This thread hit me in just the right place. I'd like to think I've never "lost it" about some unintentional damage to one of my old treasures, but honestly, I have. My kids are now at an age where they don't cause too much damage from just being kids, and I hope they have some good memories of time spent in the garage. My Merc has a few scars from "help" I've received through they years I've worked on it, but truthfully, I kind of like those because they remind me of people that I love. It truly is just old stuff and it can all be replaced - but - as others have already stated more eloquently - the memories and the people we've shared them with are what is important. Thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread!
My little fella is now 30! Yikes. but I still remember the time he took my screwdrivers out and pounded them in the ground. Yep I found them with the mower. My dad told me when we had our first baby "don't worry about it" When he drops your favorite coffee cup, don't worry, when he's older and drives a ball into your kitchen window the cup wont seem like much, but don't worry about it. in a few more years and he wrecks your buick the window wont seem like much. Well you get it!
Back in about 1983 or 84 my son was about four, he had helped sand my 38 Chevy while we prepped it for paint so he wanted to continue to help after the fresh paint was applied...those 320 grit sanding marks are still in the paint, I don't remember getting angry (not that I didn't at times), the guy that painted it for me in my chicken house reminded me that Chad was just helping. He didn't grow up to be a "car guy" but he does have some wrenching skills when he needs them. My dad had one of those mirrors on his bathtub Nash. Overall it brought back some good memories. Maybe one of the grandkids will work with Gramps if I live long enough
It wasn't until I had my own kids that I appreaciated the times I spent with my Dad. I wish that I had some more with my late son when he was growing up. Try ont to let earning a living get in the way of living, for any of you who have young ones.
Great stuff, guys. Dad always liked to tell about the day that I was caught pounding on the hood of his 57 Chevy with my Fanner Fifty(a cap gun for you younger guys). I don't remember the consequences of this action. Must have blacked out!!
One of the best lessons my Dad taught me I'm sure he didn't mean to. I had broken a window in the garage while bouncing a ball off the garage wall. I worried the rest of the day till my Dad got home. You remember what a big deal it was to break a window when you were a kid. When he got home and was changing out of his uniform, he was a U.S. Customs officer, I had to tell him about the window. He said something like "well those things happen, can you help me put a new piece of glass in there?" I remembered that feeling I got when he didn't get angry and used it many times to keep calm when my own kids had an "accident"
Don't know about y'all but I just melt when my Grandson calls out Grampa. He's ten and has gone through a divorce from Hell and has been exposed to things in his short life he shouldn't have been. My whole function in life is to be a father figure and leave him in good shape after I'm gone.
My garage was never off limits for my son or my daughter. Our cars were a family thing. I always tried to teach them respect for all cars and oh yes, we had a few memorable mishaps over the years. My son hit the shifter on a 61 Vette the day I was selling it and put a nice chip in the back. Fortunately the car needed a paint job so I picked off the loose stuff and nobody ever noticed. When my daughter was 16 she came home from work so upset that she could hardly talk. I thought something had happened to her at work or on the way home. It was winter time and I used to have a 4x4 on the floor in front of my 37 to space out the car parking in front. Well it had been a nice day and I took the 37 for a ride. When I parked it I never put the 4x4 back in place. She had backed the car into the garage and hit the grille of the 37. That is what she was upset about and I knew it was really my fault. I calmed her down by showing her that it was fixable. I think by showing more concern for my kids rather than the cars made a big difference in how they have lived their lives. My son became an engineer for GM and has his own love for the sport. We have a great time together each August with our cars at the Woodward Dream Cruise. My daughter is a wonderful mother of three of the coolest little grandsons a guy could ever have. And so for me it begins all over again. These little guys love Pops cars and his garage. I think I even have more tolerance and patience now with them. Your right, it is just stuff. The important things are the joy, memories and the legacy that will always be there.
when I was kid I liked to paint old bikes my dad was a house painter he taught me to clean down things before painting. days later he would tell me when you use turps hang the rag out straight or it gets hot then like a straw hay stack it will explode. I always said yes yes. one day he got me to come over got my hand on the crumbled up rag and said you know your old man knows nothing so its not hot. boy it nearly burnt me I remembered to it right after that.
When my son was four one day he came running across the shop with a hammer saying he wanted to help before i could catch him wam nice dent in the 34 so i had to bang it out fast forward 14years told him to put the riding mower in the shop.pop the pedal to quick .wam in to the back of the 34 told him get the hammer and dolly your turn to fix it hahaha got love them
I'm 55 and have lotsa stuff but I don't have or ever will have what you guys have...You have kids and I don't and right now I am seriously envious....Be thankfull
When I was maybe 4 or 5, Dear ol Dad as under his 36 Dodge PU working on something and the driver's door was propped open. I hop in and decide to play pedal car and started pushing in the brake and clutch pedals in rapid succession. The next thing I heard was a loud thunk and "SON OF A BITCH!!" so I took off running. He was coming after me and I just fell on the ground in fear. When he reached me he was laughing too hard to hide it. He was changing a brake line and I shot a nice gush of fluid into his face and that made him bash his head under the fender trying to avoid the spray. He still had to "act" like he was mad just to teach me some safety and we laughed about that incident hundreds of times during our lives. In another instance my 5yr old nephew was gonna help me "clean" one of the Packards at the shop and grabbed a red shop rag from the lathe tray. I was in a mad dash to get it from his hands for 2 reasons. 1st he coulda been cut by the metal shavings, and 2nd, no matter how "cute" it may seem you don't let a little kid rub a rag with metal shavings on a $350K car. He threw a fit because he wanted "his" rag and not the clean one I got for him, then of course my sister chimes in, "Who cares? You can fix it so let him..." "Get out and take him with you unless you can afford $50/hr to repair it. There's nothing precious about damaging someone's property and causing me hours if not days of grief and unpaid labor." She didn't come around much after that and to this day I'd do exactly the same. I don't care how much you love kids, there's still a right and wrong. If you don't teach that you've got problems ahead. FWIW I spent more time with my Dad in the shop than I did chasin tail in my early teens. No regrets...
reminds me of the subaru commercial on as of lately where the two boys are washing the subaru inside and out and the dad comes up and doesn't blow his cool but says to them you missed a spot, priceless.....had one of my girls several years ago took an sos pad to a paint job on an ot car i built. i had been using the pad on the white letters on the tires and walked in to answer the phone, came back out and she was helping me wash the car, upset yes but i remained calm. color sanded it back out with no damage,luckily and buffed it out. oh the memories!!!!!
My two boys 18 months and 3 wanted to help me take the wheel of my 57 chev. It took 15 min to get the one wheel of as they both wanted a turn to undo the nuts. Later that day when I was under the car fighting with bolts that were last tightened in 1957, I heard a thud thud thud. Thinking I had better check that out I climbed out from under the car to find my 3 year old had clambered up to stand in front of the radiator hitting it with a hammer. He was helping me fix my car. Not to mention the tools I keep finding on the lawn when I mow. A friend was putting a kit into his carby' when he heard a tink-ka-tink behind him. he turned around to find his boy dropping nuts down his inlet manifold. Kids are such a paradox. You love them like you cant describe, but boy do they drive you nuts sometimes.
When my boy was three or so he was with me while I was working on the Olds motor in my Shrimp Boat. I would put a tool down on the floor and he would pick it up and toss it over the side! I did not notice until I heard a small splash type sound. When I realised what was going on I asked him "hey boy! what are you doing?" His reply... "I wash for you poppa"! We still laugh about this today 30 years later.
My son, 18 now and just graduated from high school last sunday, never would help me in the garage. Yea it would have been cool to have him grow up with me in the garage. Now i'm going to brag him up. 33 ACT, one of seven Validictorians, (the salutatorian had a 98.7% average and just barely made the top 25% of the class,) no BULLSHIT, one heck of a competitive class! 4 year 3 sport athelete, football, basketball and track. Numerous athletic acolades. Well long story short, Full ride to University of Nebraska Omaha, regents and Walter Scott scholarships.( pursuing an engineering degree in civil engineering.) So to all those dads out there who can't get their kids involved in the garage, encourage them to to get involved in their high school years. this little shit really helped me out financially with his college career. Just thought I'd share a little success story. So proud of him and all my children. fenderless
A while ago my daughter put a scratch on the rear side of my Acadian with a wheelbarrow while she was doing yard work with Mom. I was not there when it happened, and later my daughter quietly told me about it. I went out and looked at it. At first I was irritated, but I quickly realized it was an accident and she felt bad about it. I went in the house told her it was ok, I could rub it out (It was not too bad but would not rub out) and gave her a hug. I still remember the smile she gave me. Cars can be fixed, bad childhood memories cannot be fixed.
I come home one day to find my 5 year old son had found some black paint and wrote "Cowtown Speed Shop" on the house garage door. Neighbors and wife might not have thought it looked too good, But to me it was better than a "Pablo Picasso Painting"
When my son was 3 I traded my new Jeep cherokee and all the contents of my house to his mother for custody of him. Her and the new boyfriend needed all of my stuff. We slept on sleeping bags for the better part of a year. Times were hard, the best part is she dont have any of that priceless shit anymore but he has been with me through everything he is my best friend. He will be 16 this year and I wouldnt trade a moment of our lives and memories for anything. He has turned out to be one awsome talented young man. She has no idea what she has missed out on. This thread hits home right niw because we have been going through the teenage rites of passage lately and tempers flare but I telk him I love him everynight. We appoligize when were wrong, laugh at ourselves and move forward.
I was watching my nephew once when he as 3 or so. Had him in the shop while I was trying to figure out why my neighbor's snapper mower wouldn't start. I had my arm snaked up through the drive belts removing the starter solenoid when I heard BAM BAM CRACK. I look up to see him beating on my Fluke multimeter with a tire iron. Guess he wanted to help! He's helped me ever since then, both in the shop at home and working on computers and electronics at work. I really believe that letting him help & encouraging his curiosity has been the best way for him to learn. Something's worked - he'll be a freshman in the Honors College at The University of Massachusetts Amherst this fall. Still have that Fluke, superglued case and all.
My older son has been a gearhead since about twelve or so. My younger just wants something to drive, and could care less about the car itself. The older one has a very nice o/t Buick Skylark X-body that he really loves, and works on when necessary. His first truck was a '47 Chevy 1/2-ton at 13. He also has a cool '76 Chevy swb van that he is making into a '70s-style "shaggin' wagon". He is wanting to expand his abilities, so he'll be in an adult vo-tech auto class this Fall, which I am very happy about. When the boys were about two and five, they decided to help me wash the van we'd just bought. Perfect rig for a family of four, lots of room, and very comfy. Both of them came up, grabbed the two wash sponges I had in the bucket and attacked the rockers with mad abandon! Which was cool, because they were at the perfect height. They tore away at any part of the van under two feet high! It was so much fun watching them go at it! They were soaked to the bone, and really didn;t get much of the van clean, but we had a great time doing it. So, after that, I had to allow them to clean the van the rest of the Summer. More fun than a slip-n-slide!!
Sphynx, that was a genuinely inspiring and touching story. You have your head on right and it sounds like you got it there early.
I like this thread. All of my stuff has "added character". Some from my girls, some from my wife, even one from the garage door repairman, who dropped a screwdriver that scratched the rear fender of my coupe, and yeah...even I have added some, due to my own carelessness. Thanks for reminding us to reset our perspectives.
I learned how to play games in the shop from my dear departed Dad too. One of the last "ritual" things we'd do on the antique stuff is put the radiator mascot on. Until it was done just a plain cap was used. I was young still, maybe 14 or 15, and Dad says, "Ok son, get the cap. It's done." So I picked up a couple wrenches along with the cap and as I rounded the back of the car I dropped em on the ground followed with "Oh no!" "Tell me you didn't just break the damn thing! Son of a..." "Ok, I didn't just break the damn thing." as I held it up where he could see it. "Ok smart ass, yours is coming!" We spent a lot of time together and I learned more than just tech and trade. I learned that a shop environment is a unique and pleasant place. Maybe not for all but it still stands as one of the best of all places in my heart. He'd do stuff like sneak little things in my ear as I weld, yell really loud when I was focusing on a panel with the DA screaming, sneak over and hold the tip of my woodgrain brush. I wouldn't exchange those days for anything. Mine has zero interest in this stuff, but no regrets. He's a good kid in his own way.
Had the same experiences with my dad under heavy trucks and dozers. Same work - bigger wrenches. Did most of my breaking sitting in the seat of a dozer or truck. Some of those things cost big money. Dad let me know about it but not in a condescending way. Usually he had already done the same thing anyway!
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