Made the decision to let my 66 C10 go to help get my son who just turned 14 get his first ride. It will be a joint venture with the choice between himself and the wife and me. Give me a guess on what will be cool in that high school parking lot in a few years. as we all know change is coming to the hot rod world any guess on where it will be?
The 50's pickup of your favorite brand is always good. It's just new enough to drive safely and get up to speed... old enough to be scarce in the highschool parking lot (different)... tough enough to put up with stupid highschool antics. Heck that '66 C10 you let go may be a little new for the HAMB, but that would've been a great highschool truck...
I would look for a falcon.. Do a granada 5 lug disc swap, add some 14-15 inch steelies with spider caps..and it would look great!
A civic with an integra motor, huge turbo, front mount intercooler. They will be real cool in a few years.
my 14 year old just got his first job to have the money to build his 42 Dodge pick up its kool to be able to pass the torch. He started building lowrider bicycles.
A pick up is always a good beginner project. The 66 would have been good. What the son really likes and whats affordable dont always jibe. My first car was a 57 Chevy sedan, a pretty affordable car back in 75, but not today.
Whats that got to do with the price of tea in china The 66 would have been a good truck tough as nails and plenty of parts avalibility
Somthing with a straight six, for when gas prices go back up, like a falcon or even a 52 or 53 chev would be cool. But like its already been said it depends on what he likes.
My son's first truck was a '47 Chevy that I gave him for his 13th b-day. Unfortunately, he never showed much enthusiasm for it, so we traded it for a '67 Chevy C-10. We did some work on it, then traded for a '71 Dodge PU. Sold that one, too. So, now, we've got a '78 Chevy Cheyenne C-10 that he really is enthusiastic about, so that's what we are building. Runs and drives great, my son is the second owner, and it's straight as a pin! ...We are still looking for a pre-65 car or truck to build, but around here, it seems like too many people ahve been watching too many reruns of the damn B-J auctions and think their POS rust-bucket is worth $10K.
Biggest item is what is your son excited about. Like a few here have posted, if he's not into it you might as well save your money. That said I like the idea of a pickup, there is so much that you can do with one and still retain or enhance the value. After that I would try to get a 2dr as the value would be higher than a 4dr. Hope you have good luck finding and building something with your son. My best memories of my son and I were the 2 years we spent rebuilding the '69 Z- 28 I gave him for his 16th birthday. He still has the car and has started another rebuild with his 14 year old son. I wish I lived closer so i could participate but will drop in from time to time and give my best advice. Frank
Do this for me. (more aptly, for Your son.) #1- Flaming river makes a collapsable steering column buy one. #2- Shoulder mounted seat belts. You can even find a g.m. buckle with the button in it to hook to a crybaby sensor that won't go off unless it is BUCKLED. #3-even a small fire extinguisher is better than none at all. #4-good brakes are everything in a good truck. and remember this basic rule from a serious teenage screw up. Your son may be the best kid on the planet. that doesn't mean his friends are. a single bucket seat for the first 6 months may be a real damn good idea. No rides until he gets some seat time all to himself. I am only suggesting these things because I had a real good friend die in one of these trucks, and it probably wasn't even his fault. The short version... smart kid+dumb kid. dumb kid riding shotgun with potato cannon. dumb kid has an accidental discharge inside the cab of truck at 55 m.p.h. smart kid hits light pole, pinned in truck, dies in fire started by a can of hairspray. dumb kid walks away with a split lip. I am not the dumb kid.
Two stories here, at least from my perspective....my first car was a 1957 Chevy pickup with a 283 and a Muncie. When my wife became pregnant with our son 23 years ago, I sold the truck to a young man next door...within two weeks he totaled the truck, injuring himself and killing his passenger. Too much power for a guy just learning.... When my son turned 16 we purchased a 64 GMC with a six banger. He drove the six for a year before we built a 350 Chevy for it, just to let him get a feel for driving an older vehicle before adding HP.
I wanted a Sunbeam when I was 16. My dad said they were crap, but helped me track one down and restore it anyway. He was right, it was crap. However, I learned alot. Within reason, I would let your son choose. I've always respected the fact that my dad let me make that terrible choice. It was a HUGE learning experience. My son is almost 4 and fortunately has much better taste than I did, he wants a Willys gasser!
Thanks for the replies. I know i have to give him the chance to choose. I currently have a 51 4d fleetline deluxe, 1st gen camaro. he has known only chevy for his whole life. early falcons seems to be a hit with him especially after looking at the cool cars here on the hamb. local auto trader has nothing to offer this week but i have time. i will post the pics as soon as we have made a purchase. especially if its a falcon I will need plenty of advice. thanks again and have a Merry Christmas
Damn - what a cool car for a 16 year old!! ...plus they are still somewhat affordable and the mechanical/driveline parts are easy to find. I completely agree with the safety additions that LUX BLUE mentioned. I wrecked my '58 Ford Custom 300 (first car) when I was 16. It was a head-on accident, not my fault. My dad made me put in lap belts before I could drive it. I ended up with a badly broken nose and a bent steering wheel, but it could've been much worse had I not put those seat belts in. Shoulder belts would've been even better and we put them in my next car ('64 Galaxie). Malcolm
Sounds like the fun I had with my son. I bought a '67 Camaro that had been a 6 cyl. three speed. We built a 327 350HP engine for it and I retained the three speed with the worn out original shifter figuring there was no was he could speed shift it. He did manage to break a u-joint and a couple valve springs. He is now 32 and a "little" brighter. Of course, the first thing he bought for the car on his own was a stereo system. No engine, just music. I asked "what you gonna do, sit here and make engine noises while you listen to tapes?"
I am going to get my boy to read this tonight, there is a lesson here that is hard to learn when you are fifteen and bulletproff.
Here is my son with his first project. Dad has already procured an s10 chassis as well. It may not be HAMB acceptable, but I'm really thinking of going with a 4.3L V6, and 700R4...just to keep the HP at a reasonable level for a new driver. I guess we have a little time to make that decision.
A pickup for a young inexperienced driver. Less distractions, less blind spots. No back seat. i agree but really as stated before he has to like it, and my opinion as long as its full framed because with todays drivers on the road its well worth it
I would suggest a 6 cylinder. From experience, I know they keep you out of trouble. I got my Chevy II when I was 16, and it's still on the road 9 years later. No tickets, either.
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