History Were you born into a rod or custom family?

Born around it. Dad had a factory ride from Oldsmobile in Div5 when I was born. We then moved onto circle track stuff, sprint cars. He had a chance to go to Indy and crew around 1980ish. When I was about 5, I commandeered all of his magazines which I still have. Made the folks move those crates from ND to Iowa to Rapid City, to Eastern SD and then I drug them here when I came home in 96. A family friend and hunting partner taught me how to paint at 14, on an Olds like dad. BTW, 2nd car was a 51 Henry J. So, now I am trying to pass all of that and more onto LilT. He is busy helping on our 51 GMC, which ironically my dad had an AD truck when I was torins age.

 

Dad's current rides are a daily driver, low mileage '96 Impala SS and these two.

 

I fell in love with Hot Rods as a kid. I was the first in our family to like Rods. The local rods around town, and drag cartoons are to thank or blame for me. I do have photos of my dad and mom with their 50 chevy. And my grandparents with their model T. The wife and me with our 37 Chevy. My kids and grand kids love Hot Rods too!

 

My grandpa, dad and two uncles are all died in the wool gearheads. I grew up around it, and loved it, but did the college thing and was so busy in High School I didn't spend much time learning to wrench.

After college, my dad passed away. I then inherited his 38 Chevy Coupe. That reignited a lost love for cars, and I began learning on my own, with help from my uncles and the HAMB, now I'm building my own car while keeping the 38 on the road. I am the only grandchild that is into cars, so it's dying in our family. My son really loves cars but he's only 2 so time will tell. I'm not going to push it on him, I'll be interested in whatever he's interested in.

 

My older brother was left over from the fiftys and built a Chrysler powered 40 Ford coupe that hooked me for 50 years and then he wandered off to the dark side with the restorers......

 

No one in my family, immediate, cousins, aunts, uncles or even in-laws, are into cars. It's sad but it's the truth. I've loved old cars since I was little and can't explain why but became the only guy in my family building and working on cars. Lots of self taught, help from friends, books, magazines and internet now to guide the way. I know some people brag about being 3rd and 4th generation car guys, having grown up around it and guided into it that way, but something to be said by being the 1st. Most certainly was a lot harder road.
Most likey since I'm 6'4", my kids will be brought up into a kustom family. More leg room

 

Not really any hot rodders but folks were farmers and Dad would always be rebuilding tractor and truck engines and welding etc. Helped redo many 6 cyl Chevys for the farm. He would help me with my cars and show me how to do many things mechanical. Got mad as hell at me when they would go off on a trip and I would take his 57 Olds J2 to Madera drags and run it!! Had cousins who were hot rodders who I got to go places with when I was 8 or 9--got me hooked I think. Closest to a family hot rod besides Mom's 57 J2 was his 41 Ford Convert with duals and 2 carbs that we drove as family car right after the war. He sold it in 49 and bought Mom a new Buick Convert. We went to all the hardtop races at Madera in the early 50's as well. A family friend, Tom Clark, was also the announcer at Madera drags for many years and a neighbor.Richard Brown? was the flagman at Madera drags too.

 

Yes I was raised on Hot Rods!!!And in car clubs and so on lol.Don't know how so many people on hear are into the culture but not raised on it. So kinda don't sound like a dying culture to me lol.

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why i am on this board. It all went back to the day when I ran away from home at four yrs old and hid in a 40 coupe a block away.

Untouched and in disrepair. In my mind, that day, I drove that car to California and back. the smell of the mohair will never ever leave my memorybank.
Yes that car had soul. And it permeated my being.

Dad didn't have much patience working on anything. Cars were only for transportation then. My brother loved racing their cars in the late 50's early 60's but I was too young to be involved in that. My passion began with friends in the teens and most was learned by trial and error.

 

I guess I was cursed by my parents. Dad was a dirt track racer back in the 50's with Richard Petty , Cal Yarbarow and the likes in NC. Mom was a power boat racer in the 50's. I remember growing up in the early 60's in Colorado , dad bring home model A's to fix up and sell. Dad was always working on our cars and I was right there helping. He passed when I was 19 . I have been hooked since then , now I not only wrench on these , but I do body off rebuilds and perform all the work myself now.
Great memories
Vic

 

Yep. I would guess about half of the hamb has met my dad at some point. He's my partner in crime in all things hot rod. His dad was a hot rod guy too.
Here are 4 generations. This was taken about 7 years ago when my grandpa was still alive. He lived to be 99.

 

well... my parents and grandparents all owned old cars.... of course when they owned them they were new cars, so I guess the answer is no.

 

Any cool car families adopting?

 

I WILL ADOPT YOU BROOK! If you remember when I first got on the HAMB I didn't realize you were a girl. I dated a girl in high school just so, I could buy her 58 Chevy. So I will adopt you, for your Buick ha. ha.I have two daughters now , three would be Even better. Ron...

 

Sure kid we'll take you in. But you probably shouldn't call me daddy that would be creepy. I'm good with Pops though.

OK listen up knuckles heads @Nailhead Brooklyn is now officially my kid, her granddad was a nailhead guy so that makes her a good fit. Just remember this before you say something stupid to her, I am not nearly as nice in person as I am on the internet.

 

My family was oval racers on my dads side, my grandfather on my mothers side was a body man.
Mom and dad had me in the pits of my first race when I was three months old. (Half mile dirt)
My dad has built 6-10 late models, crewed on several late models, and sportsman cars.
One of my Great Uncles, Leslie KellerHouse was chief steward at Fonda speedway.
Another Great Uncle Don Weyl crewed on an A.A.A. Big Car (Indy Car) in the 30's

My father Willard building his first late model-

The Second late model-


Sam Craft's Indy car from Denver N.Y.

Uncle Don Weyl clowning around in the car-

 

Nope, my dad would overtighten a nut then give it another 3/4 turn. I am a self taught mechanic, starting with changing a VW clutch out with a bottle jack, I was so proud of myself. If I go to Heaven or Hell I'm going to ask if they have film of the clutch change event.

 

Yeah, and this is truly why I don't have my car as my profile pick, everyone thinks I'm a freaking dude lol! And no you can't have my Buick lolol...

Lol this is awesome! I call my dad pops and he hates it because it "makes him feel old" and of course my response is always because you are old hahahaha...then he tells me to stop being a smart ass lol...and hooray for my granddad being a nailhead guy! Woot, see my new family has good taste. Must be where I get it from...

 

Well.. yes and no... My dad was a Gear Head when he was younger and had several hot rods he'd built.. one being his 54 ford he shoe horned a 428, 4 speed in.... and later he bought a brand new "off topic" 72 Mach 1 Mustang that he brought me home from the hospital in a few months later when I was born.... but my whole life he's tried to keep me away from working on/building old hot rods.... guess he didn't want me being broke my whole life... lol

Side note, I've still got that Off Topic Mustang, and should be starting on the restoration of it in the next month or so...

 

Sorta.....when I was thirteen, my dad's business partner cheated him, down we went, till I was twenty eight, he was too poor to have anything to do with cars. Before the crash, he had some cool shit, anyway, he used to ride my first Harley all over while I was at work, never knew till he put a dent in the tank one day, but he was supportive and helpful, much as he could be. When I was twenty eight, he copped a major heart attack, dead on the kitchen floor, I got his few remaining tools, and have always wondered how different it would have been had he been healthy during the bad years, and how it would have been had fate not reared it's ugly head.
However, I do credit him with my start, I miss him bad sometimes.

 

Man that sucks... sorry you lost him that way...

 

How's my daughter this morning? lol You can call me poppy. That's what the grandkids call me. There's a lot of guys on here that have cute pictures of girls for their profile pic. And also who doesn't like a nailhead. So you could be from NY driving a roadster with a nailhead ha. ha. Keep us posted on the Buick. Where I live there is not a lot of traffic, so I don't need to drive Interstates if I don't want to. So driving a HOT ROD as a daily driver is a lot easier than if I lived in a city. Just giving you some fatherly advise. ha.ha. Now, back on topic, the HAMB is like a second family. We joke, and give each other advise. And sometime we get a little peed off at one and other. Sounds like family to me. lol I will post a picture of your sisters here I'm in the middle Ron...

 

I already have a gearhead daughter, another would make it more fun. Welcome

 

I was born in '79 to muscle car family. My dad bought a 65 chevelle off the lot with a 283 three in the tree. He modified it through the years to run stock classes at the local drags. Rebuilt and hot rodded the little motor till it gave up the ghost and a 396 was put in with a Muncie 4 speed. That car went through a tornado in 72 and a used 69 gto judge was bought. Orange of course. He had that a few years then my older sister came along. They were not well off yet so the cars went away except for the 65. Then I was born in 79 and the oil and gas biz had picked up quite a bit and dad bought a 68/427 camero drag car. I pretty much grew up in that thing out at Amarillo drag way until it threw a rod at the big end and was sold. Fast forward to 1994, after moto crossing for a few years, my first car was a 1970 SS396 chevelle. Bone stock numbers matching car. Had tons of fun in high school with that thing. We built a few chevelles here and there two. A 66 Malibu with a 502' stock 64 elcamino 64 chevelle drag car etc. now that I'm 37 I'm out of the muscle car era and back into traditional hot rodding. So I was born into cars for sure, just not too hamb friendly.

 

This is what I call courage, thank you for your post.

 

Sounds like we have a lot of people that didn't come from car families ... pretty surprising, actually.

 

My family, back in the 50's, never had enough money for a new car, let along a hot rod or custom. My experience growing up was helping my dad work on our well used car on Saturday so he could get to work on Monday, but he was a good mechanic and I learned a lot from him

 

My dad had a 1950 Mercury that he bought already customized and loved that thing. It got stuck in a snow drift, and after catching a ride into the nearest town, when he came back with a wrecker to pull it out, it was gone, never to be found. He always tried to replace that car in his heart (my favorite being a 1969 442 that seemed like a race to me), but my mom said he never really cared about any of those and would always carry on about the Merc well into his 70's.

 

My dad's idea of rust repair is expanding spray foam.

He could screw up an oil change.

I don't know how I got it.

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