How did you get hooked on to old cars ?

I think some of us simply have a gene that causes us to gravitate toward this hobby. There was no light bulb moment for me, I simply loved hot rods and customs even when I was 10 or 11. I had my first Deuce at 11 and somehow instinctively knew they were supposed to be hot rodded.

In school you were either a jock or a car guy, and to this day I still am not nuts about sports, cars have always been my passion. I saw my first hot rod in person when I was 12 and while all the other kids on the band bus were eating ice cream at a roadside stand, I was walking around that fenderless 36 Ford and drooling.

You either are born to love em or not. Thank God I did love em.

Don

 

Dad bought a 29 Ford,$100.I was about 14,I really had my eye on the 30 Ford touring next to it but it was $300.He had Model As for several years earlier. I think he wanted to share that with me.We worked on the A,was the car I learnd to drive in.I bought my first car from Dad,his daily driver.1941 SuperDelux 2 door BLACK ,in 1955.It didnt take me long. Dual exhaust,Saran <NOBR>seat covers</NOBR>,spray dyed the headliner,recovered(grey nagahide) the doorpannels,Mama sewed the armrests,dropped axel came out of a sprintcar.read instructions How to Lead,removed the parking lites and (trunk handle,installed a pullcable)removed taillites and installed a pair from a 50 Lincoln.A former cab mechanic ran a garage a couple blocks away.He painted it <NOBR>Cadillac</NOBR> Coppertone.After I married and bought a house I traded it for a 21 inch TV.A 1953 <NOBR>Chevy</NOBR> BelAir HT was the family car.I bought a 1940 Hudson Coupe,I repowered it with a PontiacV8. It was out of a friend's convertible,he wrecked,and anorher friend bought it for his 49 Ford but sold it to me,for 100bucks.I tore it down and rebuilt it.I was going to put it in my 53 Chevy.But put it in the 40 Hudson Coupe with a 39 Packard tranny.That's just a little dab of what Ive done.Cadillac in a F-2 Ford.I won trophys 2 years for my 40Hudson Coupe, 2 years I showed at the winter show. I bought a Cadillac hearse with a blown trany. While off work from the steel mill with a broken left wrist, I put the Caddy engine in my F2 1950 Ford PU with a 4 speed. I got into motorcycles for a time, I had a 750 Norton, a 230 and a 250 OSSA a 125 Sacks and 125 Yamaha. I put a Zundapp engine in a Kawasaki Greenstreak race bike for a guy who competed with it. He did well with it.The 4 cycle just chugged along in comfort,he said.I restored and resold many cars for a small profit.People even gave me cars that they knew I would put time into.I was accused by a few people in jest that I never paid more than $250.00 for a car,which wasn't true.I built and cared for a Hobby Stock 56 Pontiac/389 cu for a couple years. A guy offered to trade his Camero Rally 327/4 speed for my 750 Norton, I did ,then painted the Camero ,Sieria Gold it had a black vinyl top. It looked good but wasn't my kind of car. I watched the news paper for cars. I saw a 250 Yamaha snowmobile listed at a car lot. I took the Camero and went for an even trade. I said ''I got no money, need to trade even or nothing.'' I was dealing with a guy who was on an ego trip, and was the son of the car lot owner, I was haggling over one dollar. I said I got one dollar, that is my lunch money, he took it. It was not cold yet and we never have much snow but that winter we had a blizzard and snow all winter. I joined the city fire department in 1971,worked maintaining the EMS ambulances 3 years ,Fire Fighter Mechanic Captain 12 years, Combat FireFighter for a total of 27 years.I drove the big red trucks.I had a lot of projects over the years. I enjoyed it. I never owned a new car, never wanted one.

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Well I love most all things automotive, especially old cars, and especially old cars that go fast.....pretty sure this lil guy had something to do with that.....

 

I can't remember when I wasn't "into" cars. I remember playing in my grandfather's 36 Ford coupe whe he was still on the farm. I must have been 5. AMT's 3 n 1 model kits took me deep into the wonderful world of Hot Rods, and I've lived there ever since!

 

Growing up in the 80's, My Dad had old cars because he couldn't afford a new one. The older kids in the neighborhood thought he was a real gearhead but he was just scraping by and making ends meet. My brother and I loved his cars and knew how different they were. We made a game out of spotting the old cars that would drive by. They were just so much cooler that the hatchbacks and econo-cars of the 80's. I guess that's how it started. I recently bought a '76 Ford pickup and it's the newest car I've ever owned.

 

my father had multiple mid year big block vettes when I was little. I grew up to that sound. Been into cars ever since, got a paper route when I was 10 to save for a car.

 

My Dad. He always bought/fixed/sold old cars and trucks my whole life. I would go with him to junkyards... helped him with numerous backyard paintjobs... cry when he sold the ones I really liked. We always had something cool to cruise on the weekends... to car shows and what not. He taught me how to wrench... I owe it all to him...

 

The only working with cars my family ever did was just to keep them on the road. My best friends dad always had muscle cars and i just loved being around them. When i was 14 i took an autobody class my freshman year, and the next year i got a job in the body shop that i still work at today...funny thing is i actually got my dad into hot rods! He would always be curious about what i was working on, and it went from curious, to him helping everyday, to him getting me to help with HIS hot rod!

 

Growing up on a farm during the 60’s we always had a few “field cars”; you know not road worthy any more (not without a lot of work); but they ran or we could get them running good enough to have a blast racing them around the farm. Man what I wouldn’t do now for a couple of those 40’s and 50’s cars and trucks that we sold for scrap metal when we were done beating on them.
Got my mechanics license in 76 and always seemed to busy fixing customer’s cars to do anything project wise for myself; but I did helped a lot of buddies and family find and fix up their rides and that kept me interested.
Now that I’m in my mid 50’s I figured it’s my turn; especially now that my kids are grown and living on their dime, instead of mine. LOL
It was after a trip down to Cuba that really sparked my interest again; that’s after seeing all those 50’s driving around and I knew I wanted an early 50’s Chevy two door.
So after a bit of searching I found one about a 6 hour drive from home; the guy selling it seemed up front about the car so I took the drive to Cornwall and made the deal with the guy. Loaded her up on the trailer and dragged her home. I’ve been working on it now for the last 2 years; mixing old school technology and looks with some modern up dates too the drive train. So for me I don’t know when the bug actually bit; but it’s something that has never left me, even after the urge has been ignored for a few decades.

Dan

 

My grandparents got me hooked on cars at a very young age. Started with hot wheels and simple tools. Now Im an ASE Master Certified technician with a 69 Mustang Fastback, 51 Ford F1 and all sorts of other go-fast toys.

 

My grandafther

1924 Model T coupe, circa 1969'ish

My dad's driveway

When my grandfather drove his fenderless 24 T coupe into dad's driveway...

 

How did you get hooked on to old cars ?
I didn't I can quit anytime I want to!

 

I was lucky enough to grow up in a family of motor heads. I would always here my dad talking about his 49 ford panel truck and how he wished he never sold it... He still talks about it.

 

My parents had a 1965 Mustang. I remember sleeping in that car while mom waited all night in line to get some gas so dad could drive to work. I guess the fumes permeated my blood and infected my brain. It was a bitter day when they traded it for a '70 Maverick.

Then there was the 1961 Scout with the Ford 302 engine. It was bright red with a white top and wheels Dad always bragged that you could burn rubber in 4WD, if you didn't mind the diff exploding or some other mechanical drama. If there was any camping or boating going on, the Scout was a part of it. Even with an endless array of mechanical issues, I thought it was the best truck ever. Actually, I still do.

The list goes on. Grandpa's 1955 Chevy 3100, Great Grandpa's '48, Great Grandma's '65 Coronet, uncles with Comets, Travelalls, F100s, Dodge trucks. There was a Fury III somewhere, parked next to the orange-est '69 Ford 4x4 ever. I swear, no other color ever sat so well on a vehicle as that particular orange on that particular truck.

And, of course there were the cars on television. The Batmobile, the Mach 5, the Mystery Machine, the bizzaro GTO phaeton from the Monkees, the General Lee, the Bentley Steed drives in The Avengers, The Gran Torino in Starsky and Hutch. There must be an E-Type in there somewhere as well. I can hear it in my head now, doing laps at full throttle.

Throw in some Hot Wheels for good measure, and I was hooked. Now, I paint them every chance I get. I want to paint them all. Well, all the old ones, anyway. The ones built with steel and iron and sporting fins or fat fenders and tons of chrome.

 

HAHAHA. They weren't really old when I got hooked on them.

 

My grandad was a house painter by trade, and when he was living and i was a kid i would help him during summers. I was probly 10 or 11 at the time.I was the "fetch-it" man for him, and one of the guys he done alot of work for lived in the middle of downtown and had a small two car shed in the backyard. the man always made sure we had everything we needed and kept it in the shed. also in the shed was his mothers car, a 1936 chevy coupe. had about 2in. of dust on it and had been there since the late 40's early 50's. i remember standing on the running board and wiping the dirt off the window and looking inside and just falling in love there on the spot! i remember every detail of the coupe! i blame that for my car addiction to this day! hahaha! even a few years later, our high school was in sight of the old guys house and i would set and think about the car and how it could turn out! but usual story, they wouldnt sell the car and after they both died off the family sold the car to someone.
...maybe thats why i try to save every old car i come across now!!!

 

In 1962, I was 12 years old when I got hooked on hot rods, the neighbours son (Robert) was a bit of a rebel, he owned a fenderless 34 Ford (probably a sedan) cut down, using the cowl and doors, with a 50s style hood mounted backwards on the rear, to give it a boat tail effect.. Robert and his friend drove the wheels off that thing, to me it was the greatest car on the planet.. Later in life at the age of 17, I went to a hot rod display, and in the parking lot, close to the front door of the stadium was a 1939 Ford sedan, chanelled to within 4" of the ground, that was it, I was hooked big time..

 

It all started when as kids we took old wagon, trike ,almost any wheels we could find to make a kids hot rod. You need some old 2x4's, rope, a box and a saw, nails, bolt and nut. You made an axle out a 2x4 nailing half an wagon axle to each side with a bolt hole in the center to hold the axle in place. The rope was nailed to each end of the front axle for steering and a straight axle for the back. Nail on a a board for a seat and the box for your hood.
The fun came when we head over the the steepest hill we could find and down the hill then just hold on. Nearly got killed by a car that came out of nowhere, turn around and came down again.
We were poor kids who had nothing but our imagination to make our hot rods or scooters.

CRUISER

 

couldn't afford new ones as a teen, started working on old ones and have loved them ever since.

 

Before I was 16 I would read Motor Trend and Auto Week magazines and dream about sports cars and such, even wanted a "New" Mustang II at one time. Then when I got my license all I could afford was an older car (1960 F-100 for $500) so that started me on Hot Rod magazine, Y-Blocks and Flatheads. April 1980.

 

My Dad. Career soldier and a Great mechanic who could fix anything.

I can recall sitting on his lap, shifting the three-on-the-tree, and steering the old Ford around town!

I was hooked young and long before I could drive, he would help me "hot rod" my rides; bicycles, carts, anything on wheels.

 

My father was a car guy and passed the bug to me and I passed it on to my sons...It even infected my wife!

 

Well this goes back about 60 years,summer of 1953. Dad taught me how to drive our Ford tractor.I spent most of the summer driving that tractor,early in the fall I got to cut
rake and get 13 acres of hay in the barn. Early that winter I came home to find a ' 29 Ford
2 door sedan in the drive way. It was payment for getting the hay in. Dad and I spent the winter rebuilding the motor. that sucker was a blast to drive, we had a empty 5 acre field, it didn't take long before I had a race track beat down around the fence line. My
Dad was somewhat of a motor head, he put headers and glass packs on Mom's'50 Ford
sedan . I could always tell when she was coming home,long before she was in sight.
I got my drivers license at 16 and been hooked on hot rods ever since.

........................Jack

 

growing up we had a sea of galaxies, impalas, and f100s in our yard, and i loved sitting in the garage helping my dad with the 67 ford xl (which became my first car and i still own). we had a few old c10s, i remember tearing apart my first motor over summer break. both sets of grandparents had old cars too, one side all mopar, the other fords, so i would just sit inside of them pretending to drive.

 

Riding in my cousins 40 Ford candy apple red deluxe coupe at 9 years old. Been hooked every since. That was about 1959

 

Gateway for me was go-karts. I used to read about them in the little pages and Hot Rod. There were plenty of cars in those mags that a kid could "want". No way I could afford new, so went after used, preferably not running (inexpensive). As said many times they weren't so OLD then, but they did not cost a lot of money. That began my history of never owning a vehicle that remained stock. Because of the fun I have had with pre-49s, they remain my favorite.

 

1973, American Graffiti and my dads old Nova's. I became interested in all 3 at the same time.

 

My dad loved cars. He had several as we were growing up. The car that is in my avatar was the first car I helped him work on. My mom gave it to me after he passed. It is still parked at her house. Not in the same condition as in this photo. But still pretty good. I will get it when its time to finish it.

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My Dad was a car guy. Not into building them but always had something neat. Two of my Uncles on my Dads side owned a garage in San Rafael CA. They had all kinds of cool stuff including Cords, Model T Racer, 1936 Auburn Boattail Speedster.

All three of my Uncles on my Mothers side were into cars to one degree or the other. That's me around 4 or 5 standing in the youngest Uncles 28 or 29 roadster. He was a member of The San Diego Roadster Club and had lots of El Mirage dash plaques. I now have some of them from 1949 and 50.

My first car was built by another Uncle. A 1936 Ford 1/2 ton pickup. 48 Merc, 39 Drive train and 40 Ford brakes. Painted red oxide primer. A few weeks ago I found a very similar 36 but with a 327 and close ratio Muncie. Had to have it.

I like to say it's in my genes but then I get cracks about the shorts I'm wearing in the picture.

 

Had a good friend in middle school who's dad was a long haired partyin madman. Well, first time he ever took me out in his 69 Coronet R/T he put a 100$ bill on the dash with some gum and said if I can grab it it's mine.

We staged up at the tree at Norwalk Raceway Park and after 2nd gear was blasted I was sold. I've had grease undermy fingernails ever since. I still love muscle cars to death but have personally been building old school customs and big body's ever since. The sweet smell of race gas gets my hair standing up everytime.