How did you get into cars?

[Cranky]

Well I'm like many others i got into cars because of my dad! As long as I can remember he always had cool cars mostly mopars ! Dad was and still is kinda a pack rat won't let much go so threw the years he amassed a very large car collection! I still remember like it was yesterday but now almost 30 years ago hunting junk yards for rusty gold and parts for the 72' SSP he was restoring at the time! And so as life would have it my dad remarried and surprise surprise the new wife wanted nothing to do with cars so my dad was basically forced by her to sell his prized possessions so in the fall of 1994' dad had a sale sold 55 cars mostly all mopars and a ton of his parts collection but he managed to talk her into letting him keep 6 of his most prized baby's so I still have something to look forward to but it just kills me knowing what he had !!

Made a mistake getting married to a woman that was like that. She didn't like anything I did nor did she like cars. Took me 5 years and a lot of grief to realize it. One of the cars I sold off was a 70 440 RT Challenger convertible that was fully loaded! Oh well.

 

[WileE]

When I was about 9 years old, I got an Aurora HO slot car set for Christmas... Strarted modifying the electric motors and cars with the stuff from your "pit kit"... brushes, pinion gears, then opening up wheelwells for fatter wheels with foam slicks. Got the fever from that point & still going strong.

 

[demonram]

Of course my dad was the influence in my obsession. I remember being 5,6 years old holding the light, handing him wrenches etc.. He was never into performance when I was a kid though. He was raised on a farm in Mississippi without a tractor. He learned through the Air Force, he was an airplane mechanic. He loved the Hudson's in the day then Chryslers. We really did some neat stuff together, from making 2 good dump trucks from 3 (internationals) to restoring a 53 Hudson wasp I bought him for Father's Day in 1987. He never understood why I would modify my trucks (not the dumps) to go fast, but we'd do it. No four wheeling just fast. We also rebuilt a ford 2n tractor he could use for his garden at my old place. I lost my best friend in 2002, miss him everyday. THANKS DAD!

 

[pro-streeter]

Dad's A12 picture taken about 1972

I was born to love God family and cars. Thanks to my Dad for guiding me to true Muscle. MOPAR

 

[Bruzilla]

I got into it because of this...

I came off a patrol mission at NAS Jacksonville one night, and when I went to start my 1976 Starsky & Hutch Gran Torino it would crank but wouldn't start. It ended up being a bad oil pump was preventing the distributor from turning, and I was told it was going to cost me $500 to fix, which was $500 I didn't have. So I got a ride to Orange Park Mall, got a How To Rebuild Your Big Block Ford Engine book at a book store, and set about fixing it myself. That's when I realized if I was going to spend a lot of time racing around in cars and being in the Navy, I better get smart and learn how to do the maintenance myself.

 

[Dako]

Late '60s, when I got my 1st 'Hot Wheels'...about age 4. By age 6 I had figured out that you could change the wheels. ...and it starts...

 

[Moparmatt72]

I follow the same as most my dad. He has always been into mopars so it passed on to me, he has had a lot of Mopars cudas, sport fury, belveder, and his current car a 68 charger, I have always owned a mother mopar car first car and still have 72 plymouth satellite, a 90's duster hatchback one, 2000 Dakota, 04 neon srt4, 06 dodge charger srt8, and now a 14 dodge ram 3500 dually, currently working on my 72 satellite, and a 67 dart for my wife. I've helped my dad work on family and friends cars since I can remember.

 

[MoparMitch]

My life before age 11 was spent overseas with my Air Force Dad. Not many American friends, no TV, so my brother and I had to find stuff to keep us occupied. My Dad bought us Aurora H.O. car sets. We had a few sets and could make a pretty big track on the platform that my Dad built. Remember getting the Hop Up kits for them and making them better. Had some pretty cool HO cars back there in the mid 60's. Also used to occupy my time with building plastic models. Everything from Cars to Planes To Boats. Learned a lot about assembly in those days. When we returned to the states in 68, we lived on Eglin AFB in Fla before Dad went to Nam. When he got back, he got an assignment with the 89th at Andrews AFB. He had brought back with him from Austria a 64 MG 1100 4dr sedan. Had an 1100cc transverse mounted 4 banger with a 4 speed. The Engine was getting worn. I remember telling Dad, that I thought I could rebuild it. To my astonishment he brought home a FSM for the MG. At age 14, He gave it to me and said after I read it all, he would let me do it. Took the engine out of the car on the street. Took it for my first ever trip to a machine shop and had the machine work done. Went home and assembled the engine myself. First one ever. Put it back in the car , and it RAN. Amazed myself !! Only problem was I had the timing off by 180 deg. After I figured that out, it was fine. Never looked back. Been wrenching on my own stuff all my life. I'm 58 now. Lost my Dad to cancer, due to exposure of Agent Orange in Nam. He died at the young age 56 in 1989. Took me a while to realize the risk and confidence he had in me to allow that MG engine to happen. Thanks Dad. I miss you and love you!!

 

[Budnicks]

I think what really got me hooked, was after including & starting with
the Matchbox or Hot Wheels or Slot-cars, multitudes of models,
bikes, mini bikes, go-carts, motorcycles, helping dad with his projects,
handing him tools & holding the dumb end of stuff etc...LOL
It was ultimately going to the drag strips/tracks with my stepdad Bob,
he started bringing me at about 7 y/o or so, all over the west coast...
A good buddy of his Wes put me in a couple Fuel Altereds
{Nanook & Gary Hazen Blazen's}
I sat there making vroom vroom cackling noises & thinking, typical kid stuff,
Thinking & I'm sure I was saying, "I'll have one & drive one someday"...

some 8-9 years or so later

 

[Photon440]

That's great, Budnicks. Let me freshen that up a bit...

 

[satman72]

I just ended up liking cars and racing. My dad was the type that bought a car and it was fine from the factory, and he went to the dealer for maintenance. Funny thing, none of my friends cared much, but me... the first time I saw some racing on TV back in the late 60's, I was hooked. It didn't matter what kind of racing. I watched it all. After that... I just loved cars. Mostly European stuff because they were unique, but of the American stuff, Mopars were the best just because they were too damn cool.

 

[Canyon707]

I sure have enjoyed reading these stories.

 

[Photon440]

I was born to love God family and cars. Thanks to my Dad for guiding me to true Muscle. MOPAR

I hope you end up finding what happened to your dad's car some day...

 

[Budnicks]

That's great, Budnicks. Let me freshen that up a bit...

wow that's allot better, Thanks Photon440
not to hijack the thread
but can you clean these up too ??, I've tried, but I didn't do well...LOL
they are digital photos of old Polaroids, not the best of quality or photography...

thanks in advance

 

[Darter6]

I be BORN into it.Dad and older brothers. Dad's first car was a 36 Plymouth,He was a Mopar man the rest of his life. When he was 48 he bought a new 68 Coronet R/T (with a lot of coaxing from the older brothers) Went to my first drag race at age 8. Oldest brother was racing his Nash Metropolitan in stock class with Dad's home made traction bars. Went to the Plymouth dealership for the oldest brother to buy a new car for him to go to aeronautics school. Wanted a 67 273 Hypo Valiant but was too late in the year to order one and came home with a 67 6 cylinder Pontiac Firebird with a 3 on the tree. Put a floor shifter,Hurst of course, in it and drag raced that one.When he went to the service,, He bought a new 70 340 4 speed Duster with 391's. Brother #2 got Dad's 68 R/T,Yep raced that one too.By that time all I ever cared about was anything with a engine.Been hooked on drag racing and cars ever since.........:headbang::hello2::icon_syda::blob1:

 

[Photon440]

wow that's allot better, Thanks Photon440
not to hijack the thread
but can you clean these up too ??, I've tried, but I didn't do well...LOL
they are digital photos of old Polaroids, not the best of quality or photography...

thanks in advance

I'll play with a couple and see what happens...but there's not a lot of sharpness to play with.



Couldn't do much at all with the last one. What's the sawtooth pattern on the trunk edge?

 

[djais1801]

I've been calling out makes/models before I was making full sentences according to my momma (2yrs old). a cop in my town I befriended in 8th grade had a: 57 bug, 58 Fury w/ Packard taillights,louvered hood, a 40 Ford, and a Chevy 454SS pick up. Loved going over to check out his stuff. Used to go w/my buddy to Englishtown Raceway Park on Weds. nights to see his dad race their 70 Shelby GT500. I have owned well over 50 cars (classics, daily drivers, etc) and I've been driving for 38 years. I actually have 3-4 photo collage frames with all pics of my vehicle history.

 

[shorty64]

Like Satman72, my dad was not into cars. But when the dented, rusted out extra family car I drove once I turned 16 dropped a valve and froze the engine, my dad said I could tear it apart for grins and giggles before he had it hauled off to the junkyard. That was Spring of '62 and I managed to fix it enough to drive it to High School that Fall.

Never had much artistic or creative ability but found I could follow the service manuals, borrow tools and advice, and end up proud of fixing cars, lawn mowers, etc. Fostered that inclination by shifting my focus more toward friends and activities involving cars, racing, etc. After 4 yrs in the Air Force during the Cold War era, got an Automotive Engineering degree and never looked back (unless backing up of course). Turn 69 next month, working on reassembling a 67 Charger, and love reading about everyone else's experiences and adventures.

 

[Xp29h]

As far back as I can remember I've been into cars. Hot wheels as a kid, my dad had a Triumph Tr3 that he sold right after I was born. So I had to hear all those stories, lol. But I think the key moment was getting to drive an early corvette at a show. The guy was a friend of my dad and I think it was a 59. Very cool. I didn't even have a license! I was hooked! That's when I found the 51 dodge, 69 charger, 73 charger, 72 Porsche and so on. Wish I still had them all!

 

[dieseldazzle]

My pops and all of my uncles, older cousins and their friends (Meep Meep, Fatty, Speaker Head) all got me into Mopars then I gradually went towards going down the 1/4 mile fast as I could afford to and now dialed it back to just cruisin my mopar. Some of the cars I have been in, my family and friends/their friends have owned or that I have owned are just mind boggling now, years later.

My son may be into the old mopars cuz he sure likes cruising in my 67 charger with me. I have a video of him adjusting valves on my old turbo small block mustang while I spin the motor over for him since he wasnt strong enough to do so.

Got pics of him workin on carbs and building engines with me.......all under the age of 8. So I thnk he is headed there too