Being a Dad is Cool.......

Keep this thread going and share some of your father / son / daughter stories!

My son Justis is hoping for a big win this year in the Pinewood Derby. He has been doing most of the work, with a little nudge here and there from Daddy. I am enjoying this just as much as him, talking trash to the other Dads just like he does to the kids in his pack at school.

Thanks to all the friends on this board who shared tips and tricks to help us out. This place is great!

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=7634777#post7634777


Wish us luck and stay tuned to this thread for updates on how we do!

 

Good for you for ruining him the right way. And Yes, being a Dad is the greatest opportunity on the planet.


Tim

 

I agree have my 2 and a half year old son in the garage often "helping" me but one thing that I will say dads with young kids dont hammer and dolly in front of them, they might want to "help" do body work on the side of you car

 

Being a dad is great

My Daughter Sadie

 

me and my boy worked on my 1936 Ford coupe years ago together he was 16 at the time, i had pics but my old computer took a large dump....
we still work on cars(his mainly) but not HAMB friendly....

 

Being a Dad is cool! My son is not into cars but my daughter can't wait until the 33 is on the road. Our winter project has been building a "stroller" for my grand daughter. She'll be a hot rodder too! I was an Eagle scout and had fun with pinewood derbies back in the day. Good luck with your project!

 

Greatest thing ever! I took my son fishing today, it was in the mid-40s and I was freezing. He didn't want to leave! Oh yeah, and at age 3 he's allready a motorhead.

Heres some shots.

Joey the third and my niece (6 weeks younger than him) in "his" car.

 

washing grandpa's 32

 

Oh Man....Pinewood Derby. I remember helping my 2 sons when they built their cars. We had 110 kids in the cub pack at the time. Talk about a busy evening on race day. Whew. Being a Dad is something very special.

 

I see a bunch of awesome dads here. Wish my old man and me had that kind of fun when I was that age. I had to teach myself along with my father later on in life. Thanks for the notes with my future children.

-Seth

 

sorry, double post

 

I started my son off early with car stuff...going to drag races...building models...working in the garage...bought him tools....then one day in the shop I was explaining something to him..he politely stopped me, then proceeded to explain in great detail the mechanical principle I was trying to show him, since then I get to help him in the shop.

 

here is my best friend`s(Phaeton Tub) kid Samantha "Pitbull"(as i like to call here) working helping dad wire up the shoebox for a customer....LOL. don`t tell the customer...Shhhhhh
She hangs with us all day long getting greasy, using air tools,etc. I love that kid.

 

Cars and kids lesson #1:

The words "Don't touch that lever" are guaranteed to send your kid and your car for a backwards ride down the driveway and across the street!

 

Mine grabbed the lever on my car lift, my heart stopped. Another time he flicked the switch on the bench grinder. I never realized how dangerous the shit we work with is until my kid comes into the shop.

 

When my daughter was about five she would come out to the shop and help. She would sit on the bench and sort nuts & bolts. When she would get bored with that I would give her an old carb to tear apart. She got to the point that she would try to put the carb back together, she had a 40% success rate. My boys wern't interested in the shop. My daughter still works on her own cars.

Lee

 

Here is me and my oldest son. They sure grow up fast!

 

You Dads are so very lucky ! I only have one daughter and she is 28 now and doesn't want anything to do with cars ! Maybe one day I will get a grandchild that I can show how to build cars !
Just teach them well and keep them away from the damn video games and on-line FB computer games so they will understand what life is Really about !
Enjoy them while you can because before you know it they are married and gone to live with someone else !

Retro Jim

 

My daughter has always been my brake bleeding assistant and attends some of the car shows with me each year especially one that's held around Father's day. I always showed her how to do some of the normal car maintenance etc and was one proud dad when she told me how she had jump started her Sorority sisters cars on occasion while at college. She always tells me how she gets surprised reactions when she talks cars with some of the guys she runs into. She moved out a couple of years ago, is getting married this summer and moving to another state, but I'm sure that besides the occasional visits we'll be texting/skyping car stuff as usual.

 

I have a lot of blessings in my life,... ( I had awesome grandparents And Parents,.. And I have a fantastic Wife) But my two (adult) Children are so very special to me.... I love them so very much and am so very proud of them. I am honored to be there Dad. They have turned into very good men,... But I can't tell you how much I miss them and the fun we had when they were little,..

Being a Grandpa is like a second chance,... the only things in life worth loving,.. are those that can love you back. I currently have two wonderful Grandsons,..... And they are "Papa's" Pals.






And (below) My first Grandson Ike,... My new Grandson Jake is 5 weeks old

After a P&J (some still on his face) Ike bolts down the body on his Uncles project.

 

By far my kids are more fun than any car I could build!!!

 

I love being a dad

She stole his restored murrey with vanity plate, leaving him with the replica lol

 

hmmmmm where do I start????

18 years ago this month my son was born

at 3 he loved hotwheels cars
at 4 he loved his powr wheels BigFoot truck (that he could drive him self)
at 7 he got the new edition schwinn stingray
at 8 he abandoned being a gear head and became a jock!
at 17 he said dad this truck is cool can we buy it?
and lower it and paint it hot rod black
( I love my son)
14 years ago my daughter was born
at 3 she got a barbie Powr wheels Jeep she got bored with it...
at 6 she started ballet classes
at 8 she said ... dad ... can I have a race car!
at 9 she drove it for the first time
at 11 she won her first event!
at 12 she won the national points championship ( and retired)
at 13 she became a high school freshman and has earned 3 varsity letters so far
at 14 she says dad.... when josh goes away to college the truck is mine right?
I wanna repaint it! myself!

do I love being a dad???

you bet !!!!

 

My only regret raising my kids is that I couldn't spend more time with them. I did manage to do the coaching bit but before I knew it they were off to college. The oldest is 25 now and we see each other a few times a month. Spend as much time with them while they are young.

 

Being a Dad is one of lifes greatest gifts, and also a pain in the rear sometimes. I remember when I got my first car OT "76 Pontiac Astre wagon, it needed a starter so my Dad watched me change it out, when i was done he said "I guess I could've let you use some air tools, instead of doing it all by hand". I always remember that when I do things by hand. Flash forward about 15 years, I was working on putting power locks in my '62 Bonneville, my then 2 yo daughter was helping me. every time i put down a tool or part she would pick it up and try to give it back to me,"here Daddy". It took me 3 times longer to disassemble the door, but it was worth every minute. My 2 boys love it when I drive them to school in it, they want all their friends to see them cruising in Dad's hotrod. Life is good.

 

Adding the weight today.

 

Some of the Best times i've had are in the shop with My daughter and the boys,still try to help even though we are a 1000 miles apart...(vacation times)I worked in a machine shop for 12 years and seen lots of mishaps. Glad to see your teaching him right ...seen a young man put a file through his hand from a lathe. no handle on the file. Nice to see the sleves rolled up seen a fella have an old shop coat ripped off when it got caught in the chuck, good thing it wasn't a new one it could have been worse...Safety should be #1, glad to see it...Dads and kids in the shop are life time memories....
Jim

 

You guys may not understand how threads like this can keep people going some times.

My wife and I have been trying for a long time, and no luck. Failed IVF attempt, $15,000 gone. New doctors, new insurance.....you can't imagine the stress. I could go on and on with all the failures. We have both started to come to grips that its not going to happen, but we are still trying.

I have never been a "kids" kind of guy, most peoples kids just annoy the crap out of me. But I would love to have a helper in the garage. Someone to learn all the stuff I learned. Teaching them all the cool stuff I was taught. I had a great childhood, and we were dirt poor. But growing up around cars really instills a good work ethic, and an appreciation for doing things with your own 2 hands.

You guys are really lucky. I hope some day I can post some pics to this thread.

 

My kids are 10 and 12 now and they love being out in the garage with me. My daughter is 12 and is always the one that helps get the car ready for shows or cruises. My son is the one that wants to use the tools help under the hood or what ever I will let him do. This is stuff that I never got to do with my Dad before he passed away last summer from cancer. There was always a plan to do a project like this with him but life happened and everyone was always too busy. I won't let my kids have that same regret when they get older, I am trying to make as many memories with them as possible that hopefully they will pass on to their kids. Take every opportunity to do something with your kids before it's too late, never say I wish I would have...