lets here some hot rod stories about you dad or grandpa.how many generation of hot rodders are you? i'm a second generation myself. my da'know as yogi " took me everywhere when i was groing up. he helped me when ever possible. i lost him to a auto accedent in 2000 and really miss him.he had sooooo many cars from when he was 16 up to the last.so many chevelles ,vettes and street rods over the years. i can remember a 39 chevy that we put a sbc and auto trans in he drove daily through winter spring summer or fallback in the 80's. now i currently have 2 sons and would like to preach the holy grail of hotrodding to the all day. let them know what has come before hondas and toyotas and such.i'm sure glad i got to learn all of this through my dad nad hope you all are just as receptive to them as well.
great topic bryon! as far as i know my addiction to cars started with my grandfather. he lives in upstate NY and used to run moonshine across the border in the 40's. then he got into racing. he raced what at the time was called the nascar sportsman division. i have a nascar points book from 1962 with his name in it 3 or 4 times. as you can imagine, it's a prize possesion. then my dad raced for a long time before i was born on the local dirt tracks. mom made him retire when i was like 5 or 6. i can still remember riding in the back of the race car hanging on to the roll bars going up and down the road in front of grandpas house getting ready for the race. after that he always had something to play with. 62 impala, 69 camaro, VW beach buggy, lots of stuff. he taught me soooo much and now i'm addicted. guess there's a lot worse addictions than cars. now i'm a machinist in the automotive industry and have just completed restoration on a 57 chevy. we're building another 57 for mom and dad too. the paint and body work is the hardest part for me. i do it all in a 2 and a half car garage. anyway..... just found out sunday that the wife is pregnant with our 1st child so thanks grandpa. thanks dad. i'll try to keep it going. here's a pic of them. we're driving it to NY from indiana to visit grandpa on july 1st.
It was actually an uncle that is my first recollection of what "hot roddin'" was all about. I was probably about eight or nine so it would have been around 1957-58. Some of us kids were riding in uncle Bob's '56 Chevy 2dr post. My cousin Larry who was a year or two older asked him what kind of motor was in it. Bob say's " It's a Blue Flame Six." When we got home, he popped the hood and I got my first look at a stovebolt with all the corvette goodies. Must have made an impression, I'm still draggin' home old iron. Dad was a craftsman but worked in wood more than metal. We grew up on a farm so mechanical skills got learned at an early age. I think dad always understood my p***ion for all things automotive though. A couple examples are: My sr project for Ag Shop was a dirt track 56 Buick Roadmaster, Dad was the one that signed the papers so I could race it at the local dirt oval when I was 18. Really pissed Mom off. Second story, It was almost Halloween, and the high school boys had been saving beer cans from the local bars for months to litter the streets of our little town with on Halloween night. All those from small town America will know what I am talking about. We had loaded up Dads 49 F1 till the cans (still in the cut off cases so the stacked good) reached over the top of the two foot sideboards that were still there from harvest. My friend Dave had a '62 Ranchero that we had loaded down as well. And away we went, down the ally from the old chicken house we had our cans stashed at onto main street, Me drivin' with three other guys in the cab and two on the running boards, and two more in the bed to disburse said cans. Dad, who was uptown with a few other fathers too make sure the good time didn't get too far out of hand, later told Mom, it looked like the back of the pickup exploded as I caught high gear. What we didn't know was the county sheriff had just pulled into town, and as we barreled past, ***uming a flat Ford 6 can "barrel", he gave chase. I was about to pull over knowing we would just get an earfull and have to clean up the mess when one of the guys in the back leaned over and yelled "You better move your ***, Thornburg just bounced a beer bottle of the hood of the sheriffs car." Soooo... We blew the stopsign at the edge of town and killed the lights and the last I saw of the sheriff were the red lights in his grill fading into the dust. We snuck the truck back into town and hid it in an alley and walked back up town to admire our handiwork. Dad told us that the sheriff had been asking if anyone knew who owned that old black Ford PU, and Dad did'nt lie, It was green. When he was telling Mom about it later she just shook her head and said, "You'll be bailling him out of jail someday!" A prediction which I am happy to say never came true. Dad p***ed away about 8 years ago, If yours is still around tell him you love him. It may embarr*** him, but you never know. It could be your last chance. Happy Fathers Day, Dad. George
[ QUOTE ] Cool photos of my dad, Don M. Haring, SR. Is that guy COOL or what? [/ QUOTE ] Looks like papa Harring could really "pick up" the chicks... HC
As a kid growing up in M***achusetts in the late 40's/early 50's I didn't have the benefit of a Dad as my parents had split up before I was born.I was raised mostly by grandparents.My grandfather had been into automobiles from the time automobiles were first built.He cut his teeth on such vehicles as Stevens-Duryea,Darracq,DeDion-Bouton,Panhard-LeV***eur,and the like.I can remember sitting around listening to him tell stories about all the cars he had worked on and driven(He held professional chauffeur's license #6 in M***achusetts).His favorite was about the person he had worked for as a mechanic and driver;a very rich man in the Boston area.The man had a 1903 Stevens-Duryea a**** his collection and was thinking of selling it.My grandfather really liked that car but had no funds to buy it.He approached the man about possibly buying it on the installment plan(so much per week).Apparently this man must have thought pretty highly of my grandfather because he GAVE him the car outright on the spot!It was a car my grandfather treasured for many years. The first car I remember him having was a 1934 Ford 2-door sedan.This was probably about 1952 and I can remember taking many a trip in that car to his summer cottage in Amesbury M***achusetts.On one trip we had a flat tire and the car rolled to a stop right next to a sign that had the front of the car in Georgetown and the rear in Boxford!He thought it unique enough to take a picture of it. I remember sneaking into the garage once when he was away with one of his racing pigeon buddies and attempting to practice my driving skills.I was about 10 and had watched him enough times to believe I could do it.I backed the car out of the garage(after stalling it a couple times)and up the driveway to the end.I didn't dare go out in the street(that would come the following year).After driving back and forth acouple of times,I started backing out of the garage again only to hear a horrible crunching sound! Pulling it back in I discovered a beautiful terdropped shape crease in the left rear fender!That pretty much ended my driving career for awhile and my ability to sit comfortably. My grandfather was born on the 4th of July(1876)so we used to celebrate his birthday pretty good.He was fond of wearing caps so for one birthday I bought him a vinyl one and painted up a T roadster on it in true Pete Millar style.He was very pleased and surprised to get it and wore it often. I went into the Navy in 1964 and he p***ed away while I was stationed in Florida.By the time I got back the house had been sold and all my stuff had been trashed apparently including a priceless collection of old Hot Rod magazines dating back to 1950. Never thought too much about it and when my mother p***ed away in 1987 I had to clean out her apartment.Imagine my surprise when I discovered my grandfather's cap that I had painted for him so long ago a**** the contents along with a bunch of my old toys! I finally did get to meet my father(when I was 44!)and we did have a pretty good relationship until he p***ed away in 1995 at the age of 91. Although I don't get to see my son(biological son that is)very often as he still lives in M***achusetts,we stay in touch frequently and we are close. So Happy Father's Day Dad and Gramps whereever you may be. Ray
My dad got his hot rodding done before he settled down with mom and started the family. He took me to car shows as a kid and though he hasn't had an old car since I've been around he still dreams about having a 56 Crown Vic. He had one when he was younger, he blew it up and swapped in a 390 out of a Mercury. He said it was the fastest car he ever had. Keep in mind he was driving it around the mountains of Eastern KY! He also had a 56 F100. He sold it to a good friend cheap on the day he left to join the Army (he volunteered, early during Vietnam era) When he returned a few days later, after Uncle Sam told him he had Asthma and sent him home, he went to get his truck back. His good friend told him it wasn't for sale!
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