Hot Rods So,.... What lit the fire in you ? The car that inspired you FIRST ?

Just a thought,..... What was the first car that inspired your interest Hot Rods ?... For me it was kind of inherent with a casual interest in all things Hot Rod (After reading Henry Gregor Felson's paperback Hot Rod. I consumed all things Hot Rod related). the first time I set eyes on the Doyal Grammel 32 Coupe I was hooked,.... And hooked bad. It grabbed all my seances. Style, proportion, performance, stance, An aggressive look and feel.

Several others have excited me in the same way over the decades,.... BUT the Grammel Deuce Coupe still is king of the hill for me in inspiration.

SO,..... What did it for you ? (please feel free to give all details,) would really like to hear your stories.

 

My dad was a lifetime car guy and I inherited a lot of my car guy vibes from him.
Norm's T as the Kookie Kar on 77 Sunset strip TV show is what actually got me into hotrods just as it did a lot of the other guys who are in their 70's. We sat glued to the tube every week waiting for that week's glimps of the T. We found Hot Rod Magazine on the Bookmobile and absorbed every page and then found the little magazines at the magazine rack at the store and spent part of our allowence on them a whole hard to come by 25 cents. I've still got most of those 60 something years later even though most of them are in sad shape.
Except at indoor car shows I was never around any real hot rods on a regular basis until I got out of the Army and got married.

 

I was seven years old when I saw this in the window of a toy store in Rome, Italy:

 

The car that inspired me first? That is the question. Well, That’s hard to answer since there have been so many but if I had to pick one it’d have to be a 1954 Mercury Montclair 2dr sedan ( lovely shade of butternut yellow, long story) that my dad owned many years ago.

 

I know it's the cleshe answer but Milner's coupe in American Graffiti.
After seeing it, I knew I wanted a hot rod!

 

Don't really know exactly when I started falling in love with old cars. I do remember watching Elliott Ness and The Untouchables on TV and became fascinated with those old boxy style of cars. And by the time I was 10 I was able to recognize that the car across the street from the house we just moved into was a genuine red 1932 Ford roadster highboy and it had a Y-block Mercury engine in it. In a couple of years I was reading every Hot Rod Magazine that came out and removing the green tint photos and pinning them on my wall. There was a lot of car enthusiasts in my home town and I ogled over a number of old hot rods

 

my dad was a car guy and always had a nice slightly customized plymouth and a couple fords hanging around when I was a little kid. then in 1955 dad started buying foreign cars like a Volvo and a Fiat and a Tamns (sp) then a used corvair greenbrier. 1965 he bought a 57 chevy wagon, quickly trading it on a 56 safari. in the same time frame He looked at a beautiful 40 Ford woody. he was tempted because it was priced at $750 and had a 48 Flatty in it. but he stuck with the safari because it had COLD a/c. (his first air conditioned car.) also during this period his employer gave us new company cars to use. 64 chevelle 300, a couple bel airs after that , and then dad got interested in stock 51 chevy sedans. had three of them over maybe a ten year period. then 5 falcons. 64 and 65. i’ll stop there because the rest are totally OT.

edit. oh. i forgot the 60 el camino. sometime in the early 70s. and a super low mileage 57 pontiac 4drht. (that Poncho was a blast to drive. even though it was stock… the thing ran perfect and fast.)

 

The Jim Getts Fairlane my brother bought it from him in 77. I could still remember the day he brought it home that changed every thing for me I was eleven at the time. My brother would be working on it until the we hours of the night in a small garage off my bedroom window I would sneak out to watch. I bought it last year after not seeing it since 1981.

 

Not sure I can point at just one.

 

My older brother bought a new Belvedere hardtop in 1957. It was black with a white top and the sportone stripe. It had the 301 with a four barrel and duals and a torqueflite. He nosed and decked it and added glass packs. As a ten year old I thought it was great. My brothers friend Richie had a 55 Crown Vic in pink and white. My other brother pinstripped it for him. On the next block the guy there had a 50 Olds coupe in black with no hood. He had tri-power with little chrome pots on it and very loud pipes. Around the corner there was a gas station and the mechanic had a late 30's Ford coupe cut up and modified to race at Freeport Stadium. All these plus a few more had an effect on me as a kid that gave me a "love" for hot rods and customs that I still have.

 

I was born in 55 in Milwaukee Wi, and I can't remember a time when I wasn't infatuated with cars My Mom and Dad's brothers and friends always had really sharp cars. looking back, they were hardtops and convertibles. Always polished up with tons of chrome and they aways had louder exhaust than other cars but not like the muffler fell off. By the time I was 10 I was saving my allowance and buying Model cars and car magazine's and reading Henry Gregor Felson also. I also saw pictures of Doyle's coupe and Big Johns Willys among others. Also, Watson paint jobs, Jefferies Manta Ray. The flood gates opened, and I needed to learn everything I could to build cars like those. My cars no matter what have to have custom body and paint, big motors and big and little tires on a nasty rake. My 51 Merc when finished will be heavily influenced by Jerry Titus's 70s era 49 Green Merc and Doyle's coupe. There is nothing lead sled about it. lol Larry

 

I already had an interest in cars from an early age but probably the Kookie Car in 77 Sunset Strip that came on our TV station over here probably late 1959 or early 1960. I was about 11 year old.I used to go to a friends place and watch their TV as my father hadn't made a decision to buy at that stage.
The I discivered hot rod magazines and I was hooked. Sold my bicycle when I was about 13/14 and used that to buy a 1938 Ford Club Roadster that I could drive around on the vacant block near our house. No licence at that stage until you were 17 years old. Had the disease ever since and 74 is coming up soon.

 

That book was read by myself several times. One year we were charged to pick any book for a report. One of the few times I did my assignment. We were car family,
Father, an A fanatic, and used car flipper, stepdad a life long grease monkey. Mom's nickname, Cowboy.
From what I'm reading here it is tough, for most of us, to remember 'The One.'
Through age seven we lived in an old farmhouse in Bucks co Pa. Summer nights, windows up I'd go to sleep hearing short pipes, open pipes. and glass packs on "Upper State Road" sorting out their differences.
After a relo to W. Philly one night while making our way through Jenkintown down 611 Ma pulled the car into a gas station and parked next to a Red Roadster, white top, cycle fenders dressed up mill ( ??? I wouldn't have known what FH- OHV Deuce or A body ) One thing was certain the reason she pulled in there was to let me get out and gawk.
During the 60s while accumulating used magazines I became struck by a California, deuce coupe, full fendered, chrome wheels. Memory tells me the owner/builder was Squeege Jerger. It was perfect.
Later, a neighbor was visited by a pal with an A coupe. They had taken the time to cover it with red checkers on the original black paint. Knew then a coupe would be my choice. See avatar

 

Of course the fact that my grandpa Al had a ‘54 F-100 in the garage, used a ‘59 El Camino as his daily driver and Grammy had a ‘62 T-Bird as hers, MIGHT have had something to do with it.

I remember the Batmobile, and the big ‘31 Caddy that Kirk and Spock tooled around in during the “gangster planet” episode - seen in reruns during the 70’s, because I’m not THAT old.

But, MAN do I ever remember this model kit…

 

https://www.squeegskustoms.com/vintage

Squeeg with no 'e'... Yes he has certainly done the Hotrod walk...I had his shop make the frame for the Model A I was building now @Fitnessguy's...

I did talk with him for a bit about it...he was put off by my choice of engine but it was something I won't forget, chatting with such a mover and shaker not to mention one from a land far away that notably has such a high bar in building Hotrod/Custom...

Credit to Photographer, Owner
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My influence in Hotrod was through a friend and his Father...

His father was always talking about the Hotrods, Customs and Motorcycles back home on the Island that was his home of his youth PEI...he had pics of some of those as well...no I can't share...but that combined with the California Kid and American Graffiti plus the mags and local indoor shows and swaps planted the seed really...I was 12 in 72 when I met them so Streetrodder, PHR and Hotrod were available...so it was multi spoked exposure and I do remember the Poster I had on my wall...the local street scene wasn't much of an influence as there wasn't much to be seen really...



https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/55-years-ago-we-will-never-forget.1179057/

...Originally out in 73 so as picked apart to death this has been us younguns had to start somewhere and it's still a plausible Period Hotrod regardless...

As @anthony myrick would say I'd drive it...

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So you Know Squeeg
Dang, Well Thank you Stogy. I did not know.
All featured cars in Peterson's mags, were one of two colors. They were either light green or dark green.
Could be why, PHR cars were more attractive.
Could be why, two of my projects, I want to finish in green.

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This one kicked it off for me........... and still tops my list. The Vern Matsushita C-Cab (by Dan Woods).
I know, a little outside the HAMB focus era, but what can I say.
She's a 70's style girl, but I fell in love young and she is still beautiful to me.

 

I only talked to him once...my frame was delivered right to my door in Ontario, by Duane if I remember correctly...I just thought I'd look up Squeeg, I suspect that's the Deuce you speak of...check that link...

I'm a youngun to you fellas...I had no clue of Hotrod at that time. When was that pre 65?...I was 5 in 65...

 

Stogy's faux pased again......I got Squeeg mixed up with Squeak Bell...my apologies...

That said the Squeeg I sourced out for @Tow Truck Tom is the Squeeg he spoke of...I don't think the two are in fact the same although I can say they are obviously both good at what they do...

The Senior Squeeg is likely the one that built that Coupe I shared...

His Son Doug took the reigns when he retired and carried on where he left off and survived a heart attack and continues to this day I believe...

 

Dad had a Midget racer, I grew up going to races all summer and he was a big race fan besides being a Midget car owner. We went to the Modifieds races all summer long, they ran 5 nights a week in the Milwaukee area, also all the races at State Fair Park. Starting young 8 or so my weekly allowance was getting a model car at the hobby shop, so I was building at a very young age, read his Hot Rod magazines, race papers, I raced into my 40's starting at 22 in his Midget. Cars from my beginning is my Passion, Hot Rod magazine was my Bible, Kookies car, then the McMullen 32 Ford roadster were my first car crush's. My first experiences with cruising, street racing was with a neighbor's son Jim LaRoy he came home from the service 1960, I was 12, he purchased a 57 Chevy Bel-Air 2 door hardtop and a Harley dresser with shift on gas tank. He took me along cruising in the 57 and I rode bitch on the Harley when his girlfriend had to work, what fun/excitement it was, set the hook big time. Cycles started early as my Mom rode with my Dad when pregnant with me, I rode on Harley's with my Uncle Chet from very young, my cousin Randy and I we started in the saddle bags, then front and back of Uncle Chet who drove Dad's midget 1952-58. So........... born into it, my destiny was/ is cars my Passion, this car hobby has served me well, I had/rode cycles from age 26 to 62. I have 5 kids, 3 from first marriage, 2 step sons, second marriage, still married, my second wife has been nominated for sainthood for putting up with me, None of the kids are CarCrazy or race fans, grandchildren all stick and ball/sports/music/dancing, all great people with different interests, I respect them for their independence/successes, all is good in my world. I have stated this many times, I'm a very Lucky man, blessed in so many ways, now old and winding down and realize now more than ever what a great life I've had, worked hard/played hard. No Regrets. Check out my albums, I do have pictures.

 

I grew up in a hot rod family. My earliest memories are from riding in my Dad's '62 Corvette. So I would say it all goes back to this car:

 

My folks never owned a car so all cars were of interest.

 

The Kookie Kar started me off till I saw the Greer Black Prudhomme car in Hotrod magazine... Those wide chrome valve covers made me a hemi guy from there on...

 

My Dad built a 29 Ford pickup back in the mid 70's when I was just a 13 year old kid. He bought it for $350 or so and it was in so many pieces that we had to make two trips to town to get it. I liked hanging around the shop with Dad and I helped with anything I could.(mostly holding the other end of things) He built it full fendered with a 327/350 a corvair front crossmember with Nova disk brakes, a jaguar rearend and painted it a tan color used by chevy trucks back then. The car had been a hot rod before with an early 50's Oldsmobile OHV V8 and a huge 4 speed automatic and an early Oldsmobile rearend and for weight or some other reason it had a bed floor made from 3/8" plate. It also had a plaque on the back by the headliner saying that it had been built for XXX by XXX but I don't remember the names.

I started reading hot rod magazines and going to show's and swap meets with him and I decided that I wanted to build a model A roadster so I got the Oldsmobile rearend from dad and found a model A frame at a friends house and rounded up a few more pieces and got frustrated because as a young kid I had no way to buy anything and all I could do is find stuff that was given to me. I ended up selling my pile for $45 and soon was collecting parts for my roadster project again. I ended up collecting a couple more piles of parts over the next several years, most were cast offs from my fathers projects and he was a child of the depression and didn't cast off much. In 1993 I went with my father to a local auction that one of the local model A guys had and I bought the shell of a 30 roadster with the doors welded shut, a plywood firewall, no subrails and no deck lid. It set in my dad's back yard and starting in 1997 we started putting it together. It ended up really nice with a 396 and a 671 blower and I sort of still have it today... I met my wife a few years later and eventually she claimed it and I've built another one and collected enough bodies and parts to build eight more (model A roadsters)

Here's the roadster that finally made it together when I was in my late 30's.

 

I don't have a photo. But for me, I was maybe 13-14 years old living in southern California, circa 1968 or '69.
One of the nieghborhood guys had a chrome yellow '57 Chevy, with a straight front axle, skinny Cragars up front, wide chromies in the back with radiused rear fender openings. I thought that was just bad to the bone. A while later, Hot Rod magazine featured a Nomad with straight front axle and Cragars up front. Except the motor was in the back! I remember that to this day and it's been more than 50 years.
I think that was what set the hook.

 

I grew up in a hot rod and custom filled house so I was always around them, but my 33 Ford pickup was the one the cemented hot rods for me. My grandfather built it right before I was born and I have grown up in the truck. Its pretty much part of me at this point. Taboo was then the car that got me sucked into customs. My grandfather had sold the car a few years before I was born, but when I was like 6/7 I was going through car photos my grandparents have saved and came across a picture of Taboo in the stack and I stared at it for hours. I kept it out and put it on the wall of my and would just stare at it, lol. I thought it was the coolest car ever. Buddies had their Lambo and Ferrari posters/pics to stare at, I had Taboo, lol.

 

Back in 1962 my brother had a friend who had a really cool 1937 Chevy sedan slantback. Cad Lasalle trans, sbc
3 two's, chrome interior moldings, red outside and silver tuck and roll. I was13 and hooked big time. My brother
had another friend who had a '37 Chevy sedan in his back yard, which he sold to me for $5. The spiders were free.
Towed it home, put in a 265" sbc, and sprayed it yellow in the carport with donated paint. Moved on from there
to the '40 Chevy in the picture, which my brother sold me for $200 when he left for Viet Nam. Still at it.

 

The Monster Rat Hot Rod wheelie burnout fenderless giant shifter art on my wallpaper . It glowed in the dark also and totally brainwashed me I was 5 years old and left it on the wall till Mom said I need to grow up ! Here I am Mom look at me !!!

 

Two come to mind, both owned by my dad. First is his 38 Chevy coupe. I still have it, and that's me in the bucket hat c. 1979. The other was a street-legal dirt champ car. This pic was on the way to Columbus for the nationals around '84.