Ever wonder enfluences that caused you to become a car nut?

[mr. fix it]

Here's a picture of my old bedroom when I was a young teenage kid...
The wallpaper may have had something to do with my love of anything powered with any kind of dyno liquid.

as with some of the replies, I too hung around my older brothers and cut my teeth in my dad’s shop.

 

[Newport 66]

Influential people: Grandpas, Dad, Brothers, next door neighbor and his brothers (Chrysler/Plymouth/Dodge dealer) anything drag racing and many more. Started building models when I was about 6 or 7. Helped Dad and brothers work on cars about 5 years old. Always respected and appreciated all the love and support and greasy fingers!

 

[rags]

my father used to have his cars repaired at a little one bay shop up the street from our house in Somerset, Ma. when i was very young, maybe 7years old, we were riding home from this shop in his polara and i remember saying to me "that man's got no boss". my father marveled at that. a man could own his own little business and basically come and go as he pleased. i was hooked.

that garage today.

 

[cbarge]

Influential people: Grandpas, Dad, Brothers, next door neighbor and his brothers (Chrysler/Plymouth/Dodge dealer) anything drag racing and many more. Started building models when I was about 6 or 7. Helped Dad and brothers work on cars about 5 years old. Always respected and appreciated all the love and support and greasy fingers!

View attachment 407552

...and every car in the pic is a Mopar..A B C lol!! Kewl!!

 

[3175375]

Building a tank with my friends:

Building plastic models, Tearing apart a 3 speed bike to see how the shift hub works (IIRC, I was about 9), painting a car in my parents garage when I was in 8th grade, asking my dad what the heating and cooling schematic symbols meant on old fold outs from his work (Navy cruisers, destroyers, frigates, etc.). (Dad brought them home for us to color on the back side)

Me thinks I am just wired this way...

 

[The Goose]

Our Texaco in Arizona on Route 66.

That’s my Grama pumping gas in the 60’s.

The rest as they say is history...

 

[CBODY67]

Here's a picture of my old bedroom when I was a young teenage kid...
The wallpaper may have had something to do with my love of anything powered with any kind of dyno liquid.
View attachment 407529

Great wallpaper! Never seen anything like that. Neat TV and computer, too.

My room had two big steel shelving unit full of car magazines. Collected most any publication that had to do with cars. Some great ads in the old "LIFE" and "LOOK" magazines!

When I "hit ground" as the new '52 Chrysler Hemis were in the showroom, we had a '51 Plymouth sedan. Followed by a '56 Plymouth Savoy. Then, the kindergarten I went to was across the street from the high school. LOTS of loud cars whenver school ended each day. Lots to see and hear!

Thanks for the pictures,
CBODY67

 

[62dodge]

I was dropped on my head, that's why I like cars, especially Chryslers

 

[SportFury70]

My grandfather was a mechanic at the local Chrysler/Plymouth dealer, which was actually the one that my stepfather's 73 Wagon was sold from when it was new. My dad as far as I know or remember also used to work at a Chrysler dealer and him and I always used to go to car shows all the time. I would also say a very good friend who I known for maybe 15 years now who has high dollar 6 pack and HEMI cars got me into the car scene as well, as well as my stepdad who got me into the C-bodies.

 

[NY69]

I self-ignited

Nobody in my family or surroundings was a car nut, or even had a technical background.

 

[SGT FURY]

My bedroom Christmas toy haul 1970. Note funny car pics on wall. My mom used to make these antique looking wood varnish plaques using magazine pages. These were the hot rod gallery pages. Our family cars from 1970. I was 6 in 1970

 

[traintech55]

When I was three years old, my father bought a new 1958 Thunderbird. Every Sunday he would load us kids in the car and take us for a ride on the new expressways. I got hooked by the sound of a four barrel carb opening up under load.

 

[Big_John]

My first memory is my Mom and Dad meeting a guy to pick up an almost new '57 Windsor. I was 3, almost 4 at the time.

We met at a local drugstore for some unknown reason. I remember the car having the optional record player and the old owner wanting that for his new '58 New Yorker he had just purchased. I think my Dad (or my uncle) had to remove it and install it in his new car as part of the deal.

I also learned to drive in my Dad's '68 300.

 

[75LandYacht]

View attachment 407577 My bedroom Christmas toy haul 1970. Note funny car pics on wall. My mom used to make these antique looking wood varnish plaques using magazine pages. These were the hot rod gallery pages. Our family cars from 1970. I was 6 in 1970

Do I see a 69 valiant in that picture? My first car was a 68, I love and miss that car very much.

 

[CBODY67]

I self-ignited
Nobody in my family or surroundings was a car nut, or even had a technical background.

I like that term! Few of my relatives were car "nuts"/"freaks", although they had some knowledge of them from dealing with them. I had an uncle who knew more about them and how they worked, which was always a treat when he visited. We used to have family reunions and it was always great to look at what everybody was driving and who was in something new.

"Self-ignition" was aided by the arrival of the (after we sent in a dime) 1959 Ford Buyer's Guide and the JC Whitney catalog. Such early educational items! Haven't looked back since, regarding cars.

Thanks,
CBODY67

 

[BIGBARNEYCARS]

For me it waz half way to poverty and all the way to tight wad. Started out gaping my spark plugs on ah '37 Phord 2door Sedan with a hack saw blade. Graduated to going to a dealership when I needed something serious done and got a price from them. Left the dealership with the estimate and headed for the partz store. Spent about 1/3 for the parts and headed for Sears Roebuck and spent another 1/3 on the craftsman tools I didn't own yet to do the job. The 3/3rd went in my pocket 'til I needed new levies or a new pair of engineer boots. I settled on Mopars for two reasons. Friends that I already counted as such and still have would offer me a CDI before I even knew what it was, and the 2nd reason was that I soon noticed that Mother would interchange partz whenever she could between all her fleet offerings. AND THAT MADE TRIPS TO THE BONE YARD WAY EASIER TO SCORE THE PARTZ YOU NEEDED WHEN USED WOULD DO JUST FINE. (At least from the '60 thru the '80s). Worked well for me, Jer

 

[Zymurgy]

My influence was definitely my dad. He had 3 project cars, Austin Healeys, a parts MGB in the barn, along with an 71 MGB which was a total rust bucket but his daily driver since new, but sat in the barn for 2 years. I was 15 and asked if the MGB could be my first car. He said yes, mechanically it was alright and got it running. It had some electrical issues and fixed them. I had my first car before I could drive.

I proceeded to blow up the 120,000 mile engine driving too fast and low on motor oil, because it was burning oil. This is when I feel like I really got into cars. My dad had bought the parts car for the freshly rebuilt engine and electronic overdrive transmission. We put in the "new" engine and transmission. I learned so much about the car and did most of the actual work myself with my dad's guidance. It actually went really smoothly and got great satisfaction of doing this at the age of 16, I was hooked.

 

[barnfind]

My dad of course, worked as a clay modeler for Chrysler back in the day, so mopars a plenty at our house. Riding my bike in Dearborn in the early 70s was always cool, as someone had something cool from the big 3 parked out front. A buddy had a Superbird for sale and stopped by to chat one day with my dad, the rest is history. Fords engine test cells were very close by, the ground would shake when one would explode from high revs. Hot wheel races, 1/24 scale models, visible v8, bikes cars... One of the first models I built.

 

[Newport 66]

Do kids even do stuff like that anymore?
We used to take big boxes from the grocery store paint 'em up like our favorite local hero stock car racer and run around in the yard like we were racing

Or build go carts out of old bed frames.
We were always doing creative stuff using our imaginations.

 

[75LandYacht]

Do kids even do stuff like that anymore?
We used to take big boxes from the grocery store paint 'em up like our favorite local hero stock car racer and run around in the yard like we were racing
View attachment 407641
Or build go carts out of old bed frames.
We were always doing creative stuff using our imaginations.

AND doing in the living room. lol.. Parents now days would FREAK.. lol