My mentor was Frank Kennedy he was a renowned metal man here in North Jersey. He was my father's age and took care of me like a son. I met him around 1975 .Frank welded everything with coat hangers and acetylene. He was chopping tops in the late 50s and a lovable character. I would bring home junk that was way over my skill level and Frank always bailed me out. He would weld in a patch, hit with a grinder and then paint it. He would say you could run a silk handkerchief over it and not get a run. He would call bondo Plastique. We went to the diner, and I always paid, I would listen to him rattle on about the young waitress for the rest of the day. Now that most of us are a little older, or ancient I hope that we could p*** this tradition on to some of our younger people coming up in the ranks and remember kindly the people that helped us early on
Great story ! It is always sad when one of the old "holders of great knowledge" p*** is on. What's even sadder/scarier is WE are becoming those guys...and it's our turn (responsibility) to p*** our knowledge on.
Besides my Dad there were several mentors for me over the years; first was Ted Frye, then Carman Pisano (Wedge Eng). Later Larry Anderson (Cyclone) and “Copper” George Lane. I’ll never forget them, they made me the man I am today. I wish I could sit and have a beer with them today, tell them how important they were in a hot rod kids life. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
My parents were my mentors, Dad for my interest in cars/racing, Mom for great advice/support/my self confidence. With my own early car interest I would say the car magazines, Hot Rod/Car Craft/Rod & Kustom/Speed Sport racing News, Work/Trade, an old Tool & Die Maker, R J Tack during my apprenticeship, Ron Hoettells, Sesco racing engines, worked for him for a while and a mentor when I started my shop/ business. Great Words of wisdom from my parents, " There are No Excuses, Make it Happen" "Always Remember, There are way more Horses ***'s Than Horses" I've been very fortunate all my life to be around good people, I figured it out when very young to avoid the unhappy/Whiny/*****y/complainers/losers/excuse makers and to this day, do not, will not ***ociate with this behavior. Now that I'm an Old Timer, raised a family, Life has been very kind to me, Great wife, all my kids appear to be happy and are successful, grandchildren doing well, good friends. If opportunity arises I do try to p*** on any wisdom/knowledge along to any young person if/when asked, (my children didn't get a choice, they got my advice/wisdom like it or not) my response is, I'll tell you everything I know, it will take 5 minutes, the rest will take hours, tons of BS involved. LOL My parents p***ed away early, Mom when I was 31, Dad when I was 39 and I wish I could sit and have dinner with them to catch up and Thank them. I've Said This many times, I'm a Very Lucky Man.
My mentor, who I have mentioned before, here on the H.A.M.B. was Joe Carlomagno of the San Francisco Ramblers. I lived across from Joe in San Francisco in the late 1950's/ Joe took me to the Oakland Roadster Show, San jose car shows, and to the drags at Half Moon Bay. he also took me to the Ramblers club meetings at Mel;s Drive In. What a hell of an adventure for a 16. 17 year old kid. I have contacted Joe recently, He is in his late 80's, and he is still into hot rodding, and has a full fendered 1932 ford Roadster. When he live in San Francisco he ha a chopped, high boy 1932 Ford 3 window as well as a mild custom 1949-50 Mercury two door coupe.. When I contacted him, I told him how influential he was in letting me observe and learn bout hot rods. He thanked me, as he never realized wat he was doing fo me. I am now 79ears old. and I try to p*** this same enthusiasm to the next generation. They appreciate it, even if they don't tell you at the time.
Wicarnut a lot truth to what you said. I have to admit that I did feel sadness when I thought about my old friend we had many laughs together and memories I'll always cherish. One day Frank fell asleep under the car so we sprayed the bottoms of his shoes with adhesive and lit it on fire.We're lucky he didn't kill us My friend and I still have to laugh at that prank. Okay I am an *** I admit it.
Mentors aren’t always fatherly or fun to hang around with. My first real job out of high school around 1988 was a plating shop for a couple of years - one of the owners who ran the plating room was a 60 year old Englishman named Dave Gudgeon. Dave could accomplish more in a day than 2 men - he was always thinking 2 steps ahead and he always demanded high quality. He rarely made the same mistake twice and he was always looking for some way to do things SMARTER. A real hard worker. I learned so much from just watching him work- wish I could work for him for another day but sadly he p***ed about 15 years ago.
There doesn't seem to be so much opportunity to talk to the younger generation about mechanical stuff as in years past. You don't see young people messing about with cars, or kids with go karts on suburban streets these days. Not many neighbourhood garages either. We'll have to mentor the next generation via social media, I suppose.
This is an excellent topic as we all have had people who made an impression on us in one way or another. I was probably born with an interest in wheeled vehicles as my father would say I could recognize a Porsche long before it would seem a likely a buck with a sick collection of Hotwheels should.. Yes, there were mentors and other people of influence on my already huge interest in cars, trucks, and anything else with wheels or mechanical.. The list of mentors is probably going to be a bit longer then I will be able to recall at first but some of the major players were my Dad “Joe”(mostly a salesman) and a few of his friends that played a role in my mechanical education Tony(a mechanic with an engineering degree) Jimmy(owned wrecking yards) and Bill(a heavy equipment mechanic but a talented fabricator and builder) are but a few that I can recall and then there were several family members that were also talented tradesmen and so on that all had an impact. Both of my grandfather’s John(a machinist) and Tony(an upholsterer), two different uncles named Bob one a was handyman and the other (a businessman) was inspirational and supportive human being, uncle Bing (truck driver) and my cousins Ricky(welder fabricator designer) and Eddie (electrician). All have.played a role in where and who I am today.. I have learned from all of them and have made my own path as they have..
As mentioned, when those people p***, you find yourself being the bearer of the torch so to speak and really have to carry it on as they did in their lives. I can agree that times may have changed to the car hobby in some respects. Granted I do not go to any events anymore, I do make it to the Back to the 50s in St Paul when I can. My observation has always been to enjoy what other people are into when it comes to the car hobby. Our local World of Wheels Show is an example. They have a day for Tuners, as they recognize that is a segment of the car hobby that has gotten pretty large. Although you may not see many 30s cars there anymore, there is still local builds to admire. Also as mentioned the expense of the hobby in some respects is higher now. So in Australia for example, they do still build hotrods under tight restrictions depending on the state they live in. There is also a fair amount of car culture that is based on Japanese cars, as you can imagine the influence they had from being so close to Japan. Might Car Mods is the Australian Equivalent of Roadkill here in some respects, although Roadkill may do different things, both groups do things they want to do/modify and find fun. Even if its something like my 20some nephew who put a new engine in his TJ Jeep, they are out there, you just have to notice them to encourage them. And yes, a day does not go by when I do not thing about the likes of Johnny Parks, Jack Moriarty, Stan Lawrence and yes my oldest brother when it comes to all things auto.
Frank McCabe, body and fender man for Brown Bros ford for forty years, self described as a hacker, best body guy I've ever seen, built the coolest 4X4's you ever saw, I have all his worn out tools, lots home made, he's 85, lives in a care home with parkinsons. Life is so not fair sometimes, he's a shell of his former self.
I have to add Gene Conway (C&O hydro) and Bill MacFarlane to my list. I had known both since I was a teen and when I opened my shop they encouraged and advised me in every area. Many thanks. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
One guy I became close with is no longer with us. I learned so much working with him on cars over the years, he was 12 years my senior. He had rekindled a love affair with the needle and the s****, at that point I had to cut ties with him. His life was reduced from years of drugs, smoking and drinking. I'm still in contact with one of his sons.
1958 Hello, My brother is/was my tormentor, protector, older brother, and also a good mentor. He loved to play tricks on the little brother, but needed to know when to stop. Otherwise, the wrath of a cornered animal comes slashing out with anything within reach. Case in point: I was very good at playing that outdoor game with pocket knives and screwdrivers, throwing them into the ground to make the opponent split their legs until they could not. There was a standing rule of 3-4 inches each turn to make the game last. The foot moved to the knife or screwdriver in the ground. It was the older boys, my brother included, that taught the game to the younger kids. Then one day inside of the trailer, he punched me so hard in the left shoulder that I got sent back against the backing of the small kitchen table seating. We were putting some brackets together from those old erector sets with nuts/bolts and a screwdriver. I was so stunned that tears came into my eyes. But I could see my brother running a short distance toward the other end of the small trailer. Before he got 10 feet away, I grabbed a screwdriver and like a knife thrower, threw it at his body. My aim was off and I hit him behind the right ear. That knocked him for a loop. Of course, we both got in trouble with our mom and dad. There was not much that was not seen in that small trailer. From that point on, he knew there was something brewing, if pushed too hard, in me. So, he tended to do only mild tricks and jokes. This led to the next stage in our growing up development with bicycles, wagons, and more mechanical toys being utilized daily. He started to teach me to make funny things with the Erector Sets that he had designed. I was the ***embly mechanic. One project started off as a tall jointed crane that somehow got turned into a STEN machine gun. Then all sorts of guns and rifles we saw in our comic books were given to me to build with the metal Erector beams and attachments. 1948 Westside Long Beach Finally, the toys went into plastic models and for a while, my model building skills surp***ed his skills. It got so bad that one time he accidentally crushed my roadster hot rod by stomping on it, away from the sight and hearing of our parents. Then he ran… Jnaki The pre teenage years for me was a night and day experience. My brother was actually nice and taught me a ton of stuff for his new car maintenance and upkeep. (Secretly, he was given the directive from our parents to give me rides anywhere I wanted to go. We were a two car family and my mom did not drive as yet.) He showed me what to do, watched me start, then disappear until the job was finished. Of course, the payment was to take me to basketball or baseball practice several miles away. But, he made is as if he was doing me a favor by saying he could take me to the practice fields. The older brother being nice to the little kid. I fell for that as a nice gift an older brother would do for his little brother. It did not take me until early 9th grade to catch on to what he was doing, but by then. I was having the time of my life being a mechanic and hot rod guy. It was a joke to teach me at first. But, the payoff was, I actually learned and became a great mechanical, oriented guy. Then our final foray into hot rod building together was the Willys Coupe project. That project was building and rebuilding a complete 283 SBC, running it for a couple of months, then rebuilding it into a 292 SBC with a 671 supercharger kit and specific parts necessary. So, from all that early turmoil, maybe my brother had his own way to teach me without making it seem like he was better than me. He was almost three years older, more knowledgeable at first, but I caught up fast…with his mentoring me, as he did. TWO BROTHERS 1960 SMOKERS MARCH MEET #2 1960 Up close and personal…Speed Sport Special The mentoring even started in the sport of surfing. He gave me tips, I listened, tried it out, and got bashed in the head several times. But, with his help, I learned to stand up and turn. From practice, practice, practice at various So Cal locations and into deep, Baja California, we grew up together, surfing and enjoying life from that angle. He was proud of me when he knew I was getting better at surfing than he was at the time. I was on a crazy streak of trying to be better for myself, but it was my brother’s teachings that helped me along the way. Our midnight conversations continued at family gatherings and visits to Santa Barbara until they were no more… He left all of us too soon. Thanks, James… Two brothers on the same wave filmed by our dad. South Side Huntington Beach Pier…
The Jalopy Journal
