long straight stretch of Highway 99, past the Weyerhauser mill, staying steady at about 60 miles an hour. I can, even to this day, clearly remember the smell of the old grease mixed with the smell of gas and exhaust, the rattles of the fenders and doors, the view ahead out of the small windshield looking over the narrowing hood to the radiator shell and how cool that was…the wind coming in the open windows, the action of Dad shifting the tall curved floor shifter, and most of all… the smiles that were on all of our faces, including Dad’s, and the beautiful even roar of that magnificent flatty engine.
Having went about 3 or 4 miles, we then slowed down and turned around in someone’s gravel driveway. We waited for traffic to pass and then slowly pulled back onto the highway headed back toward home, then dad stopped the car on the highway. That’s when dad surprised me and Darryl. He said ” OK, let’s see what this sucker will do…” and he punched it…and burned rubber through 1st and 2nd gears and then shifted into 3rd. Well, being a young kid and having never experienced any acceleration like that, along with the tire noises, engine winding up, and the speed shifting, and feeling the car dance around on the road somewhere above 90 mph (speedo was pegged), I thought to myself…yea, I gotta have one of these!
We pulled into the driveway and Dad parked the car in the same spot where it had sat for the last year. I never wanted something to continue so bad in all my life! He then turned off the key..and I actually felt sad that it had come to an end, but yet happy at the same time, because I finally got to do what I had wanted desperately to do for about a year…and that I finally got to do it with my Dad. And I was very happy to see that he equally enjoyed it a lot, too. Mom came out to greet us and said she could hear us roaring down the highway and was praying that we wouldn’t wreck! It was about 6 months later that Wee Willie was sold for $400 to a Hispanic man from Roseburg, Oregon who built it up into a show car, painted it candy apple red, and then moved to California, and we never saw it again.
Yeah…I definitely gotta have one of those someday.

That “someday” is finally here. My coupe won’t have rattling fenders or a flathead engine like Wee Willie, but the idea is basically the same as it has always been for me…it will ooze “hot rod”, and it will have “attitude”, a not-quite-finished primered look, low frills/lo tech but dependable chassis and drive train…and I’ll drive the snot out of it! I’m building what I want to enjoy, not what everyone else thinks I ought to, or because the old style of hot rods is now in fashion again.

So here I am today at age 57, starting to build a hot rod A-bone coupe…Why? Maybe its because I want to re-live some of the happiness and joy I felt all those years ago when my passion for this stuff was kindled by a little primered up, not-quite-finished deuce coupe hot rod… that was certainly finished enough for me.

[skipstitch]

Oh...easy for me.... It's my dad's fault!!! His first hot rod was a '33 Chevy coupe that he bought from his older brother at 15.... He sold it and bought it back later. I was merely a year old when he located it again. (Runnin' a flathead ford of all things!!! That my grandpa helped install). By the age of two he was crusin' it fenderless and pontiac powered with me in the passenger seat.... So, basically.... IT'S ALL MY DAD'S FAULT!!! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Henry Floored]

I remember exactly when it "happened" for me. I was about 14 also, working for my dad at the Ford dealer. One day I was sweeping the floors in front of the parts counter, there were large plate glass windows there. All of a sudden the glass starts rattling and I hear the meanest sounding internal combustion engine ever in my life to that point. I look out and there it was. A 1937 Ford convertable, blue with a white top. It had everything, classic good looks,the "just right" stance, and that wonderful mechanical orchestra eminating from under the hood. I dropped the broom and ran out there, I must have seemed like a yappy puppy but I did'nt care I wanted to see it up close! The guy driving it was the local Ford racecar guru. He was a frequent customer for "top loader" and 9" parts. I persuaded him to lift the hood and low and behold! a Ford 427 "Medium Riser" with a special Shelby crossramm and two fourbarrels. Sensory overload occurs for me, I'm bouncing off the walls. Something about that car's musclebound sinister pressence that I never got over. I'm still screwed up by it and I don't think there is a cure for it. Oh man I wish I could see that car again or show you guys a picture. If anyone on here is from Rochester N.Y. circa 1974 you may know the car. All I can remember about the owner was that he was a racecar builder and his name was Steve. Anyone know about that locally famous hot rod?

[fab32]

My experience was similar. My ride was in a '34 5w with a built flathead. Dual carbs and finned heads is about all I can clearly recall. The car sat across the street about 1/2 block away. The owner was away at college and there was a FOR SALE sign in the window. Being about 11-12 years old I couldn't take it for a drive. The brother of one of my friends was interested in it and one day when he came over to take a test drive he was all alone. I saw him drive up to the house and knock on the door. Something told me there was an adventure brewing so I jumped on my bike and pedaled up the street to where it was parked. He came out of the house with the key and seeing me there asked if I wanted to go for a spin. I was in the car before he was and off we went. I also remember the sounds of that flatty coming to life and the smell of it warming up. We drove around for about 15-20 minutes and returned the car. My friend's brother never did buy it and a few weeks later it dissappeared, never to return.
This experience and reading about the Neikamp roadster (the first, AMERICA'S MOST BEAUTIFUL ROADSTER) in a copy of Hot Rod magazine started a love afair with hot rods that has never dimished. I just turned 60, have a barn full of projects, and finally a little time to play so I'm convinced there is no cure for the affliction.

Frank

[RagDoll]

I grew up playing in and riding "in to town" in the various cars my Grandfather and Uncles had on the ranch. (Which is now buried in the heart of Silicon Valley.) There were DeSotos Plymouths and Lincolns. Not to mention that between my Grandparents and Mom , there was a new car almost every year (up until the 80's).

And every family gathering in the 70's, my Uncles and cousins would cruise to the gathering from Vallejo in their various 60s Buicks. Most of them that wonderful beige color with black interior. Uncle would get out of the car at a stoplight and wipe off a spot!

I'm still upset my grandmother sold "MY" Plymouth back in the 80's for 1000 bucks because she didn't think I waould want it when I was 16. Boy was she WRONG!

[buffaloracer]

Hearing the Offys run on the 1/2 mile dirt track at the Topeka fair grounds did it for me. That and a picture of a lakes roadster in I think Hot Rod titled "Beauty is More Than Skin Deep".

[Coupe-De-CAB]

Since the late 80's i've always wanted to own a 58-60 convertable Corvette and i always told myself if i was going to buy a classic car that would be the one because that car has always caught my eye as a great looking car, i even thought about getting a beater one and just making sure the engine ran awesome cause then i would be able to drive the thing without making sure to remember to put the car cover over it every night:( over the years they have gone up and up in price making my interest go down and down:( It wasn't until a couple of years ago getting into the art scene, going to art shows, buying art mags that i was seeing some cool hot rods being drawn by say like Coop and R. Williams, then i started going to a few car shows with my buddy larry from the ( Road Zombies) that i started to see your guys work on Kustom cars:) I just fell in love with the look of these cars you guys have been building and showcasing in assorted underground Rodder magazines! the cars coming out these days by underground builders are frickin amazing works of art that are very inspiring to me as well in my artist interests in drawing and painting. So it all goes hand in hand and has a creative side to it. the cars, the art, the way of thinking by no rules, just like in skating! just doing your own thing while everyone laughs at you first, then wants to be just like you when they finally think/feel what your doing is cool and respected years later! as a kid/teenager i never got into cars because i was too involved with my skateboarding career, but now 25 years later...
I love the hot rod scene (don't care to much for rock'a billy music, except for the Aussie band "the living end") buy hey... to each his own and i never judge people by what they wear, listen to or drive... just their personal attitude!!!!!!
And most of the guys i've met in person from the Hamb are great guys... so i'm here to stay, to learn and to enjoy the life as a Hamber... thanks for the warm welcomes everyone:)
the Billet stuff doesn't interest me one bit, it's what you guys do here on the Hamb... that rocks!
CAB

[kritz]

damn cab, i was really hoping that the caddy in animal chin was the gateway to the hot-rod world.


i got into the hot-rod thing fairly recently...always liked them but never really had the oportunity as a youngster to be around them that much.
my dad had an old pontiac wagon that sat in the garage collecting dust, but dad never worked on it and it was sold when we moved..
fast forward to high school. my girlfriend at the time had an older brother who ALWAYS was working on cars. mainly muscle cars, but sparked my interest in the "hot rod"world once again. bought my first car with him, 72 super beetle which we got running and sold it once i graduated high school...
got really interested in vespa scooters shortly there after and worked at a scooter shop for a while, had 8 vespas at one time, and sold them off slowly but surely. have one still though.
worked at sears automotive for a while and learned a little about a lot of diferent aspects of cars, but not enough to do anything productive other than brakes, tires, and batteries.
started tattooing and working with steve (hotrodtohell) who lives and breathes hotrods. always talked about getting one and finally did a couple of years ago. 1950 ford.
the ford was my real car education, learned such things as minor engine work, bodywork, paint, upholster, and wiring.

now i'm ready for more projects, and the cool thing is my dad and i are buying a 50 chevy sedan delivery that we will resurrect, giving us something that we can finally work on together.

[Greezy]

NVRRDUNN thanks for sharing that story with us, I was right there with ya. As for me I cant remember were my interest manifested. Ive thought about this very thing alot trying to remember were it comes from, I guess its not important, just that the interest is there. My dad did teach me the differance between cars at an early age so I guess he got the ball rolling.

[moondisc]

6 years old, my brothers bud pulled in our driveway with his 40 Ford coupe. I took the hook.
8 years old, the town "Hoodlum" bought a channeled 32 Roadster w/early Olds V8 & 3x2's. The hook was set!
About the same time (7 or 8) I started hanging out at the local garage. In the back of the garage was a channled A roadster on a 35 frame, flattie with 2x2's, unfinished.
I played in that roadster for hours, dreaming of finishing it.
A year later they dragged it outside.
About 12 with my lawn mowing money in hand I tried to buy it. The guy that owned the garage told me it was his kids, to talk to him. The kid kept telling me it was the old mans.
The old man also owned a junkyard with about 1000 neat old cars and trucks. He never sold anything out of it. The roadster got put in the yard.
In 89 the old man died. The kid started selling off everything. I told him I wanted the roadster. He said, "there ain't much left to it, you don't want it."
I told him even if I couldn't save it, I wanted it for sentimental value.
A week later he told me, "I sold the roadster to a guy in PA for $300" Then started laughing his ass off. Dickhead!
This year I found out he sold it to a guy 20 miles down the road, who hasn't done a thing with it.
Now it all starts over again!

[yorgatron]

when i was about 10-11 years old my dad figured i should learn something about cars,so he would make me work on my sister's lousy POS krautmobile klown kar VW.i would do the work while he would yell at me and tell me everything i was doing wrong.i still hate those lousy little pieces of shit,and everyone who owns one.now i own a real american classic car,and i couldn't be happier.

[NVRRDUNN]

[ QUOTE ]
...he would make me work on my sister's lousy POS krautmobile klown kar VW...still hate those lousy little pieces of shit,and everyone who owns one.now i own a real american classic car,and i couldn't be happier.

[/ QUOTE ]

...ah, cmon...VDubs aint ALL that bad....besides, I've got an american classic, too. See the A-bone in the back of the garage? THAT's the car my son &amp; I are gonna build into a REAL american hot rod together, and it starts next week. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif <font color="blue"> </font>

[NVRRDUNN]

....awww sh__t!! Know how it feels to pursue a dream...my dad sold my 1st car, a sweat equity (mine) &amp; nearly done 37 Ford coupe out from under me when i was away in the navy and didnt find this out until I got home, and I spent the next couple of years trying to track it down, but lost it after the 13th owner up near Portland, where it was absorbed into the underground populace somewhere and I have probably unknowingly seen it somewhere in a car show. Interesting thing...it was never sold to the next party but always traded for something else...one time it was for a pair of matching quarterhorses!!! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

[NVRRDUNN]

Yea, oval track racing on dirt...been going to the same 1/4 mile track ever since 1954. Its still open and thriving, what with the interest in things that go fast. Sprinters are my favorite, clicking off 10 -11 second laps...FAST! Have always had a special place for the old bonneville modifieds like the old Stu Hilborn lakester...what a piece of art that car still is, in every image I see of it. It doesnt have a bad angle anywhere. Would be a good one to re-pop in tribute. Does that car still exist? I have a friend who had the idea at the same time I did, back about the time I got my VDub convert, about building from scratch a replica of a 30's dirt track "big" car, using nothing in the build-up that was newer than 1940. He has actually done it, and is not far from being finished. He hand crafted a lot of the car, including the frame, body, grille shell, belly pan, and the tail, and had done the engine (Model B ford block)machining and modifications himself, and found an old prototype Cyclone quickchange center section for the rear differential he plans to use, along with franklin steering and Buffalo wire knock off wheels. Like I said its a work of art, based on a concept of something we both admired. will try to find a couple pix later in the day..its too damned early now (5:25 am out here on the left coast, my wife is sick and been up a lot, so here I am on the 'puter..will probably go back to bed in a bit to catch up on sleep!)http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[CherryBlossom]

I married into the disease.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[willowbilly3]

I can't even remember where it started. I was born a hotrodder. I may have been switched at birth or something because I was the only one in my family including all the first cousins on both sides. My dad was a cowboy, and an odls school cowboy at that.
I wish I had a story like that to tell, I just bought Car ceaft and Hot Rod from the time I could read and dreamed.
I could just about live off the smell of the crankcase fumes from one of those old cars. Even today when I get a whiff of that it takes me back to pounding down some old gravel backroad in my 54 Dodge Hemi convertable when I was 16.

[oldandkrusty]

Henry, I know the exact car that are referring to! It belonged to a fellow named Steve (I forget his last name) that ran a service station on the corner of Titus and Portland Avenues. That cabriolet was the baddest car in our area and was way ahead of its time. As I remember it was, as you stated, powered by a 427" side-oiler with dual quads, 4-speed top loader and 9" rear with discs on the front and back! It had an independent front and just all kinds of far out things (for that time period). I think that at one time Steve may have had either fuel injection or a turbo on this car!!! It was just too freaking much. Unfortunately, Steve got into drugs and the car was allowed to turn into a piece of crap. I don't know exactly what became of it when Steve became a guest of the state, but I'm certain that it hasn't surfaced again in our area as I would recognize it for sure unless it had undergone major surgery. It was so far ahead of anything that it would still be relevant today. Gosh, what memories. Thanks for reminding me.

By the way, where in Florida are you, Henry? My wife and I escape Rochester and winter down there now and are always looking to say "hello" to other gearheads. Well, at least I am!

[oldandkrusty]

Nevrrdun, thanks for bringing up this subject. First because it takes me back to some of the best times of my life when I was a young teenager and didn't have to worry about things like terrorists and Iraq. And second, because it reminds me of when I saw the most beautiful car I had ever seen sitting in front of my high school. This was 1958 and and I was a just a freshman but, I knew that I liked old cars and could generally tell what kind of car was coming down the road just by the sound it made. I liked cars ALOT! And I really liked hot rods and customs, although I didn't get to see to many other than in the small mags such as Rod &amp; Custom, Car Craft and Custom Cars which I hid between the covers of my school books-just as everyone did back then.
So, there I was just coming out of school and there was this absolutely stunning thing of beauty-a black '27 T sitting on deuce rails with a flathead, triple carbs and chromed headers. It had wide whites with Lancer hubcaps a chopped top, a quick change rear, genuine leather upholstery, an inlaid wooden dash, a full complement of Stewart Warner wings gauges in the dash AND on the firewall and a trick Hiudson electric hand shifter hooked up to the '39 tranny!!! I was instantly in mad mad lust for this car. It couldn't get any better, but it did. The most beautiful girl in West High (she was a senior and in my brother's class) came strolling out and got into this rolling piece of drool-producing iron and off they motored to what bliss I could only imagine. Ohmigod, life couldn't have gotten any better unless I was the guy driving the T.
It wasn't too long after that I was introduced to Bob &amp; Carl Austin, the brothers that built the car. Bob was the younger of the two and the one that showed up in front of school. These two guys had a shop not to far from where we lived and as often as I could I would go over there to hang out. The two brothers adopted more strays than you could shake a stick at. Everyone that came to their garage was welcome and was made to feel welcome. And, we all learned about cars by hanging there and absorbing the knowlege that each brought. The garage was open year round and each night there would be a collection of gearheads there to kibbutz with and to work on projects with. This was the absolute best time of my life with cars and car people.
A few years ago, Carl got the big C and passed away. He was, at that time, working on re-doing the T, at his own meticulous and pains-takingly slow pace. His son now has the car and, I hope, will someday soon have it back on the road. At Carl's funeral there were so many people that showed up to pay their respects that the parlor stayed open until nearly midnight just to let the people share their memories of the Rodfather of Rochester. I'll never ever forget the Austin boys and, especially Carl, who I think of every day and of my very good fortune that I got to know him. God bless you, Carl.

[Fat Hack]

ZZ Top videos...

Henry Gregor Felson novels...

The Eastwood &amp; Barakat 32 sedan...

Lil John and Fat Jack...

Donna Speir and KC Winkler! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

(Hey...it was the 80s, and I was young and impressionable! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif)

[hiboy32]

Well, just a little short of 20 years ago, I was finishing up a redu of my first car, a 70chevelle. I was hangin around a kid whose dad was a hot rodder that had just sold a 32 five winder. I started noticing I liked hot rods way more than muscle cars. In the early 90's I thought I would build a hotrod and I bought a 36 chevy. It was slow building, I was sidetracked racing motocross and I couldn't sell my Chevelle for revenue [it was in the family since new]. Well, in 95 the project stalled as sub framed small block nova rear sedan. Then it happened-- I noticed I hated it!! I pulled the motor and sold the project to someone who likes that kinda thing. All I really wanted was a fender- less coupe! In 96 our first son was born and I had no money for a hotrod. Here it is , oh damn, almost 05 and I still dont have a hotrod to drive yet, close , but still no money.

[NVRRDUNN]

[ QUOTE ]
...Everyone that came to their garage was welcome and was made to feel welcome. And, we all learned about cars by hanging there and absorbing the knowlege that each brought. The garage was open year round and each night there would be a collection of gearheads there to kibbutz with and to work on projects with. This was the absolute best time of my life with cars and car people.


[/ QUOTE ]

...KINDA LIKE HERE AT THE HAMB, ISNT IT?

[Fifty5C-Gas]

as cheesey as it may sound, it was definately Milners Coupe in American Graffiti, and The Hollywood Knights.

[NVRRDUNN]

YEP, YER HOOKED. WHERE THERES DESIRE AND PASSION, THERE'S USUALLY A HOOKER TO ACCOMODATE...SERIOUSLY THOUGH, youve obviously got talent in there to do this, so why not trade labor for what you need? At least get it started...dont give up, and please..INCLUDE YOUR FAMILY ON YOUR QUEST...THEY WILL ENJOY IT AS MUCH AS YOU WHEN THINGS ARE ALL SAID AND DONE WITH. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[CTFuzz]

I grew up in the '50S................The cool guys had hot rods and I was cool... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

[NVRRDUNN]

for me, it wasn't so much the A/G piss yellow coupe that did it for me. It was how the kool-ness of the kool guys of that era and before was captured in the great character known as John Milner in that movie. Great stuff...still!! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[merc-o-madness]

i dont know http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

[AnimalAin]

Of course, there were incidents before and since, but the pivotal event for me was when Larry Mills, my dad's parts manager, took me to Lions Drag Strip for my very first drag race. Among others, I saw Stone-Woods-Cook race Hugh Tucker's AA/SR. My mom thought it was only a phase, but after about 40 years I think she might be wrong.

[oldandkrusty]

Yes it is kinda like the HAMB and I guess that is why I try to spend a little time here every day. Thanks again for posting this terrific subject.

[Henry Floored]

Man that is so awesome that you know the car oldandkrusty! I worked for my dad at Fred Walker Ford on Monroe Ave. Definately my formative years were spent there. Too bad about Steve, he was a genius in his work. I hope life turns out better for him. I'm blown away by the image of that one particular car and I'm glad you answered with your fond memory of it.

Anytime you and your wife are down here in Florida you be sure and look us up. We are just now coming into the busy season for gearhead activities. I'd be glad to meet you and show you around. We are on the west coast of Florida about 40 miles north of St. Petersburg.ph# 727-856-4133. Thanks!

[JohnnyB327]

for me it was when my uncle took me for a ride in his 32 roadster at an nsra event when i was bout 5 and also all the stories my dad told me of all his old cars and his street racin days down in pueblo. or maybe it was the sound of my dads 409 when i was 2 http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

johnny

[Upchuck]

me and my brother would thumb thru my uncles old car magazines dreaming of stromberg carbs, headers, hi rises,going fast and living on the edge, not to mention we were almost positive the girls would flock to the hotrods we'd build on paper! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif we did manage to clean up all the dumps in the area of rusty bodies, old fenders and crap but we never had the know how to build them so my mom had us clean up the old hulks and back to the dumps they were painstakingly dragged out of http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

never had a "hotrod" made from a 30's/40's body but we did end up with 2 55 chevy cars from Idaho and I always had the old chevy truck as the hauler of parts and junk

I still don't got a "hotrod" but am fumbling on the 49 F1 http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[KnuckleDragger]

I guess it all start with my dads stories about how he and and my grandfather used to buy cars fix them up, and sell them for extra money to put into their street machines. I always loved to hear about my dads stories of the cars he used to build and race in L.A. Out at Lyons Drag strip or down the main strips of L.A., with the L.A. Street Racer c.c.. My Dads stories of the how him and his fellow clubsmen of the " T-Timers c.c., were always there for each other. I guess thats what sold me on this Lifestyle/hobbie what ever you want to call it..

Jonney

[Blownolds]

'67 442 post coupe... then I got into the earlier engines... the rest is history.

[Rolf]

http://www.classicroad.com/graffiti/movieag2.jpg

Falfa: Didn't nobody tell ya I was lookin' for ya?...Hey, you're supposed to be the fastest thing in the Valley, man, but that can't be your car. It must be your mama's car. I'm sorta embarrassed to be this close to ya.
John: I'm not surprised, drivin' a Field Car.
Falfa: Field Car? What's a Field Car?
John: A Field Car runs through the fields, drops cow shit all over the place to make the lettuce grow.
Falfa: That's pretty good. Hey, I like the color of your car there, man. What's that supposed to be? Sorta a cross between Piss Yellow and Puke Green, ain't it?
John: Well, you call that a paint job but it's pretty ugly. I'll betcha you got to sneak up on the pumps just to get a little air in your tires.
Falfa: Well, at least I don't have to pull over to the side just to let a funeral go by, man.
John: Oh, funny...You know what?
Carol: Your car's uglier than I am. That didn't come out right.

[Stevie G]

It started before I was born. My parents went to Oswego Speedway on dates. Before I was even in school, My Dad was a breeder for Eastern and used to take me on trips to farms in the area. Lots of dirt roads in central NY in the sixties. Four wheel drifts in a 64 Riviera is a real kick when you are four. When I was eight, Dad was parting out our 62 Electra (NY winters had done their worst). I was fascinated. We took apart the Nailhead for spares for his 64 Riviera. Then came the models. Oh....the models. I remember a Laurel &amp; Hardy Model T that ended up with a Model A engine and trans and some 'Slime green' wire wheels.

It didn't hurt that my oldest brother and his friends were into cars. I had five engine swaps under my belt before I had a car of my own.

Hot Rod, Crash Club, Day of the Drag Race, the list goes on....

American Graffiti...Hell yes. I still have my Milner Coupe model.

Did the Muscle car thing in the eighties (GS's and Cuda's were cheap then) and ended up right back where I started.

Need to get back to the shop and get something done on the 30 so I can post for Tech Week.

What a long strage trip it's been.

[Rocky]

Nevrdunn...My affliction began in Oregon too..up north in The Dalles. At 14, I rode the school bus home, past some little rental cabins where a 19 year old guy
rented one. They had little one-car lean-to carports and the kid's 40 Merc convertible was parked in one. It was lowered, chopped, molded, carson topped, red painted and whitewalled. The most distinguishing feature was the 50 nash grille which actually looked good...
One Saturday, I rode my bike down past his place to find the guy bent over, under the hood working on the engine. It was a flathead with 3 carbs and finned aluminum heads...something I'd only seen in magazines. He allowed me to hang around while he fiddled with the carbs and then asked me if I wanted to go with him on his test drive. Did I?!?!
Like Nevvrdunn said, the lumpy flathead makes sweet music that I never heard from my folk's straight 8 pontiacs or the latest family car- our 55 olds super 88 4 door.
We headed out of town to the hiway and he "opened 'er up." Holy shit! This flathead ran strong and LOUD! No side glass meant plenty of warm summer wind in our hair and the smell of a hot flathead is unmistakable. So is the sound.
It rode choppy but handled the corners like a slotcar.
I was hooked. I was hooked soooooooo badly, I'd sneak out my bedroom window at night to bike down to the guy's place, hoping I'd catch him at home to help work on the Merc or maybe even go for a midnight ride in the magic machine....
One night, we snapped an axle key, doing a burnout. I thought I was gonna have to walk but the guy simply unloaded his floor jack and tool box from the trunk and proceded to change the busted key on the spot. I was in heaven!
Wish I could find that old merc again.

[Slide]

Cool stories here!

Personally, I can't remember not being into old cars. My dad restored Model As when I was a wee lad, but his heart was really hot rods. Then I settled for what is now classic Mustangs when I was in High School, cause they were affordable and all my friends had Mustangs or VWs, and I didn't like VWs.

But about 2 weeks before I got my license, I saw AG for the first time. (This was 1988 in English class of all places!) The yellow Deuce was cool, but that 58 Impala... man that one turned the burner on "high". If I can ever afford to buy one, that body style is still high on my list of cars I want to build before I pass on... I still catch myself sticking my copy of AG in the VCR and fast-forwarding to all the scenes with that car!

[MIKE-3137]

For me it was a ride in a guys 33 plymouth, I had just finished the first car I had ever built (or rebuilt) a 67 RS-SS Camaro convertable, and had been to a few shows, only to be put in a "late model" class. Well after looking down the long hood of that plymouth, I knew I had to have a real hot rod, something in the 30s preferrably. So I got the remains of my 37, and got it drivable, but the itch still hasn't been scratched, so know i'm getting my Roadster going..

[MercMan1951]

First off, to those who don't know me, I have been described as an "old soul" by many people, on many occasions. I am old for my age, both in mentality and in actions. I try to temper the oldness, and keep it in check for day-to-day activities, but it certainly comes through in my intrests (I like antiques), my music (I love Johnny Cash); "oldies" music is on the radio in may garage, and my cars: I am definately stuck in the '70's, but I do have that '51 Merc that I'm working on:

I don't have a really cool story like NVRRDUNN, but I have asked myself that very same question many times. Where did my inspiration for all things automotive come from?

There have been several highlights during my young life that helped shape it.

My mother jokes that at a very young age, one of my first words I spoke was when I pointed to a can of V-8 juice in the supermarket, and said "V-8"! Boy was she proud. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif My grandmother recounts another similar incident that occured at a very young age, where a VW beetle was going by, and I stammered out the words "volk-wagon". I have no idea why I would say that, now, outside of pure innocence.

My Dad considers himself to be fairly artistic, although much of his painting an drawing skills were exercised way before I came along. He settled into the family-man routine after I was born and only on a VERY limited basis exposed his artistic side. I do remember his strange renderings of cars that had monster-like drivers with shifters and hands protruding from the roof (a la Ed Roth drawings) but at the time (5-7) I just thought they were weird.

Dad always had car magazins around to read, one of his favorites was Rod and Custom when it returned in the '80's. I'd read them after he was "done", and share my "Car-Craft and Hot Rod" with him when I was "done". This led to him telling stories about how the Alexander Brother's shop was down the street when he was growing up in Detroit (circa early 1960's), and he would wander over there and watch the guys roll out their fascinating cars.
I read 'his' mags, and developed a mild disease for the custom '49-51 mercs (which he also loves). I was determined to have one some day.
Ironically, my father is not what I would call "mechanically inclined". I learned all I knew at a very early age from Lincoln Logs, Erector sets, and Legos. R/C cars came into play in my early teens, and once I got a real car 1 week before my 16th birthday, it was all downhill from there. By age 18 I had 2 cars, by age 22 I had 5. (I at age 23 had owned more running, driving cars in 7 years than my parents had owned in 25 years of marriage- my mother quickly pointed out at one time.)


My grandfather that lived 7 houses down the street had a 1976 LTD station wagon he used for hauling TV's. He was in the TV repair business (we're talking TV's with tubes here) in the heart of the ghetto in Detroit. It turned into more of a hobby than anything, by 1985 or so, when he was into his 70's. At one point he wrecked that LTD (circa 1982), by slamming into someone at a stoplight. The car made it home, and several times I asked to go see it, wrecked in the garage. That sparked my fascination with wrecked cars. He got it fixed and all, but I thought it was cool "wrecked". 15 years later I was working in a body shop repairing wrecked cars... He also introduced me to my first application of "bondo" by single-handedly repairing entire rusted-out sections of that LTD's quarter panels by using screen, Bondo, and paint. I shudder at the thought of his "repairs" now....

My grandfather on my Father's side (the one I saw maybe 4 times in my life before he died) worked for "Harold's Frame Shop" in Detroit from 1940-1969. He retired and they moved to Florida. Although not biologically related because of some weird circumstances...we both basically at one point in our lives were doing the same thing. The last time I saw him was around 1989, I hadn't yet got into the body work biz, but my car disease was flourishing, and he lamented to me that he had recently sold off all his "old air and body tools" in a garage sale for "pretty cheap." (Oh how I'd wished he'd KNOWN!)

I had a friend in high school, his parents did asphalt striping when the weather was good, and built top-notch hot rods in their small garage during the winter, turning out basically one car per season. The only thing they didn't do was upholstery, but man, could they get the cars right. Perfect paint, straight bodies, chassis work; amazing. The quality of their work was unbelieveable, to say the least. They had a thing for '37 Fords back then. They'd no sooner finish one, &amp; take it to one show, and have a ridiculous offer by some rich guy for like $30 grand. They'd sell it, and move on to the next. The last I'd heard they got into Woodies. They built one, a Dr. in Cali bought it for like $40 large, and then requested they build him another, which they did, and sold to him...I liked to hang out a Chris' house in the winter...

My father was in the army with Butch Bunn, A.K.A "Butch's Rod Shop". We went down to Northlawn Ohio in the early 90's for a reunion of all his old army buddies, and a tour of Butch's shop. Butch showed up to the the event in a very sano black '52 Ford, all stock w/312, three on the tree, teardrop dash knobs, tuck-and-roll, the works. Driving around in that was the appetizer. Then we went to his shop. He let me drive an "in-progress" 32 deuce, and snap a few pics. It was the icing on the cake for a 17 year old (at the time). Too bad he got out of the biz and sold off his shop, but he's getting up there...

So it's a combination of things to me. A little Ed Roth, a few bodymen in the family, friends in H.S whose parents did nothing but build show winners all winter long.... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif I learn very well by seeing, then doing. I poured over car mags and re-read the articles over an over again until I was of age to actually do some work myself. I never tire of absorbing something new, be it print or on TV, and this serves as inspiration now for me to continue on.

At 29, I have 5 cars in the drive (two of which I need to sell), a 2 1/2 car garage FULL to the rafters of car shit and a 1951 Mercury coupe that I hope to turn into my (and my father's) dream come true. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif