Hot Rods Do you let your kids drive your hot rod???

Family is thicker than metal. Any of them want to drive anything I have I just tell them the keys are in it. I'm not sure what the insurance company would say should something happen but will deal with that when or if it ever needs to be dealt with. When I did a lot of carshows anytime a person wanted to set in my car they were welcome to do it as long as I said it was ok. Hell it just a material object. I got a bigger kick of the little persons smile on their face than they did settin in it.

 

Why not? How in the hell do you get and keep them interested unless they get to enjoy the fruits of their labor? We have a blast driving all our cars and hopefully my sons will enjoy them after I am gone.

 

When my son got his driver's license I gave him the 57 Bel Air post car. He drove it through high school and was the only guy driving a 50s car to school. There was a small group of 60s cars and a good number of 70s cars mixed with the 80s-90s and 2000s. He got a feature in the yearbook with the car too.
My wife has always driven any old cars I had. When she was 8 months pregnant with my twin girls we attended a run in Dallas and I bought another car. She drove it back home. She talked her way out of a ticket in the T Bucket when she was out giving a friend her first hotrod ride. Picked a good one I did.

 

I think that this picture will be tough to top. I'm doing a web site that you'll all see soon and this picture is included..The grin is priceless indeed !

Pontiac Slim

 

I remember riding in and driving a few old classics when I was growing up. Thats why I'm on this forum, thats why I love old cars.

 

My 18 yr old daughter Dani driving my '56.

 

Hell yeah. He build 75 % of it as a 16 /17 year old. Dad was the advisor.


I had to get some special insurance to drive it as he is under 25.

 

My daughter is now in Europe thru a Penn State program, she will be home in June and if my car is ready she can drive it. Taught her to drive a 4 speed 2 years ago and she wants to drive my coupe. Ther only thing I worry about is her having a problem alone so mostly Iwill ride shotgun when she drives.
We have talked about doing the route 66 trip after she graduates, if we do she will share the driving.
Don't tell her but she is a better driver than I am.

 

I guess this doesn't really count... I took my 2 year old son for his first drive recently. I've never seen that kid smile so big.

 

Always let my girls drive whatever we had, heck one year they informed me they had registered my 48 pick up for Kalamazoo............I told them to bring it back in time for the wife and I to go to Burlington the next weekend. When we got to Burlington, the guys selling shirts and souvenirs, saw us drive by and yelled " hey where are those wild women who had that truck last week?" I just rolled my eyes and thought how great it was. Now they both have their own cars and neither will let their husbands drive em.

 

My children, 2 boy's and the daughter can drive anything I own because they all learned to drive in the old OT 46 CJ2A Jeep. I told them all if you can drive the jeep, you can drive anything and they can, in fact the daughter was better at double clutching for a downshift than the boy's were. They don't drive any of the car's very often but they are 100% capable and welcome anytime.

 

Yes I let my daughters drive my old cars - I chose an insurance company that would accept them doing it and I see it as a necessity for us to include them as much as possible in our sport/hobby/lifestyle.
If we do not encourage them and we fade like the dinosaurs them we only have ourselves to blame.
One insurance company was not prepared to let them and the other was so it was an easy choice for me - price was not the consideration.
Their partners are not allowed to drive them untill they are over 25 (my daughters are 20 and 21) so thats a good "handbrake" in my book - the girls can, the guys cant - yeah gotta mess around with the guys way of thinking - just because they take my daughters out doesn't mean they have an opening to all in the household
Old age and decipt will over come youth and enthusiasm.

Sorry got distracted - Yes we need to allow our children to drive our cars so they too can appreciate the gifts from the past

 

you bet i do! both my boy's drive all the cars. my oldest just turned 17 and the youngest turned 14 last month. who can say they learned to drive in '29 or a '49 ford, or even the 52 willys? my sons can! and they have a great time with it as do i.

 

I love seeing my kids drive my cars. Once some car club members saw my little girl driving my 55 Chevy and they got mad, said I never let them drive my car to events. I bust out laughing and told them she has held fenders and strip out old interiors you done nothing. You got to let them enjoy the good and the bad. She is heavy on the gas pedal, I wonder where she gets that? Does not like driving the street rod, go figure.

 

I learned to drive a stick in my dad's 35 at about 13. have always been allowed to drive them as long as I do so responsibly. but I've always had one of my own too. plus I know the rule is you break it you fix it.

 

Our Nomad has been in the family for almost 44 years.. My father-in law, my wife, both my kids who are grown and have their own kids, and myself have all driven it. My son drove it to high school for 3 years.. I recently gave it to my grandson who is not old enough to have a license. If the boy doesn't get to drive it pretty soon, I'll have a talk with his dad about it.. I built the car to be driven and driven it is...

 

its a fuckin tradition..

 

Now that you mention it, my kids and my hot rod all exist in the realm of imagination as yet; so yes, why not?

 

The day my chev becomes to precious or valuable, to let my kids/family/close friends/ drive it (with the proper instruction of the 3onthtree/musclesteer/drumbrakes/ of course) is the day I get rid of my chev!

On another note...I dont like car shows that much, but the day my chevy to precious/valuable to let a kid sit behind the wheel, and look it over good, is the day, I get rid of it.
Mine is just old car meant to be enjoyed, so spread the joy!

Matthew 6:19..... Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

 

Not really. There is no Re-set Button or PS-3 Interface hooked up, YET

 

Both my kids (now 36 and 33) drove our streetrods. When they turned 17 they got a key to our favorite chopped 37 Chevy. With permission they enjoyed driving it. High school proms, homecoming parades and rides around town were the norm.
We sold the car in 2000 and last year I bought it back. When I stopped over to my daughters house with it, tears of joy were in her eyes. I gave her the keys, she loaded up one of her sons and they took a little ride. On her return those tears were turned into a huge smile.
My son-in-law also got his first turn driving it. He had a big smile too. Maybe I should hide the keys. Although they can't drive it yet, my grandsons love to cruise with "Pop".

 

Its all about how they are raised. I was out in the garage with my dad anytime he was out there and seen his streetrod through three rebuilds. He bought me my first car when i was 12 to start working on.I had owned 4 old cars before i was 16 and had a pretty nice 59 elcamino to drive to school on my 16th birthday. My dads keys for his street rod was always there for me as well snd it seen the high school parking lot weekly. Its all about maturity and respect if they where raised to respect things then i say go for it. I would trust my son with any of my cars and not think a thing about it.

 

He can RIDE with me.. that's good enough. Now if one day he wants me to build one for him... or better yet we build one together, for him... that's different all together. But drive mine? Nobody drives mine but me. I know that's weird.. it's just that you put that much time and effort into the thing.. who could appreciate it more than me????

Of course I say this now.. but I've got a feeling if he has a hot date some night ... I may remember the same scenario with my ol' man.. who let me drive his Caddy to my Senior Prom. Man did I feel cool.

Hell yes... I guess I would.. sigh.

 

my son has helped me build all my cars since he was a kid.i cant say no.lol but there are times id really like too.but if he wants to take one he still asks first and he is easy on them. i aint.now my girl thats a whole different story. she cant drive worth a damn and she has dented more tin than i ever thought possible.so NO for her. so she bought her own old car a early 60s american rambler. thank you lord.lol oh yeah , my son is 28 and my girl i think is 30 or 31 i dont remember.

 

Kids (8&10) drove the first time at El Mirage, later in High School one ripped a fender off the 39 and ran through the garden dept @ Sears. He learned about my temper then. Luckily Sears didn't charge me for the damaged plants. (they were under the car) Drove the Anglia and all the roadsters without any more problems.
Now they both drive police cars.

 

My daughter has been begging me to let her drive the car to school once before she graduated - since she graduates next week today was the day. She even picked up her car pool in it. I swung by over lunch "just to check" and snapped this pic. The pickup next to her belongs to a 17yr old boy in her Spanish class and is his everyday driver. When he heard what she would be driving he informed her that she was now his car show buddy and that he will show her all the ropes. Some of today's kids DO appreciate the older rides.

 

My oldest drove my Nova because the boys checked her out in it. My youngest has the bug and I built her a '65 Mustang for HS and so we could do the shows and cruises together. We plan on doing another car when she gets her business up and going.

One of my favorite pictures is one in the 2002 OCCA cruise book with my daughters cruising the circuit in my Nova.

 

My collector car insurance allows only my wife or myself as drivers. She has already proven that she can't handle 'em (don't ask) so I am the only driver...

 

Naw. He's only three. That's just askin' for trouble, as much as he would LIKE to drive Daddy's cars...