Got my first car in '63, Dad said if this thing ever runs I will be surprized. It was a '50 Plymouth 4 dr. flat six, had it running in a week. Sold it and then the '56 Chevy thing started. Yes I'm a old hot rodder.
Learned to drive in a 62 Mercury. Ran all over the country roads around Shelby county Texas. I was 11 years old. Got my first car at 14 had to work for it 1928 Model a ford. Cost me 15.00$ and 12.00$vto take to smith county Texas where I lived when school was in. I got my driving permit at age 16. .At 18 I had a 64 galaxy 500. Later on I installed a 390 cop car engine and transmission. In the 64 with a new paint job. First new car a 72 plymoth gold duster.It was the only non ford I ever ovened.It was a good car. Old I still have the hot rods. 29 roadster, 25 C cab T, 23 T bucket all Flathead fords.
Got my License and first car in 1951. First new car was a 1955 Ford fairlane and first custom rod was a Barris built 34 Ford coupe with a Olds motor in 1957. As to points and condenser I still got a few with them and always will till I die.If you cant work on it then send it to the junk pile.Multiple carbs,cam ,high compression is still my thing for street and strip. Mechanical fuel injection and blowers and 4 speed transmissions are still in style in my shop. Is there any other way??
WHAAAAT???????????????????? Dual quads here, and I pulled the electronic ignition and put in a real distributor with points and condenser. Our planet survived for thousands of years without the need for a cell phone. Cell phones became necessary after the invention of electronic fuel injection and electronic ignition ..................... in order to call the tow truck. But then the cell phone is also electronic, so you still walk! Jon.
got my license (restricted) when I was 11,mom could not drive so when my sister passed my mom went to the local county judge and got him to get the state to issue me a license...could only drive (legally) with mom in the car...at least in town. My first car was a 49 Merc that a buddy and I built from three cars.In my high school years I went on to drag racing cars for the late Charles "Buddy "Morrison of Raher-Morrison fame as we were classmates and friends....I never dreamed that he would go on to do what he did. I got away from the hotrod scene in the middle 60s racing motorcyles, raced them in to the 70s missed most of the muscle car era....got back into cars with a 57 Ford coupe with a 351c motor....I am currently getting my parts together to build a 25 t bucket...so I guess you could say I have been around it for a while . Kenny
Got my first ticket in 1957 driving my 1939 Ford back from the Ark City Drag Strip, I was 14 so I have grown older and refuse to grow up....
Got my license in '70, first car was a '67 Mustang GT, 390-335hp 4 speed, had 29K on it and I give $1125 for it! Them days is long gone! Oh yeah lost my license for 30 days before I had 'em 2 months in that car!
Another geezer here. I got my driver's license in 1960. I have a '32 Chevy that I've owned for 37 years. Holy shit, Im gettin' old. But I still play with cars.
In my day you would have never gotten away with pulling up to the burger joint with your pants below your ass cheeks, your hat on sideways, driving mom's old 4door Dodge Neon that you hopped up by putting a big Pep Boys exhaust tip on, blasting a set of speakers bigger than the engine and playing music that denigrates your mother, your race and your family with profanity. De-pants-ing someone was a pastime anyway. I can't imagine giving the guys in my neighborhood such a headstart. Your pants would have been thrown over a telephone line. Your hat would have been snatched and you'd be chasing the guy who was running toward the bathroom of the burger joint to flush it. I remember one night a buddy of mine pulled a tree out of a shallow planter at McDonalds. The root mass was big and flat and allowed the ten foot tree to stand where ever you put it. It ended up on some nerd's car who made some off-handed comment about us hot rodders when he went in the restaurant. He came out to find a tree planted on the roof.
Ha,ha, Amen brother. De-pants-ing was the biggest fear we faced back in the day. It was definitely a favorite pass-time of the older guys in my neighborhood. Got my drivers license just yesterday. Yep, March 13th,1962 was the day.
HTML: are you an old Hot Rodder Damn right and I'm proud of it!! Can you imagine the HAMB discussions about swapping an Acura engine in a traditional Civic 50 years from now? I'm glad I won't be around.
Got my first car in 1957 , a 42 ford 2 dr. 6 cyl. It got me through the summer but by the next year I had a hot rod a 40 ford coupe with a full flathead . Have had close to 200 car since then over half rodded in one way or another. Right now I have a RPU with a 354 hemi , a 58 plymouth with a 440 with long ram setup, and I am collecting parts to build an A-v8 roadster. So I guess you could say I'm an old hot rodder.
I got my permit at 13 in 1963,,can you imaging a 13 year old today driving a car with all the distractions available to them now. I'm pretty sure the law has changed in South Carolina. HRP
Got my license in '59 but already had a 1937 Pontiac from my grandparents, they were really proud of that car so you ca imagine how they felt the next time they saw it and the fenders, hood, seats, etc. were gone and I was racing down the farm roads! Sure was fun but would love to have that car back again. Next and favorite car was a 30 model A that I bought for $5 from the local saw mill, my best friend had to steer it while I towed it back home, he will never forgive me because he had to put up with all the chicken ____ flying around in the cab as we headed home! Really great times but I do see kids today still having just as much fun, a little different but fun. Hope they can continue.
Bought my 34 coupe in 1968 and still have it. Bought my 40 in 74 and still have it. I didn't even have a "late model" car until I was in my late 20's. So yes, I guess I am an "lod hot rodder". I wouldn['t change a thing either.
I got my license in 1965. A friend had a 40 ford convertible and he sold me all the running gear. He had put a corvair front end and a 327 in it. I shortened the torque tube and drive shaft and made a frame in the High School Metal Shop. I found an old metal T-Bucket body in the woods up behind a farm that I brush painted red. Im still building cars and having TOO MUCH FUN! Cadman
Another old guy (67) here, it's been 50 years for me. Always loved the cars and girls, they were my weakness in school and for many years later too. Started with street hot rodding and after many ticket for "speed contest" which was the term used back then. My cars were getting to much attention, so it was off to the drags. From there it was drag racing for about 10-12 years of building and racing them. So. Cal. was a hot bed of drag strips back then and I had to be there. Today I still play with the Chevy V8's, as I've got 3 of them in the garage right now. SBC with cam and headers, still turns me on. I'm now retired and enjoying playing with them again. Just got me a 56 Chevy pickup like I had back in the late 60's for my tow car. So I'm dreaming and playing again.
I'm not SUPER OLD like Jean, but he,he,hee. Hi buddy. I'm 55 and can't remember ever not messing with something mechanical. I still love antiques, drag cars, motorcycles, airplanes, anything mechanical. Lippy
Just depends on who you talk to. All I remember is my love for cars,cannot remember not loving them. I am 41, so some ove the older guys will say I am still a pup. T younger guys call me old. So whos right? who cares its all about the ride.
"Old" is a state of mind, not a descriptor of age! But I remember buying name-brand gasoline at 16 cents / gallon regular and 18 cents / gallon premium. The cut-rate stuff sometimes got as low as 9 cents / gallon. Advancing in years is a requirement of nature; growing older is not! Jon.
I just turned 50 not long ago... Guess I'm stuck between young an' old... It all depends on who you ask! Got my license in '76 and the first car I bought was a '68 Camaro convertible with a 327/275 and a 2 speed slushbox.. Had lots of fun in that one.. Since then, all my cars had V-8's in them except for the '81 Pontiac Phoenix I once owned. As of now, I have 2 ponies and a pick'em up truck and they all packin' good old American V-8 power...
Just turned 67 a couple of weeks ago and I now have the same type of car I had in high school. After dozens of old hot rods and mild customs I decided to go back to my favorite a 1951 Ford shoebox and do it up the way I wanted to in '62 but could not afford too. CarbKing I have to agree with you....Advancing in age is a requirement; growing old is not!
Fisrt car in 1963 license in 1964. Had over 100 cars and bikes since I got married in 1969.....Didn't count the first "crop".
I bought my first decent car the fall of 1962. I was just out of high school and working for the State Highway department. The car was a 1956 Plymouth Plaza two door sedan. I still love the sound and power of a V8. My limited daily driver is an 01 Z28 with a LS1 and supercharger
wow............there are a buncha ol farts here......guess i am one ,turning 68 this year. like some i been Hot Rodding all my life.
I am just turning 50, have spent alot of time at the track, so I still think of myself as one of the younger guys. But its scary how many of the guys that I used to turn to for advice and mentoring are dead now. I am amazed at how many guys are on here that have been around for a long time. I have never owned a car with EFI,I have only had two cars with the keys in the column, and I dont own a cell phone. I got a very early start, as racing and cars are in my family. I was spending my allowance on car mags as soon as I was old enough to get an allowance. I can clearly remember the local hot rods in my area, and knew enough to know what motors were in them from the time I was 6-7. I got in shit for skipping an afternoon of school when I was 7, I was across the street watching the Hadden brothers slide a 289 and t-10 back into a '65 Falcon. Hard to believe it was almost a new car at the time. Funny thing is, in those days, alot of the "old" guys or "traditional" hot rodders had much the same attitude towards the sixties muscle cars that we have towards hondas nowadays.
1962, My first car was a 36 ford 3 window coupe with a 390 Caddy w/3 2's on it. Sure wish I still had it, along with many many others I have had...
The Jalopy Journal
