help a kid fix his first old car.

Thank you for saying what needed to be said. This young man needs FRIENDS who will help him out and to teach him that the world in not just full of A**holes. This thread is full of ideas and offers. Let's keep it going and settle on one that will help him out. I don't have parts to donate and I can't travel too far because of work. If you need extra cash, hold the bake sale and I'll buy cookies, my wife will donate home-baked cookies. Any cookies I buy, I'll send the cash and you keep the cookies to sell to someone else.

This is the H.A.M.B. We HELP people, be it with friendship, tech info, advice or whatever!

 

I joined the HAMB because I was looking for a car.

I stayed on the HAMB to learn how to build that car.

I love the HAMB because of people like Johndanger.

If you get a donation going, I'm in for $20, and let this kid know how many strangers are pulling for him. It may improve his view of the world...

 

Had two jr. dragster kids lose their father to a heart attack at a track
in Georgia on Thanksgiving day a couple years ago... They never missed
a race and the oldest won his 1st track championship for that year. Now the
mother is hooked up with a jr.dragster father that lost his wife to cancer,
still making all the races with 3 jrs. and a duece coupe.
This kid here pulls that tank ****** by himself and give him props for that!
I've GOTTA believe that we take care of our own.
I'm in for a case of trans juice. PM me and I'll paypal the$$.

 

I find it amazing the vast wealth of knowledge that is available here on the HAMB, for FREE.

I also find it amazing sometimes, the kindness of the human spirit. It has been my experience, that car guys are the most generous people that I know. I have one friend that, if I live to be 100, I will never be able to repay him for the knowledge, time, parts and lessons he has shared with me. And if someone is down on their luck, all the more reason to step up and help. I don't know you John or the fellow you're trying to help, but it sounds like he's fortunate to have you for a friend....count me in for $20 if you end up needing funds....Phil

 

If needed I'm good for at least $20.

It's something that seems to happen to people who don't desrve another setback. It's not like a handout to someone not deserving of it, it's a chance to pay back some of the good karma Iv'e gotten in the past.


jerry

 

I'm too far away to help with the labor part of this, but I'll kick in at least $20 when you decide what you're gonna do and what you need. It seems like the kid could use a hand. Kickin in a few bucks isn't going to have an effect on my life, but together we may have a positve effect on his.

 

If anyone had the wrong idea about what I posted, I AM encouraging the kid to get the car running, rather than take it in the shorts and part it out.

When my first auto-trans blew, I didn't have the money to send it out, but I needed the car. So, I opened the Ford factory manual to the C4 section, and followed along step by step.
Trans worked fine for years, long past when my first ex took the car as part settlement, past when she sold it at a loss, past when the new owner and I accidently found each other at a convenience store.
Learned a LOT more than I would have if I'd written a cheque to Trans******s, Inc.
True, a C4 IS easier than a Hydro, but step one IS step one, and the satisfaction in making it work is worth all the h***le.
A full rebuild may not be necessary, either, might just need bands and clutches, in which case it'll be a LOT cheaper, provided the separate parts are still available.

Possibly just a band adjustment, though that is unlikely.

I had NO ONE to help me, nobody. I did it myself and learned a lot. This kid has a LOT more help, and will end up a winner as will all who help.
Let me know if there is a fund, and if the fund is for him to rebuild, or for a cheque to Trans******s, Inc.
I'm not much in favour of the latter.

Cosmo

 

I'm not one to give in exchange for nothing... earning your gains is a key lesson. in real life That said, if he's willing to come over the hill to San Jose and he's got basic skillset, I can put him to work on some things relative to my Caddy project. He could then earn a couple hundred bucks towards his trans. PM me if interested.

-scott noteboom

 

I'll ante up a few bucks as well. Keep us posted when you decide what it will take to get it going.
Good on ya JD!

 

First , thanks to all of you who have made all the great offers of advice , ideas , parts , encouragement and even cash , it says alot about the kind of folks that are on this forum and makes me feel proud to be in the same company .

Here is where we are at , I just got a call back from the guys with the 54 Pontiac engine and trans that was listed on Craig's list. ( thanks to Blackflag for the heads up ) Turns out he is right down the street and a friend of the owner at the shop that I work at. He was asking $600 for the engine and trans , they pulled it out of a 70k mile strong running well maintained local car that is geting the 350/350 treatment .

Without laying the whole story on him , and probably because I work for one of the more well known car guys in the area , he said I could have it all for $400. Now we're talking . I guess it wouldn't hurt to have a spare motor for the next thing thats ****s out , and all for less than a rebuild kit .

As far as the cash goes , whatever he can't come up with I will cover , and let him work it off over time , which he would have done for free anyway.

The strangest part of this whole thing to me is that he still has no idea about any of this , I won't even be able to call him until Monday , because I left the number where he is crashing on a post-it note with his pink slip on my desk at the shop.

I will let you know how it unfolds from here, and thanks again for everything ,

John

 

Glad to hear everything is turning out good, you have some major good Karma headed your way John! It's great to know how many great people are here on the HAMB willing to help a person in need! I've known some people down on there luck and just being there for them with emotional support (or whatever you want to call it ) is usually worth more to them than anything else. It's good to know when your down, that someone has your back.

Keep us posted, and be sure to let the kid know about this post when the time is right.

 

glad to hear this is unfolding so well.. tell that kid not to give up..

 

Hey good thread, brings out similar memories when I was young, dumb and full of ......... Recall at 17 when a brake line rusted thru (long before dual systems) and I wanted to just pinch it off with a ball peen and clamp it with vise grips. The local old mechanic let me bring it in his shop and fix it right. If it hadn't been for his help ........
It's worth $100 from me for this thread to help out a kid. Hell I see the general public throw money at a lot of really dumb causes. The HAMB has common sense and reality so I see it as a really good cause.
Set up a fund, I'm in and want to see pics of the kid and car when it's done. Worth it to me.

 

OK,2 things to think about before you go lay out good money for the craig's list engine.
1.there might not be anything wrong with the trans he has besides needing adjustment.slipping is the kiss of death for newer automatics,but not always for hydros.
2.the donor engine/trans should be just that.
donated.
the guy who pulled'em is probably building some Boyd-style abortion,and should consider himself lucky we don't kick his *** when we come by to pick'em up
just kidding.
but seriously,don't jump the gun,it might take awhile for the kid to pay back $400,besides which he may not have a place to store an extra engine.

 

glad to hear that everything seems to be working itself out, but if for some reason you hit a snag somewhere along the line and need some green put me down for $20.

good luck

 

If I tried to write every time someone helped my dumb *** out... nobody'd bother to read that much!

Put me down for a Paypal $20 when you get a fund set up. Even if he sticks some late model *******ization in.

-Bill

 

Once he finds out he has a transmission lets get this kid a HAMB account....

 

You have a point , so if you can swing it , I would really like you take a good look at the trans that came out and see what happened , and if need be check out the one thats going back in ,( with a service and adjustment at the least )

I am not worried about the cash part or the storage of the other motor , that I can swing , I can't tell you how many times I have missed the boat on good deals by overthinking them , and I think this is the best solution in this case , if the replacement trans is useable .

Happy to have your expertise in this endevor George , looking forward to the diagnosis.

Oh yeah , as far as the cash donation thing goes , you folks are great for even offering , but I can cover this one , GIVE TO THE HAMB , weather it be cash , advice , tech articles , support , parts , whatever you have and can share.

Before this post I had mostly lurked around and used the Hamb as a place to buy and sell parts , and see what other people were up to with their old cars , got some good ideas , and might have helped a few people find a deal on something they were looking for .

Since this post ,not only have I been able to help someone else out who may have lost faith in the old car hobby, but I feel like this has helped me regain my own faith in the people in this hobby as a whole , and I feel that is worth the price of admission .

I OWE that to the HAMB . So once this project is back on the road , and I find something around here that is worthy ,I will be having my first HAMB auction , and I think if you have gotten any thing out of this you sould do the same.

Thanks , the HAMB rules !

John

 

put me down for a couple bucks. If we convert 1 person a month, wont that make this a better hot-rod place?

 

Per your request, I just sent Ryan that 20 via paypal. I've meaning to do that for a while, thanks for the suggestion.

Good luck with the kids car.

 

As promised , my first Hamb auction

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1144544#post1144544

 

Back, Back, Back to the top

 

wow! this brings out the best and the worst in folks...i always thought of george as being mean as a snake...and john, well??? go figure...anywho, ANYTHING i can do let me know...i'll even come take the kid to a meeting...john, you are a true ruler...my hat's off to you and all the folks willin' to help...
love & respect
nic

 

I been thinking... You say that you dont want the money because you will gladly cover what he cant. Maybe you should start a fund for this kids car with the money that some of the other members are putting up. Let him spend it on some of his ideas. Of course you would have to see how serious he is about it after the tansmission is fixed, but I can see that he has problems money wise and maybe this would make things a little better for him. If you do start a fund let me know, I may have some money laying aorund here somewhere.

 

You've done enough , with the hook up to the motor and ****** . The money thing isn't a problem right now , thanks again.

 

Nic , funny you should mention that, after calling around looking for him today , I have come to find that he hasn't been going to meetings since he came by the shop and gave me his keys, and no one has seen him around town . A couple guys said that they think he relapsed and is on a bender ,or in rehab, it makes me wonder if it was worth all the trouble .

I guess its true what they say , you have to hit rock bottom , before you figure it out , I guess he might have had a bit farther to fall.

the worst part is that one of the guys said that last he heard he was all bummed out about his car , I really hope that his being upset about the car didn't get him to do something stupid , because it really wasn't that hard of a problem to fix.

I hope for the best , and that he is fine , but it doesn't look good.

Sorry for the ****py news everyone , I really wanted a happy ending on this one , but I guess you can only do so much , it just really ****s that he doesn't even know about all that has gone down and still thinks his car is a loss.

I will keep you posted as the drama unfolds.

 

Twenty five years from the last drink tells me the trouble with the car did not cause his relapse. You did he right thing with the info you had at the time, don't let him guilt trip you now.

 

Ditto. I believe the most important thing you could give the kid right now (besides a ride to a meeting) would be a copy of this thread. It includes everything a person needs to become an expert on the human condition, not to mention some tech and theory advice (TH350 vs Hydromatic) and even some sound business advice (learn to work on these obsolete trannies and name your price for all the work you want).
You're a hero, John and the kid's on his way to being one some day too, if he can stay out of his own way (I know how hard that can be) and run with the winners, like you. God bless you both...

 

Will a ****** from a '51 Caddy 331 work?
If so, PM me and porkn******. We can hook you up.
r

 

when you find him tell him he needs a sponsor !! he should know what that means ! slips happen i slipped 3 times before i finally got sober 13 yrs ago..