History Were you born into a rod or custom family?

My dad has always had a love for cars but he thinks it is a waste of money and my mother could care less she thinks my 50 is the biggest pile of shit on the planet. I got the bug bad when I got my 50. Everyone in my family from my parents, siblings, grandparents and cousins think my hobby is a waste of money. But I dont care I love old cars with a passion. I also am all self taught mechanically. My dad owns two construction companies so he never had time to teach me and me and him do not get along at all. He and my brother are like best friends though so my brother got all the knowledge passed down to him. Ive had to learn everything myself so far but ive done damn well at fixing my stuff if you ask me.

 

i was born into it. my dad was born and raised in hollywood and did some custom work on his 37 ford four door sedan and then even more on his 41 plymouth moredoor. i was brought home in a custom 49-50 ford convertible and as a tot our family car was a 'responsible' family car... 52 ford stationwagon. wish i paid attention and learned from him. he had talent and i ignored it.

 

Sure would have made things a lot easier!!!!!!

 

I'd say that yes, I was born into an "old car" family. Dad has a '32 2 door sedan that has been apart since before I was born, but bought his '34 2 door around 1971 or so. Around that time, my uncle hauled home my '40 coupe, and after seeing dad's photos of Peoria '70, and seeing Gene Sonnen's coupe, dreaming that it would one day be black with flames.

Unfortunately, Dad's not a builder, but can tear them apart real well. LOL. I stole his 283, intended for the '32 sedan, and ran it in my '40 coupe for about 6 years, and then opted for more power with a .030 over 350 from a local engine builder.

Dad kinda gave up on the hot rod thing, back in the mid 70's, and his '34 sat in the garage pretty much until 2009, when my brother-in-law and I gave it a new stance and got Dad excited to drive it again. The current project is swapping out his old 3 speed (at 74, he was tired of shifting) for a th350. Unfortunately, we've gone through 3 from the first builder, and the 4th, which worked, sprung a gusher from the accumulator cover today, when I was blasting down the highway putting some test miles on it. Currently up on stands in my garage until I can get another o-ring for it. Hopefully we'll be back in bid'ness tomorrow afternoon.

 

My Dad was a machinist\mechanic and ran a sprint car in the 30s but later in life (starting in 1964 iirc) became addicted to XK series Jags.My earliest memories of him are of him working on machinery of all sorts. Does that count? I remember he hated motorcycles and was condescending toward American cars performance-until I took him for a ride in my 64 GTO-421,tri power,4 speed. One of my favorite memories.

 

My dad was brick layer by trade but also was a back yard builder in the 50's like most builders and built several nice rods and customs including a 49 ford coupe, a 34 chopped five window, a 51 mercury and a 32 Ford three window. He got out of it and raced stock cars in the 60's then started building rods again in the 70's which is when I got into it helping him build a 29 ford pickup. He built several cars in the 70's and early 80's and eventually sold each when he decided he wanted to quit selling them so now he has all the cars that he has built since including a 31 model A coupe on 32 rails, a 33 ford three window, a 34 ford five window, a 36 ford five window, 36 ford three window, 36 ford roadster and a 51 chopped mercury. He also helped build my 31 ford roadster, 32 ford three window, 31 ford sedan and several other cars that I have had over the years as well as my brother model A coupe. He'll be 83 in July and is currently building a 57 chevy pickup from the ground up as well as a flathead for our next project. My wife was raised in a similar family and is just as much into the old cars as I am. It's somewhere between a passion and an obsession.

 

No one in my family were interested. It started when I was eight or nine years old, when I saw a swedish magazine called Start and Speed. On the front cover there was i Ford Anglia Altered in green metal flake. Started buying Hot Rod after that, learning English that way. All this was in 1969. Now I have some Harley Davidson choppers in my basement. Thinking of getting a F-100, done in early seventies style. I am still the only one in my family that is into Hot Rods and Customs.

 

yep, born into it dad was mechanic it was always about fast and loud way befor a$$ monkey became popular we always seemed to have a hot rod tri five around and atleast one 60's chevy muscle car of some kind one of my favorite stories is my mother telling me how I loved to ride in dads 55 chevy pickup ( one of the few that was ever finished) when I was 3-4 years old it was 350 with a 3 speed big back window (wish I had pics) I would stand next to him on the seat with my hand on his shoulder bounce my head off the back window and yell faster every time he would shift but in the early 80's we didnt need car seats Now I have a a 8 year old boy a 10 year old boy and a 15 year old girl and I get to pass the passion down to my kids my daughter is already putting an off topic 1980 chevy 4x4 together not traditional but it is cool that she wants to fix one up

 

When I started my "restoration" of my Willys Jeepster in 1975, found that the engine was locked solid. Turned to my hot rodding uncle for suggestions. He offered up a 1969 375hp 396 w/turbo 400 for $200. The rest is history.
I have two brothers and four cousins who were all influenced by this one uncle.

 

I wasn't born to a family of Rodders. Dad was very mechanical and I learned basics from him. He never understood my old car bug, but tried not to discourage me. When I moved into my first nice home with a nice 1 1/2 car garage, the first thing I took was my project '40 Ford Pickup (much to my Dad's verbal about important things first), He brought the first load of Household furniture etc. I hooked up with a car guy at work and we joined the local Street Rod Club together, from there it's grown! That friendship was created 35 years ago and I'm still tinkering with '40 Fords and anything else that gets in my garage!

 

Well my grandpa on my mom's side ran a garage/body shop/wrecker business in Jellico, TN. I spent a lot of time with him as a child and was always amazed at what he could do with a pile of parts or with a completely wrecked car. Although he mostly just repaired cars he did do a couple custom jobs in the 50's that he told me about. One of them was a chopped/channeled '34 Ford coupe. He was 6' 3" and complained how he couldn't even get in the car when it was done. To him it was no big deal but just another car a customer wanted.

 

I was born into a restoration family. Dad and Gramps Started restoring the Binger family's first car a 1910 Overland in 1953. By the time I came along 20 years later the collection was 5 or 6 cars. Gramps passed in 1984 and we kept on. Dad had some A banger Speed parts stashed away and always talked about building a hot motor for the stocker roadster. He never got to that. I started building my coupe about a year after dad passed in 2008. I am using some of dad's stashed parts of this project. I was worried that lightning was going to strike me down when I started cutting on the car. I feel dad would have been proud with the style I am building. Here is a couple of old shots of me about 1975 when dad was finishing his '30.

 

I wish, I've ventured it all on my own and even worse, I live in the boonies and there aren't many close that share the passion so I'm generally going it on my own all the time. Wish I had someone to learn from along the way, I'm sure I'd be much more educated in the ways of the world!

 

My dad and grandpa worked for banks repossessing vehicles. My dad loved cars but did not do a lot of work on them. He owned a 1956 Ford that he rolled, leaving him with long scar along the left side of his skull where he parted his hair. My dad bought me a 1957 Chevy, a welder and a set of Craftsman tools in 1969. My mom taught me to stick weld sheet metal (she welded in the Philly ship yards during the war) My dad taught me about the engine and wiring and body work before he passed away. The Chevy was not put on the road but was used as a senior prank by my sister. It was cut in half behind the drivers door and put on either side of the chain link fence below the parking lot behind the high school. They put a dummy in the drivers seat , hanging out the door, with blood all over........

Then there was my great, great, uncle George Lyon, who invented tire chains, spring bumpers, and about 58 other patents involving boats and automobiles. He was a consultant for Henry Ford and also invented the "fake " wide white walls and had his own line of wheel overs...........missed getting some of his money by one generation

 

Born to it. Pop always had something kool/ not stock. Not sure what was done to the '40 Chevy, but the Vicky had a 110h.p. Merc with O.D. Th '62 was a 390 Hi-Po car. The '55 was one of many Trifives. Had a hot s.b.c.

 

Nope. My dad graduated high school in '57, the golden age of everything. He owned some really cool cars over the years, but they were always just transportation.
My parents gave me a great environment to grow up in, but it was a friend's dad, who never had much money, that first exposed me to turning wrenches. He did it because he had to. Me, because I love to.
I like old stuff over new stuff, in almost every circumstance. Most of my friends, and wife, don't understand my affinity for old stuff.
I'll be messing with old stuff, cars included, as long as my body allows.

Eric

 

Guess I was a fortunate kid.
Dad was very into cars. I grew up in hot rods and mild customs. At one time he had 26 old cars on our farm. All from the 40s and 50s. Plus a bunch of antique farm equipment he liked to restore.
Pretty much spent most of my childhood years wrenching with my dad. So it was not unexpected that I became a mechanic after high school. Didn't enjoy fixing other peoples cars that much though.
Became a diver and boat captain instead.
Those years learning from dad are some fond memories... tought me how to swear like a propper sailer

Dads 54 Chevy which he still has. His first car and he bought it when he was 14 from my grandmother.

 

Danny,

Sorry I haven't posted yet, but Dad kinda fit into both categories- his best car was his harbor blue '57 convertible 270hp (dual carbs). He took the aluminum Belair trim out of the rear quarter, moved the license plate to the trunk with a wagon bumper (did the same with his '55) and ran '57 Plymouth wheel disks for a mild custom look, but also raced it very successfully in the stock class.

 

When my wife and I first got together. She thought going to antique shops was wierd. She thought they were full of old junk.
Now I have a hard time getting her out of them!
Feel the same way about preferring something old over something new.
Blessed to be with someone who understands that old is gold. Who also supports the long hours I spend in the shop... wait a minute, maybe she just wants me out of the house

 

yep. My dad and almost all of my uncles on his side of the family were car nuts. some of my earliest memories were working on my grandpa's old yella ad pickup with him and my dad. Grandpa and grandma always had some type of wagon, and most of them and his pickups were very used. he had to keep em running. From my earliest memories I've always loved cars. The car in my avatar is the car that I know bit me with the car bug. When my dad took it from my grandpa's place home, my uncles and my dad put me in the front seat to push it out. The rest is history. My son has no interest in cars, he is a damn good hockey player though. So everyone has their own passion

 

My Dad was not a car guy but did have a license in every trade. So I guess I get my good hands from him. I did have some cousins that were car guys back when I was a kid. They were an inspiration to me for sure. Then again every hot rod that I saw back then was an inspiration. My Cousins Cars:

 

My dad was into cars at some level. When he was young and lived on a farm his parents let him collect all kinds of vehicles like Packards, a fire engine, model Ts, and others. He and his friends even took a model T and put a chevy OHV on it and raised hell on the fire roads in the Pine Barrens.
He took care of all the family cars but did not let my brother and I mess with them, so I didn't get to learn car maintenance from him.
I did have an early interest in cars and was always playing with our Aurora Race track and Hot Wheels. My favorite Hot Wheel was the 36 Ford Coupe! I loved to draw, and was always sketching hotrods.
Well my parents bought the 32 Woodie when I was four, and about ten years ago I started down the traditional hot rod path when I inherited it.
Between my interest in cars and my natural mechanical ability, I've been learning as I go.

 

No, it started with me!
KK

 

HRP
Thanks for starting this thread. It makes me think back about things I;ve almost forgotten.
I'm the only idiot re cars, but Mom & Dad had no problem wit me working on them.
But, our neighbor, Mr. August Esling Schultz, became my mentor:
He was a WW1 German Army veteran (wounded) and an American Army officer in WW2.
He was cool, helped me and traught me a lot. I miss him