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History 50 years ago? or should I say 55 what inspired your car life

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by 0NE BAD 51 MERC, Feb 14, 2019.

  1. 0NE BAD 51 MERC
    Joined: Nov 12, 2010
    Posts: 1,782

    0NE BAD 51 MERC
    Member

    Been working out of town and when I got home today I saw last weeks tv guide on the coffee table and it was about Elvis's 1969 comeback concert on tv. I vividly remember watching it and could not believe it was 50 years ago! I then started to think about a lot of things that I remember of that time. I was 14 and had experience my first World of Wheels car show at State Fair Park in Milwaukee when it took up three large buildings, I got a ride in my uncle Dougs 55 Chevy, that was a dual quad 327,4 speed with a tilt glass front end and Rader wheels. That ride and cruising with my 17 year old cousin Donnie in his first car { a 62 rambler American station wagon lol } down fabled Hwy 100 in Milwaukee { Think of it as Milwaukee's version of Woodward Ave in Detroit! } sealed my life long love of high performance hot rods. My dad let me have my moms old 63 Catalina convertible I started to teach myself to do body and mechanical work on. I also started to develop my love of music and to this day if I hear Born to be Wild even the daily supercrew is accelerated briskly! lol I also went to my first movie at the theater on my own and saw Easy Rider which transformed my love of my Uncle Bills 57 pan head to a whole new level. So you could say 1969 really kick started my love of Hot Rods, Harleys and Rock and Roll into the life long passion it has been.

    But the H A M B is really about what happen 55 years ago. Well I was 9 and by that time I had owned a 1956 Kadidilac , moved on to a sting ray bike that I built from parts I bought at the Western auto parts store { believe it or not they had a bike accessary isle } and had met my Uncle Bills pan head and my grandparents next door neighbors chopped 50 Merc! I also remember building my favorite model car at the time, a 1964 Mercury Marauder, which I own a real one now as well as my 51 Merc, inspired by that meeting with the 50.
    So what happened in your life 50 or 55 years ago that has inspired your love of hot rods?
    And for you Guys and Gals that where not born yet was there a Dad or Grand Dad or Aunt or Uncle who's car life inspired your future car life? Larry
     
    Last edited: Feb 14, 2019
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  2. 1pickup
    Joined: Feb 20, 2011
    Posts: 1,435

    1pickup
    Member

    Hey Larry, 55 years ago I was born! But I get where you are coming from. I can't remember any specific thing that sparked my interest. Just growing up around this stuff, it seems to grab ahold of some of us. My Father had some old cars, & he wanted his sons to have something to work on & keep us off the streets. Probably going with him to swap meets to sell parts, & seeing cars that weren't just restored old cars, is what hooked me. It was much more exciting to stick my head in the driver's window of a chopped '50 Merc, than it was doing that to a stock '46 Merc 4 door.
     
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  3. BamaMav
    Joined: Jun 19, 2011
    Posts: 6,709

    BamaMav
    Member
    from Berry, AL

    It was a ragged 4 year old copy of Hot Rod magazine, I think June 66, that opened my eyes to the hot rod world. It had a big section on an event, The Hot Rod Drag Nationals I think it was called. Fell in love with FED’s, Gassers, and the Super Stocks. And the FX’ers, too. I was about 10 or 11, been spoiled ever since.....
     
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  4. 0NE BAD 51 MERC
    Joined: Nov 12, 2010
    Posts: 1,782

    0NE BAD 51 MERC
    Member

    Hi Dave , Yeah our insperations come from all over an every old lost soul I came across could be the next King of the street in my eyes with enough time and money lol. And somethings never change because I still don't seem to have enough time or money! But I still build them in my head all the time.
    Stop down at Napa some Sunday and say hi, I still work there every Sunday for mad money for my addiction er I mean Cars. Larry
     

  5. 0NE BAD 51 MERC
    Joined: Nov 12, 2010
    Posts: 1,782

    0NE BAD 51 MERC
    Member


    I started buying Hot Rod and Rod and Custom with my allowance for doing chores around 66 or 67 and also was inspired by the drag race coverage as well as all things that had to do with custom paint and body work. I vividly remember an article on Stone, Woods and Cooks 41 Willys and have loved candy blue ever since. Larry
     
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  6. Bandit Billy
    Joined: Sep 16, 2014
    Posts: 12,286

    Bandit Billy
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Nothing makes me feel more ancient than thinking my 69 Camaro is half a century old.
     
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  7. I was born in 1981, but my dad worked with a "kid" when I was really young named Tim Hein. Tim had a 1934 full fendered, non chopped coupe. It has a chevy, auto and 9" rear end. The license plate was a WA state vanity plate which read "RAZZZOO". I remember seeing that car come down our dirt road to our house. Although I am sure I saw a lot of hot rods, that is my first memory of one and knowing that it was COOL. Tim is still a good friend of mine, and gave me one plate off the coupe a couple years ago. This is the car when he sold it, by fate I also was able to purchase the interior out of it for my 34 coupe when the new owner had it redone.

    CC6FE17C-A1D9-4A4D-99DE-41DE3EB72A60.jpeg 98C5E12E-355B-46DF-9CCC-8D360F4AA628.jpeg 6E957D3A-9E4C-4E22-ABF6-B372A78CB3E4.jpeg 626D8713-2B0D-4DE7-BD75-4F1214D8C3A4.jpeg 49559777-3B54-4259-95D0-D6AB6A410EAC.jpeg



    My dad had a another friend, Tom Baker. Tom had a son also named Chris, who is about 5 years older then me. Chris built a little 32-34 Ford pickup hot rod. It was on an A frame with a short A box. It had a flathead. He was probably 16-17 so I was 11-13ish. It was a kooky little truck built on a mil budget. We went to their house one day and Chris had just gotten his fenderless hotrod on the road. He gave me a ride in it....that was the first rid I had in a "traditional" hot rod. If I was 13, that would have been 1994. The little truck eventually evolved into a Model A coupe which was white, then flat black, and finally gloss black over the course of 20 years. Its funny to think that nice little car started as a young kid and a hodge podge of junk yard and thrown out parts. This is what it looked like when Chris sold it to Marcus Edwell

    96F0BDDA-004C-4B7F-84E6-1EBDD55673C1.jpeg
     
    Last edited: Feb 15, 2019
  8. 0NE BAD 51 MERC
    Joined: Nov 12, 2010
    Posts: 1,782

    0NE BAD 51 MERC
    Member

    Cool story Chris. By the time you where discovering traditional Hot Rods I had evolved into building 500 plus horse powered Pro Street cars and was slowly working back to my first love of 60's style drag cars and traditional customs. Glad good taste never goes out of style! Larry
     
  9. rusty valley
    Joined: Oct 25, 2014
    Posts: 3,883

    rusty valley
    Member

    good story chris, that coupe would certainly inspire a growing boy!! i was 13 50 yrs ago, i thought i would die if i didnt get a model a ford. now, i have too many
     
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  10. bigboy308
    Joined: Feb 7, 2007
    Posts: 144

    bigboy308
    Member
    from Merlin, OR

    1955----What a great car time!! I was 15, Dad took on his own auto repair shop in small So Cal town. We had a 1946 Ford pickup for a shop truck, Headers, cam, heads, etc on the flathead. Great truck, I learned how to replace transmission in under 40 minutes after blowing the cluster gear many times. Ford gearboxes purchased from Auto wrecking yard were $10 if I recall correctly. We went thru quite a few.

    The car that was most important in my mind was a 1950 Hudson Pacemaker owned by a German rocket scientist from Point Mugu CA. He had decided that the Pacemaker was the lightest Hudson style, had Dad order a 308" Hornet 7X engine from Hudson and we installed it in the Pacemaker.
    Car would outrun most cars on the road!! It would get up to speed in a hurry too!! Doctor also had a 1955 Porsche, first Porsche I ever saw up close. Wasn't fast, but he could drive the Hell out of the curves with it!

    Also built my first inboard V-drive boat while in High School. 13' long, flathead v-8 engine. Ran 48 mph @ old Bakersfield Drag Races. Great fun @ local lakes.

    Only worries were that the local cops got to know me by first name and telling me to take the pickup home or Get off the Cushman Eagle and push it back home. License didn't come until 1956.

    Great times and memories!
     
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  11. wicarnut
    Joined: Oct 29, 2009
    Posts: 9,052

    wicarnut
    Member

    55 years ago, Junior in High school, had my 57 Chevy, a good job for a kid, girlfriend, cruisin, street racing, I lived American Graffiti except for chaining cop car rear end, I was going to the local modified races, Midget races with Dad. I was lucky, born into car deal. Influences, family, from baby on going to races, built models, Hot Rod magazine, a huge deal for me, neighbor's son came home from Air Force 1960, purchased a 57 Chevy and a Harley Dresser, remember shifter on tank, took me cruising car and on bike when his girlfriend had to work, set the hook, had cycles 36 years, raced 21 years, cruising, CARS, a car guy all my life.
     
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  12. Boneyard51
    Joined: Dec 10, 2017
    Posts: 6,440

    Boneyard51
    Member

    I guess what started my run to hot rods, was my neighbor, Richard, riding his Allstate Highlander by the ranch when I was ten years old. He stopped and let me ride it..... that was it..... a week later I had a 1950 Allstate( still have it ) riding all over the place. We both moved into hot rod, or what we thought was hot rod, cars as we got older.
    I started subscribing to Hot Rod in 1964, still have a subscription, still have all the copies since 1964. I read everything in those magazines. Loved the series where the staff bought a car off a car lot and drove right to the drag strip and got a time. Then they would go back to the shop and give it a tune up... back to the strip and get a time. Then back to the shop to add hot rod items one at a time and back to the drag strip. These articles sometimes would go for months at a time. Really looked forward to the next issues.
    My grandfather gave me his 1955 Ford, sweet running 272, it had a 430 MEL before I was 16.
    About this time I fell for the 1965 Ford Galaxie, for many reasons, haven’t changed my opinion in 54 years.
    I graduated in 1969 and my yearbook was full of warnings from kids and teachers alike to not kill my self in that “ hot rod Ford “. Been a fan of hot rods ever since.





    Bones
     
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  13. 63galaxie406
    Joined: Nov 21, 2018
    Posts: 47

    63galaxie406

    55 years ago I was just drafted in the Army. Already a hot rodder. Had to sell my gas station. Only been in it a little over a year. Had a 51 Willys Jeepster with a Y-block, a 57 Ranchero with dual quad 312, and a 63 Galaxie 406. Still have the Galaxie. Also have a 63 Galaxie wagon 390 4-speed, 46 Ford coupe.
     
  14. Dan in Pasadena
    Joined: Sep 11, 2009
    Posts: 867

    Dan in Pasadena
    Member

    I’m 64 now. I’ll be 65 in December so 55 years ago I was 9 too. My dad was always into cars & trucks. He bought a new black ‘55 two door hardtop Chevy to bring me home from the hospital. I “helped” him swap a 283 into his ‘59 Fleetside and later a 348.

    But as far as hotrods go we ha a short term neighbor across the street that had a full fendered roadster in school bus yellow with a heavily chromed flathead in it. No hood. I only remember that I was just blown away by it’s beauty. I wish I’d had the nerve to just walk over an ask a million questions!
     
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  15. hallrods
    Joined: Feb 21, 2012
    Posts: 1,238

    hallrods
    Member

    07E702CF-6E47-48D7-8306-157BF9173716.jpeg My Dad inspired me to build hot rods. I own the first hot rod he built.
     
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  16. ...when I was still ridin a bike, my brother and I would ride about a half mile up our country road to a one-room school house that was no longer used,...but it had swing sets, and lots of cool cedar trees to climb in.
    It was rite on a major hiway so we enjoyed watchin cars go by,...one day these 2 brothers from the next town south of us drove by in a chopped Model A sedan with no hood, a sbc and lakes headers makin a most beautiful sound;...will never forget that vision, the first hot rod we ever saw, been infatuated with old cars every since...
     
  17. 0NE BAD 51 MERC
    Joined: Nov 12, 2010
    Posts: 1,782

    0NE BAD 51 MERC
    Member

    Thanks for the reply's guys. It is still hard to believe that my car life started over 50 years ago! I will be 64 in September and can not remember a moment in my life that I was not crazy about cars.
    It is funny that when I am out with one of my cars or bikes, someone always comes up and starts talking about a car that someone had when they were young that they thought was really cool even though they where not car people themselves. The sad part is most are over 40. from time to time younger folks will approach and say " that's a neat old car" and surprisingly most are female , but not many engage in conversation about cars or bikes.
    I know that there will be those that will say they know a bunch of young people that are into cars , but I feel the culture that we remember is fading away. That's why I like threads that get thinking about all the moments in life that created my car life. Larry
     
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  18. I used to sit on the steps of my grandparents house on 68th and Claremont in Chicago and name EVERY car that went by from Quality Chevrolet. I was only like 6 years old at the time but very astute on this car thing. I saw some very interesting cars roll down the block, many were no doubt HOT RODS . This was no doubt the start of my gearhead afficlition. It started at a very young age ,and hasn't gotten any better. Some times I love it and most times I'd wish it would go away. Mitch
     
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  19. 0NE BAD 51 MERC
    Joined: Nov 12, 2010
    Posts: 1,782

    0NE BAD 51 MERC
    Member

    Lol . Mitch I was the same way. My mom tells the story of me , Dad and Grampa sitting on the front porch an me naming off every car that went by. My Mom said she asked if I knew what I was talking about and my Grampa's reply was " he hasn't been wrong yet" lol I was 5 and it was 1960! Larry
     
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  20. 1955 - well my parents were not born yet, and both sets of grandparents would have been around 11-13 years old. I wasn't born until 1992, but I was born with motor oil in the veins. My grandfather always hot rods, tri five's and muscle cars and I was hooked when at only a few months old I was placed in the front seat of the 33 Ford pickup he had just built and I gave him the thumbs up. Since then its been nothing but endless hours in the garage, riding in the passenger seat, polishing cars at shows since. We are still at it, just wrapped up the first show with latest finished project which is my grandmothers 55 Chevy 2dr hardtop. Now onto the next project!

    A few months old in the 33 Pickup (I now own it)
    33 2.jpg

    My grandfather built this 34 Ford roadster go-kart to match his then show truck. It was my job to do all the cleaning of that car.

    34 roadster.jpg

    Back in 2014 when we unveiled Taboo after completing its restoration
    11110902_1096870866993333_147201900888211348_o.jpg
    Just last weekend at the Salem Roadster Show with the freshly completed 55 Chevy
    52486629_10155884426517204_3343619056249864192_o.jpg
     
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  21. Larry , my grandfather took PRIDE in my knowing every car on the road. Every make, year and model. This started way before I was able to really able to put sentences together. I guess I'm just a genius as far as cars go. MITCH.
     
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  22. oliver westlund
    Joined: Dec 19, 2018
    Posts: 2,352

    oliver westlund
    Member

    I too was -25 yrs old, my dad was the reason I got into classic cars and hot rods. Car shows and music festivals i walked around with an auto trader rolled up in my rear pocket for at least 5 years from age 10-15
     
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  23. I started with model cars like most guys. I saw Car Craft, and Rod & Custom magazines in the local drug store magazine rack. I started subscribing to both in late 1955. I was 15 when we moved from Connecticut to California. We lived in the North Beach area of San Francisco. Across the street lived Joe Carlomagno, who had a chopped 1932 ford 3 window. He was a member of the Ramblers of San Francisco. I just spoke with Joe 2 weeks ago. He is now 88 years old, and has a 1932 Ford roadster. Look up Joe and the Ramblers on Google. I put a post on the Ramblers here on the H.A.M.B. I won't go into it here, but look it up, and you will see how I got really hooked. I am now 78 years old, and have a channeled 1931 Ford roadster on a Z-ed 1932 Ford frame. My son and I took my roadster to Bruce Larson's get together last November. It was 27 degrees out when we left home, and 34 degrees when we came back. Enjoy life while you can.
     
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  24. I miss the bi weekly trip to the grocery store with my grandpa to get the new Auto Trader and Nickel Ads, lol. My grandpa used to have a habit of folding the top page corner on a car/part he was going to call on. I would grab a pencil and find those pages are make a guess at what he ad caught his eye and circle it. I was usually right, lol
     
  25. oliver westlund
    Joined: Dec 19, 2018
    Posts: 2,352

    oliver westlund
    Member

    thats awesome! haha mine were ALL filled with circles and underlines...i didnt buy 1 single thing out of 99% of them. 1 day i finally bought an ot 66 charger, i never bought another auto trader. is it still a thing? i still have that page from that auto trader too
    20190222_102802.jpg
    btw, i only paid 1500, dad taught me the lost art of negotiation too
     
    Last edited: Feb 22, 2019
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  26. Dusty roads
    Joined: Nov 29, 2016
    Posts: 127

    Dusty roads
    BANNED

    I got interested about 62 years ago. I was 12 years old and got started with model cars. From there it progressed to building a Go-Kart out of angle iron and a lawn mower motor. Then on to helping my older brother with his 37 Chevy project and on to building my first Hot Rod project in 1961.
    29 with stationwagon top 001.jpg
     
  27. I havent bought one in years. Craigslist and Ebay replaced the paper resources. Then rhe classifieds in the paper are dead as well. Thats how I found my first car was in The Oregonian
     
  28. 0NE BAD 51 MERC
    Joined: Nov 12, 2010
    Posts: 1,782

    0NE BAD 51 MERC
    Member


    That is an absolutely fantastic car! Any finished pictures? Some pretty cool ideas and workmanship for a teenager. Tell us about it. Larry
     
  29. lake_harley
    Joined: Jun 4, 2017
    Posts: 2,159

    lake_harley
    Member

    55 years ago...1964...the year my Dad died and I was just under 12 years old. I bought my first Hot Rod magazine that year. There was a local fellow, George, who just turned 80 now. He had a motorcycle with "drag pipes", a '40 Ford with a 301 Chevy, a '40 ford "B" stock car with a flathead and many other cars we'd love to have today. He was the idol of most of the kids in town. Still a cool dude to this day.

    Lynn
     
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  30. oldiron 440
    Joined: Dec 12, 2018
    Posts: 3,299

    oldiron 440
    Member

    When I was in grade school I ordered a book called "Stock Bodied Dragracing", it was full of stories and pictures of drag cars in the early sixtys. I'm sure I still have the book. I've always liked the gassers the MP and early pro stock. I don't know where I got the car but but I had it at an early age, my dad was as mechanically inept as a person can get, he once tuned up a Chevy we had then had it towed to a shop so they could get it to run, he said it just works that way sometimes. :) But he bought me my first model cars Hotrod magazines and Motor manuals, it just works that way sometimes. :) now I've got a little guy in my life that goes to the dragstrip with me, helps me with the Ford, and dreams of motorcycles wtf.:cool:
     
    Last edited: Feb 23, 2019

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