Hot Rods Any father and son stories out there?

Dad wasn't much into cars, but when I bought the 1st car I ever owned my self, he helped me change the motor after I blew it up. we did it in his spotless clean garage. It was my 1st motor swap, and his 1st for at least 16 years. It was somewhat of a circus. When we finally got done (about 3 days after we started) the "new" motor we put in didn't have any oil pressure, so we got to do it again! The second time only took 2 1/2 days, but at least it ran and had oil pressure when we got done. The garage clean up was another event. After the motor swap, dad didn't let me work on anything in his garage.
That mess didn't stop me, I went on to be quite a motorhead. Lots of fast cars. I remember one time dad took one of my cars to go do something. I didn't ride along, but after he returned an hour later, I asked him how the car ran. The only thing he said was "Its fast."

My son grew up around dirt track racing, hot street cars, and a constant flow of high performance Mopar cars through his life. When he was about 8, I bought a basket case 35 Dodge 2 door sedan. Shortly after, I opened my welding shop part time, I took the 35 to the extra space in the shop to work on it when time was slow. I was working a full time job, then working at the shop evenings. The build was progressing along nicely, and I decided to enter the still unfinished car into a car show 8 months away. My wife would bring my son to the shop after he got off the school bus, we would eat there, and all 3 of us would work on the car until it was time for time to go home and go to bed.
Suddenly, my shop got really busy. I had to quit my full time job to work at the shop during the day, but we were still working on the 35 nights. Then business really picked up and I had to take the 35 home because I was working so many hours, and needed the space the 35 was occupying. It took about 3 months to get caught up enough I could bring the 35 back to the shop and we all started working on it again. We were way behind for making it to the car show. Things got really crazy, I had my wife and son, a few friends, and a couple customers that stopped by to help with the 35! A month before the show date, the motor ran for the 1st time. 2 weeks before the show, I got the windshield, the rear quarter windows, and the rear window installed. Things were really getting crazy now! On the week of the show, we planned on leaving on the Thursday morning. Monday that week, the car had only been driven a couple blocks, around the shop area, not more then 20 mph the show was nearly 500 miles away on the interstate! That Wednesday evening, I drove the car to a local cruise in, then back to the shop to check the vitals, then drove it 10 miles home. My son was staying with friends, but he was proud to be able to work on the 35. My wife and I left for the show at 8 am. for nearly the entire month before that, I was working on the 35 nearly 20 hours a day and it was catching up with me fast! I got us to the interstate and left my wife take over the driving chores with a few instructions. I fell asleep in the p***enger seat. I woke up a couple hours later to see the p***enger side windshield covered with oil, and my wife p***ing everyone on the interstate! I did a quick figure and determined she was cruising along at about 100 mph. I was awake then! I told her we needed to stop and get gas, so we hit the first gas station we came across. The oil was about a quart low, and at higher rpm it was pushing some out of the breather. There were some minor deals we had to deal with, but given what we had done in such a short time, I was OK with that. We enjoyed our 1st trip to Back to the 50s in St Paul. that 35 was a great car, in 7 years we put 66,000 miles on it, the first 4 years nearly 13,000 miles a year, that last year probably only 2,000 miles before it was sold.
My son and I have built several cars together since those early days.

 

Hello,

When I was a little toddler, I talked, but rarely. My older brother was a gabbing machine. He learned talk very early and took off from there. Our mom saw him in the morning and then was missing all day until dinner time. (he was hanging around with some 20 something guys in the neighborhood and they taught him some no so nice ways to be and to talk in slang. Our mom just could not figure out where he got that language and at***ude.

Our dad was always there and he felt sorry for me, I guess. My brother learned to ride a bike from his older friends and our dad was wondering where he learned that. So one day, he took me to a downtown Long Beach toy store called Toytown and we wandered around. He wanted to get me a trike and I wanted a bicycle like my older brother. Then I saw my choice staring at me right in the corner of the store.

For lack of a better name, I called it a “pumpmobile.” You sat down and pulled the “T” handlebar back to make it go forward. The twist of the “T” handle was the steering. So, I was the only kid in the whole neighborhood with such a funny form of transportation. That opened up a whole new ball game as I could now go down the streets and find my friends' trailers. We were not allowed to go outside of the whole complex of trailers. But, the compound was many blocks long and wide.

Jnaki

Then when we moved to a real house, my brother was off and running around the whole neighborhood. He did not want to drag a little kid around with him, so he took off early each day he was not in school. Again, our dad was worried that I would get left behind, being such a quiet kid. I did not care where my brother took off for the day. I had plenty of things to do around this new Craftsman House with a huge yard and a giant gr***y field behind our house.

One day, our dad told me to meet him at the corner of the long block at 5:45 pm. That was the time he usually came home from work and so, there I was "standing on the corner… not in Arizona," but in the Westside of Long Beach. The neighbors wanted to know if I was lost. But, knew our folks and watched from afar. At 5:45 p.m. my dad came driving up in his 1941 Buick Fastback Sedan. He pulled to the curb and told me to climb in.

He wanted me to steer his Buick back down the street to the parking curb in front of our Craftsman house.

I was scared and happy at the same time. My brother was off and playing somewhere and so, I was given the chance to do something by myself. Our dad felt I could do it and told me to keep the car away from the other parked cars and grab the steering wheel at the position he liked the most. (Well, later on, we called it the 10-2 hand position.) My name for the position was "hang on for dear life.."

So, for the next month, I was able to steer the big Buick right up to the curb. I could see the curb coming up as I was standing on the seat to look over the dash. One the first several times, I hit the curb with the tires. But by the time a week rolled by, I was parking the Buick on the curb without hitting, s****ing or going up on the curb. Now, it was getting fun. My dad allowed me to do this fun experience, while my brother was no where to be found.

I was able to do the same thing in the next several months and then our dad bought a larger black 4 door 1949 Buick Roadmaster Sedan. But, at 5:45 p.m. he met me at the corner and allowed me to steer the new, big Buick down the street and park parallel to the curb.

Then one day, my mom wondered where I was at 5:45 each day. She could not find me anywhere. So, she waited and when she saw me standing up steering our dad’s big Buick sedan to the curb, she went ballistic. Our dad got the string of words like a tidal wave. I did not know my mom had those words inside.

Secretly, my dad was so cool to allow me to steer, teach me the finer points of steering a car and a moving one at that. The fun thing was that it was learning perspective, but did not know it. Judging the distance from other large vehicles, curbs and steering angles all came to light many years later. It was something I will never forget.

Did he do the same thing with my brother? NAH… That kid was a disappearing kid and did not care about our dad’s Buick sedan. But, I certainly had a ton of fun and a fantastic experience. Perhaps, that is why I like driving any car, truck or motorcycle while in our teenage to 20 something years, leading up to now. YRMV

Thanks, Dad...

Note:
Today, I could relive those adventures from those old Craftsman House days as a little toddler. But going down the same Westside of Long Beach city street is available, but would not be the same. Why? Instead of a long row of cool old homes, it is now a local school district school, park and maintenance compound. So, our Craftsman House is “gone with the wind…”

 

My Dad knew nothing about cars! He learned only to live with an oil stained driveway and a endless number of mostly unfinished hot rods and 55' Chevys and parts all over the place. I found an almost new 66' Chevy II SS, 350 4-speed. I asked him to take me to the notary when I bought the car. I also asked the guy to PLEASE not light the tires up on the way over. My Dad was thrilled I was buying a shinny painted new car rather than the unfinished messes in the garage and driveway. He was proud that I finally was growing "up". It was all good till we were about there at the notary and the guy I bought the car from launched it at the light and it covered us in tire smoke. My Dad didn't say a word to me for weeks.

 

First let me say I just started reading this thread. { No son but 2 daughters.} My dad was a car person as in that he just liked a nice new car. Dad never bought a used car. He would buy a brand new Convertible about every five years just for Sundays, and road trips. He would also buy a family station wagon about every 3 years for work and daily use. At 16 I learned to drive on his new 1967 Bonneville convertible. I still have that car. He said that he would help me get a brand new car and that I could Finance it through him. He also did that with my brothers and sister. But I didn’t want a Vega, or any other new cookie cutter car. I was a Hot Rodder from my pedal car days. So my first car was a 38 Chevy coupe that I bought for $600. and a used Vette that I got the same year. I had been driving the Bonneville convertible up to that point. I Hot Rodded the Vette, and the 38 Chevy coupe. I still have the Vette also. He was, and is the Best Dad ever! As for my kids. My oldest daughter just likes the looks, and driving my old cars. So she will get the Nomad some day after I’m gone. But my youngest daughter is a Hot Rodder! She wants the Vette, UFO , and the 34 delivery. So they will be hers. They are both okay with that. Thanks

 

My Dad was a hot rodder when he was young but gave it up when the kids came along. Fortunately he had a dismantled 57 corvette when that happened. When i was growing up we didn’t do any car shows, swap meets or races. In the summer between my junior and senior years in high school he couldn’t take my har***ment any more. We dug out the old vette and started rebuilding it. We finished right after i graduated in 1985. After that we started going to car events together but by then it was time for my “life” to begin. We still made it to several big events every year until his health got in the way. He wasn’t a ******** hot rodder but he loved his old vette. I now have the old vette. I don’t have a son and my daughter and son in-law have no interest cars. My 9 yo grandson likes hot wheel cars but he’s a hockey player so once he out grows the toy car that will probably be the end of it.

 

By 4 or 5 dad had me hanging out in Hank Albers shop in Bismarck ND while they worked on Hanks Sprinter. Even sitting in a running Midget at that time. We have had many car adventures since then and still going strong.

Hanks car that dad wheeled at least once PS, don't tell mom.

 

my oldest son and i loved working on cars together,
when he was 14, he had saved up quite a bit of money and bought his first vehicle without my knowledge.
on one hand i was pissed, but then i saw the truck, and it was perfect!
pissedoff quickly turned into proudness when he told me about his 61 F100

he spent the next few years replacing brakes, tuning up the 223", and some body work.
this child took it upon himself to get on it every chance he got!
was a great time.
by the time he got his license, we had given it a oki OD green paint job.
new rims and tires.

he drove it all through highschool with only 2 break downs.
his petronix ignitor had taken a **** in the highschool parking lot
and when at work one day his clutch linkage busted.
both times, he didnt call me, he did what i taught him.
he fixed it on his own with his own resources.
there was an open invitation for my help from the jump, but he wanted to do it on his own.
which made me super proud!

then we proceeded to restore the car i brought him home in from the hospital, a 1968 pontiac lemans.
i gave it to him on his 16th b day, completely dis***embled and sand blasted. but as this car is too new for the board, i wont go into it too much, as without my son, restoring would have been boring.

fastforward several years, and he decided to join the Navy.
and on one phone call after basic training, he expressed the will to turn his truck into a 4 wd.
he came home for 2 weeks on leave, and we spent the entire time working on his truck!
the next several years, he would come home anytime he could and we would do 2 week long thrash sessions on it.
but i only wanted to work on it while he was here, as it was OUR project.

about a year and a half ago, we had it finished, and we loaded it up on a shipping trailer and sent it 2800 miles to his duty station in VA.

super proud of the man this child has become.

i wasnt fortunate enough to have a father that was into cars, so i was in heaven giving my child this experience
now i have twin 7 year olds, and the im about to go through all of this again!

 

Loving these stories. My Dad wasn't in to cars and both my sons aren't either. They both have great mechanical abilities but hate wrenching... In fact I usually feel like I am a weirdo about my love of cars, I hate to hunt, watch sports, I am a real weirdo ... oh well....

 

[QUOTE="Greg Rogers, post: 14772608, member: 288225"In fact I usually feel like I am a weirdo about my love of cars, I hate to hunt, watch sports, I am a real weirdo ... oh well....[/QUOTE]
Can relate!

 

My son and I were going through some difficult times ,we built the Hilltown Shaker as a 3 year father son project, it was very instrumental in repairing our relationship, we learned a lot about each other and built a great race car together . This season is the 10th year running the car together and we both enjoy it and are a good team . We finished top 10 in the Mid Atlantic Nostalgia Drag Racing ***ociation points last year .

 

I guess I’m in the wierdo club too! I fact I may be a charter member!

 

A few photos of my son making my first LSR race car his street hot rod.

 

I sure wish I had a story about my old man fix'n cars with me but my oldman was a newspaper reporter that loved painting pictures and drinking beer. My sister's and I still get a laugh at how mechanically inept he was, when I was 10 or so he made an attempt at fixing the leak in the kitchen sink. I just remember him sitting on the floor beating on the pipes with a hammer and swearing like a mad man with his plumber's **** hanging out.
The only thing automotive I got from him was a p***ion for Fords, growing up we had four of them. He also bought HotRod and model cars and helped me build a wooden gocart with a steering wheel, we used that cart up. Dad did plenty of things with me just not car stuff.

 

My son rebuilt his first Holley last night. He was surprised how easy it was.

 

When I was about 10, I got to help my dad fix the brakes on our 1957 3/4 ton IHC farm service pickup. Learned to hone wheel cylinders, clean up components and, was schooled in full floating vs. semi floating axles. A few years later he helped me pull transfer case out of my 1956 4x4 3/4 ton IHC. We washed it out, replaced worn bearing and installed it. Same thing with bad trunnion bearing in front axle. There was numerous other farm projects, in addition to building a bicycle from junk parts; learned a lot about what makes power and what makes speed from that.
Dad p***ed his 1965 Mustang to my nephew. He just turned 18. He and his dad have been out to my shop several times doing some winter repairs. It is fun working with my nephew on this.
My ot old 4wd Ford is in pieces, a full blown restoration in progress. I wish my dad was able to be here and guide me. I think how my dad would solve a problem that I occasionally encounter with the old Ford. I build pullers for bearings, as he probably would have if needed.
Dad p***ed in September of 2021. I sure miss him.

 

My first memory is of dad adjusting the valves on the 390 in his 72 F-100 Ranger. I was a toddler; he was sitting on the inner fender, and I wanted to see what he was doing. I stood on the milk crate he had used to climb under the hood, I still couldn't see so I climbed on the bumper grabbed the radiator support stood still couldn't see so I started to use the grill as a ladder, when he saw what I was doing he picked me up put me on his lap and when back to work.
Looking back, I don't know how he was able to run the valves with me on his lap.

When he came to the hospital to pick my mom and me up, he had three gifts for me, a teddy bear, a Matchbox car, and 3/8 through 9/16 Snap-On wrenches. I still have the bear, the Matchbox and the wrenches.

Dad and I with my 53 Chevy-

 

My Dad just p***ed this Tuesday , he’s the very “Happy “ one in the back with the ‘Stach.

an absolute legend in the fact he could do it all , he was a car guy did all his own work owned mostly Lincoln’s but did foray into mustangs and older 59’s stuff .

when I was 16 I had an o/t camaro and bought one of those elebrock kits off one of my older brother friends ( heads , intake , cam , ignition , carb and headers )

anyways they sat on a shelf in the garage for about 6 months and I would always “ bench race “ those parts when my buddies would come over .

One day my dad had enough of my b.s’ing and called me out say those parts ain’t worth a **** sitting on a shelf and to get them on my car .

full of anxiety and scared ****less that my car would never run again I tore it down and built it back up with him helping along the way . Man that was fun

helped with all my cars I built in his garage while I lived there , busting my balls but always willing to help me , my friends , family whoever needed it .

just freaking fantastic , thanks for this thread .

 

Sorry for your loss.
Keep those memories and he will always be around in your mind.

 

My son Chuck sitting in my 57.
30 some years later, here is Chuck taking his son for a ride at the track.
Chuck is a firefighter/paramedic, so he put blue lights in his race car grill.

 

Wow. So sorry for your loss man. Praying for you and your family.

 

Very sorry for your loss. Good dads are a blessing.

 

Sorry for your loss. Sounds like you had a great Dad. Cherish the memories.

 

My dad wasn't mechanically inclined but willing to try anything. In about 1955 he traded in the '41 Pontiac (in my avatar) and bought a '52 Henry J. It didn't run very well so he went up the road to his brother-in-law's junkyard, borrowed his tools and took apart the engine to find what was wrong. It was a bent valve stem which he replaced. Ran like a top after that. My mother was so impressed by his ingenuity that she mentioned it often, which lit the gearhead fire in me. By the time I was 15 he had moved on to a '62 Valiant stationwagon but had kept a '53 Willys Aero Ace two-door hardtop. That summer he guided me in overhauling the 161-cubic-inch F-head engine. It ran beautifully when I was done. I had hoped my parents would let me have it when I turned 16, but my mom was vehemently against it and my dad acquiesced to her concerns to keep the peace. By the time I was 19, I was in college, working three jobs in the summer and decided to buy my first car. Just to spite my mother I bought a '29 Model A standard coupe. I rebuilt everything on it from stem to stearn. Dad helped when and where he could, but I also got help and advice from my next-door neighbor (an airline mechanic and MoPar guy) and catty-corner neighbor (a big truck guy) behind our yard, both lifelong mechanics. After driving the Model A for a year the catty-corner neighbor called my parents one afternoon to tell them he had just traded in his '64 Barracuda after driving it for five years. He knew I'd always admired that car, which he bought new and kept pristine. He said the dealership gave him $900 credit on a trade-in and if we went over to the dealer that day, he thought they just might let it go for that amount. My mom had just inherited some money after the death of my grandfather and was eager to get me out of that Model A, so she loaned me the money to buy it and finally made up for blocking me from getting the Willys. My dad was thrilled for me, too, and spent time helping me tune up and maintain both the Model A and the barracuda.

 

My dad and I were never close, just two different personalities i ***ume. I was a kid hot rodder (even being called down in a service by the preacher in a Southern Baptist Church) and loved everything mechanical. Only one time did he endure me, he took me to some drag races on a Sunday and i think he actually enjoyed them a little. I'm a real old man now but have never forgotten that one Sunday with my dad. I'd give a hell of a lot old cars for that one day.

 

VANDENPLAS , sorry to hear about your Dad , he sounds just like my Dad . We were both very lucky .

 

Well my dad is not really a huge car guy. Most know at this point that my grandpa and I are a team in the shop with our stable of stuff. I've pretty much been in the garage with him in a high chair and have learned all my wrenching skills from him. We are still going at it. Doing little fixes on cars right now and getting ready to blow my 33 apart.

 

Great story. Great Father . Remember,he's always in the p***enger seat , right next to his son. Bless you.

 

Hello,

Our son grew up in a very low key lifestyle. My wife and I developed the way to get along with others with our knowledge of how to adapt to the wall of $%$#@ coming our way. When our son came along, we adapted like others did. We vowed to be the best shield and parents. Our influences were geared to how we saw the world and what was necessary for us as a family.

As much as we loved hot rods and motorcycles, the activities were geared towards our son. He had a great collection of hot wheels cars/trucks and we made it a father/son thing to go to antique stores to search for older models of hot rods for his collection. This was part of his “dad will go” thing as he and I also collected comic books starting with the oldest for our collections and the graphic novels.

He had the advantage of knowing things about cars when he watched me do maintenance stuff on our family cars. This worked out to his advantage as he trusted me to get him a good first car in his teenage years. We got him a great car that lasted over 100k miles of little to no damages or repairs.

When he moved away for college, he took his car and then called me to see if I knew anyone that could tune his car and service it for other things. Luckily, he was in Santa Barbara an I referred him to Bob Joehnck Automotive.

My brother had told me stories about the car repair stuff anyone could do at the time. But, suggested that with the history of Bob Joehnck and his staff, that was a place to go for our son. Plus, I did not want our son to be spending his time working on a car when he could be studying or actually, partying in Isla Vista. Yes!

So, when a problem with his car running funny, I asked him if he could do some minor work. He chuckled and said who in the area could do good work? Well, it was instantly Bob Joehnck Automotive for dependable auto repair and maintenance. Our son took his car there as he knew the streets in that portion of downtown Santa Barbara and they fixed it to run perfectly. Now our son was happy and had a competent place to take his car when necessary.

His continued visits to Bob Joehnck worked out as he had maintenance taken care of, but that car lasted for many more years up to 100k miles. It just kept running and when he was ready to move on, he gave it to an old friend in need, for a $1.00. That was after college in 1999. Today, his friend still drives that old car that we chose for our son.

So, after graduation, he got a sporty car until he could afford a nice reliable family sedan. No, he did not want one of his parent’s old cars, either. A parental side joke he had for our cars, worked in our favor, as we kept our cars for many years of no fix/pure delight road trips.

Jnaki

Our society has evolved for the new generations. Gone were the things that we used to do, go compete at the drags, cruise the local streets and end up at the drive-in restaurant for a meal or hot rod camaraderie a****st friends. His era was just starting in video games and hand held game units we all loved and played until the dark of night, with the color figures moving around creating an unusual glow in any darkened room.

He still can’t believe the same car he saw at a Cars and Coffee event he attended with his friends was similar to the one I drove in high school. Ha!

In his high school cl***, there was one guy that had a yellow 57 Chevy post sedan. It had American 5 spokes and a slightly modified motor. It was the only hot rod type car in the whole school of 2800 kids.

It was a rarity in all of the schools in the southern Orange County. Despite the automotive cl***es still hanging on for life in 1994, the work was usually done on VWs and foreign cars. Oh, one surfer cut his “hand me down” Volvo Wagon so it became a 4 door convertible. That did not last too long as the CHP deemed it unsafe and it got junked.

But, at least as old as we are, our son still asks us for car information before he buys a new/used car or a van. His generation usage or ***ociation with a “van” life on the weekends plays into the buy big for plenty of space… although they are all road hogs, but that is how our world goes.

He even tried an electric vw, despite the issues I pointed out. But, he had to try to make it fit his lifestyle. He sold it after several months of not being able to go see his friends in San Diego or Santa Barbara on one charge. YRMV

 

My dad wasn't really into cars but he had a '51 Ford Woody (probably the first new car he bought after the war) that he talked about up until he p***ed at 100. But he was a scientist having worked at Oak Ridge before ending up at General Electric's Missile and Space Division. He was able to use his electrical knowledge to help me rewire an Italian motorcycle using only the factory manual that was translated from Italian but could have been written in Greek as far as I was concerned. He put all four of his kids through college so no real time or money for fancy cars. But he was always a family first guy. He was always there for his grand kids no matter what. My son recently had a tribute tattoo in honor of his grandfather.