Art & Inspiration How old were you when you got your first dream hot rod/ car

From reading the posts I think most of us dreamed of hot rods or customs or even OT muscle cars when we were in high school. But most kids in high school could not afford their dream car until later. Some of us still haven't. My first car, a 56 Ford Fairlane 2 door sedan was not my dream car or even my choice. My dad mandated that choice. I didn't really get my choice pick until I came back from overseas and 22 years old. From there I started getting old cars to play with. My real dream car came in 1974 when I bought my 32 Ford coupe at a car show swap meet. Cost me a month 's pay.
So, how old were you when you bought and kept the car of your dreams or desires?

 

My first car at 16 was a 67 Mustang, but it was a 200 I6 C4 car. Not exactly a pavement burner. After owning it about a year, doing what I could to it to try and make it cool, I found a 67 Mustang with a 289 C4, power steering and AC. Traded mine plus some boot, how much I don’t remember now. Had a pretty nice car, plenty of power, added a set of used Torque Thrusts and dual exhaust. Should have kept it, but ended up buying a 68 Caprice 2 door hardtop from an uncle so I’d have a back seat big enough for, er, activities.

Went through a lot of vehicles after that, had some muscle cars, but never was able to hang on to anything. Had several HAMB friendly projects, but never completed any of them, something else always caught my eye and down the road they went. But when I got my Lincoln, I knew it was the keeper. May not be the prettiest girl at the prom, but she’s got some of the great lines her sisters have, and we fit together like an old pair of comfy shoes....

Oh, I think I was about 55 when I got the Lincoln.

 

15, 1961

 

Phooey. I don’t know if it’s in the cards for a ‘55 Chevy but close was my hopped up ‘62 Chevy 2 and I am making my ‘48 Ford F1 everything I want it to be . So , I guess I have my dream in an unexpected way . I am good with “Elsie”.

 

In 5th and 6th grade ,I was in to car mag.s an drew a lot of hot rod and customs,started saving for a car.
. By Jr High 1957an 1958, I hunted parts with idea of building a hot rod,turned out to be mostly 1928 "A" roadster that was bad off with a crushed assend,by end of 1959 I had a running hot rod made from a lot of hard found free junk an some payed for parts. By 60 rod had shiny black paint an drove her to high school.
See, Dad was not going to buy me a car,told me at 14 teen,but would for my sister,as a man I should get my own=not what he had in mind,but he didn't buy it or any of the parts. But thanks Dad for letting me use the weeds in backyard tell that pile of parts was running. I still drive it !!

 

I'll be 51 soon and i still haven't owned my dream car. 59/60 Chevy wagon

 

17 in 1970 '55 Chevy 2 dr 210 post sedan. Still have it. Got a '32 Ford chopped 3 window in '76 but by the time I got the funds to built it, all the glass ones caused me to lose interest in it. I've had my '34 Chevy coupe for 38 years but I've never considered it a dream car.

 

I bought a 1932 Ford 5 window coupe when I was 12 years old.

At that time it wasn't a dream car but loosing it the 1932 Ford became a life long obsession. HRP

 

I fell in love with my 64 Falcon Futura hardtop when I was 8 years old. Eight years later, I bought it. Ran it all through high school, wrecked a couple small blocks, but never the car. Still have it now, and closing in on 48 years old.

 

I was 22 and still have it.

 

53 years old , still waiting. Two many choices.

 

My dream car was a lot different then most of yours. My dream car was a dirt track race car. I got my 1st one after I moved out of my parents home and got married. Got married at 19 in May 1976 (still married to the same gal), a couple buddies and me built our 1st dirt track car in June, 1976. Our 1st night out we finished 8th place out of a 20 car field at the start of the race in the semi feature (the slowest 1/2 of the 40 car field), and we made $40! Living the dream, LOL!
Since then, there have been a lot of dirt track cars, and a lot of street driven hot rods. It took me until 1990 before I bought what could have been my 1st HAMB friendly car, my 1st hot rod that wasn't a performance era car. It sure wasn't built to be HAMB friendly back then, but it was a pretty hot 30s street rod.
After that 1st dream car, every dream car since has been the next vision, and I guess all these years later, I'm still chasing the next dream car, or truck because I'm still building em. Gene

 

In the fall of 1959, when I was a senior in high school, I rode the bus to school most days (my clapped out '51 Ford was usually non-operational). On the way, we stopped to pick up a gal named Carol at the last stop before the final run to school. Although she lived less than a half a mile from me, I didn't know her at all. One day In October, when we stopped at her house, there was an extremely clean '36 Ford DeLuxe Tudor "Touring Sedan" in her driveway. I was in love. I worked up the courage to ask her about it, and she told me that it was her dad's aunts car, and since she was getting older, he had gotten it from her and was going to use it as an "Ice-Fishing Car". She also told me that he wasn't really sure about doing that, because since the current temperatures would drop into the thirties and forties then, and he already had had problems getting it started. He was realistically doubtful about what it would do after sitting on a cold Minnesota lake at -20 on a January day.

I talked to my dad about it, and I was able to talk him into going a half block out of the way the next time we went to town, even though he was extremely negative at first. This car was so nice that I am sure that he saw it he was shocked and agreed to stop and at least talk to the current owner. Luckily for me, the day I set up to talk to the father about that car was unseasonably cold, even for an October day in Minnesota. Of course, when the girl's father tried to start the car for us, it just ground away on the starter. That killed it for him as a potential "Ice Fishing Car". He had had plans to cut two large holes in the admittedly spacious area in the rear floor, but decided on the spot that it wasn't a good idea. My dad, to my shock. offered the guy $100 for the car on the spot, which was accepted. It turned out the car was a 39,000 original, nicely equipped with a factory radio and a string-wind rear view mirror clock. The car was in amazing shape. We went home, grabbed a set of jumper cables (de riguer in Minnesota in those days), and jumped it off the old man's '58 Oldsmobile (J2, I have to mention). It started right up, and I drove it home. That car was unbelievable; the aunt had purchased it new and had babied it for the intervening 23 years, and it was almost perfect..

The story doesn't end so well. Two weeks later, I was in an accident with the car; really not my fault, but the old man was livid.and immediately put the car up for sale. Even though there was some sheet metal damage (the car still ran and drove), he accepted an offer of $300 and down the road it went and I was grounded for 6 months. I had been enamored with '36 Fords ever since, and got my revenge on the old man in the mid '90's when I built my dream car, a '36 3-window with a 276" Merc, a '39 box, 4.11 gears, and hydraulic brakes. After two years of driving the car. I got sick an tired of the cramped interior and fragile drive train (the guy that built the Merc for me did an awesome job) and when a local guy made me the proverbial "offer I couldn't refuse" down the road that one went. I do not miss that car at all, strange to say. I guess, I had one, enjoyed it, and got over it. I kept the '51 club coupe I intended to replace with the '36 and have never looked back.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

 

Every car I owned at the time was a dream car....I was 22 when I found it... The one I have now is my dream car because I have had it for almost 50 years...

 

Spotted a '30 Ford Roadster body in a garage on the way home from church one Sunday when I was 12 years old. Dad went back the next day and and asked about it, Free if I cleaned out the rest of the car parts in the garage. This was back in 1962, I sold it around 1976. Got it back 25 years later and nothing had changed on it other than loosing a lower windshield stanchion. I'd like to have the body in primer, with doors and deck lid fit in the next 2 years or so.
Bob

 

you do realise that you haven’t yet told us how old you were when you bought your dream car........

started dreaming at 14 years old, bought a heap of junk not knowing anything about old or new cars, at 18.
Still got it, still not quite finished .

 

Probably about 1968 at the age of 15 a free 1928 twin-ignition big six Nash sedan basket case. Did,nt have a clue what i was doing. Sold it for $50 a few months later. This was in Australia.

 

Fantastic looking '55. Your first pic really reminds me of Two Lane Blacktop. One cool kid!

Sent from my Pixel 3a XL using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

'27 T roadster. Still building it. Bought someone's idea for a frame. Changed that. Bought a Studebaker 289 just to be different. Changed that. Was gonna run un-split bones in front. Changed that. Saw @dana barlow 's front axle, liked it and used the idea. Saw @striper's rear wishbone, used the idea. Damned sure I wouldn't be as far along as I am if I hadn't run into the HAMB. It's starting to come together.

 

73, 32 roadster (project)

 

16 Years Olde (1965)...

 

1934 Ford 5 window coupe and a '52 ford for the running flathead. It was a package deal for $25 and I was 14 and got the '34 hauled home and put in the garage. The frame was rusted to the ground and the engine stuck with the hood off and in the car for years but the body was in good shape. My mother made me sell it because she wanted her garage back and it went out the door for $500. AFAIK the '52 is still sitting there. I took the money and bought a running driving '66 Impala.

 

{ A Story } My first dream car was just that. Just a Dream. I was only 14 years old. I was listening to a radio program, call the helping hand. You could call in to buy sell things for free. The caller said he had a 1931 Chevrolet for sale. He said he'd disgust the price with the buyer. I called him up, and ask the price. He told me $50. I said I'm 14 and I only have $30 dollars saved up. He said that sounds good. So $30. bucks it was. When I went to look at it I thought it was the COOLEST! I planned on shortening it up to make a two door drag styled car. Think of the purple people eater styled Hot Rod, with an blown HEMI. I did manage to cut it up with my hack saw. But that's as far as I got with it. Ron.........

 

Missed out on my dream car at 15 years old. A channeled Duece 5w. with early Olds and hydro. The guy wanted 75.00 and I had 60.00. That was a lot of money difference for me in 1960. Although I've been fortunate to have had a 3w and now building a 32 pickup, I still would like a 5w.

 

Sill hasn't happened for me. There is one car in particular, a 57 Chevy, that I've had built in my head for years. But other than that, I really just like working on and owning bad ass cars, and sometimes that car is whatever good deal comes along.

 

Still haven't owned my dream car(29-36 Ford coupe) & at 57 there is a good chance I never will.
I do have a couple cool substitutes that put a smile on my face. A couple of coupes none the less.

 

13 years old when I traded a John Deere stationary engine for it in 1972. Picture above is from 1975.

 

I was 14, that wasn't the only great thing that happened to me that summer but it did cause the second

 

Guess I didn't. I was 26