looking for some past experience or ideas on how to toss a kid into his first project, he's gonna be 13 in march and would kind of like to start on a project of his own he helped a fair bit on my 49 but we clashed on a few ideas on how it should look so he wants to do his own I can get a 75 chevy truck with a decent motor and transmission (auto) for 250.00, I got the spare 48 merc truck taking up some space and I was going to get the chevy and let him dig into it (the chevy truck for donor parts) I'd help with the major stuff think it would be a good idea to just let him have at it with some guidance? he is a fairly stubborn and independant thinker so he's not gonna be to thrilled with me watching over his shoulder so thats the reason for letting him fly at it, might be he can even get a couple of his friends involved and get some other kids interested old cars/trucks I'll make sure it safe enough that I'd drive it myself if that means anything! I haven't commited to him on this yet so its not a real big deal at this point
Im 15 and I have a 72 chevy C-10, super easy and simple to work on. I'm in the proccess of swappin the 6 banger out for a sbc 350. most of the parts intercahnge from 67 to 72 depending on the part. New parts are xtremly plentiful and cheap. I got mine with 65,000 original miles for 1 grand.
Just let him have it his way........He'll ask for help when he needs it.That way it will keep him interested,GOOD LUCK.
ChevyFreak I had my first car a 15 an old 60 pontiac stratochief, drove my dad nuts dicking around with it and not getting no place , finally got it going and on my second trip to town a lower control arm fell out, scrapped the car and took the engine and put in a 50.00 57 chevy truck I got Choprods the old merc truck still has the flathead in it but the transmission is siezed up but I got the transmission out of the 49 he could use to see if he can revive that old critter or you figure the sbc is the way to turn him lose? I have absolutely no knowledge on them flatheads and might be in his way checking things out
The stubborness and the independent thinking is actually a good thing. He'll be more likely to stick with it. I say let him fly with a minimal amount of breathing on him. The only way my boy is gonna have a car when he is 16 is to get his butt out in the shop and help the old man build him one. I hope he has more respect for somthing he actually had a hand in building than somthing bought for him. This is about 4 years ago..
Let him fly...give guidence and opinions when asked for. And that will probably be more often than you think.
I dunno, my first project was a 55 chevy 4 door, and I'm 17 now and its still unfinished. Lack of space, and money on my part, each christmas and birthday I have gotten parts for it though. I pretty much have the whole car built, I just need a spot where I can do the work. Sorry, I got sidetracked and entered my post before I finished.. anyhow, I would say just let him go with what he wants, but watch him like you said. I wasn't so happy when my dad watched me at first, but I eventually grew to the idea, especially having someone behind me to help me do things right. Actually, for the most part he lets me make the screw up, and sometimes I wonder why he does it..but in the long run its been benifitial to me, as I am deffinately learning from mistakes. Just don't push him into ideas, I know for a long while I was having arguments with my dad because he kept trying to get me to turn it into something I dont want..he still does it, and it still annoys me, but he knows best. Have fun
My dad got me my first car when I was 14. It was a 65 VW bug, it had no motor or trans. My dad gave me the basic lay out of what to do and cut me loose. He helped me pay for a junkyard 1835cc motor and had a trans port trans out of an old VW bus. He helped with the major things but other than that it was my show. I think any project you get for your kid will help out. I dont think there is a wrong or a right first project. The only thing that would be different from project to project is your influence or guidence. Just my two bits. Jonney
When I was 15 my dad started me with a '67 'stang even though he was always into hot rods and more traditional cars. It was nice because the parts were and are still dirt cheap for them, and they are simple to work on. By the time I was done it was a great car that I could drive anywhere. At first my dad made me keep the 2barrel so I didn't kill myself, so I focused on making it reliable and good looking first. Then later I put on the speed equipment. A while after that was done I talked about building a traditional car, and it wasn't long before he heard about his friend getting rid of his '47 Ford. He gave me first crack at it and I grabed it. I think the reason why more younger guys don't get into the older stuff is because they don't know where to find it.
I'll be footing the bill for the most part and chalk it up to "homework" anything he can build, beg, borrow or scrounge he's gonna have to though since I'm elcheapo and for the most part without much of a bank acct thanks for your input you guys I'll do my best to quench my tyrancy over him
i think you should let him fly solo. buy the project but finding or buying parts is up to him. let him cut lawns, paint houses, or trade parts. ask your buddies if they have any chores for him to do and so he can earn his keep. after hes gone to bed. sneek out to the garage and look at it. without him knowing and make sure its safe. otherwise he's project becomes your project and he will never want to build a car again.
Sounds to me like your plan is solid. If you have final say-so on safety issues, but otherwise let him find his own way (unless he asks for your advice - it could happen), some kind of success is bound to result - prolly several kinds of success...If some of his buddies get turned on by their exposure to this deal - bonus! I did my first several cars alone (Rocky was busy elsewhere), and had little success. But the passion drove me on (so to speak), and eventually I met some people who actually knew their stuff, and things started to happen. Wonderful things...
When I was a little girl--weird huh!--my dad started me out wiring a 56 Fairlane. I haven't stopped since. He always let me have my way, but made sure to make little comments---Brandy, call me when that axel lets go and you need a car trailer, sure makes you stop and think "why?". Give him his go, but make your input subtle; leave mags with trucks hanging about, make little comments, take him to shows, etc etc etc. It helps in the long run, BELIEVE ME! x Brandy
I feel the exact same way as Intrstlaroverdrive does. Im 17 and i got mad when my dad told me what to do or corrected me but i realized he knows a hell of alot more about building cars than i do. My car will be driving this summer, and now I can honestly say i built a car (with LOTS of needed help from my dad) with my own hands and my own hard earned money (with some help from my dad). It helped alot that my dad let me make the decisions, if it was up to him it would be a high tech rod, but since he let me make the decisions hes all hopped up on Traditional Rods now too and is straying away from billet shit. I think working together with my dad on this really taught us alot about each other. We understand each other. And also, we each make up for each others crappy ideas. haha. If he cant figure something out i usualy can and visa versa. Nick
Yea, sometimes I hated having my dad watch over my shoulder, other times I didn't mind. I wanted to learn how to do things myself, I didn't want him to end up doing it for me. I did my share of preventable stupid things, but I fixed them and learned from it. It never got me down.
When my son did his first project, the hardest part for me was watching him do something I knew would not work. After he did it his way I would help him correct the mess. I always told him that the only way to really learn something was to screw something up and then learn how to fix it. The second time around he was asking "Why do we need to do it like that?" or "Why didn't what I did work?" After a while if I would say something like " if you do that, this could happen." He would say things like "how would you do it?" Then you let him do what ever he thinks he wants it done. You really need to have him put his money into the project. If he doesn't have anything invested he won't care. You can give him the car/truck, point out the mimum things that need to be done before he can drive it and let him make out the plan. If he understands its his project and he will need to figure out a way to pay for it, you probably won't see him sitting in front of a tv often. Sometimes you may need to loan him some money to keep the project from stalling out. You will probably find him seeking your help more often then you thought, just remember its his project and you are helping him. Gene
The Jalopy Journal
