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So where did you guys start out?

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Julio, Jan 7, 2011.

  1. Julio
    Joined: Feb 25, 2009
    Posts: 263

    Julio
    Member
    from san diego

    I'v been wanting to start this thread for a while so here it goes. Where did you guys start out building cars and bikes etc... especially the ones who didn't have a family shop. I feel like my generation doesn't have that strong of an interest in traditional rides (I'm barely 21) and I can't really find a place to go to fulfill my interest. also the guys my age (or at least the ones I have encountered) that are into cars are usually Rockasilly goobers that drive hondas. So... I would like to find an apprenticeship here in San Diego (Non paid obviously) to where I can learn to do engine work, body work/ mods and especially paint and chopping tops. I don't really know of any kustom shops around here, just mainly lowrider guys. I do go to a shop to work on my car and their cars so I can learn whatever I can, I figure if i do a few customers cars before I work on mine (I have a 63 comet, its my D-D. "mild kustom"), so I don't feel like I'm mooching on the shop. Its a great shop but I'm not really getting to work on the cars I want to do, usually just oil changes, brake jobs, replacing radiators and that type of stuff for newer cars and the rare treat of tune-ups on pre 65 cars.

    so back to my question, where did you guys start out? the ones without dads shop and such? where should I look? I really want to pursue automotive but with no outlet what can I do? I work on my car as much as I can but I don't have much else to do now, mainly just maintaining it. I guess its almost done.

    Thanks HAMB I hope your gearhead wisdom helps me find my place
     
  2. SLAMIT
    Joined: Sep 9, 2002
    Posts: 929

    SLAMIT
    Member

    In my Crib, probably age 1. there are pictures of me passed out on top of my hotwheels in my crib. i had those damn things everywhere. then it was all downhill from there. model cars at 5 years old then custom bikes then skateboards then minibikes then real cars at like 13years old. Dad was restoring a Camaro when I was 9 and had always been playin with cars before that.

    Back to your question. I moved to San Diego when I was 23 and just started hanging around other car guys. I knew a little bit at that point and just offered to help on friends cars. I met Gmann51 through the HAMB and little did I know that we would be Best pals even though now seperated by quite a few states and 1000's of miles.

    You are on the right track and looking in the right places. My advise to anyone in your shoes is to listen as much as possible esspesially to the guys who take the time to show you stuff. Take it all in!!!!!!!! Then when you feel comfortable in your skills start talkin and give it all back........

    Lots of cool Cars down your way and good events to hang around too! Keep us posted.

    Oh Yeah go buy a car and start workin on it dive in and dont look back!!!!
     
  3. CutawayAl
    Joined: Aug 3, 2009
    Posts: 2,144

    CutawayAl
    Member
    from MI

    I started disassembling toys, door locks, the family toaster, my mothers mixer, pretty much anything I had the tools and courage to take apart. Since my dad had already told me to stop taking things apart, the real excitement came with getting them back together with no evidence I had been messing with them. People would give me things or I would find them; electric motors, lawn mowers, a washing machine, an old cast iron Hydra-Matic. Over time it was bicycles, model airplane engines, scooters, and eventually cars and motorcycles. In my teens I got involved with some "old guys"(probably around 30) who were traditional hot rodders. With that background I was able to get a job as a mechanic. From that I was a machinist, fabricator, engine builder, constructor of mechanical exhibits, and did engineering work for an OEM.

    You never know where one thing might lead to another. If you work toward a particular direction then most likely that's where you will end up. I found that over time, having a hobby that was also my job tended to wear away much of the enthusiasts-level interest and excitement I started with. I have been lucky to have some really interesting jobs for someone who likes cars and machinery, but working on a Rolls-Royce, Duesenberg, Ferrari, or Cobra is not the same as being in awe of them. Once you see behind the curtain the wizard isn't what you imagined.
     
    Last edited: Jan 7, 2011
  4. To start with you should get paid for what you do apprentice or not.

    I started out in my yard under a tree. The Ol' Man built race cars but he was in Main and I was in Oregon by the time I started building on my own.
     

  5. Reindeer
    Joined: Mar 3, 2005
    Posts: 224

    Reindeer
    Member
    from Finland

    At home as most others. I built something with meccanos and legos. Modified my bicycles. I got my first Honda minitrail at the age of thirteen. I started hopping up it. At your age 25 years ago I made my first engine swap on my 64 Nova wagon. out went 194 and in went 327 rebuilt by me. It goes on and on this way and I'm still learning. So read here and do more you'll become good.
     
    Last edited: Jan 7, 2011
  6. 64cheb
    Joined: Sep 27, 2010
    Posts: 74

    64cheb
    Member

    Started out building Harley's (from basket cases, 1936 EL was the first) with my old man at about age 8, started at cars at about 13, pulled a '63 C10 apart to chop out rust. Now, I will be 18 in 2 weeks, and still wrenching and will for many years.
     
  7. Deuces
    Joined: Nov 3, 2009
    Posts: 23,672

    Deuces

    I started off with this model kit at age 11 and the rest is history....
     

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  8. farmer12
    Joined: Aug 28, 2006
    Posts: 7,717

    farmer12
    Member

    I really started building just over a year ago. I've always had a keen interest in all things technical, just never had either the time, money or location. Things fell into place at a certain point, made the big plunge and never looked back. I absolutely love it and still learning all the time!
     
  9. DocWatson
    Joined: Mar 24, 2006
    Posts: 10,273

    DocWatson
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Do it the way most people learned, just do it. It don't take long to work out if your doing it right or not.
     
  10. Loved cars as long as I can remember,but I would say it all started with ditching school to ride my Schwinn over to Ed Roth's shop in Maywood. Then It was messing with my dad's cars while he was at work. Then begging for a car, to start customizing, so it would be ready when I got my license. Never had much money,so worked on friends cars to make enough to get stuff for my cars. Traded alot of work for parts. Been reading the mags since I was a kid,and kept every one with a Merc in it,so I would have ideas when I finally got one.
     
  11. Bad Banana
    Joined: Jun 20, 2008
    Posts: 834

    Bad Banana
    Member

    Sounds like you have your spot. I was fortunate enough to have my dad's home shop to learn from and work in growing up. I made a career out of working on cars for other people and I have mentored many guys over the years. I will tell you in your situation, you will literally have to start at the bottom. Shops won't let someone touch "rare" stuff until they can prove themselves that they are capable. Sounds like they already appreciate you hanging around and are watching to see how you handle the stuff they are giving you. If you screw up a daily driver, do you think they would let you work on a '32 Ford?

    Best advice I can give you is to go above and beyond on every "little job" they offer you. If it is an oil change, make sure all the fluids are topped off. Look at the car while you are under it and point out any obvious additional work the car may need (belts all weather checked, tires worn, etc..). If they ask you to sweep the shop, do the best job they have ever seen. I am talking about sweeping out under the benches, moving equiptment to clean in the corners, etc. Also, don't grumble when they give you the job no one else wants to do. Take it on without complaint and do the best job on it they have ever seen. Wipe greasy hand prints off fenders when you are done. Straighten up around the shop. Organize the bolt bin, take out the trash, etc.. Trust me, the boss will notice and he will be the one telling whoever is assiging any work to let you have the gravy jobs.

    Also, if you want to work on the cool cars, offer to just do the really minor stuff while the "main tech" does the more major stuff. Work with him, ask questions or offer to chase parts for that project.

    It won't be long before everyone in the shop will take notice and you will be working on everybody's stuff. If you love it enough to offer to do it for free, then you probably have what it takes to make a career in hot rods.

    Good luck. :D;)
     
  12. MetalShaper
    Joined: Sep 13, 2008
    Posts: 67

    MetalShaper
    Member

    Started off doing stuff in my garage...got my first shop experience at Metal Crafters in Orange County doing concept vehicles...a lot of fabricators got there start form there...but that place isnt what it used to be anymore there business is going in different directions from what i was told.Good luck!
     
  13. Dustmite Dragster
    Joined: Apr 30, 2010
    Posts: 61

    Dustmite Dragster
    Member

    I started out tearing toys apart. Probably went to the hospital for stitches more than most kids ( stabbing myself with screwdrivers- knives, anything to pry shit apart with) When i was old enough I started with the dirtbikes and then cars from there. my first OT Muscle car Ran 11's and i was a junior in High School!
     
  14. stevechaos13
    Joined: Sep 11, 2008
    Posts: 419

    stevechaos13
    Member

    Good question, but not a single answer really. What worked for and got everyone going is different I think. My dad raced long before I was born, and the he owned and worked in our two family shops until he died when I was 8. I spent a lot of time in those shops as a kid, and just marveled at how everything actually worked, but my interest didn’t kick in big until much later. I started working on my friends cars when I was about 16 even though I didn’t get my license until I was almost 20. Started learning how to weld and do fab work, working in a factory about that same time too. It all just started tying together at some point.
    I wanted to do what you’re trying to do and get an apprenticeship somewhere, but life kept getting in the way. Can’t afford to quite my day job to go do it really. Got a shot working in a race shop last summer as a fabricator, but had to leave because of their “creative” handling of taxes and payroll. Had to grudgingly return to the day job.
    My current idea is just to learn all I can day to day, and apply it. Some people get breaks, some never do. To those of us who don’t, you can’t let that get in your way. You can’t get frustrated, or you’ll eventually throw in the towel. The fact that you are around nice cars and such, and skilled people means you’ve got a shot. Your best bet is just to absorb all you can.
    It doesn’t start out or work out the same for everyone, and the best advice any one can give you is just to stick with it and learn all ya can.
     
  15. big bad john
    Joined: Aug 11, 2010
    Posts: 4,727

    big bad john
    Member

    .....Help a good friend back in 1962 overall his 49 ford flathead.....been a gearhead ever since.....
     
  16. I started out in my dads garage when i was about 14. Not a shop, i mean the garage of his house. He bought me a 66 El Camino and i helped him with a lot of the work. Since then its all been a learning experience. I went to school to learn basic body work techniques and got a job at pep boys doing oil changes and a lot more hands on stuff. Im also with you on the younger crowd, im 26, but as for your "rockasillies" comment, i do have to say that when you travel, its hard to have a classic car on a budget. I wanna be able to drive my 61 Comet everywhere i go, but till that happens i trust my Mercury Mountaineer.
     
  17. Hung around with other gear heads in Jr High. Would go over to their houses to see their fathers projects. My buddy, Ken, talked his dad into letting him buy a 37 ford sedan at 14..I was 13. We wrenched on it in the evenings and weekends. Had a 60 HP motor with tube front axle.
    We moved to a different town before we got it to run and I had to find all new gear-head friends in the new town, which I did. Got a new buddy, Jim who was just finishing up the build on a 53 Merc motor in his shubox. I was with him when we pulled it around the block to get it started for the 1st time...I was hooked. At 16 on my birthday I talked my folks into letting me buy a $50 1950 ford crestliner in the next town. We towed it home behind the family 55 0lds super 88...yanked out the cracked block and found a 53 merc motor for 15 bucks. Jim, my dad and I built the engine in my dad's little one car garage and did all the work on the car in the dirt driveway. I ended up with 5 cars by the time I was 17 [2, 50 fords, a 41 2 door sedan. a 40 tudor sedan and my daily driver...a 56 olds ragtop] so my dad got pissed and one day told me I had one day to get down to only 1 car! I sold em all off except the Olds...broke my heart.
    Been at it ever since. Now, I'm 62.
     
  18. Westview elementary and after numerous rousing games of smear the queer it was time to move on to other pastimes before we were collecting aluminum cans for tit jobs!
     
    Last edited: Jan 20, 2011
  19. Progressed from Allstate stepthough to Cushman stepthrough to Cushman Eagle to 1946 Ford Coupe in the 50s when most of the guys in my school were doing pretty much the same.
     
  20. 60srailjob
    Joined: Nov 14, 2008
    Posts: 1,218

    60srailjob
    Member
    from nowhere

    model cars when I was 9, and still build them, started with my dad in 76 that would have made me 13. the first thing I ever did was dad let me paint the rear end of his 1951 5 window pickup. I cleaned it the best a 13 year old kid would and dad wanted it white......... when I get my 57 F-100 and the 66 Chevy pickup done the rear ends will be white to remember dad.....now Im 47 an a aircraft mechanic and building my own cars and trucks in my shop.......
     
  21. Hightone111
    Joined: Apr 5, 2007
    Posts: 323

    Hightone111
    Member

    Dive in. Learn from your mistakes.
     
  22. chaos10meter
    Joined: Feb 21, 2007
    Posts: 2,191

    chaos10meter
    Member
    from PA.

    Kind of like everyone else I guess, started building models when I was a kid, then by driving age none of us had the money to pay anyone to do the work so we just helped each other out.

    Then you run into life, marriage , kids,don't have the time and you pay someone to do your work, then you get older and it all seems too expensive to pay someone and you seem to have more time and start back doing it yourself again.

    Suppose the time is coming in my older years that I won't be able to bend into the contours required for some of the work or be as sharp as I once was and I'll be back to paying someone to do it and wondering where did life go ?
     
  23. Ford blue blood
    Joined: Jan 4, 2009
    Posts: 756

    Ford blue blood
    Member

    Started at home on the farm doing routine maintenance and repairs on the equipment. Built my first bicycle from parts gathered in the dump. Road it until I was 16 and got my first car (51 Olds 4dr sdn with a bad engine). Built model airplanes and cars until the real car came along. My dad always had a high performance car, V-8s, his best friend build stock cars and I was fasinated with them, I would hang out in his shop with dad listening to the talk (in those days kids were to be seen, not heard) and going to the races on Friday nights.

    Got the Olds fixed and running in the yard and ran it until it was totaled (by dad), didn't get a replacement because I had joined the Navy. Back then (65) military pay was in the dirt, 73 a mounth. Went up some as I advanced and bought my second car (63 1/2 Galaxie, 390/4speed/3:89 T-lock from the factory) after returning from Nam the first time. Still didn't make any money and learned if you want to go fast you need to spend a few dollars! So out came the books, bought some tools and started doing things for myself and helping others. Didn't take long to figure out you can put a butt load of material on the floor for the price of one hours labor at a shop.

    Bottom line, just read, study, learn what you need for a job/modification/upgrade and do it. Learn from others mistakes, and your own. You will know if it is right, if it ain't start over.
     
  24. das858
    Joined: Jul 28, 2010
    Posts: 1,042

    das858
    Member

    I started helping my Dad at age 9, handing him tools, cleaning tools and putting them away, etc. Took auto shop in High school, read Hot Rod magazine, started working on friends cars. Worked in a dealership my senior year, detailing cars and watching the mechanics, trying to learn. Went to Tech School, after graduating worked in dealerships, started out prepping new cars, then doing driveability work. Moved on to an independent shop where we did all phases of auto repair. I'm currently working as a mechanic for the Police department. I also did a lot of drag racing from the time I was in Tech school through my years at the dealerships.
     
  25. Boeing Bomber
    Joined: Aug 5, 2010
    Posts: 1,079

    Boeing Bomber
    Member

    In my neighborhood this is where it all started for many of us [​IMG]
    learned a lot about steering design, Power (gravity) to weight ratio, and the importance of good brakes (Sneekers)
    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Jan 20, 2011
  26. willymakeit
    Joined: Apr 13, 2009
    Posts: 1,326

    willymakeit
    Member

    My dad was a heavy equipment mech. and so I got to go along to help. Tho I dont work on cars or equip. for a living it is funny what you remember. When my son and daughter were about 4 I started them out taking apart anything that wouldnt hurt them. It has paid off for them 20 yrs. later. You get experience everywhere. As dad said expereince isnt anything but a list of mistakes. Good luck.
     
  27. tommy
    Joined: Mar 3, 2001
    Posts: 14,757

    tommy
    Member Emeritus

    Model cars which seem to be a popular starting place around here. When the instructions said to glue the drag link between the pitman arm and the steering arm, I learned all the parts to make a hot rod. None of the males in my family were gear heads. I idolized the older kid up the street. I learned everything the hard way. I joined a club and they were a big help. The older guys would help us young punks. I hope that I am repaying the favor.
     
  28. rusty76
    Joined: Jun 8, 2009
    Posts: 882

    rusty76
    Member
    from Midway NC

    Honestly didn't grow up in it. Wasn't really around hot rods and customs were never part of my vocabulary. It's funny though because there's not a moment I didn't think about cars. I grew up to poor for hot rods. Those were things the rich kids had. I was stuck with whatever nobody else wanted anymore. Trucks had always been a part of my family but they weren't custom. You didn't fix your truck up, no money. We fixed what needed fixin and that was it. I never met my dad so it wasn't like he could show me anything. My mom liked cars but she couldn't afford it. She took me to my first show and I was hooked. She always knew I liked cars and she will call me and tell me about a car she's seen somewhere. She'd go out with her friends and if she has her camera and there's an old car she'll take a picture for me. I built models and played with toy cars, no different than anybody else. Hot rods and customs are where I belong no doubt. You find your way some how.
     
  29. I took everything apart that I could. One day dad says "That better work when you put it back together!" That was the motivation that I needed to begin rebuilding stuff. Got my first car when I was 11. My dad and I rebuilt the engine and I got to tool around our subdivision in it for a while.

    Then we built it into a sand rail. Ever since then, I have not owned a stock vehicle that couldn't benefit from a few "upgrades"!!! :D

    As far as getting a shop, and crew and what-have-you for working on cars, I started out working in retail and bought all the tools that I could. I have done loads of trade-work for parts, knowledge or skill. Im finally in a place where I can have a shop separate from the house and most of the tools I need to do just about anything I can figure out how to do.

    I have spent a lot of time teaching people how to work on their cars, and a few of those folks have become great friends and have projects of their own that we work on together.

    I am very lucky to be in the situation I am in, and wouldn't change it for the world!! Best of luck to you, and remember building the foundation takes time...
     
  30. hydroshawn
    Joined: May 27, 2006
    Posts: 334

    hydroshawn
    Member
    from Tx,Ca

    when I lived In OC I did stuff out of my garage. Now I live in Texas with a 100 year old barn & a model-A shed. I just build what I can when I can. If your not to far fron San Juan Cap I'm sure the Aces will hook you up.
     

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