Izzy755

Like many of us here, I was introduced to cars by my dad and my uncles who were 'Ol Hot Rodder from Tijuana, Mexico(not many people know about these guys). He would tell me stories about him and his buddies finding old Fords and Chevys and putting them together from abandoned cars out in fields or behind buildings and taking them across the border and race the "Rich Kids" from San Diego and take their money.....lol My knowledge comes from getting home from school and straight to the backyard to clean parts and get things ready for the engine swaps or whatever my pops had planned for the weekend. Sometimes my pops and I would go visit some of his co-workers that needed some help getting their rides running or just needed a tune up. My pops was an encyclopedia of knowledge that was bestowed on to me throughout the years. At one point we had approximately 6 to 8 cars and trucks in our backyard that all ran and were in pretty good shape considering their age.
From I recall we had as follows:
-1953 Chevy 4dr in stock condition(this was my first build when I was 10 yrs old.) I took it to my Senior Prom!!
-1953 Chevy truck (stock) Ran but still needed work. It was a good back up work truck.
-1959 Impala Bel Air with a Bronze/Copper color that we found out it was a "Special Order" color. Had a 327 with a 2spd Power Glide.
-1962 Chevy Impala SS My pops found it through a co-worker that had lost interest. It had a 327sbc, Th350, interior was still in original condition. We did the bodywork(which was not much at all cuz that thing was straight!..)
-1956 Chevy Bel Air with a 350/350 combo..That thing was the first car we actually painted in the backyard!! lol
-1963 Ford Ranchero in stock condition...just needed a head gasket, thermostat and radiator core repair....remember when they used to do that?! This was the other back up work truck....lol
-1963 Chevy C10 that was my pop's work truck for many years then we had a '66 C10, '68, '70 as our work trucks for a few more years.(we did construction on the side and these trucks were our bread and butter..)
-1965 Ford F100 for a short while..
My mom learned to drive in a 1960 Ford Falcon in original condition.(white with the greenish/turquoise interior...I think my pops bought it for $600 bones back then...lol
All these cars and trucks were acquired during the late 70's and thru the 80's when not many people cared about them because they were just cars that family members had no interest in....so, we gladly gave them a home..