Hot Rods First car... how old were you?

So I bought an O/T car the other day to flip and ran into a wiring issue that stumped me. I remembered I had a manual that covered that so I went to look at it. I got the manual and sat on my daily' s tailgate to review it and got lost. I flipped to the back of the book and there it was. I bought my first car at 10 years old and the seller was so glad I was into cars he gave me his manual. I reflected on all the time I spent working on that car, all the cans of spray paint I sprayed on it, the time I spent in it during rain storms listening to the radio, and most important the time I spent with my dad who has since passed chasing parts. I broke down cost of all parts, and most were free dad brought home from work. What a great find in my own house.


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13 years old. A $175 RPU.

 

14..... it was 1958 and I bought a wrecked '50 Ford 2 door for $40. Flathead V8 and ran very well. I bought used parts and repaired it.

Ray

 

I was 15 in 1972, for a Black 1940 Ford Pickup with Stock Ford Flathead V8 3-Spd on the Floor. Paid $300. I Found in Hillsboro , Tx. It was one of the Very Few, That I've Ever Sold. Big Regrets, I wish I Still had the 40 & was 15 Again! Best Regards
BigDTexasKid


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16 1957 Chevy 150 $250 $35 payment no radio I loved it until my dad showed with a 64 Plymouth 2 door h/t it had a radio

 

13, a 71 Cutlass, dad raced for Dr Olds in 70 with a full ride.I learned bodywork and paint on that car. Lots of Saturdays until I could take it to school at 14

 

15. Had to share a car with my older sister to drive to school. Didn't have school buses and it was too far to walk. 56 Ford Fairlane $450. I got to keep it when she graduated and bought herself another car.

 

14 years old in 1988. I bout a O/T car and changed it from a automatic to a 4 spd. I went through 7 motors 5 automatic trans after I broke the belhousing on the 4 spd, and 2 rear ends. I learned a poop ton on that car. I finally put a 450 hp 340, with a 3500 stall and a reverse valve body manual automatic, I had a lot of fun with it. Now the motor and trans is in my dads 38 dodge coupe. Hopefully soon on the road if he lets me help him.
Tony

 

12 y.o.
Bought an o/t car. I did a lot of mentally driving and moving it around the driveway. Moved and had to get rid of it. My next car was a 56 Ford sedan

 

My oldest brother Mike gave me my first car when I was 13. It was a 60 Olds Super 88 Holiday Sedan. He slso gave me my first Craftsman toolbox and screwdrivers that same Christmas.

 

What's a manual ? Just a little funny...seems no one has - looks or reads a factory manual for their vehicle. With my Stude truck in 1974 at age 16 - I got a hefty factory manual with it....read thru it then.....still look thru it today....

 

13 years old. Sold my bicycle and bought a 1938 Ford Club roadster. I wish I still had that car now.
Paid $30 for it. We had a vacant block on the top the hill where I lived and drove it around there.

 

14 years old, a 1955 Nomad. It needed quite a bit of work. No front seat, motor or tranmission but it was already set up for a 4 speed. Seems it had been a mild custom at one time. It was lowered about 2 inches. Cast iron blocks out back, cut springs in front. Most of the exterior emblems were shaved. Had a frenched antenna at the passenger side B pillar. At one time it was painted a blue/green metallic. I ended up painting it the original Turquoise and Ivory, found a front seat from a 56 Chevy. A rebuilt 327 from the local auto parts and 4 speed from the wreck yard and was finally able to drive it. I wish I'd never sold it. 2nd dumbest thing I ever did.

 

15. OT 70 camaro. by the time I was 16, had headers, glass packs,alim. slots, cam, high rise intake , holley carb, l-88 scoop.

 

1938 Ford Deluxe Fordor at 14 years of age.

 

Eleven it was a more door 1954 Ford straight 6, three on the tree with Overdrive $25.00 and drag it "home". Me and the crew of my buds got it running and me and my buddies learned to "drift" around the back dirt lot of one of the buds.

 

I was 15 in 1987 when I bought my 1956 F-100 p/u. 29 years later I still have it. Wouldn't trade it for anything


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I wish I could say the same about the Nomad

 

In 57' at 16 bought my 51' Belair 2 dr hardtop for $325, boy it sure did take awhile to save that kind of money back then

Hey Marz dare I ask what was the # 1 dumb thing you did ?

DND

 

13 in 8th grade in 1964. A $50.00 54 Buick Special 4 door. Dad bought it cause it had a new set of tires that fir his 55 Buick. I claimed the 54 and worked off the $50.00 doing what ever I could. Tinkered with that old Buick , cleaned, spray painted and learned alot about wrenching on cars. Traded for Dads 55 Buick and he sold the old 54 in 66. Still love those old Buicks!!

 

1957 I was 12 and bought a 40 Ford Coupe from a tote the note car lot in Mt Vernon, Texas. Drove that old Ford until my 17th birthday when I joined the Marine Corps. My uncle had taken me to the recruiting office in Dallas. Uncle John would not take that car so I left in in front of the Hotel Dallas on St. Paul street. Never saw it again I suppose it was towed away in time and probably sold at the monthly auction at the pound.

 

!5 yrs old in 1969, bought a 1938 Ford Standard Sedan for $30.00, after 6mths sold it for $20.00 to buy an Oz 1940 Dodge Coupe.....bought the 'ol brown Turd I still have as a parts car in 1971 for $15.00, it was too good to part out so still have it .....andyd.

 

Found a 1930 Ford Roadster body when I was 11, still have it, really should try to finish the project. Bob

 

12 years old, the 33 Chevy in my avatar, my Dad and I put this together. Drove it all the time in my small home town.

 

12 years old 1958 . A really nice clean 1946 plymouth 2 dr sedan . 35 dollars and mow the mans yard for the summer.So I guess $2.50 times 20 , So I guess it was a 85 dollar car. I drove it for the summer and traded it for a 16 gauge Remington automatic shot gun with a short stock I still have that gun . Next car before I was 13 was a 53 Ford buss cpe no back seat 6 cyl stick. It was 55 dollars.

 

15 in 1967 and still have it....

 

was given cars very early in life...
as a child the typical pedal car ( mine a police model )
we would sit on the front porch ( you know the kids on your / our block ) and
identify what car with what engine it had as they drove by.

i'll edit and add more later

 

Get married

 

I bought my '52 Ford in 1960 at the Mercury dealership on the same block I lived on for $300. I forget the month that I bought it, but my Dad had to drive it for the test drive since I was 15 years old.

 

Hello,
I bought my first car at age 13 for $5.00. I split it with my brother, so, for $2.50 each the junker was ours. It was an old Model A coupe, sitting in a lady's back yard all covered up with weeds and an oily tarp. We saw this car because a friend lived near by and we could see it in the back yard. We offered $2.00 for it, but she wanted $5.00. We tried to start it there in the weeds, but it would not start, so we towed it home. My brother hooked up a thick rope to his 51 Olds and i got to steer the Model A. At home, after thoroughly cleaning out the motor, new plugs and new gas, it fired up for a quick spin around the block. I drove it around the block. It was cool... We had dreams of modifying this car for the drags and started slowly cleaning up the whole car from front to back. This project started us off on the road to the drags.
We had to sell it, because we could not afford any insurance for the car and the parts were getting expensive. Awwwww... But within a year, we had paying jobs and found a 40 Willys to start our real build.
Jnaki