scared the crap out of a 12 year old yesterday. Ryan are you out there?

One of my biggest regrets was not asking a 6- 8 year old if he wanted a ride in my A. His mother came over to me and told me her son saw my car last week and that is all he talked about for a week. He made her take him to see my car again. I should have put the mother in the back and told the kid to hop in
That will never happen again!

 

Hitchhiker you done good; if Ryan comes back around, tell him about H.A.M.B. so that we all can talk with him. And when he gets ready to leave to go home....give him an old 1/2-9/16 combo wrench, tell him that he will need that wrench to work on that '56 chevy that he is going to have some day and Ryan will be hooked for life.....Thanks Hitchhiker for a good deed. Ray...

 

Well played Hitchhiker! Yes, we are amb***adors as Tman said. With his Mom's permission give him a ride and maybe even invite him over to help wash the cars work on 'em a bit and learn something from you. That's the joy of teaching and p***ing on knowledge! Create a future Hot Rodder, p*** on the illness!

 

Funny, I'm 26 and have a '56 Olds and '36 Ford.
But you are right, most kids aren't as interested in old cars as me...

Great job Hitch!
Wish I had an experience like this when I was younger.

 

HURTS TO THIS VERY DAY!
Good move! That kid should hold that memory forever.
I was about 10 years old and dropped into the local welding shop owned by a Mr. Wilson. A dark, oily and cavernous place. And there was a pristine '40 Ford Coupe! Ripping it up for a stock car they were! I stood there in awe, they lit the torch with a pop and began to radius out the fender wells! OMG!! Hurts to this very day - but I will never forget it!!

And did ya get the kids moms name and number??

 

thats very good of you. i have been in the position of people looking down on me because of my age; i was interested; thankfully i stayed that way. i dont know everything (far from it) but i am only 26. i do know if any of the kids around ask questions i will do the same. we gotta learn'em right.

 

She's got a few years on me.....

 

Family next store has 5 kids ranging fron 4-17. Not much interest from the older kids but the mom had told me the 4 year old boy would run to the window every time I pulled my car out of the garage so I asked her if he might like to go for a ride some day. He was more than glad to go for a ride and the look on his face as we cruised around the block was priceless.

 

That was cool of you to show him the cars.
I was at Woodward Cruise last summer where I ran into my cousin and two of his kids. They invited me over for a cookout a couple of miles away. I asked the kids if one of them wanted to ride in the Model A. The 16 year old jumped at the chance. We started driving and he mentions that he has his permit. So I pull over and say You drive then. That kid had a smile on his face from ear to ear when he got behind the wheel. What better way to really hook a kid that to let him actually experience it.

 

I wish I had some one to mentor and teach cool things to.

 

I used to frequent a hot rod shop here in denver called Rocky Mountain Street Rods owned by a guy named Dan ****s and would check out the cars he was working on.
I regret not asking if I could help out around the shop or for an internship after school.

 

I asked a kid (about 4yo) if he wanted a ride in my AV8, he said No! It's all broken!
I guess no fenders and no hood with unfinished uphostery is all broken to a 4 yo!

 

Very cool of you to do, Matt. I look towards to doing that with my roadster when all is said and done..

Of course, I say that now while my ride doesn't have paint on it.

 

I like picking my kids up at school in mine. That way, all the others can see them and get curious.

 

Once again Flat-N-Low nails it! 35 years ago I was that kid too! 1 Neighbor had a T-Bucket, 1 neighbor had a '48 tudor and a '30 coupe with a flathead, another a restored '39 standard coupe. My best friends dad was a kick *** welder fabricator. These guys got me going and kept my already overwelming interest in this stuff up, and without them, I would be a normal, boring, well adjusted human being working in an office somewhere! Wait, that was supposed to be good... Funny thing I just realized, none of them knew each other at the time even though they all lived within 6 blocks of each other. I introduced them all to each other, and they are still friends to this day. Maybe I did give something back!

 

Absolutely great line! I have been hoping that the local kids would take interest in some of my stuff for the 23 years I have been here. No puppy adoptions yet!

 

Make sure you bust his balls just a little now and then. It always takes a thick skin to move about in the world of hot rods. With the latest attention given to "bullying" it would be help that can shape strong character down the line. As I think about it, I gotta say I've never met a "bully" at the race track, a swap meet, even a car show. I've met my fair share of colorful characters though. I learned at a young age how to stand toe to toe, but how to respect my elders too. If ya think about it, you all know what I mean. You don't play Disney movies in the garage...

 

Nothing I like better than being at a car show and having some little kid eyeballing my car. They are usually with their mother (single mom). I always ask them if they want to sit in the car. Sometimes they're too shy, but most of them jump at the chance. Never had any kids of my own, so that big smile always does it for me. Mom usually ends up taking a picture. Makes me feel good.
Tom

 

Yep its all our jobs to "spread the gospel" not everybody is or was lucky enough to grow up with a father who was into old cars!

 

It's good to hear that there are plenty of HAMBers who give kids a good introduction to the car hobby.

To be honest, when I was a kid, nobody could be bothered. It didn't dampen my enthusiasm at all. I just learned all I could, and at 14 my big break came, and Dad's coworker gave me a '64 Chrysler with engine troubles and a cracked windshield. That's what I learned on.

The truth is (and it took a while for me to figure this out) despite any encouragement or lack of it, the INTEREST chooses YOU.

 

ITS funny how this stuff comes up with the kids, along time ago there was a group of us that ran like brothers, helping each other, fighting and teasing one another day and night.
There was a kid that would come running when he would hear us roll in or out of the hood. His mother stopped to see if he was in the way a few months into summer, he wanted to ride along at times seamed he could pick the fastest car out of the bunch.

Long story short he still the guy i can count on for anything, fab skills like crazy and can tig weld like a machine. glade we took the time with him 30 years ago.

 

Nice.

My only 12 year-old visitors carry Thin Mints. They used to carry Lemon Coolers too, the little ****s.

Now I got the munchies.

 

This is a great thread and nice comments. We need to encourage as many Ryans as we can to share in the old car hobby.
We adopted our grandson when I was already an old fart. By the time he was 1 1/2 he was helping me by holding nuts on bolts thru the firewall of the 55 Chevy from the inside while I worked outside. Now he works in a garage on cars, bikes, diesel trucks, and anything with an engine.
At car shows when others chase little kids away, we'd let them sit in the old 55 wagon and pretend to drive.
Welcome Ryan, wherever you are!

 

Im 20 and wish somebody would mentor me. Learning everything the hard way ****s....

 

[QUOTE="T'RANTULA";7772374]Im 20 and wish somebody would mentor me. Learning everything the hard way ****s....[/QUOTE]

Aw quit yer ****in whiney ******** and get back to work. Did you double check those bolts? Did you clean that before you primed it? Well, DID YA!?!? What's all this **** on the floor? I'm not laying in that pile of dirt, and you made it so you know what to do...

If you go back and read post 47...

 

Let's face it, they are the future of hot rodding! Kudos to you for helping to feed his interest.

 

I use to do that with the kids of "single moms" too, now the wife put a stop to it!

 

I'm 15 and a freshman in high school. All the kids are into turbos or mini trucks. Very few have a p***ion for hot rods and customs anymore. The car kids have subarus or Hondas and the rich kids have BMWs or Cadillacs. No hot Rods or even muscle cars. It's cool to hear there are more kids like me out there.


Sent from my iPhone using TJJ app

 

I am glad to hear some of you guys have 11 and 12 year olds in your neighborhood that sound like good kids. If you catch a 12 year old from my neighborhood around your garage it is because he was trying to HOTWIRE your ride!!! I have to settle for my oldest daughter's boyfriend coming around. The kid digs old cars and is trying to do up a Torino. It doesn't hurt for him to see me swing a BFH right before he takes my daughter out either!!!!

 

My "apprentice" showed up one day and never left. For about a year he'd be waiting on me everyday to come home from work. Helped me with my "A" project at the time. Turned out he wasn't too bright in school and had 8 brothers and sisters, so I'm guessing he got ignored alot. Anyways taught him alot about cars, well the little I know anyways. And then we moved on to learning how to read and math. Long story short he started doing better in school and making me proud. Then he stole some tools and his family moved. Guess I'm not too mad....he at least learned simple math, readin, and hot roddin.