Thread: How I got addicted, in 100 words or less.

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I don't know how I missed this thread way back in '07, and didn't tell my life's story; I usually like to expound on that, it seems. Now, someone has resurrected it, so I'll make a contribution.

I consider myself to be a "pre-boomer"; I was hatched in '42, not too long after that small Asian nation attacked Pearl Harbor. By '48, or so, I was being influenced, even at that young age, by a couple of "big kids" who were neighbors; one was just an all around tinkerer and messed with anything that flew, rolled, sparked, or other such. The other, the older of the two by a couple of years, had "bikes" - regular pedal types, Whizzers, Mustangs, and Cushmans, and was always "improving" them some way or another. I was the almost constant shadow of one or the other of them.

I guess I have some sort of recessive gene in my makeup that predisposes me to things manual, because my Dad was not mechanical at all; I don't think he could even hang a towel bar without help (some early memory, no doubt), but both of my Grandfathers were relatively self sufficient, and experts in their own fields, one a lineman, electrician, and millwright (I followed in his footsteps in my career), and the other was, what today would be called an enterpreneur - he was a wholesale/retail milk distributor, ran a retail door to door route three days a week, and wholesale accounts the other two or three days; Sunday was for church, no exceptions.

At any rate, my mechanical adventures started at a very early age; roller skates and bicycles for starters at about age five. In about 1950, my Dad bought a new power mower; within about three months, I had the B & S one lunger bolted onto my "Li'l Red Wagon", and it was some hot rod. Of course, when my Dad found out what I had done, I got my butt thrashed, then had to put the mower back together. In years following, I wrenched or hammered on anything I could get my hands on; and, I learned a lot of hard lessons along the way. When I got into high school, shop class called me very loudly, and I started taking every shop class I could get; metal, electrical, and wood shop at first, and when they would allow it, I started into auto shop. Since I didn't have a car, I worked on other guys stuff and shop projects, and the learning continued. I did not get my own car until after I graduated from high school, got a real job on a power line construction gang - as if swamping for a block mason, digging ditches by hand, and swamping on moving vans weren't real - and saved enough money for the down payment on a car; I put two hundred down on a $500 '51 Ford 2 door sedan, and payed it off to the dealer at 25 (or more) a month.

Since then it has been one form of "rod" or another all through the years. In addition to cars, I played with motorcycles in the early sixties, but a couple of wrecks, common sense yelling very loudly in the back of my head, and a new Bride who was adamantly against me being on only two wheels caused me to abandon them and more or less focus on things with four or more wheels, and engines - and transmissions - and transfer cases, and - and - and -----. In addition, I play with wood, things that go bang, a dabble or two in RC stuff, archery, and when I want to look like I am fishing, I go hang a weight on the end of a line, toss it in the water, and sit under a tree and nap.

So, that's my long winded story. There's a lot more to it, details and all, but they are boring.

I was influenced by quite a few people actually. Growing up my Dad and Mom were divorced, so when we visited Dad he always had cool Italian sports cars that you'd seldom heard of or ever saw. My uncles on the other hand were GM and Ford boys and worked on my grandma's farm, so they were always fabricating stuff for their work. My oldest brother was also a huge influence. He was quite a good mechanic, and got a 68 Firebird convertable for his first car, with a 400 ci engine that spun rubber at 70mph! He started taking auto shop classes in high school, which made me want to do the same. I started off a purist wanting to stock my first car, a 68 mustang. So I took auto chassis, electrics, and engines in high school and the bug started. But like quite a few of you, never seemed to have the cash to dive in and buy what I wanted vs. what I could afford. When I picked up my 48 F1 you guys inspired me to tackle a hot rod project and now I'm hooked. What I really need is retirement and no other tasks and hobbies so I could actually finish this project!
I should also not leave out my mom who loved muscle and sports cars like the rest of my family. Growing up we(3 boys) were toted around in a 69 Mustang coupe! She was really a great inspiration that always encouraged us to pursue what made us happy!

It was easy for me-a neighbor was a old hotrodder that I looked up to. My father was an idiot mechanically and I wanted to go fast and couldnt afford to buy stuff like the rich kids!

i have always loved cars , you know how it was when you were just a little guy and seen the cool rods at the drive in .
i remember being very young taking things apart just to find out how they work and sometimes i never did get them back together

there is nothing better then working in the garage on a nice rainy summer night .

Dave

One further memory flashed in my head after my earlier contribution. Back in the late 50's - early 60's my parents had taken me for a Sunday drive in Pennsylvania, and on a small road we passed a drive-in hamburger stand. In the parking lot was a group of people standing around an early hot rod. We passed the scene in a few heartbeats, but the image is still with me 50 years later. Maybe that triggered much of what is car-related in my life that followed.

For me it was all my dad....I followed him around when I was young and the mechanical genes rubbed off. I rebuilt my first lawn mower engine at 11 years old and decided that the oiler/splasher attached to the connecting rod was not needed...of course that caused a 'little' problem. (dad still has the piston hanging in his shop). I rebuilt my first SBC at 13. Dad would just leave the parts laying around and make suggestions when I was stumped.....like when I couldn't figure out how to compress the rings to install the pistons....His comment was "they should make something to wrap around it and hold everything in place....Like a can or something?" I later asked my mom if I could have the coffee can which I cut up and used.

I built many Camaros, Chevelles and Firebirds when I was in my late teens and early 20's (Wish I had any one of them) but then went away from it while the family and career was being built.

Proud to say that Dad and I started to build a car earlier this year. He is older (we both are) and we don't get a lot done each time we have a car day but who cares. When it is done it will be awesome to have something he helped with.

Dan