My "dad" taught me nothin'! He left us when I was 4, my brother was 2, and my Mom was pregnant and miss-carried over the trauma. Wait a minute.....he did teach me something, what not to do as a dad. I have great kids(3 girls and a boy) and their Mom and I have been married 50 years in March 2012. My son and myself own and work on the model A in my avatar. I taught myself and then taught all my kids. Newest addition to the clan is Jackson, 1 year old and our first great grand child and I'll show him some stuff too.
"All the power in the world ain't worth a damn if you can't put it to the ground. Don't waste time spinning your wheels." At the time, I thought we were just talking about drag racing.
Dad would say to me, "Get me a beer while your up." I would say, But dad I'm not up." He said, "You will be." Seriously, I would spend a lot of time in the garage with him working on just about anything that ran on gas. He forgot more than I'll ever know about mechanics. He's retired now and the guys at the garage still call him with stuff they have trouble with.
I guess my dad taught me more about life than about cars.He wasn't really into cars that much although he used to have a 34 coupe when he was young. He taught me that I should not be afraid to try to repair or build anything because if someone else can do it then so can I. And he taught me to be responsible for my actions and take responsibility for people and animals that I choose as my family.They are number one.
I grew up in the 40s and 59s in Walnut Creek, CA. My Dad was an aircraft nechanic for the Air Force (later he went.on to work for NASA, and helped put man on the moon). While he was really not into Hot Rods, he taught me the importance of a sanitary engine compartment. I have utilized his input since than in every Hot Rod, Jr. fueler, Fuel Roadster, TAD, and A/fuel Dragsters we have put together. Thank You Old Guys for our sport/hobby. Real problem is, now I am on of the old uys. I nope I can contribute some event.
I don't think my Dad was as nice as some of your dads. People have asked me how I learned about cars and my answer is, "I did it out of self defense". When I was maybe 7 or 8 my Dad would be working under his truck and be ALL pissed off that something wasn't working. He'd tell me to go get him a 7/16" box end wrench. I hadn't the SLIGHTEST idea what that was so I'd go grab three or four things I thought might be what he was asking for. He'd curse and throw the wrenchs on the floor unless one was the right one - by accident. And THAT'S how I learned what a 7/16" box end wrench was. By today's standards that's child abuse I suppose. But by 10 or 12 I was helping him rebuild small blocks in the garage, I knew what a ridge reamer and a piston ring compressor was and how they worked. Not by him explaining but by watching closely.
My Grandpa Crow would tell me,,,,,"Can't,,,died last Friday!" also,,,"If a man made it, you can fix it,,if your man enough!"
Maybe what I learned from my father wasn't "non-conventional" as the original post suggested, but Dad was a master carpenter and a true craftsman. I learned to "take your time and make it right", and "measure twice, and cut once", "there is no such thing as just good enough" and a few other axioms that he lived by. I learned a lot from him. I try to proceed with any project I am working on with those things in mind. So, I work kinda slow, with a perfectionist's attitude. I've been criticized for that, but that's OK... if it worked for my Dad, it works for me.
amen on the cant he died in the poor house thats what my dad said.he was a farmer couldnt drive a nail with both hands wasnt much of a mechanic either, wasnt very friendly either but he raised six kids so he must have been better than most
My Dad was an eletrician and trained me to be a Journeyman. He always told me to make sure you check the power before working on a circuit. He told me to trust no one but myself. A few hours later he had me complete a light and I asked if the switch was off. He said "Yep, it's off". Well after getting a 110v surprise I said "Hey, I thought you said the switch was off?". He then told me "I thought I told you to trust no one, you need to check for your self". I have never trusted anyone since to tell me the power is off. I miss that man....
My DAD told me he would never be my friend because friends come and go. He was my DAD thats more important, He can kick me in the ass when I do wrong and pat me on the back when I do good. But most of all FEAR him and NEVER NEVER DISRESPECT HIM or my ASS would be six feet under...... I never did test him on it for some reason I think he was telling the TRUTH
My Dad wasn't a car guy, he liked cars, but only stock, he once told me that putting duals on a V-8 to increse power was "a bunch of balony". He did teach me about life and with his disciplin probably kept me out of jail. I was always more worried about the old man than I was about the cops! He did teach me how to shoot and hunt, and left his deer camp to me.
couple of things... one pops is a machinist.. so "close enough" isnt... and.... Im 6'5"... 330 ... and bigger then he. His favorite thing to tell me is "you might be bigger, and faster... but I'm meaner".... he is.
there is always enough time to do it right never enough time to do it over maintance is cheep insurance
Three things that come quickly to mind: "There's no need for that kind of language" (yeah, that kind.) On women: "Get used to it." On doing something really stupid: "There's always that line on the application form that says 'Have you ever been arrested?'" I still wonder at times how what I do looks in his eyes. I'm trying to instill the same ideas in my daughter's mind now.
At the age of 15 my dad bought a 65 Dart Gt from a co worker and we towed it home. The next day he gave me the keys and said you better get started fixing that car if you are going to have it drivable for you 16Th birthday. Well it was ready and and it made me respect cars. That was the beginning of a life long addiction of hot rods. He always said boy do it the right way our do not do it at all. Thanks Dad
`my dad taught me WHAT the tools did and HOW to use them.. then he made me use them.. hahaha. as soon as he figured i had it all figured out he stoped working on the family cars.. i was 12 then.. and from then..till about two years ago he watched me fix his and my ma's cars and trucks.. till i told him i was done with his shit and it was time to come out of retirement. he's happyer now working on his vehicals then when i was doing it all, i think he just forgot the joy of it.. but he remembers now.. and he's building a 59 international B100 gasser right now. also.. he had an odd teaching method.. he'd watch me do something and wait for me to fuck up before he would tell me how to do it. he said "you've got to learn what not to do before you learn What to do".
My Dad was a quiet and reserved man who had a gift for almost anything mechanical. Cars, farm machinery, appliances, it never seemed to matter. His theory was "A man built it and I can fix it." He tackled every job with the patience of Job and the tenacity of a pitbull. His early years were spent working a fulltime job and repairing vehicles and farm stuff nights and weekends. Supporting 3 kids and Mom took every penny , but I never heard a complaint or a word that showed He begrudged any of it. We had some darn lean times, but never went hungry or cold. He left the house every day with the attitude that hard work and a bit of faith would see him through. Watching Dad while growing up taught me the rewards of hard work, the value in being responsible, and the thrill of solving a problem by yourself. He was always willing to listen and give his advice or opinion, but believed that you learned by making you own choices and accepting the consequences. Dad passed away almost 4 years ago. While I miss him terribly, I know the lessons he taught and the example he set got me where I am today. Thanks, Dad! .
My ol man taught me to work honest and fair. At 11 years old I hit my finger with a hammer and I cried he said dont cry swear if fells better.
I learned a lot of fab skills from my Dad at a very young age. How to gas weld, arc, wire feed, fill holes, hammer and dolly, shrinking, stretching, and even controlling my temper after seeing him lose his and send something flying which invariably wrecked something else. The one I joke about though was being young and holding the trouble light, of course it would alway drift to something I wanted to see not what he wanted to work on... As he would yank the light out of my hand and reposition it he would "GOD DAMMIT CAN YOU SEE BECAUSE I SURE AS HELL CAN'T"
At the workbench in the basement since we didn't have a garage: "Here, hold this wire while I see if this thing works." I was too young to have any idea what it was he was working on as he gives it a quick flip. It was then I learned what a magneto was
No old man to teach me anything...learned on my own or I walked.If my chain fell off my bike I learned how to put it back on myself.This progressed to go-karts then cars.I built my first motor at 14.I bought a 1963 Impala S.S. no motor or trans 125 bucks. the car was only12 years old...I had it running and driving by the time I was 15. I only made a buck twenty five an hour workin in a chopper shop.John the owner taught me patience,pride in my work,craftsmanship! He was the Dad I never had! Thanks John Earhart!
My Dad didn't much care if I liked old cars. He often told me that he quit working on old cars the month he made enough to buy a new one. And that he did do. Both my Grandpa and my dad did say this which helped alot especially when using a hack saw or any saw, "let the tool do the work, a smarter guy than you designed it to keep us all from getting tired using them."
One thing I can still remember my dad saying to me is 'don't get yourself into anything you can't get yourself out of'. He started saying that before I really understood what it really ment but it was always in the back of my mind. When I got older I came to realize the scope of it and I never had to call him to get me out of trouble. When by two boys were growing up I started telling them the same thing. They must have been listening. Oh and one more thing he used to say all the time, 'if you want anything done right, do it yourself'.
Not my dad but an old guy i used to work with "to find the most efficent way to do things give the job to the laziest guy in the place he doesnt want to do it again" When your at work next have a look at your fellow workers and see if it is you
my dad wasnt a car guy just a hard workin southern boy.worked in a factory all his life to give us a home in the burbs and nice things. he couldnt turn a wrench and he couldnt hit a nail if it was 2 ft wide.but he taught me to be a man.to take care of my own.and that they come first.and he never told me none of it .it was just watching him. i still miss him and everything i build i wonder what he would have thought of it. and hes been gone for 25 yrs.
My father was a pretty miserable SOB, but I do know he loved me because of all the sayings/advice I had repeated for me constantly. Of the hundreds, the best advice that I credit to anything I have been able to accomplish in my life: "If one idiot can do it, there is no reason why you can't!"
The Jalopy Journal
