The 63 Stingray and those hide a way head lights. My old grandaddy's love of Fords and one of his early 60's T-birds.
I was probably 8 or 9 when I saw American Graffiti, then when Happy Days came out I was hooked. I guess I thought I would become a teenager and be like Milner or The Fonz. I dont know if the "too cool" thing was it though....I alway thought Ralph Malph was cooler than Richie and Potsie cause at least he had a hot rod!! My dad, my grandad and his brothers were all body and upholstery men. They never built hot rods, but they sure had cool looking cars.
My brother is 14 years older than I am . When I was kid he brought home a black 57 Chevy Bel Air . I was hooked from then on.
I came out of the womb with a wrench in one hand and a screwdriver in the other. Mom was a little pissed about that. But, Dad loved it. I always had Hot Wheels and other cars (and trucks - Tonka) around me since before I can remember. In short, I was a gearhead from the word go. My earliest car memory was when I was about 4 or 5. Dad had to put a new exhaust system on the 67 Cutlass we had (this would've been circa 71-72 or so). And, I got to "help". Somewhere there's a picture of me with my little legs sticking out from under the car. And, I also remember Dad firing the car up with no exhaust system on it and just LOVING that rumble. I think I told him that I wanted it to sound like that all the time. He just laughed.
I can't say for sure what got me started on old cars, I have just liked them for about as long as I can remember. Contributing factors: 1. I remember "helping" my Grandpa work on his truck when he was on vacation, I was about 3 years old. 2. My Grandpa had his own garage, I thought that was way cool. 3. My Mom would point out old cars to me as we would travel down the road. 4. I just like looking at many cars of the 30s 40s and 50s, they are just pleasing to the eye.
mid 50s,older brother had a 3 window 33 ford coupe with a souped up flattie he built used to take me to school,every once in awhile him and his hotrodder friends would let me go with them somrtimes id have to ride in the trunk with it propped open,hell i didnt care,hot bikes,hot rods and cood beer only way to travel
Ten years ago Bruce Donalan told me I could build my own car, didn't know you could do that. I've been blaming him ever since.....
Ain't that the truth! In 1985, when I was a junior in high school, I bought a running and driving '71 Chevelle for $1,000. It was pretty much pristine insiude and out... and it replaced the '77 Pinto Wagon that I sold for the same price!
my mom always said that I could recite the year and make of cars going down the street before I could say my abc's.....of course the fact that my uncles and there friends all had hot rods and customs( early 60's) had nothing to do with it.....and of course building model cars when I was a kid....hell as a teen we (the kids in my neighborhood) used to drag race our model cars had all the classes top fuel,a/gas etc. used to race them on a old door we made into a drag strip....we'd pitch in a quarter per car entered ...do the qual.to championship race winner takes all thing.......damm those where some good times.....
For me It was my dad's 32 ford roadster. Being a Philadelphia modifier and going to Maple grove.Campout in maryland,columbus, Tons of flea markets and just plain cruising .Is how I grew up .I'm trying to keep the tradition alive with my kids. Sorry I cant post pics of his cars.I dont have any. Out of the three he's built ;one made it in Street Rodder .That was his Dual quad 421 pontiac Full fendered 32 ford roadster. The cool thing is on my roadster .Im using the parachute;And the original steering wheel from his car.I bought them back,Off the guy he sold it to. Im doing my own colors and theme.His car was titian red.When mine is going to be Gloss Black 99 A..
My uncle lived in a small Texas town called Olgsby, had the only shop and gas station he always had old cars , One year he came to my home town for the Belton 4th of july parade with a model T and let us kids ride in it ,been hooked since DUCKMAN
posted this before but its all my Pop, Gramps, and Uncles fault- Gramps had the beautiful cruisers, Uncle Dave had the hot bikes(Harleys and Triumph Choppers) and Pops had the Muscle Cars. The neighborhood I grew up in was the sure fire catalyst(and pop just sold me the house I grew up in) the neighbors had/still have a pair of 57 Chevys, the Barbee family lived across the street, Ol man Barbee was an old racer from the 50s, oldest son was a body man(first time I ever sat in a Funny Car was the 84 300zx bodied car Chip built), youngest son(4 years my senior) Jeff was just gettin into drag racing, 'round the corner was Ol man Butler, I think he was Barbee's nemesis on the track, and the Kistners - they had a fleet of showroom quality muscle, their garage filled the backyard- he had a 61 Vette, built a Brandywine 57 BelAir for his wife, a pair of 61 Impala droptops, and his oldest son had a 66 Chevelle SS droptop, and later a 61 Impala SS and they built a 68 Camaro for their Daughter. couple guys down on the "bad end" of my street had a few rods as well, including a 68 Charger with a blower(my first real life experience with a blower - always had timing issues - never wanted to idle, or slow cruise)
born into it. Dad use to take us to the drag strip with mom and we would watch from the stands while he raced. Hooked since I was in diapers.
When I was a pup my aunt Irma Would take my brother and I to the local DQ buy is the biggest icecream made and then go out to look at the cows on the North Dakota prarie in her 1959 Caddy purple with gray satin interior. My mother would cringe .Then for xmas and birthdays Irma would send us old big Matchbox cars with a 10 02 20 rolled around the car .Still have some of those cars.don't have the 10 or 20 s and Irma passed away a couple of years ago . Miss them all.
That album, and that car is what pulled me away from the muscle cars that my dad was into. Changed my life.
+1 on that. My 51 Merc that I bought in highschool was 11 years old when I bought it. Not old by todays standards but my buddies still gave me crap for buying an "old" car when I could have bought a 55 Chev or something like that.
l It's a small world out there. My wife was born when her folks lived in Olgsby and I met her when she was going to Mary Hardin Baylor in Belton. Mother inlaw still lives in McGregor. I used to hit the backroads around Olgsby looking for tin.
Ditto that! ...My dad was very mechanical and taught me to respect any kind of machinery. He was not into hot rods but I always was. 409s,406s,421s etc. ruled the streets when I was little. Not true hot rods but factory muscle... but I absolutely remember the first KOOL car I saw...Teenager around the corner had a black primer 40 Ford Coupe with a straight axle on it. Every now and then he would thrash it down our street with open headers roaring. We called it the fire breathing monster and would chase after it for blocks!
In 1950, I was 8 years old my Dad had a 1941 Pontiac Streamliner Torpedo 2-door with a Silver Streak flat head 8 cylinder engine. My Dad was a roughneck in the oil fields and our family was living in El Campo Courts in Midland Texas. When the original 1941 Silver Streak flathead straight 8 motor tossed a rod, my Dad installed a bored out and rebuilt 1948 Pontiac straight 8 flathead engine in the 1941 Pontiac. After he got it running he let me sit in his lap and steer while he operated the brakes, clutch and shifted gears. The Pontiac had a cheap "depression era" L-head straight 8 with a lot of design problems but my Dad's car ran acceptible for a family car but not good enough to beat a Lincoln Zephyr V12. The manager of El Campo Courts was a guy named "Slick" who owned a 1940 Lincoln Zephyr V12. Several time I would watch my Dad and Slick drag race on U.S. Hwy. 80 between Midland and Odessa Texas. The Lincoln always won because Dad's gear shift lever was loose. Finally the clevis pin fell out and the lever broke off the collum. He replaced the clevis pin with a nail but still could not beat the Lincoln Zephyr V12. When a guy showed up in a brand new 1950 Oldsmobile Rocket 88 with a OHV V8 engine, ( that guy would later run for govenor of Texas) the guy in the Rocket 88 Olds could not be beat. The 1949 - 1951 Oldsmobile Rocket 88 was the granddaddy of the muscle cars. From then on, I was hooked.
My Dad and Family were all car guys and gals.lol They pushed me to do my best always. I am now learning how valuable that trait is.
I was hooked the first time I saw my '38 Ford pickup. Guy who did concrete work poured new sidewalks around my parents' home in 1963 when I was 11. He was using the '38 as his work truck. I thought that was the coolest looking grille I had ever seen, and I was amazed at the roll-out windshield. I kept up with the whereabouts of that truck until I bought it 3 years later when I was 14. I'm 57 now and still have it.
The car pictured in my avatar set the hook in me. My dad was on the pit crew we were at Skagit Spedway every Friday night May thru Sept. The die was cast by the time I was five or six.
My cousin had a bright yellow 1968 Dodge pickup that had a 440 in it. That truck is what got me hooked on old cars. I never even got a ride in it. One night, a bad mixture of octane boost led to several burnt valves. It hasn't ran since 2000 but he still plans on getting running again "someday."
It was the smell of old car interiors! <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o> <o></o> And the fact that I can not think of anything sexier then an old car that lays frame! Funny, after years this has not changed a bit. <o></o>
Great Story, 38 Ford Pickup, Congratulations! Hope you got a way to pass that truck on down thru your family! Eddy from Dallas