Nothing pointless really glad to see young people that are interested keep asking questions that's how you learn. really cool and car!! Jim
Got my first car at 15...a 39 Tudor (in1975) ...kids didn't know what flatheads were then either!....bought a weiand three Duce manifold and 3 strombergs ....I say how much the guy says you want the carburetors too?...I say yea....he says 35 bucks!....my dad said later that I almost dislocated my elbow reaching for my wallet!...good luck young man and enjoy that 53!
I remember about 38 years ago, my son telling me that one of his teachers at school asked the class if anyone knew what "running boards" were. He knew, but was too embarrassed to admit that he knew. He's now 47. I enjoyed reading your post which, IMHO, is more on target than most of the ones I've read lately !! Thanks for giving us old timers some hope that our life to continue after we're out of here.............
glad to hear you are strongly into the hobby. great post, keep on the old car tradition. besides your ride is probably cooler than most rides in the parking lot i bet
Jason, That was a Great story! It's so good to see someone your age today into old cars . I started my first T-bucket at 14, now 63 and some 20+ cars later, I think you have a fun future ahead of you. Good luck and keep cool with that 53.
Is this you in the coupe? To my knowledge we haven't had a young man with a passionate interest in the old cars,especially Flathead powered cars since HAMBANDY,a young man that endeared himself to many of us but scummed to cancer at very young. He taught a lot of us about having and achieving a dream. I see you joined in 2011 so you have been here a while but I like your enthusiasm. HRP
Not my coupe! Its me!! I got to sit in it! @HOTRODPRIMER I've got big plans to build a model a with a flathead. I already have a flathead and intake just waiting for the right modal a to come along and hopefully I can get it.
Man! Your post pumped me up. I love your enthusiasm. Passion drives ambition and I have no doubt that you'll find a way to build that AV8. Go man go!
I bought my truck when i was 14, my dad and I built it, was on the road by the time I turned 16. Drove it to school everyday, and everyone thought i was crazy! Only one in the parking lot though. I'm 19 now, and when i walk around shows i feel like im the youngest one there that drove their own car. And it makes me feel kinda proud, but weird knowing theres not many other kids around me that are into this old of stuff. When i was still in school. A kid overheard me talking to a buddy about my truck. He goes, "You have an old truck? How old like a 85?" He was really surprised when i told no a 49! haha.
Nice to see a young man with goals. Hope your model a build starts sooner than later. Utilize the HAMB and the talents that are on here. Also support and attend the events with reason and proximity to you. There are plenty of fellas willing to pass on information to a eager young man. Good luck and keep your goal in mind and focus on it.
Great story. Nothing pointless about it at all. Glad to see a young'un interested in old cars and hot rods. My first car was a '30 Model A tudor when I was 15. Never put an 8 in it though. I still love flatheads even though the one I have now is an in-line 6. Good luck with your search and build.
Two thumbs up Jason. Not many kids are willing to work as hard as it takes to put a car together, and especially to put it together well. I wish you luck.
Its hard now days for young folks to do anything automobile related. There are not many things in junk yards to build with & having the tools & skill we learned on in the 50s & 60s just isn't available to young people like it was then. Also how do you use what's available now in modern cars.
I imagine that a lot of us here were that kid with the old car in high school, hang in there and you'll see your flathead rod one day. It will be the best because you made it yours and didn't build it to follow a trend.... And FYI even at 40 I've treated like a kid by some in the hobby, but those guys didn't read about it online so it's worth the wait to become a friend to the ones who were there. Good luck Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Hey I was 19 in 1994 when I bought my first classic a 63 impala SS. The passion starts young and the funny thing is there was no car guys in my family, so all I can say is it just hooks you and never let's go- stay and you'll enjoy the ride. Posted from Austinrod
Keep on doing what you're doing bud. Glad to see a younger guy into it. I'm only 32, have had the addiction since I was a young lad as well. It never goes away! Which is a good thing. I agree about giving a younger guy or gal a ride. It helps get them into it I think. I let the young kids sit in my cars every chance I get. It makes their day as well as mine. Who know maybe one of them kids will be the future owner of one of my cars. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
All sounds really familiar. I got so sick of looking at trailer queens in car shows mounted on pedestals with mirrors, with the awful sign...dont toucha my car. Now I make it point, if a kid shows some interest, get in. In the rumble seat, or behind the wheel they go. Heck, I've met teenagers about to graduate HS who weren't even interested in a driver's license. Too much taxicabbin around in moms minivan with the ipad? So good for you. Pass it on & enjoy the journey.
Great to see you here Jason I have been waiting a long time to see a story like yours I am sure everyone here we help you achieve your goal well done for posting and welcome to the group. Rusty
Cool - had my 1st car, '53 Merc, a year before I could get a license. it had some rust problems and engine needed work but, that was OK. keep your eyes open for old cars in peoples yards, garage sales, local ad mailers, craigslist, etc. a good collection of old car magazines is good place to start.
@Jalopy Joker '53 Merc is on my list of cars! Haha! Thank you everybody for the nice words it feels good to hear what you guys think!
Like a lot of guys here I started building up my first car up from a rusty junker before I even had a license. And like most of them I had speeding tickets within days of it's debut. Cars have a debut, & like a debutante: you bring them out to the public. But unlike girls, a car can debut at any age and the older, the more interesting. What I would not do is this: build another slammed Merc or another Ford roadster. I'd look for something more off the beaten track. Not that those cars aren't nice, but they are so popular that they're very expensive, and worse nearly every possible thing has been done to them. It's pretty hard to build something that's new and exciting if you start with popular stuff. The most interesting cars to me are the unwanted ones, that start life like a pumpkin and you turn them into Cinderella.
Although we have many young rodders here in Texas, the hobby could sure use some more. Although Jason here has the fortitude to dive in on his own, many youngsters don't. It's up to US - the greybeards of hot rodding - to extend OUR hands to the young guys and girls who show even the slightest interest in cars. Even if they drive "tuners" today, if they are exposed to the enthusiasm for traditional cars and the activities that go along with them (no, not the ones that take place in a lawn chair!) they just might "graduate" into our hobby. I hear so much negativity about young car enthusiasts from the greybeards that I'm not surprised that the youngsters are put off, afraid to approach the grizzled old farts for fear of being made fun of. Think about it. How did YOU treat the last youngster who wandered up to YOUR car?
I have a hotrod starter kit for you, model A coupe, frame, flathead & trans, front axle set up, lots of small parts, can of POR-15...........
Great to read your story, and nice to know there's a younger generation who appreciates the old cars, and not just cars built before they were born! It's getting harder for guys your age to own and enjoy these cars, and most young folks just don't have the interest in the amount of effort it takes to get them, and keep them running. Back in the 60's when I was your age, it was not only easier, but more acceptable to be a gearhead. Most average young guys in hi school had at least a passing interest, and some of us more so than others. Back then you we were often referred to as "grease monkeys", because we usually had dirt under our fingernails from all the time we spent working on cars. You could tell the guys who liked or owned a hotrod from the guys who really worked on their own cars, just by looking at their hands. Lots of scraped knuckles, and dirty nails!
The Jalopy Journal
