Projects What Drives Us? (Not What Do We Drive)

Very Well Stated Bill,

You got me by 17 years or so, but I don't see anything changing for me. It is not just the cars though, it is enjoying all the folks who are afflicted with the same cool disease as well.

I have been blessed to also work in this great hobby since I was a late teen (Burger King before that), so yes it is my Life!

One thing is for sure....I am NOT building another shop, I can't go through that again. What I got is what I got.

God Bless
Bill
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...ar-transport-hauling-open-or-enclosed.614419/

 

Well; I loathe modern cars(even the 2012 OT VW i drive daily), so...
my cutoff is 1990.(way past the HAMB 1965 date) but only for donor powertrain needs
My personal favorite cars are shoebox Fords, 1961-62 Falcons, and 63 1/2 Sportsroof Galaxies.
Just about anything made prior to 1966 is perfection IMHO.
I'd rather scrounge up bits for a Studebaker than drive a free Tesla.

 

Not sure I believe in this being hereditary or genetics? My dad was very good with his hands, but never did any repairs on the family cars, and no interest in hotrods. From the time I was 12-13 yrs. old I did any tune up or brake jobs on all the family cars, even including my older brothers and sisters cars. I just loved working on cars, but none of my siblings did.
When I was in high school in the late 60's my dad had a nice '59 Chev pickup and was unhappy with the power the six had. I talked him into letting me swap in a V8 and we went to the wrecking yard and bought a 300 HP 327 for $175 and his old 235 as trade in. Swapped it into his '59 Chev, and then he complained it had too much power. So I changed the linkage ratio on the throttle to make it less aggressive and he was happy it didn't spin the tires as easy when letting the clutch out.

 

Funny about the heredity factors, my grandpa on one side was an ill tempered blacksmith and the other was a mild mannered doctor. I guess that explains why I’m kinda quiet and peaceful until I hit my thumb with a hammer…..
Dad was going to be a doctor until I came along unexpectedly, then he switched to mechanical engineering.

 

Currently it’s lack of time! At almost 82 and just purchasing another race car, this one for my grandsons as I don’t believe I have the time to build another. The future is in them as I still do too much but that’s what keeps me young. My son and I are very happy they want to continue what we’ve enjoyed for over 50 years.

 

My father was not really into hot rods but he appreciated them more like art. I started building models at age 5 or 6. Almost all drag cars, I became obsessed with g***ers, altereds, rails, etc. For me hot rodding is a life style as it is for many of us on the hamb. Some of my friends and co workers just don't get it , and never will. And that's ok, I do not try to explain it to them at all. If I have to explain this life style odds are they won't understand anyway. Hot rods is a big part of who I am, my soul. Working in my little shop on the coupe is my sanctuary, my little world of bliss and contentment.

 

For me its an obsession with building. If it werent cars, it would be something else. I loved legos, erector sets and models. I put my first wrench to an old bicycle at the age of 7, and I was hooked. My dad built custom aircraft. My brother did carpentry. Mom was into sewing and knitting, and I do cars.

 

Wonderful essay. Car culture is the backdrop for my entire life. From plastic model building, to entering the Fisher Body Craftsman's Guild 5 times in my teens, to buying my '36 Willys coupe as a sophomore in HS and building and driving it for the past 60 years, to building half a dozen cars, to fulfilling my bucket list goal of reproducing Ed Roth's Mysterion show car, it is a definitional part of my life.

 

I've always been into mechanical things. Started with erector sets, asking for tools for Christmas and birthdays. My brother was older than me and always kept his stuff perfect and I always got his wagon, bike or whatever when he moved on to something new. My Dad told me later in life I never got anything new because I always took stuff apart, modified it, painted it and took parts off I didn't like. I think I graduated high school because of metal shop and auto shop. I worked for 45 years as a heavy equipment mechanic and still spending all my spare time with race cars and hot rods. Now after retiring a few years ago I get up sore and tired and wonder some days while I'm drinking coffee if I want to do anything that day, I always end up going into the shop and totally forget about all the other stuff after I get involved in my project and have to get reminded to come in and eat dinner. It's also a great joy to cruise in one of the cars you built. If I had to sum it up shorter than all this I would say it's good therapy.

 

I might argue it can be learned…. All my kids are adopted and they are car nuts too.

 

Very well written.Thanks for sharing.

 

In search of cool.
Best day ever is behind the wheel of your favourite…
The one we have today is cool, tomorrow’s might be even more cool.
We like to be with others that understand.

 

Time and frustration. I'm running out of time and have too much of the other . Knowing I was never going to get it built, I sold the Falcon wagon and parts car I promised to my daughter. She didn't come out too bad though, as I signed the ***le to the '48 coupe over to her with the understanding that I get to take it on my Texas two lane road trip. That's if and when I get all the finishing touches done.

 

When we grew up in the 50's there was cars and girls _ that's what drives us.

 

Exactly right. It is more about imprinting rather than genetics. A good example is followed more often than not.

 

It's our slot in history. I think it must be vary boring growing up today with your face buried in a phone. I feel blessed to be born when I was and not today.

 

To all of you...
Especially you, @hotrodA...
Thanks a lot for saying all that I've been thinking lately. And I might add, saying it quite well, too.

So it's not just me?
Obviously not.
Good to know I'm not alone.
I guess we must just like it a whole lot.
Runs deep.

Old golfers don't stop golfing just cuz they're old.
Thing is, they don't need to have a shop and all kinds of equipment to do it.
Wait... let me rephrase that.
They don't get to have a shop and all kinds of equipment.

Best wishes everybody!

 

I was raised in this life. I don't know why I stay sometimes, but I can tell you I had more venom and anger doing the head gaskets on my Duramax than anything I've ever worked on. Even faced with severely substandard work from a someone prior, it doesn't point me to kill mode like that truck did.

My car? I'm my own worst enemy. There may be 6 ways to Sunday to finish something and 4 are correct or simply acceptable. Me? I want it prefect. As of late, my cowl vent on the 39. I made a perfectly flat closed cell foam gasket. Looked nice in there. Vent door sat nice. Put it all together and 3 areas it would easily leak. Ok, ****. Thicker? Made a base for that to raise it ⅛". Nope, worse. Got a roll of adhesive weatherstripping that looks good. Hollow, should crush and seal. Put a small clipping between the joint so it doesn't leak when crushed. Dark shop, lights off, check the gap with a bright flashlight. None. Am I 100% tickled with it? Not really, I'd have liked it a little wider to fill the trough better, and look better when opened. The fit is as perfect as can be with an unrestored door in an unrestored opening. Way more time than that job should take. But...


Ok, I did restore the handle mechanism. My drive here? I don't want any leaks. I want to wash it in a coin wash with no concerns. I don't want to obsess if sudden rain washes out an hour at a gathering. I don't wanna hide under a bridge on the drive home. Domino effect. I'm doing the firewall rt now too. Don't even get me started on that. What drives me this whole project? A unique perspective. This one is for me. I'm gonna miss working on it, I can feel it. I'll obsess over a 65 GTO next

 

Ya;
Started with a hotrod I put together in the late 1950s,drove to Sr high school in 60;;; Still have it.
Get in my time machine,peel out,make tire smoke.
I did 40+ years of designing,building,driving race cars,many built for others,retired now just over 20 years...
I drive,you,drive,we all drive. Peel out !!!! A little youth leaking out of older bodys !!84 years young....

 

@hotrodA I appreciate posts like this. At "only" 62, I am beat. My body won't do what it used to. It hurts. When I see guys on here that have 10 or 20 years on me still chasing the dream, I am not only impressed, but motivated to keep moving forward on my projects. I have WAY more than I'll ever get to in this life, and think about culling the herd quite often, but still occasionally drag home another future project. Thankfully, I have an understanding wife. She just wants me to be happy. And this **** makes me happy.

 

I have proof this is true!
My oldest I adopted and he's been infatuated with cars since he was in diapers. I still remember being under my '55 Chevy g***er and feeling something bump me and when I turned to see what it was he was laying there beside me watching me work.
His younger brother is not adopted and has zero mechanical skills. He's been known to get rid of a car and buy a new car when he had a dead battery. He and his wife inherited a gorgeous '65 Chevelle SS a few years back from her father, and we're all hoping his wife can keep it going as she's more of a car gal.

 

Rochester, Michigan. Summer of 1960. I was 3 years old. We lived in a big two-story duplex in town owned by Clarence and Alice Nedrow. They lived on the other side of the house and had four teenagers. A daughter. And three boys who were definitely greasers. I was in love with the daughter. And the boys were like gods to me in their slicked hair and black leather jackets.
Dad and Mr. Nedrow were at work. As she often did, Mom was visiting Mrs. Nedrow, sitting at the kitchen table playing cards, drinking coffee. I was toddling around the place. The Nedrow's youngest son, Joey, was in the driveway just outside the kitchen with a couple of his friends under the hood of a black late '40s Ford Coupe. All of a sudden, I heard Vroom! Vroom! Vroom! I think I somehow knew what it was and ran to the door. I pulled back the curtain just a bit and looked through the window and was greeted by the cl***ic scene. Speechless little boy awe. Mom kinda barked at me. "Ricky... get away from that window!" I think she didn't want me influenced by the young hooligans.
Too late.

 

Another thought. I pal around with folks in the restoration end who are as much as 20 years my senior. Can't tell, at least not much more than a little less hair maybe a few extra bends in their sheetmetal

Pursuit of youthful goals keeps the mind young. One of my pals at Auburn over Labor Day didn't believe I was 68. "Damn dude, really? You don't look like it, or act like it." "Yeah, I'm really immature."

See what I did there?

 

For me, at the ripe old age of 50, this is about several things:
1. Finding balance with my day jobs (highly technical student information system implementations and teaching college students) so my hands have something to do. One without the other just doesn't work well for me.
2. Getting to see the tangible thing get better, and having that be cool. Looking at cool old cars is fine, but driving them is significantly better.
3. A bit of reconnection with my pops (who p***ed 2 years ago) and my childhood.

That said, probably like everyone here, I've had the occasional "why the hell am I doing this?" and sometimes even taken a break, but I've always found my way back to it.

 

Obsessive Compulsive Hot Rod Disorder

 

I bought my first Hot Rod magazine in 1959 when I was 9. In the 70's working on cars kept me off of most drugs, as I figured out I couldn't paint cars stoned. Not that I didn't try. Working on cars is the reason I get up in the morning. I love solving problems and modifying parts to fit where they were not ment to. Plus the big rush when you first start up a car that you have been working on for years.

 

For me the question becomes, why the old stuff?
Driving, and going fast, is just a thrill that anybody should enjoy.
The thing that I've always wondered is; how new is nice, but who cares?
The "Off Topic" site here does not tickle my fancy a bit. Less than a handful of times I tried.
My attraction to cars begins as a toddler. I was left to wander in the woods back of our house.
One day I reached the property of a bona fide mansion. the first building had an open door.
Peering in, I saw three large cars with tall skinny wood spoke wheels.
I understood that they must be from an earlier time, as my dad who( drove dump truck )
was buying distressed old cars. Fixing and flipping them had become his hobby.
They were usually pre War that were near end stage.
ANYHOW the awe of these treasures struck me.
My father's buddy made a hobby of collecting survivor model As and we used to go to meets.
As a teen when my neighbor learned of my p***ion he would keep an eye open for car mags as they were processed in his s****yard warehouse. Most Fridays I'd receive a handful of car mags.
Any and all publishers, were there. Coincidently the nineteen sixty's is when the performance and style quality felt the concern of style and economic distress.
So in sum take no offense please, but my wife is happy that I never watch football.

 

I can’t imagine a more enjoyable hobby/ vocation than building an old car. At 72 it’s sometimes difficult, but always satisfying. Can’t remember a time when I didn’t have a race car, project car or 4wd Willys to occupy my time and lessen my bank account. I still can’t believe I’m 72, my mind is still 19. At least I never took up golf.

 

It started with matchbox and hot wheels cars (my gateway drug) in kindergarten in 1967.
My cars have gotten progressively older, faster and more expensive ever since.

 

Just wondering what these wheels are from, from post #16: