When did it start for you?

When I was four in 1964, my dad drove a '53 chevy. I loved how I looked over the bubble hood and couldn't see the opposite fender. I loved the big steering wheel, the way it smelled. Even then, I appreciated the difference between old, round cars and eveything else. I have owned 6 of them. Own one now. Coincidence ?

 

I was about 7 an my family was in **** Rapids MN on the way home to Anoka. It was probably 1964. I saw a yellow hot rod parked on the boulevard of the Phillips 66 station on **** Rapis Blvd. I aske my dad what that car was. I'll never forget what he said : "Thats trouble. thats what that car is" He was sort of right. Turned out the be a Model A(??)

Any MN HAMBers know the car??

 

Ithink I was about 5 when our family went on a summer trip to Kamloops ,B.C. to see some friends. Before the trip Dad tuned up the '55 Olds 2dr. post we had and I watched and learned how from him . Been a long time since I thought of that but probably from that time forward I am thoroughly addicted to mechanical things, if it runs on gas , diesel , or steam I'm in.
My Dad was an aircraft mechanic during WW2 and one of the greatest joys I shared with him was going to the Reno Air Races in 1990, he was giddy and in his element.It was a moment I cherish because we shared it together as he explained the workings of these impressive warbirds. One of the only times I saw him blissfully happy and I was there.
Thanks for starting this thread gave me a little reminder of who started me down my road to a woody project . Miss You Dad ,Rob.

 

hmm
thats a long time ago

my first favorite toys were some Auburn rubber hot rod roadsters and a 57 ranchero..
in 1961 a friend of my dad left a 55 pontiac 4door at our place for us to play with.. my older brother drove it and gave us hours of rides all around our 5 acre property until the brakes gave out
. then i was given some plastic new promo models as birthday gifts.. i believe it was a 62-63 comet so when i was 8 thru 16years old- plastic models .. tv star cars batman , munsters and wide world of sports racing was a heavy influence ... then car magazines ,more models .slot cars. even going so far as to buy all the old plastic models and decals from any one that would give them up .. getting the promo models from dealerships when i could
modifing my old balloon Schwinn bike into a stingray clone led to me
finding car parts in the ditch or dump and selling the stuff for model money

attending races at Minn Dragways when i could get a ride, even just going to the closest town which was the major thorough fair to the track to sit and watch the drag cars being drivin or hauled to the races or going home at the close of the day

then as my brothers that were 8 and 4 years older than me started driving and dragging old cars home and thier friends showed up with a ***t. of rods and older cars..

my first job at a woodworking shop at 13 was influenced by the half dozen older guys who all had muscle cars and hotrods .. they would all race out of the workplace and drag every day at closing time
by then brand new cars were just a something to dream about .. older cars were what was readlily availible


currently i have 16 old cars , hundreds of model cars ,1000's car magazines , lots of ***ociated stuff...
could have been piano lessons , sports ,hunting or fishin...
nope.... old tin,tetanous shots, motor oil and model glue ...HAMB

 

I was born in '58. For me it was always a part of life. I grew up knowing brands, options, engines and such. NASCAR and Drag Racing were on ABCs Wild World of Sports. Dad taught me the differences between the A's, 32's and 33's and 34's. I loved my Uncles 48 Chevy Fastback in Oklahoma. That car had less rust on it than our 2 year old Olds 88 from Michigan. Another Uncle had a '64 Impala SS, 327 from Tx. Cool as heck riding around in it up in MI. My only wish is my Father would have seen how deep my p***ion was for the older cars and supported it. Grandpa died in 70 and the Fastback and his '54 Chevy Pickup were forsale for $200 each. I wanted to drag one home and had the $ but was a no sale to Dad. Never corssed my mind to just give the $ to my Uncle to "hold" on to the car for me. The '54 is actually mine now but has gone through another owner who crashed it. Sold it back to the Uncle. Truck has been stripped but sits on the family property waiting for it's trun.

 

I do not remember any yellow hotrods around but my crossing the big river to Anoka/**** rapids was rare .. kinda like going to a strange land but always seemed to see some kinda hotrod when did go that way and racers were usaully parked at service stations or dealerships long that main drag

 

From my earliest memories I had hot rods on the brain. My Dad was into hot rods... so I guess I inherited it.

 

Long before I had a car, I had Cartoons magazines and built alot of models. Thats where it started for me.

 

I covered this way back in my very first HAMB post, which is probably lost now. I trace my interest in old cars way back to when I was little - probably three or four. When we lived in Alpena (and we moved in 1985, when I was three), I distinctly recall asking my father to repaint a Matchbox or Hot Wheels Cobra so it would resemble a ‘57 Corvette. I was given a Polaroid camera for my fifth birthday, and a good 90% of the photos I took were of Model As, Model Ts, and anything that resembled a ‘57 Chevy.

My father was and is a car guy, but moreso into muscle cars and ‘60s-style hot rods (think California Kid, but with no hood and a big block Chevy). He’s never completely understood my obsession with bias-ply wide-whitewall tires, or my appreciation for flathead engines, as those things just seem quaintly antiquated to him. He has grown to appreciate 1940s and ‘50s style considerably even since I was a teenager.

I don’t know where it came from, exactly, just that I was probably exposed to those things through his books, magazines, and car-show attendance, and formed my own opinions. Probably children’s television was an influence too, as ‘50s cars and Model Ts were a staple of programming back then.

Interestingly, my younger brother’s tastes aren’t at all like mine. He’s more of a cafe-racer/streetfighter motorcycle guy, though he has a ‘77 Corvette project going too. Still, HAMB-style cars are only at the very edge of his radar.

-Dave

 

My sister and I on my Dad's '29 Tudor. The car was bought in 1968 it's my understanding dad is the 2nd owner. The car is still packed in my dad's garage.


My girls on the running board of my my A last summer

 

My family wasn't a "car" family, but my dad was a fighter pilot and always drove like one, so I learned to like speed. When I was just a kid,he had a Model T, then had to sell it for financial reasons. He also had a 1963 Olds Jetfire-the turbo'd model that would just scoot. About the same time, one of his employees changed out the motor in his '60 Chevy and then took me to the Atco Dragway. Not a special story-just another kid from the 60's exposed to neat cars and it took.

 

Pretty much the same for me. Other than my uncle, no one in my family was into cars. I think it definate though when I got a chance, about 8 years old to ride in my first hot rod (family friend). It was a typical 80's style monochromatic duece, but I have never forgot the sound, the smell, or the feeling!

 

Sometime in the last 60' of early 70's I knew what I wanted. Watched a "Wonderful World of Disney" show and it was all about cars. I remember the intro was a pinstriper laying down some lines and then the animation took over and the stripes began to dance. It was moving. I have never forgotten that imagery. Wish I could remember the name of the show 'cause I'd buy it!

 

Born in 83, my first memories are in Maine at my Grandfathers, not really a hot rod guy, but an engineer of sorts, he worked for NASA for a while, and was a prefessor at Colby College in Maine. He used to tow me around on the back of the tractor, ol green john deer. Born up in Maine I watched them building the house we already inhabited, my first word was backhoe! Mom was prob. pissed. I loved cars since I can remeber, Grampie used to make me some of the most intricate wooden cars, trucks, cranes, car carriers, boats, all out of wood and cool rubber wheels that I have no idea where they came from. Herbie the love bug got me into vw's and had a 72 squareback at 13. I was hit by a new cadillac at 14, and for some reason have grown fond of them since that introduction. Matchbox cars, neighbors cars, and my aunt teaching me standard on a new saab turbo (neck snap, neck snap, neck snap, buuuuuuuurrrrrrnoutttt!!!) I didn't stop that burnout for quite a while, cuz the car was actually moving for me haha. Nowadays, my friends are having kids and they bring em by the garage, always have a few new hotwheels in a special drawer in the bench. They seem to know right where to go! I enjoyed this thread, had to give my peice. Im sure there are things that escape me at the moment...

 

My Dad's fault. He "let" me "help" him when I was small. 3 months shy of my 4th birthday my mom tanned my hide because she caught me trying to raise a 58 impala with a bumper jack. I own the 48 chev 2 dr that I learned to drive in.... at the age of 9. I fool with all kinds of cars but my soul is in the old rusty ones. Ironically my Dad tried to discourage my habit as I grew older.....didn't work. 46yrs and still no chance of slowing down. peace

 

Born in 59 remember my Mom getting a 63 427 galaxie she ran into the wall bettween the house an next door neibours house car got away from her she only knew flat out or nothing lol left rubber strips everytime she dropped us off at school and actually got told she wasnt allowed on school property anymore so she would let us off on the street and burn the tires off leavin ..she couldnt drive worth a hell but as kids we loved going for rides with her ..lol car would get snakey and she would end up on the sidewalk knocking over garbage cans back out on the street even the crossing guard would run for the front lawns when she seen the red galaxie coming down the street
Dad ended up taking the car away from her an got her a little 63 fairlane straight 6 that couldnt pull the skin off rice pudding ..damn wish i had that 427 now ..lol dents and all

 

My Dad worked in a Mopar garage from the time I was 10 so I got to see all the new models as soon as they came off the trucks. Grew up in a town in Ontario Canada and can still remember on a Sat morning late August 1956 sighting my first 57 Chev 2dr hardtop sitting on the mainstreet of town , It was the mayor's new ride, Salmon coloured with a white top and had the big golden 'V' on the bootlid. Those fins did it for me and its probably why a 57 does it for me still.

 

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See the little guy with the big smile on the nice ladie's lap? That's me in 1955. The smile is still there for old cars.

 

When I was young, my dad worked for the Flint school system. I would go to work with him on weekends. The school he was at had a large library where he would have me sit and wait. I was into WWII planes, but there are only so many books on the subject, so, I found the Hot Rod magazine storage. I was lost for many hours looking. I ran across Fat Jack's 46/47 and Limefire. I wanted a hot rod ever since.

 

I am only 41 but in 1986 in Hich School, this was my daily driver.

 

Right about here was a clincher....'69. Me and bro' profilin' in the ol' roadster. We loved it when dad fired it up, that thing sounded some kinda good!!! (and we still got 'er)

 

I reckon it can start at a pretty young age.

I've noticed while driving around in my car (a '67 Rambler 4-door for those that don't know) or stopped at a set of lights, the kids in the car in the next lane (usually the boys) will be looking at the car.

It might just be that the car stands out, or the fact it's not white/silver/beige, or maybe they caught a flash of metalflake off the roof. But they check it out, usually smile and quite often wave.

I reckon with just the slightest of shoves in the right direction, those kids could easily be turned on to the fun of owning and driving old cars.

So next time some teenager asks you a dumb question, be nice and answer them, they might have been that 4-year-old kid waving at you all those years ago.

 

Los Angeles County (Pamona) Fairgrounds, Los Angeles, CA; 1977, when I was a little freckle-faced kid of nine years.

Those huge, ancient steam locomotives on the grounds were my favorite hangout: I loved following the lines, the complexity of all that iron and tubing, wondered what it would be like to catch a ride on one.

Then I heard a familiar, repeated crack and rumble, then watched a thunderous caravan of deuces, T buckets, Model As and non-Ford rods file out of the parking lot across the street.

I was aghast. How could my parents waste their (our) years taming horses and becoming somebody in that circle when there was a beautiful, almost timeless, turnkey alternative in the shape of a hot rod. Turns out my father has always hated cars and kept us off motorcycles, only to become an old geezer riding a hog (though he still hates old cars).

My enthusiasm for those cars has never diminished, though life has been mostly too difficult to pursue any hot rod consequences. Until recently.

Watch out, y'all. I hope to have my first rat rod on the road soon. Then great things will be hopping out of the garage. It all started in Pamona in 1977.

 

Here I am at 16 months in my uncles T bucket, as you can see in the second pic, he still has it (this pic of his T and my A was taken fathers day in 2007). It was a very big influence on me and my A RPU. I think it started even before then, but this is the earliest do***mentation I have.

The last pic is of my brother and I at the drags Im 8 in this pic and he is 5. I still WANT a model 77 too....

 

Very cool.....

 

46 yrs ago right after i was born

 

My Dad had some cool rides when I was a kid, and he always did all of his own mechanical work. Working on the family truckster with Dad was only natural for a young man, but the general maintenance end of it wasn't very exciting.

My Grandfather on the other hand, was a nut-job and a total motorhead. He owned a trucking company. He built his own personal truck from a couple of wrecks and parts trucks. It was a cl***ic Kenworth, and he spent a fortune on it... Like something out of an eppisode of "Trick my Truck".

THAT truck, with it's powerfull V-12 diesel, lots of chrome, and about 100 guages adorning it's turned metal dash REALLY did it for me! I actually remember the exact moment it happened, riding with him on a round trip from Louisville to DFW Texas... The screaming engine, dozens of gear combinations, the custom interior, all the guages moving, and Rock-a-billy playing way too loud.

Grandpaw was a trip... And I really miss him.

 

I don't know when it really started for me, I still have a little toy coupe my mom said I carried everywhere I went from the time I could walk, but one of the things that stands out in my memory is walking home from the show one night with my brother and seeing a guy working on a T bucket in the parking lot of a closed gas station. I don't remember what kind of trouble he was having but the bucket was steel bodied and green with a white top. I remember looking inside it and seeing round tubing body framing, the seat was the only thing upholstered. The guy looked like Jerry Reed with a DA. I live in a small town, around 3500, so we didn't get to see many rods. This was around 1969 when I was 8.

 

As a kid I always liked the cars that stood out in traffic.

 

1957 at the Patrick AFB BX. Picked up a little pages mag and the rest is history. I'm in the early stages of finally building my first hot rod.

Cheers -- Gary

The darkest hour in any man's life is when he sits down to plan how to get money without earning it.--Horace Greely