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

You can argue nuture vs nature, for me I think it's a little of both. My dad was an engineer and a machinest and a jack of all trades and growing up in the 60s-70s when hot rods and muscle cars were at their peak probably fuled his obsession.
Spending the entirety of my existance around old cars ( There's a picture of my mom pregnant with me standing next to Caroll Shelby in front of their Shelby) and inherting a lot of my dad's quirks and obsessions definatlly got me hooked from the begining.
I'd spend every waking moment with pencil in hand, and a street rodder magazine drawing and designing my own hot rods and super cars. I always wanted to get into the automotive buisness somehow wether design, building something. Never being scholastically blessed lesser and duller things in life.
Fast forward to my 30's we finally got a place of our own and with a little kissing up the wife agreed to let me buy my first, and at the rate I'm going, and only project car. My goal was to get the overall look of it and get it running by the time I hit 40. Well I'm past that goal now but I still have time before I get to old and to fat to enjoy driving it.
...but you know what for as much as I kick my own ***, and being my first time out building a car from practically nothing I'd say I'm doing pretty damn good.

 

I'm not sure where he found these wheels or what they are from. Wish I would have talked to him more about his projects.

 

I'd look at orphan Euro econo car companies. Small cars like in the cl*** of a Topilino. They're small, like 13s maybe...

 

Pushing 81 still doing it almost every day. Have to something to do that I enjoy plus the friends I have living and gone on the journey. I already have parts gathered for the next project not even done with the current one. Have to have dreams and a purpose in life. I would do it over again if I could.

 

Wow! What a great thread! I've been having a lot of these same thoughts this last year or so. I've been asking myself the same questions. "What drives us?" I'm 64, and have been in the hot rod deal for over 50 years now. I was raised (by my second step dad) on T-Buckets. The first one came in 1974. The second one in 1975, then a chopped '32 5W coupe project came along in 1976. He drove the wheels off the second one, and I got to co-pilot! I think, (looking back now) part of why he bought these was to
introduce me to the love of old cars, and to learn how to work on them. When I was about 16-17 the first bucket (actually a 1921 Dodge) was the first car I successfully took apart, and never was able to put back together. (A GREAT lesson to learn!) He never said a word to me about not being able to get it back together, he just let me go, and learn. He never built the 5W coupe, but owned it till he died. After moving out on my own, my first project was a nice, running, rare, 1950 Chevy 2 door hard top. Factory cast iron Powerglide. A truly rare bird! But I didn't know it at the time. I just saw Pete Chapouris' in the mags, and I wanted one too. This was the second car I "successfully" dis***embled and could not put back together. I had no skill, no money, no tools, no place to keep it, no sense! I sold it in pieces at a big loss. But I still had dreams. I decided I had to go back to basics. I bought a house, (at 22 years old) not to get a house, but to get a 2 car garage so I'd have a place to build the next car. I gathered tools. Then I bought a Total Performance T kit that only took 6 months to get ***embled, licensed, inspected, insured, and driven. Then another 2 years to finish. About 1/2 way through the build, I saw a blue '32 Ford hiboy roadster built by Chuck Lombardo and crew at California Street Rods. That's when I realized I didn't want a T-bucket, I wanted a Deuce Hiboy! But, I talked to myself, like a Dad would talk to his son. I said to myself, "You've taken 2 cars apart, and not finished them. You NEED to finish one!" So I spent the next 2 years building, and finishing, a car I didn't really want. As the old saying goes, "You know when a T bucket is finished.......When the "FOR SALE" sign goes on it!" Next was a new Gibbon 5W coupe body on a Deuce Factory ch***is. About 18 months to get it running, and legal. I drove it for several years and enjoyed it! While building "The Coupe" (as my son still calls it) I became really good friends with the Fjastad family (Roy, Jay Carl, Lisa) in CA. (Founders, and owners of The Deuce Factory) Now I became obsessed with the parts, and always wanted to sell them. So, Lisa set me up as a dealer, and told me to "go home, print some business cards, and sell, sell, sell!" And I DID! I sold "The Coupe" to help finance my new venture. After just a few years I was the 6th largest dealer in the world for The Deuce Factory. I went everywhere. Swap meets, car shows, NSRA, GOODGUYS. All while working full time at a major airline. Over the next 8 years I gathered up dealerships with as many "big name street rod manufacturers" as I could. Spent every day off, every vacation day, every minute, every penny, trying to become a "player" in the parts deal. I went without a hot rod for 25 years.

Then came 9-11.

For 5 months after 9-11 we were fine. Business as usual. (Which was losing about 10% per year, and fueled out of my pocket, and VISA) I thought "Well, we are going to be ok!"

Then April 2002 hit

Business dropped 90%. I was juggling 4 different credit card balances. Robbing Peter to pay Paul.
$55,000 on credit cards, now at 18-24% I didn't even gross 50K at my job!

I lost everything. Even the family home.

I got mad at life.

I took the "kitchen junk drawer" (you know, we all have one.) OF MY LIFE, and
threw it on the floor.

I sold the house. Moved to California. Moved back. Quit my good job.

Came back to Texas and took menial, low paying jobs.

I was embarr***ed. I was ashamed.

Then came the "midlife crisis".

10 years of depression. (I should have gotten professional help.)

Lost good, well meaning, friends because I wouldn't listen to reason.

They got tired of hearing my "pity party".

Then my Mom died. Left me a little money.

Then I broke a finger at work. I got a little more money.

Finally, after 10 long years, I'm sitting on the couch, thinking to myself,
"What would my Mom want me to do with her money?"

And it came to me...........She would want me to be happy.

And I realized, I didn't hunt, fish, camp, collect stamps, paint, woodwork, nothing.

I only do 1 thing, and I had not done it in over 20 years.

I like to build hot rods.

Deuces. Hiboys.

I like to sell the parts that build them.
I like to help other guys turn their dreams in to reality.
I like to "bench race" with them. To help decide which way to go, what color, what size wheels,
which shock brackets, share my discoveries, share my mistakes.

Maybe sell 'em a few parts along the way.

Ok, so this is WAY TOO LONG.

But here's what I gotta get off my chest.

What I realized was that my first attempt at the parts deal was all ego driven.
I wanted to be "the man". I wanted to be "somebody" in "the industry".
I wanted to be "a name" everybody knew. I flopped.

But when I finally got back in the garage,
and I had just enough money to put together a ch***is,
I said to myself "Even if I never get to finish this thing,
at least I can sit in my chair and admire what I DO have."

What I'm trying to say is, I believe, by getting back to doing what I do,
it brought me out of my depression. I finally had hope again.

8 years later, I have the little darlin' in my avatar.

It's not a show car, but it's a nice driver, and that's what I wanted.
A driver.
Something to participate in. Something I can share with others.

I'm blessed.

Thanks for listening.

 

Always liked cars. Liked hot rods when I was a kid, but then moved onto liking muscle cars as a teen. Had a couple of 70s “muscle cars”growing up in my late teens/early 20s but didn’t have the funds to really do anything. Then graduated university and got into the Chrysler turbo cars for a bit. Did a bit of SCCA racing. Then came a career. Then family. Got interested in off-road stuff. Got a couple of early Ford Broncos. Then got a Land Cruiser. Did lots of off-roading, but would still get the Rodders Journal and dream of owning a “hot rod” one day. Then out of the blue I came across Richard Scaldwell’s GN JAP creation. I became obsessed. I had never seen anything like it before. I fell in love with it. I said to myself I’m going to build “one”. That was it. I think it was 2017. I joined the HAMB in 2018. Here I am 8 yrs later and still futzing around with my dream car. For me not actually having a car to drive, it’s all about the journey right now. I’ve travelled countless miles gathering parts. Countless hours researching. Countless hours fabbing/building. Along the way, I’ve met the best people possible. Had the greatest of times. What still drives me is to finally finishing it in the next two years and then traveling around with it to shows and events.

 

Thanks for sharing that man. Amazing how we sometimes have to hit bottom to remember what is really important and what motivates us, etc. I can sure relate to that.

 

When I was about six, middle 50s, the old man brought home a crusty kick-start washing machine engine. Older brother, and a younger; we had the thing running soon. Seems like the whole trip is like some version of that.

 

This is an interesting thread. Thinking us car guys are the lucky ones and other people that have a p***ion/interest in something. I tend to think genetics (natural gifted talents) do play a role, more so their environment. I have 5 children, mine 1 son, 2 daughters and 2 step sons. I'm very proud of all of them, I do see the genetic difference but the environment they were raised in makes them all similar, all with a good work ethic, all successful career wise, appear to be happy, good people with p***ions/interests. A surprise to me, none of them are CarNuts like me including the grandchildren, now young adults. HAMB AM Coffee, All is good

 

For me it's simple, but the depth of your question is endless and to be found by each afflicted soul.

I quit second guessing it years ago. There's really no answer except to just keep doing it. If that's why we wake up then keep waking up

- Tim