Sad state of affairs with todays kids

[Matthew Maloney]

Very sweet, adorable pictures.
What is the triangulated tube structure in background of 1st pic?

Thanks on the pix. The frame on wheels bolted in place of the bumper mounts w removable castors, is also the front attach point for the front frame of my rocking rotisserie. I later attached a lift ring made from an old 2&1/2" U bolt welded to the center of the frame so i can lift the body at rhe front to slide the driveline in underneath. Its made out of old trampoline tubing and thin wall square stock tubing. The structure mounted to the car itself is 1/8" wall tubing.

 

[steve from staten island]

I bought and paid for all my own cars and in High School i took the bus. I was working part time pumping gas saving for a car and insurance. After HS in started working F/T almost immediately and had a car. When one of my cars broke down i took the bus to work. In the evening if my car was not running,my dad had a 68 Chevy Biscayne, but that was off limits. So i drove his second vehicle which was a 1948 Willys Jeep with a old canvas top, was it ever cold in the winter. Later on he bought a 64 Chevy half ton pickup and that truck is what i took my wife out on our first date,
The kid may be spoiled but the father has a issue to and thats forcing what he likes on his kid. Frankly i never would give a 17 year old a Classic car to cruise around in. The father should have gotten the kid a honda cicvic and kept the Mopar in the garage.
None of my kids drove cars in High School. When they were older and in college i helped them out with a car but they also had PT jobs. I never forced my taste's in anything on my children only me and my wife values and what we expected out of them. All three went to private college and we paid there education in full and thats the reason i wasn't able to afford a hobby car till my late fifties and even then it was hard.

 

[SteveSS]

My son is in college but he always liked old cars. I'm sure my passion has rubbed off on him. I asked him if he could have any car for about $40K he said he wanted a 1970 Super Bee. so go figure. With his ME degree he should be able to afford one soon. I bought my daughter a Pontiac Grand Prix GT which she wrecked. Her junior HS year we bought her a yellow Xterra. She still drives it 10 years later. You remember when we got her a 1981 Camaro and did it up Transformers Bumble Bee style.My son has always had Dodge 4x4's and maintained them very well. My kids have turned out great in MHO and it's so much fun to spoil them. We went to Bandimere Speedway last week and my daughter came down from the concession stand with water bottles for the whole family. That was $28. I think there is more to raising kids than making them pay for their cars.

This is my own theory but if kids are raised in a certain socio-economic environment they will strive to achieve or surpass that level. My kids have had every advantage I could afford to give them. I still try to save a buck so I can give it to them when I pass.

P.S. When I was 15 my dad gave me a '65 Barracuda. It was ugly even then. My sophomore year I got a 1966 Mustang fastback 2+2 289.

 

[Matthew Maloney]

I bought and paid for all my own cars and in High School i took the bus. I was working part time pumping gas saving for a car and insurance. After HS in started working F/T almost immediately and had a car. When one of my cars broke down i took the bus to work. In the evening if my car was not running,my dad had a 68 Chevy Biscayne, but that was off limits. So i drove his second vehicle which was a 1948 Willys Jeep with a old canvas top, was it ever cold in the winter. Later on he bought a 64 Chevy half ton pickup and that truck is what i took my wife out on our first date,
The kid may be spoiled but the father has a issue to and thats forcing what he likes on his kid. Frankly i never would give a 17 year old a Classic car to cruise around in. The father should have gotten the kid a honda cicvic and kept the Mopar in the garage.
None of my kids drove cars in High School. When they were older and in college i helped them out with a car but they also had PT jobs. I never forced my taste's in anything on my children only me and my wife values and what we expected out of them. All three went to private college and we paid there education in full and thats the reason i wasn't able to afford a hobby car till my late fifties and even then it was hard.

Thats great that you payed for your kids college. However unless your filthy rich or somehow independently wealthy, according to forbes and money magazine thats never a good move. At the time they are starting high school, the parents need to be saving for retirement. Earlier the better. I started my 401k at 21 years old. I plan on walking away from my job at 62. Im 47 now. Kids are young enough to be able to absorb student loans. My folks cosigned for my school loans because an extra signature was required, but i was required to pay the the loans back.

 

[Budnicks]

My parents didn't buy me any car...
My step dad Bob did help me work on stuff, but not financially...
I lived with my Father Harvey, during my HS years,
he was raising 3 boy & 2 girls, my other older sisters were
graduated HS already, they use to drive my parents 67 Ford F250 PU
manual trans, my sister got a 65 Corvair Convt. for her birthday,
but she earned it...
I drove my Hodaka 125cc Enduro to work until I got enough $$$,
{I got after mowing thousands of lawns & doing 4:00am 2 paper routes for $20 a month}
I could ride it with just a learners permit too {I wasn't 16 yet}
until I had enough to buy a car, no matter the weather,
I never missed a day...
I know that my father Harvey was teaching me a lesson,
about what it takes to survive & make a living, be responsible,
that things aren't handed to you, you earn them...
My step brothers both got **** handed to them on a sliver platter,
gas, insurance, tires, oil changes etc. from my step mother...
Although it kind of pissed me off, they were coddled to, but their ****
was always broken & disarray, mine always ran...
When you pay for it & earn it, you'll take better care for it too...
Anyway...
I bought a 65 Galaxie 500 240ci six/ 3 on the tree, $150 120k miles
like mint cond., from an older gentleman customer...
I was working at a Shell full service station in Georgetown
for $1.65 min. wage, the owner Paul Petterson would
let me di tune-ups, lubes & tire changes etc. for cash...
My parents made me put 1/2 of every paycheck away for insurance
gas, tires, oil etc. & other expenses
It took me a few months to save up {$1.65 an hr doesn't add up very fast}
I knew it was only going to be, a temporary car anyway...
Hell it's carry 8 kids easily, 2 full bench seats...
It was known as the Love Boat {long story}
Later when I was a bit better off financially, maybe 9 months or so,
I had mowed lawns, installed fences, worked for my fathers construction co
& worked a couple of odd jobs & still worked at Paul Petterson Shell
after school still too...
I bought my 1st Mopar a 68 Charger R/T 440/727 A/C
GG1 {Dark Green} Black buckets, console & black vynil roof etc.
from a lady that lived down the street from my mom & step dad, in Antioch...
She was a divorcee, from a CCC Sherriff, I knew his/their kid very well,
I knew the car very well too...
I mowed her lawns, {not them types of lawns RC } for $5 each
when I was down at my moms place...
She agreed to sell me the car for $350, trans was slipping,
it was a nice clean 1 owner car, I knew well...
I worked all year, to save that much money in 1974-75...

My kids all earned theirs too, not to the extent I had to, but they worked for it,
built/strung fences, fed the animals, tended to Lisa's Horses, my pig & Bull etc.
picked up dog ****, did chores around the house my warehouse/shop etc.
My nephew lived with me when he was driving age he wanted
a Nissan Pick Up, he was a lot older than my kids, he needed a car/truck
I would help him by co-signing...
My oldest James wanted a damn Mitsubishi Turbo Eclipse,
I told him I'm not paying for it, I made the same deal with him,
He got the car he wanted, he still owns that car today too...
God knows why, but he loves it...
My girls had it a bit easier, they still worked for everything,
just more for Lisa or with the Horses, property etc.
Oldest girls Twins, Rebecca wanted a VW Gulf,
she had a good job {I got her} at the RM Country Club,
I helped her with some down payment $$$ & co-signed a loan...
The other twin Rachel wanted a 85 Toyota SR 4x4, I had one
so I let her earn it, $3500 worth, she worked for my construction co.
as a laborer on odd jobs, making min. wage, she earned it for sure...
My youngest was spoiled she got a 71 Jeep CJ5, that I had,
that her mother Lisa drove a ton, she really didn't earn it or pay for it,
but she was a really good kid got really good grades etc.,
she did all the households laundry for better part of 3 years...
The fact she wanted the Jeep shocked the hell out of me,
she was a real girly girl, I figured she'd want some nice little sports car etc.

Moral of the long *** story, life lessons are best earned,
not given out on a silver platter...
Even if you're the baby Jessica & your mom isn't around anymore...

It was good for me, it certainly was good for all of them too...

 

[Montclaire]

At least she didn't flat out refuse to drive the car - he put her on the spot and she gave him an honest answer.

It's certainly possible that she's trying to make her father happy and keep from taking flack from her friends and that's the best solution she could come up with.

Maybe he should have a talk with her and see if she'd feel better about the car with a different set of wheels or a stripe, new stereo, etc. Maybe she's having a hard time getting it to fire up and is embarrassed to sit in the lot and crank it a bunch of times until it catches - if that's the case and he has a couple bucks like you say, an EFI setup might be in order (actually, for a teenage girl, having that rich exhaust smell stick to you in this day and age is probably a legitimate nightmare, also cured by efi).

He should also tell her to ask the boys at school how they feel about the car, instead of worrying about what the girls think.

 

[NJRR]

My parents didn't buy me any car...

Budnicks- Times were ALOT different in our generation when we were teenagers. It was much easier to work, get a part time job, do odd jobs, etc. I feel the kids today, even if motivated, have a harder time making a few bucks than we did. I employ at least 3-4 part time teenagers at all times. When one moves on to college or a permanent job, I get literally hundreds of applications for that one part time job. Of course, there are always going to be the lazy or spoiled bastards who wouldn't even fill out an application !!!

 

[ChargerM440]

At least she didn't flat out refuse to drive the car - he put her on the spot and she gave him an honest answer.

It's certainly possible that she's trying to make her father happy and keep from taking flack from her friends and that's the best solution she could come up with.

Maybe he should have a talk with her and see if she'd feel better about the car with a different set of wheels or a stripe, new stereo, etc. Maybe she's having a hard time getting it to fire up and is embarrassed to sit in the lot and crank it a bunch of times until it catches - if that's the case and he has a couple bucks like you say, an EFI setup might be in order.

He should also tell her to ask the boys at school how they feel about the car, instead of worrying about what the girls think.

I think you've hit the nail on the head. She did come out say she was embarrassed, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. She's out and driving the car that her Dad built. It's ridiculous to jump to the conclusion that she takes her father's hard work for granted just because the car is butt fugly.

Also, if anyone thinks that girls are ruthless to you as a guy you she see how girls treat other girls. I think some attention from the guys at school might help tide her over.

 

[SteveSS]

Also, if anyone thinks that girls are ruthless to you as a guy you she see how girls treat other girls. I think some attention from the guys at school might help tide her over.

My daughter was cheerleader and the cheer moms were ruthless.

 

[Budnicks]

Budnicks- Times were ALOT different in our generation when we were teenagers. It was much easier to work, get a part time job, do odd jobs, etc. I feel the kids today, even if motivated, have a harder time making a few bucks than we did. I employ at least 3-4 part time teenagers at all times. When one moves on to college or a permanent job, I get literally hundreds of applications for that one part time job. Of course, there are always going to be the lazy or spoiled bastards who wouldn't even fill out an application !!!

I agree for the most part too...

I think people are more prone to hire older people now,
because of the money it takes to employ people today,
it ain't $1.65 an hr min. wage anymore, people want some
or more experience & someone they can trust, especially if they have to
pay them $10-$15 an hr to start an entry level position...

That's helped/killed jobs for the youth IMO

BUT;
When there's a will there's a way, I never had anything handed to me
I busted my *** to find jobs, I was highly motivated, many in my era weren't either...
I'm pretty damn sure our neighbors or people in our small community,
thought "oh **** here comes that kid that wants to make money again",
almost every time they saw me, I was a hustler {no RC not that kind },
if I wanted $$$ to buy stuff, my parents weren't the bank...
Other than working for my father...
I was happy he even paid me, most times he didn't...LOL
& I got paid a fraction {min. Wage} of what everyone else got paid too...

 

[Sonny Black]

If my dad bestow with love, & affection a gift of any kind I would take it and cherish it!...Why?

Out of respect......end of story.



even if it was not of my taste

 

[steve from staten island]

Thats great that you payed for your kids college. However unless your filthy rich or somehow independently wealthy, according to forbes and money magazine thats never a good move. At the time they are starting high school, the parents need to be saving for retirement. Earlier the better. I started my 401k at 21 years old. I plan on walking away from my job at 62. Im 47 now. Kids are young enough to be able to absorb student loans. My folks cosigned for my school loans because an extra signature was required, but i was required to pay the the loans back.

Im a working class person as is my wife. She worked P/T when the kids were young and then worked full time for 18 or so years till she got sick, she also worked P/T. I worked plus a lot of OT and a second job so no I'm not filthy rich but i am very wealthy in the fact that i can look in the mirror in the mourning and know i did everything humanly possible for my kids and they appreciate it. My daughter while i will not say what her occupation is out of privacy concerns, i will tell you she is extremely successful. I aslo supported her as much as possible when she went to grad school and was unable to work. What worked for your folks is there business but obviously they raised a responsible son.

 

[Matthew Maloney]

I can also see the girls point. Maybe she aint diggin the old car thing. Did she grow up around this stuff like my son is? Another post on here said maybe she is parking the car where she is because although she may appreciate what dad did for her so she drives it, she may be embarrassed for her friends to see her in it. I think if the car is as nice as you say it is, maybe get her input on it. Maybe fancier wheels, and an efi setup for better cold starting for her instead of a carb.

If i was your friend, I'd maybe tell him to tell her lets take it to a local car show or 2, and have her go and sit with dad in the lawnchairs. When people ask whos car it is and show genuine interest in it, he could say thats my daughters car right here. It may win a plaque or a trophy for its entered class. You never know. She might just start to like all the positive attention people are giving that old barracuda especially if theres a picture book they can look through showing progress pix. Sometimes people will come up and talk about stories of the one they used to have and so on. She might look at it differently. I do agree the 64-66 are an aquired taste though. I like my 67 notchback but i am finding thats an aquired taste too because lots of folks arent too keen on thoes either but i like them better than the fastbacks.

 

[Kern Dog]

I know right? He thought he was doing a good thing and then she says and acts like that.

Okay... Playing the "Devil's Advocate" for a minute here.....
Yes, it was a nice gesture of the guy to give her a car but keep in mind that ONE persons taste in cars isn't always going to be shared by everyone. I personally think that the early Barracudas were hideous and underpowered. It is rare to find a young person, let alone a GIRL that likes old cars. Did the man ever think to test the waters to see if she likes old cars? I am not placing all of the blame on the Cousin here but a little due diligence on his part could have saved some trouble.
In 1990, my Father In Law spent about $3000 to buy a car, have it repaired and painted to give to one of his other kids. THe daughter did drive it but didn't like it. It was a beige Mazda 3 hatchback or something like it. Within a year she had worked and saved enough money to buy something that she liked better.

 

[Bladecutter]

Thanks on the pix. The frame on wheels bolted in place of the bumper mounts w removable castors, is also the front attach point for the front frame of my rocking rotisserie. I later attached a lift ring made from an old 2&1/2" U bolt welded to the center of the frame so i can lift the body at rhe front to slide the driveline in underneath. Its made out of old trampoline tubing and thin wall square stock tubing. The structure mounted to the car itself is 1/8" wall tubing.

View attachment 505000 View attachment 505001

Oh, now i get it. Nice looking set up You have goin on!

 

[Kern Dog]

I agree it's not the sportiest looking Mopar but all the effort he put into it and thinking his daughter would enjoy it is what chaps me. If my father had given me that car I guarantee I'd still have it all these years later....

Again... YOU are a guy speaking from several years older, years of age and experience that young people have yet to live through.
Old cars smell old. They are not quiet inside, the wind whistles through every possible opening. WE as CAR GUYS accept that. Someone with zero emotional attachment to these cars or the era when they were built will not see them as much more than an old car.

 

[Bladecutter]

I don't justify the attitude at all. A GIFT is a GIFT!! FREE!!!! Compound that with all the blood, sweat & tears of a build. The attitude is Bullshit, take the ******* keys, let her walk, start saving some babysitting money & buy what she desires.

 

[Cornpatch MO]

Peer pressure. The kids all want some foreign made fart cans or new " sport" cars. They have absolutely no sense of classic cars. She is a follower, not a leader...................MO

 

[OK charger]

Again... YOU are a guy speaking from several years older, years of age and experience that young people have yet to live through.
Old cars smell old. They are not quiet inside, the wind whistles through every possible opening. WE as CAR GUYS accept that. Someone with zero emotional attachment to these cars or the era when they were built will not see them as much more than an old car.

As I said earlier this car was COMPLETELY gone through...new seals,weatherstripping rebuilt engine and transmission,new paint. It runs and drives like new. And to answer a question from earlier...the guys all think its pretty cool. Her girlfriends don't really say much I guess.

 

[Bladecutter]

As I said earlier this car was COMPLETELY gone through...new seals,weatherstripping rebuilt engine and transmission,new paint. It runs and drives like new. And to answer a question from earlier...the guys all think its pretty cool. Her girlfriends don't really say much I guess.

Cuz oh so 'mature' females are oh so 'trendy'