Started working on it in 1959 when I was 14. My ride at the time was a Cushman Eagle. My friend's grandmother gave him a 1941 Ford Sedan. He was building a Model A touring car, and needed money for an Olds engine. I bought the sedan for $30.00 and traded it for a 1946 Ford coupe. I got a running '53 Hemi out of a s**** yard for $10.00 and bought motor mounts and transmission adapter from Honest Charlies. Picked up a '39 gearbox and away we went. There were four of us building at the same time and we ended up with the following: 1. My Hemi powered '46 coupe 2. Olds powered Model A 3. Olds powered '39 coupe 4. Nailhead powered '46 coupe I was running skinny 16s all around and they would spin when even I was taking off easy. That didn't stop me from busting axle keys on a regular basis. Kinda funny, but both of the '46s had axle key shearing problems, but the Model A (running a stock rear end) never sheared one that I recall. In my high school, it was better to have no car at all, than to drive your parents' cars.
last year... i was 39 years old and i bought my A coupe... i don't know **** about building cars... but i'm learning fast I was a late bloomer when it came to Hotrods...very late! Motorcycles... that's a different story, bought my first one ( Honda MB5) in high school. CAB
A month before my 16th birthday, in 1960, I made my parents very happy when a '34 Plymouth coupe showed up in the driveway. A year later it was powered by a '56 Buick 322, and street legal. The hard part was convincing my parents that I had to drive the 5 blocks to high school every day, because it was suddenly too far to walk. Mutt
When I was 14 me and my Dad start fixing up my 57 VW bus we got from the original owner, That same year he p*** away from heart failure and I inherited his 1934 3window 59AB powered Hot Rod. That was 11 years ago. I've been through many other cars but that one will always be with me until my day comes and my children get it. I guess you could say I was professionally built, by FoMoCo as the body has never been off the frame. Drew
Hmmmm, I was 20, 33 years ago. Bought a 1959 Corvette for $600, rebuilt the motor, 30 over 283, 30-30 cam, AFB, muncie 4-speed, and a posi 3:36 rear end. We used to drag like crazy on the outskirts of town. Guess there is an auto mall and 200k people living there now
1962 I bought a 54 Merc with the gl*** top. Yellow and Green two-tone,overhead oilers,the most screwed up carb ever built. I painted " MISS/CARRIAGE " on the side, heated the front coils and proceeded to BE COOL. Trans went out and it took me a month to change over to stick and overdrive. Sold it to buy a 57 chebby. Yea I miss them all.
When I was 15, my brother handed down his 64 Riviera. It seems a 72 Pinto was better on gas (And oil) and we were in the middle of gas rationing and all that fun ****.
14...between 9th and 10th grades...I got a well-used '58 Impala. After much effort, I was able to drive it to my senior prom. When I left beautiful Buffalo NY for the military, I left it with the folks. I planned to have it shipped wherever I ended up. I ended up in SoCal, and got a few cars of my own, so I never went back for it. Pops thinks its his now. I let him. It's been over 20 years now, and technically I still have my first car. Scotch~!
when i was 13 i got my 67 grand prix, 428 ho- auto... i got it from my dad... thing spins the tires like nothing else ive ever driven.... im 17 now and i just got my first "hot rod" about a month ago, now its sitting mostly diss***embled in my garage... a 53 chevy 2 door sedan, traded some tools for it
I had a '40 Ford coupe at 15 and this roadster at 16 (shown here in 1954, on it's way to becoming a hot rod). Didn't get to finish this one, had to leave it behind when my parents moved us to SoCal.
First car was a $100 64 Malibu,picked up when I was 15 in '74. First hot rod is my 48 Plymouth sedan,bought over a decade ago. Unfinished driver then & now!
I was 15 when I bought my 55 chevy hardtop for $1,200 25 years ago. It ran and had new uplstery but had been hit in the quarter panel. Another $800 and it was ready to drive with new paint and all. I had been working 3 paper routes to get money and only had $800 so my dad paid the rest as a graduation gift if I graduated high school I would not have to pay him back.
My first 'real' hotrod was my 56 moredoor 150 sedan. Here's a pic: 3 on the tree and a blue flame with cragars- ha ha if you call that a hotrod!
My first was a 1957 Chevy 2 door, I was 15 that was 1968, paid $25 for it. Drove that thing for two years, blew it up and sold it at the junk yard for $25 and got to keep the battery.
I got my first car, a 1940 Ford coupe, in 1967 when I was 15. It probably wasn't much of a hot rod at the time, but some thirty-odd years and four different engines later it probably qualifies. Drove it to school this morning.....
Not really a Hot Rod but I sure thought it was. Dad bought from my brother in law for me. It was mine as long as I got a job and paid insurance. 1972 Skylark 350/4 Sold it back to my brother in law about three years later and got a 1971 GS Stage 1
I was 15 when I got a 59 Biscayne, it had been restored...well paint, interior and it ran decent. It w*** cool to learn to drive in something with a 3 on the tree. I was about 18 when I got my first real project and started wrenching alot.
I built my 1st when I was 19....non-traditional 400hp 2wd 1987 GMC Jimmy. 400hp+not heavy S-10=great burnouts!!
I had a 60 Impala stocker when I was 16 and won best stocker at the Rumblers show in NY last year. Now I'm 17 and I sold the Chebby for a kustom 53 Merc off of a guy I know, and its a project.
I was 17 in 1974, pumping gas to feed the need. My dad and brother brought it home while I was at work. A Red 1939 Deluxe Ford Coupe. It had a Flathead with three deuces, Edelbrock Alluminum heads, Fenton headers, Harmon and Collins mag and a 411 rear end. The guy had fixed it up for the drags. It over heated on 20 mile trip and he parked it. I'm guessing I got it some 10 to 15 years later. One cylinder was froze because that hole had the generator over it and he didn't oil it. Soaked it in deisel and got it broke loose and running with little worse for wear. I ran it my senior year in High school with the flathead which I has trouble keeping it running. The mag needed new parts and I couldn't find them. I had 327 small block I threw in with an adapter bellhousing over that summer which smoke profusely. My brother and I put together a 283 bored out to a 301 that my dad had run in his modified. And I drove the car through college then I parked it and begin the real working and family life. I do still have the car, that is waiting it turn to be revived.
damn you guys are making me feel lazy now haha. I'm 16 and just got my license. As of now my ride is a fox body mustang ive been working on but ive been thinkin of how i could build a "real" hotrod. The only trouble is the money i guess. But this is definitely givin me some motivation so thanks. Sam's story sounds exactly like what id like to do.
14 When I overheard my uncle talking about s****ping out a car, I asked him if I could have it and he towed it to my house, handed me the pink and said have fun. It has been thru a few motas and other stuff till I have it where it is now.
"I was so much older then..." "I'm younger than that now..." Bought a 58 Pontiac SuperChief from my old man at 14. Earned $1.25 an hour moving pipe, bucking hay and driving hay and spud trucks. Paid $125 for it and had to rebuild the ****** right after I got it. Went thru a bunch of cars pretty early. By 18 I had a 396 four speed in a 68 Camaro that started out as a six banger car when I got it. We swapped lots of Impala and pickup engines into those cheap 55-57 Chevy cars. At 19 I had a flip front 55 Nomad with a dual quad 427 and quick change rear. Girlfriend got it and went back to Canada when I went in the Navy. You GMB's may have seen that one in the early 70's on Woodward.
I was 14 when i bought not only my first car, but my first 'old' car ( it's not really a hot rod, and i don't consider it a custom either ...) It was a 57 chevy belair that i paid 1000 bux for. Cut lawns and shoveled driveway's to get the money. It was rough when i got it, didn't run, was 5 different colors and ripped up interior etc..it sat for 14 years or so.. It was my first experience building a car, and i did as much as i could with help from my dad. We had a friend of his paint it after we got it on the road. I still have the car, some 17 years later..and will hopefully never have to sell it. there's a lot of sentimental value in this car that could never be replaced. It's due for another rebuild..but this is how it looked last year.. Tony.
Define hot rod. First car @ 14 but it was an english 4 banger. First car that resembled a hotrod 15 started driveing it legal @ 16. But never got a ticket for driveing without a liscense. Bought and over hauled both, the Roadmaster (tweaked 364) got nosed decked, dropped, and upholstered then on to bigger 'n' better things.
I'm 16 I got my first "old car" 2 weeks ago a 31 model A coupe. I'm building it right now this weekend i'm boxing the frame rails,putting in a new front cross member,and z'ing the rear.
i wouldnt say it was a HOT ROD,,but at the time,to me it was! i was 15 and saved up money from building bmx bikes from others left over parts and earned money working with my dad in the summer... bought a 57 chevy 4 dr wagon with no motor,dented up fender,it was a pile,,but i loved that thing! my dad donated a '56 265 to the cause and we got the wagon running,,primered it redoxide,left the top factory offwhite ,found a fender for 50 bucks,through a seat cover over the front bench ,a 25 dollar casette player from the swapmeet with house speaker in the back and and put some rallys on it,.. as soon as i got my license i headed straight to Johnnies Broiler! didnt keep it very long after that as this painter dude from whittier traded me a 68 camaro straight across for it, of course i wish i still had both of those cars...
The Jalopy Journal
