Who was your Hot Rod mentor?

My Dad and Uncle are guilty. My brother and I didn't have a chance(ha,ha). Both of them(Dad and Uncle) grew up in the early to mid '50s and caught the bug during the heyday. My Dad is into customs and my Uncle went on to be a professional drag racer in the 70s and early 80s. My Uncle first ran a alcohol car, then moved to top fuel, then to nitro funny cars. My brother and I took different directions with our interests of hotrodding - my brother is into muscle cars and I'm into traditional hot rods. But, we appreciate each others likes.

 

Stan Betz !

 

Bob Barkoff.

 

My dad.
My dad has always been into older cars.
I still have a picture of him leaning on his brand new 59 Impala.
I've always been into anything mechanical since I was a youngin.
I remember pulling apart toaster, can openers, lawn mower engines and anything else I could get my hands on since about age 8 to see how they worked.
I used to have hundreds of models of all types.
Hot wheels for me too since I was young and movies like Hollywood Knights, American Graffiti, Bullitt and the original Gone in 60 Seconds, etc. etc. etc.
It's a sickness that just seems to be getting worse as I get older.
Most people around me really don't get it.
They don't understand why I run original steel wheels, on my cars, and get asked on a constant basis when I'm going to re-paint them or re-chrome the bumpers.
Part of it is because I think they look better that way and the other part of it is I'm a cheap, frugal bastard.
Nothin better than seeing the smile on my dad's face when I finished my car last year and he was one of the first ones to drive it.
The look on his face, when I drove to his house and threw him the keys, made the hundreds of hours spent on the car worth every second.

 

I was always fascinated by mechanical things, even as a little kid. There was no other mechanical talent in my immediate family, but my Uncle Jimmy (the one who later taught me to drink whiskey and play the fiddle) used to mess around with old cars a lot, and always had time to show me what he was doing, and why. It wasn't untill I left home in 1965 and went down to Belleville, Ontario to start my engineering studies/apprenticeship that I really got into hotrods. I met two of the nicest people in the world, Carm Nobes and Huck Flindall of the Belleville Road angels, and they were the ones who really got me into hotrodding in a big way. I will forever owe them a debt of gratitude.---Brian

 

my cousin stephen when i was a kid he had 11 motorcycles an 3 cadilacs an old international scout and roamed the junkyards , regaled me with stories of salvage yards an men who worked there before the places closed down , so i now have a jeep cj5 a 34 ford pick up an 4 motorcycles

 

Well...two people. I got my love for mechanical stuff from my Dad. Though he is still the best mechanic I've ever seen, he absolutely hated hot rods. He was one of those depression era old guys that thought hot rods were a waste money.

The other was our neighbor across the street named Kenny Frost that cast the spell with a constant flow of sling shots, rails, and hot rods (this was the 60s & early 70s) adorning his driveway that got me hooked. Thanks Dad and Kenny.

 

My Father, Harold Dzierzynski Sr. Together, we have built/restored 5 cars. We are currently working on the driveline of his 1931 Ford Roadster that he made into a Hot Rod in the mid 50's.

 

my dad, i remember when i was a kid in the early 80's going down to get ice cream in ther 40 ford listening to the beach boy's with my mom and little bro. he has pics of me when i was 3-4 years old helping out in the garage sanding on a fender.

 

My dad and mum, when i was 14 my mum lent me the money to bye it, and dad helped me built, which was finished when I got my license.

 

My grandfather was my mentor. I posted this thread a few days ago. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=263647&highlight=my+inspiration

 

Gene Mckinney. Old school to the core. Drove a severely chopped flathead 34 from Georgia to Utah, raced it. Then drove it back.

 

My hot rod mentor has been a good friend of mines dad, Jim Miles. Is the oldest living and original member of the Burbank Road Kings since 1952. He is well known in the pro gasser and fuel altered days when he ran a '34 Ford w/ Hemi. He also ran a Topolina Hemi powered sponsered by Magic Muffler. KNUX!

 

It all went downhill when I bought a Rod and Custom Magazine about 1962 and started building model cars. When I was in High School a buddy of mine Gary Sims had a 57 Chevy that he was working on all the time. They accused him of changing engines rather than the oil. I'd go over and help him after school and on weekends when we didn't have to work on the farms.
When I hired on the Fire Dept I was stationed with Pat Donnell who was building a 27T full fendered Coupe with SBC and 350 auto. I got to know him well and helped him work on several projects over the next 30 yrs. Our productivity isn't what it used to be but we are still in there slinging wrenches. Went last week and picked up a 27T Sedan for his Son to start on. Got my Son to help me pull the T body off the chassis today to start the finish work on it. He likes the ricer's but will humor me somtimes if I ask politely..

 

My Dad was and still is my way into this deal. He has been a racer all his life and got me into my first racecar at 14 years old. We raced karts, 4-cyl. cars, limiteds, and finally Dirt Late Models together. We don't race anymore, because we can't afford it. Now all we do is argue about what Hot Rods are really supposed to look like. He likes what we do around here, but still walks out cussing and shaking his head with every new idea. We can't go anywhere without somebody telling a story about a race he won or a car he had. That's how I got where I am today!

Later,
Kevin

 

Nobody. I did it all on my own. Took high school shop and worked on my '55 Chevy. I taught my son though, 'cept now he knows more than I do .. Here we are last weekend with our rides at the Sonic Cruise Inn ... Cool ...

 

My father-in-law is pretty much showing me how to do everything.He has built a few cars in his day.Also all you guys on the Hamb.Lots of nice work

 

John Carambia i worked for him for 3 plus years he taught me alot about early traditional hot hods and early cars like 30s lincoln's ka kb cars . he's an awsome painter and i leared alot from him.preping and painting skills, fab skills working on old hot rods in general. he's been there done that and has painted some of the worlds most beautiful cars. zz top 34, copper head the black shoe box the the old drag car fiat topolinia that was just on the cover of the rodders journal just to name a few. someday i hope to have just some of the great talent he has. he is a good friend and mentor .billy

 

Jim Mecarty might have spelled it wrong for helping me with metal bumping and gas welding. my uncle Bill Hulit who has 500+ flat head drag wins. and my brother who bought a 32 roadster and had a 32 5 window in the yard when i was little.

 

i used to take drum lessons from this greaser in nc long before i was in high school, he drove a black 61 impala fourdoor with white scallops, slammed, white top. he even took me to my first concert/show, which was good ol, reverend horton heat. we drove i think 30 mins to this place in that car, was the first time i rode in a old car, i sat in the back and the driver/owner and another greaser up front i think his name was steve, both with the slicked back hair were trying to bottom out down this hill late at night, no seatbelts, fun, scary, and thanks to this hamber, that was the most fun night i think i ever had. he later helped me chop my 52 and i helped him with his 56 and another greaser taught me everything i know about engines, he had a bitchin 55 olds that was fast as hell, let me drive it once, almost pissed my pants it was fast. those two guys and the saints car club of nc really screwed up the rest of my life, now i cant hold a single conversation with my girlfriend without either bringing them up or something to do with cars.

 

My Grandpa and my Dad. Grandpa hauled moonshine in a Duesenburg and also raced Midgets in the 1940s. Dad was a Dragracer and had a Bellytank he ran at Muroc and B-ville. Both were Mechanics .I was also a mechanic for 35 years.

 

Russ Meeks

 

My Friend's Dad owned the closest thing we had to a speed shop in our little town. He had a 32 Chevy sedan hot rod that he drove everyday except in the snow. Rain didn't stop him though. He also had a 34 Chevy three window in the garage as a project. He helped me when I'd get stuck on my Nova and he showed me you can build something cool out of nothing and you should drive what you build cause that's what cars are for.
What's funny is his own son had little interest in hot rods and I wanted to learn all I could. So his kid would be standing there while me and his dad were on our backs wrenching on the kid's car. I learned a lot from that guy and always thought my friend was really lucky to have a dad that was into cars.
I tried to get my Dad to help me do something on my Nova once and he told me "I'm not a fucking gearhead, like you!" My Dad was great he just wasn't a gearhead.

PS A couple of times when my friends parents were out of town we took that 32 out and cruised it up and down the road. We never even turned the tires over, too scared. I didn't drive but I did like the ride.

 

I never had a mentor until I discovered Al Gore's greatest invention, the internet. Which led me to Nads; after that, I tore down the David Cassidy posters.

 

My dad, I pray to God that I get to build a car for him before he goes.
I owe him everything.

 

My Dad too. He chose to make my brother the car guy, but I was born with the disease! My brother is going to be very wealthy, but I have a lot of cool shit!

 

Never really had one. It's definetly not my parents, they don't know a thing about cars. They don't understand how you can put parts from one year into a car from another year and make it work. They think I'm wasting my money. They'd rather spend $600 a year on flowers that will die in a month. To me, THAT doesn't make any sense. My grandfather was a mechanic though. But, he got cancer and shut down his shop when I was very young and he died when I was 10. It's wierd though, my mother says he and I are very alike. Our tastes in food, cars, etc. are very similar, even though I have zero memories of him.

 

The "little books" and the Honest Charlie catalog. My dad couldn't open the hood of a car.

 

First my big brother who took me to see American Graffiti in his bright yellow 1950 Ford Pilot!
Then my good friend Roger who can do wanders with all kind of metalls, my good friend klazurfer here on the HAMB, and of course
The HAMB community!

Br
Kjell

..............................
Taildragger&fenderless

 

Ralph Kirkwood
Syd Mooring
Tom Beatty
Ak Miller
Joquin Arnett
Willy Young
Multy Aldridge
Jack Turner
Jack Conner
Jim Wicker