No... this is bad... and I am ashamed... BUT, I haven't even taught her how to drive a manual tranny car yet. I know... I know... I deserve everything you guys throw at me. It's going to happen soon. I promise. Anyway, PJ has always had a thing for Mini Coopers... I started looking for cars for her about 6-months ago thinking I was gonna buy her a Volvo C30. They are cheapish... AND, the third safest car ever built. But then, the car crisis started and everything got out of hand from a price standpoint. I figured she was gonna have to drive my truck for 6-months or so until prices came back down. Then, a young lady in our hood got a new car and offered up her 2016 Mini Countryman for the price of the pay off. It was a smoking deal on a car with highish mileage but one that I knew had been maintained... So, she got a Countryman. Not my favorite mini, but it is hers... The cool part though is that she had been saving her money to customize it. She added really subtle racing stripes... and I'm super proud of her taste in such things. It actually looks pretty rad.
I seem to remeber you telling us about a certain Mini that you had fun 3 wheeling years ago?! As a side note, LilT has his learners permit and gets his license in a few days. Up here it all starts at 14. Living in the sticks it is imperative for these kids to have wheels. He gets a late model sedan his moms aunt left them. We are still deciding something fun for us to build.
You're a good dad. My kids are going to get the biggest hooptie I can find. It will teach them humility and how to turn a wrench.
That car was FUN to drive. I'm a softie... I looked for a balance between cost and safety. This thing has airbags coming out of it's ass... and is the safest compact SUV on the market. PJ is in robotics... and actually is pretty decent in the shop, but doesn't have much interest in working on cars yet.
I too had a '55 Chevy in High School - also, was in a stop sign drag race that I avoided a ticket (longer story) - that same '55 was hit in rear by a drunk driver (longer story) - from what I have seen, most kids get in a wreck in their first car, so safety goodies have to be a priority
You do. My dad was a doctor and a Texas Ranger. Both came with oaths that he took VERY seriously. "Serve and protect," and not "fuck with and entrap." Add to that the fact that I was brought up street racing... illegally... and you end up with a someone like me. Take it or leave it.
My daughter was shown the controls at age 12. We would use parking areas of closed Sunday businesses. She also went through driver training at HS. Never a problem ( 20 yrs driving ) that I know of. My youthfool history was, embarrassingly, one for the record books.
I’m right there with you and am actually questioning my sanity as far as getting my two teenage boys into this hobby of ours. As much as I am thankful they like the hobby and are both driving pretty cool stuff, I find that I am overwhelmed with trying to help them maintain them. Some days, I wish we would have just got them a couple late model throw away cars...nah, just kidding. Good luck with a 16 year old driving. My results have varied widely between my two boys. And, my 16 year old girl is almost 17 and still doesn’t have a license. At this point, that isn’t bothering me. Oh, and some of the other recent threads as well as this one have reminded me to be thankful that neither of my boys have done as much stupid stuff as I did when I was 16.
My son has zero interest in old cars... If you would have told me that 15 years ago, I'd be so bummed... But honestly, it doesn't bother me now. He's into other cool stuff that has broadened my horizons a bit. PJ did get picked up in a Roush Mustang with straight pipes the other day. I was not super excited about that and did play the "scary dad" part... probably went a little overboard. But, the kid has dropped by my shop a few times since and he seems alright... His other buddy has one of those Subaru hot rod things? Bitchin little car... Kind of like the poor man's Porsche? He's got it slammed on mag wheels, etc... Good taste for a young guy. And he asked all the right questions about my old shit... I got hope for the younger gen... I miss my old man every single day man... It sucks... We could be having so much fun right now. He would have been the perfect quarantine buddy...
Went thru this with my kids too. Built my son a real nice 66 Chevelle-he got in so much trouble with it we had to take it away-he was not happy! Then built my daughter a nice 65 Chevelle. 327 auto etc etc. She drove it for years and took excellent care as well.
My grandson is going to be 10 on Jan 2nd. He goes on our T Bum trips and has driven my '31 roadster pickup sitting on my lap multiple times over the years. Sunday before the Nascar race at Phoenix I got the pickup out and taught him to drive it himself. I sat on the passenger side. We stayed on the property and in 1st gear only but he did great and never killed it even once! He has his own m/c and gokart and quad so he understands how things work. My son has actually just bought him a Camaro circle track car for him to race in 2 years when he turns 12. I just happened to think, I was 9 when I first drove Dad's '51 Ford Crestline dirt track car and then his '61 Bug that I drove into a tree on the snow! Dave
Well, since you said you deserve it, and expect it, I'm not going to deny you your upbraiding. Get on the stick about the stick. I raised my daughter in the garage. She watched me drive a stick and heard me describe its pleasures since she was old enough to understand what I was saying. By the time she was 16 she took her driver's test on a stick and wouldn't drive an automatic unless someone's life depended on it. When she got engaged she taught her fiance (a big-city kid) how to drive a stick so that the first car they bought together would not need to be an automatic.
I've told this before. I had a GTO. I'm at a light and another GTO pulls up beside me. It was a straight stretch and we didn't get too crazy, shut down about 60 in a 45. A couple days later I'm washing it in the driveway. A cop pulls up and asks me if that was my car. I tell him it is and he tells me he has a GTO. I said, cool, maybe I'll see it around. He told me I already did the other day at the light on Garfield Avenue. I had no idea what to say. He tells me to take it easy and drives off.
Last year I bought my youngest daughter (senior in HS) an '07 Saab 93 Aero convert. Horsepower: 250 hp @ 5,500 rpm Towing capacity: 2,000 lbs Engine: 2.8 L V6 turbo Curb weight: 3,700 lbs Transmission: 6-speed automatic
The worries never really leave…my oldest Daughter is now 17, been driving for a year on her own now, she’s a great driver but I still worry. Oh she drives a stick though.
And you will every single time she pulls out of the driveway, on November 4th our 44 year old daughter was hospitalized and is there as we speak awaiting on a trauma surgeon tomorrow to repair her right foot, she had surgery Sunday to repair her left arm, she has multiple broken rims also and totaled our Magnum wagon. Preach to her the importance of wearing a seat belt. You never know what will happen when they leave in a car. HRP
My #2 daughter took off for her first solo drive after getting her license. 10 minutes later I got the call. Turned left in front of an oncoming car in an intersection. No injuries thankfully.
No doubt! I have learned what seemed like fun taking kids in cars and doing that stuff can come back to haunt you.
Two things were really apparent when I was little kid: 1. I was into cars. 2. I didn't much appreciate being told what to do... by anyone. I look back now and I'm kind of amazed by how smart my parents were about dealing with that. I don't know if they learned this through dealing with my older sister (who had real issues) or if they were just so busy dealing with her, they couldn't stomach dealing with me... In any case, my dad was pretty resolved to the fact putting me in a car had the potential to create a whole lot of trouble. Like... dangerous trouble - not only to me, but to those around me. My natural reaction (I think?) would be to keep the kid very restricted and closely monitored at all times. But my dad went against the grain. When I turned 12, he bought me a shifter cart... like a real one... an expensive one. It came with one rule - He would take me racing every weekend if and only if I had straight As. If I gotta B, the cart went away until I brought that grade up. When I turned 15, he lied about my age and I started racing S/G in the NHRA... Again, the same rule applied. As a result, I've never gotten a B in my entire life - Not once through high school, college, or grad school. Racing was too important to me. But the grade thing was the ONLY rule I had. I mean... I got arrested NUMEROUS times in high school for drinking, raising hell, etc... There was no punishment for anything so long as I had straight As. Then, I left school to go race in Europe. My parents couldn't be there the whole time obviously and I was out on my own with my own devices and with no repercussions or grades to worry about. I got in real trouble and screwed it all up. But, by then, I was smart enough to understand consequences. I was capable of understanding what I did wrong and disciplined enough to admit it as well as learn from it. I honestly think I'd be real hoodlum if it weren't for the freedom my folks gave me to learn and the work ethic I watched them both have. Problem is... PJ is EXACTLY like me. She doesn't take shit from anyone, doesn't much care for social norms or rules, top-5 in her class, and all that... BUT, she is already way smarter than me. Either she can't be bothered by getting into trouble or she is so good at it that I never find out. Either I'm screwed... or she's gonna be president...
The Jalopy Journal
