Hot Rods How long have you been building hot rods/customs?

I'll be 58 this fall. I started when I was probably 12ish.
That would have been about 1979-80. Tube tops and Daisy Duke cut offs were all the rage, along with vans and sidepipes on Camaros. So, for me approx. 46 years. It's been non-stop ever since.

Dad bought me my first 36 pickup at the ripe old age of 2. Here it is on my birthday.



I finished it in 1984. This is out of the school paper. High tech journalism.




My dad is 87 and he started when he was 15. I hope I can hang in there that long. I am sure I'll have power steering and power brakes at that age though.

 

I just turned 80 and rodded my first car when I was 16, so roughly, 64 years ago.

 

Since 1964
50 crestliner. This was taken 10 minutes after I towed it home on April 18, '64........my 16th birthday. Built a 53 Merc motor for it.

 

I'm nowhere near most of you guys' level. Very much wanted to be, but it seems my life has never been stable and settled enough over the years to actually build a complete car.
But I've been screwin' around with 'em since I was 16 when I bought the neighbor's 1938 Chevy 4dr. And it's been a comedy of errors ever since LOL.
I'm hoping to change the usual pattern and vindicate and finally fully express myself with this '31 Plymouth Coupe I've been collecting parts for.

 

overhauled the engine in the 61 Impala convertible in 1975, but didn't swap the 4bbl on to it until 1977...right after I turned 16. So about 50 years, I guess. I'm just a kid, too.

 

First custom I owned was my 51 Merc that I bought when I was 16. Had it for 32 years. I was working on a T bucket in 1973 when I bought and took my 48 from a running and driving 75 dollar beater to a painted and upholstered truck that I drove from McGregor Tx to Tulsa for the 73 Street rod nationals.
It's the gold truck you see in the upper left hand corner photobombing the roadster in this shot.

We made it to Bonneville in 1998 and a Japanese tourist used my camera to take this photo after I used his camera to take photos of him.

I've actually won and award with it.

We finally did get The T bucket on the road and drove it around Central Texas.
My wife used to sneak it out and drive it to town when I was at work when I wasn't driving it as I drove it to work and school complete with golf clubs in the p***enger seat quite often.

 

Started when I was 17. That would be 56 years ago.

 

61 Years Thus Far And First 40 Coupe And First Automobile...(78 In May)...

 

First car at 14. Played with them all my life. Brother showed me firing order then pulled all the plug wires. I p***ed the test.
Helped rebuild sbc and th350 in my teens. Rebuilt my own Powerglide at 19. Done another 4 years ago.
I'm now 59 going on 60. 45 years or so.

 

So combined total on here would be about a million years .

 

Dad taught me to gas weld around 11 and MIG weld at 12. I got my 40 Ford tudor for my 15th birthday. I chopped my first top professionally (a 34 five-window) at 15.

 

I was 15 in 1957 when I got my '34 Ford running and able to drive on the roads. Lots of help from my older Hot Rod friends!

 

48 years for me, with the last 29 years on HAMB type vehicles. Earlier years were muscle cars, street machines and drag racing.

 

So you are 17 now?

 

I’m 59 now. Wish I knew then what I know now.

My Dad is 82 and still building hot rods. His first car at 16 was a 40 Ford coupe that Grandpa helped him put an Olds engine into.

 

Don't we all...

 

Started when I was 12…so, I guess it has been 42 years or so. I’m just a kid.

 

My first,was like many I think,drew hotrods read mag's an got modal kits {put to gether my way,not the box pic.
Then helping out some others,before starting my own @ 14,used all of Jr High,collecting junk parts,cleaning an putting stuff together. Big brake throughs, was finding ruff crashed 28A Roadster,missing engine n many other parts. Then getting a used Ford Tunderbird V8 n ******,outv of a buddy's Dads crashed car. By the end of 1959,I could drive my 28A around the block. Was My ,Sr High School ride.
A few years back,had to face the fact,I'm not building any more hotrods for anyone ,an lucky to just keep my 28A running...

 

Any pics?

 

I started collecting parts for this T Roadster in 1963. It belched fire for the first time in late Fall of 1964, when I was 16, it's been quite the journey since !

 

For first trip around the block,only primer an temp hooked up ****.! Then later on ,more engine work n some shiny black!!!

 

Started on my first hot rod when I was 14 years old in '68. It was a 40 ford pick up. Doesn't look like much but it turned out nice. Didn't have any rust at least. I don't know how to turn the picture though. View attachment 6687570

 

I didn’t get started until after college, in my mid 30s. I didn’t have the knowledge to tear into my dad’s 38 Chevy I got when he died 20 years ago, so I built a field car to practice. The HAMB and my buddies like roothawg encouraged me and I even did a build thread.
That was my first full build. I also did a full build on an off topic car, as well as wrenched on a few here and there. Finally got up the nerve to tear into my dad’s car. Still needs some things but is largely finished.

 

Learned by doing and helping out with my Dad and Uncle at an early age. Learned to weld with a welder made from florescent light ballasts, painted with a vacuum cleaner. Did what we could with what we had.
One of my first jobs was to keep the chickens away from the wet paint on cars painted in the barn. They were machinists by trade and only dabbled in auto repair. Eventually I became their "go to guy" as I took an interest with anything on wheels and steadily acquired some skills/knowledge and better tools and equipment. Most jobs completed were "good enough" and the price was right. I had quite a collection in the yard of any cars I could pick up for free or dirt cheap. Wish I had them today.
It wasn't until I started reading Hot Rod and other magazines and going to the Autorama and local drag races that my eyes were opened to the real world of hot rodding and customs. I still consider myself to be "lightly inmersed" into the hobby, with very diversified interests.

Anyone remember getting all your auto repair manuals and tech info from the local public library?

 

@1935ply fixed it

 

Thanks fastcar1953.

 

Since 1959, I guess. I got my first Model A in 58 or 59 when I was 12 or 13. First job was to install 46-48 ford hydraulic brakes and find 49-51 Mercury 15 “ wheels. I had it running by the time I was 15. I was a HRM subscriber before I was old enough to drive. I’m going to be 80 soon, and want to do more than my energy and motivation will push me.

Same car a couple years ago.

 

Started fooling with car when I was about 12 by hanging around a filling station/used car lot. Got my first car at 14. By the time I was 17 I had about 4 or 5 cars and at lest 2 of them were driveable. For many years I had at least 2 sometimes 3 cars. I worked at dealerships and was always temped by trade-ins.

Owned and maintained sprint cars in my late 20's to late 30's. Started driving in my early 30's. My dailey rides always included something older. In then 90's I bought a nice 47 Ford coupe. I kept it for a couple of years then traded it in on a 57 T-Bird. Had the Little Bird for 27 years. Rebuilt everything except the transmission. Acquired a 28 Model A and it's really the first car I built from the ground up. I'll be 79 this month and I don't see building another car, but if the right deal came up, who knows.

 

I been addicted since day 1 and about to turn 34 at the end of the month. This was me in the cab of my grandfathers 33 pickup (that I now own) at like 6 months old, but Ive always been in and around hot rods, customs and muscle cars.



Then at like 6 here:



At 15 or 16 here



Early 20s here:



Then a couple years ago with the family 55 Chevy that my grandparents have owned now around 50 years and we had just finished restoring it here.


So, its been full throttle with the old stuff and not really ever thinking of changing gears.

 

I got my first car at the age of 14, in 1962. I was doing odd jobs and even babysitting. I told my dad that I wanted a car and he replied, "you can have a car as soon as you can afford buy it yourself. Three weeks later I had $82 burning a hole in my pocket and a strong desire to buy a car. I really surprised my dad, but true to his word, he took me car shopping. I found a 1948 Ford coupe sitting in a combination junk yard and used car lot. $75 later my dad lost his garage and I had a place to fix my "prize". That was the first of what became ownership of 108 cars to date. As a teenager I was too in love with cars to keep one for any time. I once got a nastygram from the DMV that said that if I sold one more car that year, I would have to become a dealer! That number was 8. I drove my dad nuts with my constant buying, selling, and trading. At 78, I only own 4 cars and don't trade anymore. But, I still dream of a '40 Ford coupe in my future! I started building my avatar roadster in 2014 and had it on the road in 2019. I still desire other cars, but control myself and resist buying any more. Nevertheless, if a perfect 40 coupe appeared, who knows!