When did it start for you?

[3dnsouth]

Right about here was a clincher....'69. Me and bro' profilin' in the ol' roadster. We loved it when dad fired it up, that thing sounded some kinda good!!! (and we still got 'er)

[Brootal]

I reckon it can start at a pretty young age.

I've noticed while driving around in my car (a '67 Rambler 4-door for those that don't know) or stopped at a set of lights, the kids in the car in the next lane (usually the boys) will be looking at the car.

It might just be that the car stands out, or the fact it's not white/silver/beige, or maybe they caught a flash of metalflake off the roof. But they check it out, usually smile and quite often wave.

I reckon with just the slightest of shoves in the right direction, those kids could easily be turned on to the fun of owning and driving old cars.

So next time some teenager asks you a dumb question, be nice and answer them, they might have been that 4-year-old kid waving at you all those years ago.

[Buckelew]

Los Angeles County (Pamona) Fairgrounds, Los Angeles, CA; 1977, when I was a little freckle-faced kid of nine years.

Those huge, ancient steam locomotives on the grounds were my favorite hangout: I loved following the lines, the complexity of all that iron and tubing, wondered what it would be like to catch a ride on one.

Then I heard a familiar, repeated crack and rumble, then watched a thunderous caravan of deuces, T buckets, Model As and non-Ford rods file out of the parking lot across the street.

I was aghast. How could my parents waste their (our) years taming horses and becoming somebody in that circle when there was a beautiful, almost timeless, turnkey alternative in the shape of a hot rod. Turns out my father has always hated cars and kept us off motorcycles, only to become an old geezer riding a hog (though he still hates old cars).

My enthusiasm for those cars has never diminished, though life has been mostly too difficult to pursue any hot rod consequences. Until recently.

Watch out, y'all. I hope to have my first rat rod on the road soon. Then great things will be hopping out of the garage. It all started in Pamona in 1977.

[1929rats]

Here I am at 16 months in my uncles T bucket, as you can see in the second pic, he still has it (this pic of his T and my A was taken fathers day in 2007). It was a very big influence on me and my A RPU. I think it started even before then, but this is the earliest docummentation I have.

The last pic is of my brother and I at the drags Im 8 in this pic and he is 5. I still WANT a model 77 too....

[petes56usa]

Originally Posted by 1929rats

Here I am at 16 months in my uncles T bucket, as you can see in the second pic, he still has it (this pic of his T and my A was taken fathers day in 2007). It was a very big influence on me and my A RPU. I think it started even before then, but this is the earliest docummentation I have.

The last pic is of my brother and I at the drags Im 8 in this pic and he is 5. I still WANT a model 77 too....

Very cool.....

[goatboy]

46 yrs ago right after i was born

[Pir8Darryl]

My Dad had some cool rides when I was a kid, and he always did all of his own mechanical work. Working on the family truckster with Dad was only natural for a young man, but the general maintenance end of it wasn't very exciting.

My Grandfather on the other hand, was a nut-job and a total motorhead. He owned a trucking company. He built his own personal truck from a couple of wrecks and parts trucks. It was a classic Kenworth, and he spent a fortune on it... Like something out of an eppisode of "Trick my Truck".

THAT truck, with it's powerfull V-12 diesel, lots of chrome, and about 100 guages adorning it's turned metal dash REALLY did it for me! I actually remember the exact moment it happened, riding with him on a round trip from Louisville to DFW Texas... The screaming engine, dozens of gear combinations, the custom interior, all the guages moving, and Rock-a-billy playing way too loud.

Grandpaw was a trip... And I really miss him.

[60HT]

I don't know when it really started for me, I still have a little toy coupe my mom said I carried everywhere I went from the time I could walk, but one of the things that stands out in my memory is walking home from the show one night with my brother and seeing a guy working on a T bucket in the parking lot of a closed gas station. I don't remember what kind of trouble he was having but the bucket was steel bodied and green with a white top. I remember looking inside it and seeing round tubing body framing, the seat was the only thing upholstered. The guy looked like Jerry Reed with a DA. I live in a small town, around 3500, so we didn't get to see many rods. This was around 1969 when I was 8.

[grezball]

As a kid I always liked the cars that stood out in traffic.

[CarGar]

1957 at the Patrick AFB BX. Picked up a little pages mag and the rest is history. I'm in the early stages of finally building my first hot rod.

Cheers -- Gary

The darkest hour in any man's life is when he sits down to plan how to get money without earning it.--Horace Greely

[Deuces]

It happened the day I first laid eyes on a beautiful Yellow 1970 Plymouth Road Runner with a black vinyl top way back in the Spring of '71... I had just moved here to the U.S. from Australia. ... BEEP BEEP!

[brad chevy]

As far back as I can remember,my Dad ran his own,one man garage,had a wrecker,kept the whole small towns peoples car,trucks,tractors running,even built race cars for the old diet track in Valdosta,Georgia,I"m glad I paid attention to all the things he taught me and to this day everytime Ifix something on a car I think about him.once you get that grease under the fingernails its hard to stop.

[falconsprint63]

one of my earliest memories is riding in the back of my dad's chocolate brown 31 ford sedan with gold diamond tuck velvet interior. I was upset when he sold it (I was 3 or 4--still remember picking out door prizes at the old stone mountain run in the same car).

the 35 ford coupe he moved to proved to be much bigger and more influential and part of me,though. learned too drive in it. bought my first at 12. working on rebuilding it now after 20 plus years and several owners after that first time

[Lee_Ford]

As for liking old cars, I guess with my last name being Ford, I kind of had to. When a family friend gave me his 10+ years collection of Hot Rod mags in 1962, I spent all my spare time reading them cover to cover. I liked the look for sure. But it was a few years later when I was sitting in the living room and heard something outside I will never forget. A quick investigation revealed our neighbor had a big Pontiac that he had just put a ¾ race cam in. The rumble from those glass packs made my testosterone level sky rocket. It slammed me into puberty and I was hooked.

[Lee_Ford]

That same neighbor was also responsible for the 289cu 62 Econoline I had a few years later and the Vette 327 with muncie 4 speed, me and a buddy put into a 51 Chevy while in high school. The 51 had fender well headers, two 4s, tilt front end and was gutted for weight. (Roll bar, one fiberglass bucket and one plastic paint bucket.) We had a ball racing Road Runners, Goats and anything else.

Cool neighbor.

[Ricky B]

Sam Hollingsworth '57 Nomad & Ed Roth........& my Dad !