How did you get started/addicted to old cars?

[Guest abh3usn]

I've always been interested in things mechanical. A neighbor moved in down the street when I was 12 or so. He had a 1959 Jag XK150 roadster. We started going to car shows and I gradually got into helping restore Model As, a '39 Plymouth, '29 Chevy truck, and so on. Since I've moved I've owned a '67 Fairlane, '78 Bronco and my current vehicle a '77 MGB. How did your addiction set in?

[keiser31]

My dad took my brother and I to the Old Car Festival at Greenfield Village and the Henry Ford Museum back in 1959 when I was 7 years old and I was in love from then on. It didn't take with my brother, but I have been addicted since. A few days ago I was looking through a book of mine called "Automobiles of the World" by Joseph H. Wherry and I discovered a couple of photos of my brother and I standing at the fence in front of the Clinton Inn at the Greenfield Village! There we are with our suspenders on and our shaved heads. That may have been taken on my first adventure to that glorious place. My dad bought the car which I call my first car in 1959 and so my addiction was parked in the garage.

[F&J]

My Dad was a mechanic for the Seabees USN in WW2, then opened his own repair shop in the 50s. He would roadtest customers cars home, so there always was something different in the driveway back then..

In the late 50s I rec'd a new box camera and the first pic I ever took was a 37 Chevy coupe sitting at a body shop down the road. I must have taken it because it was so strange looking compared to the 50s cars. I have seen that pic somewhere in the last 20 years ...but I am tired of looking for stuff

[Shop Rat]

Bill and I got married 2/14/80 and several years later he started talking about us getting an antique car. Our first, and I wish we still had it, was a 1958 Chevy 2-door Biscayne -cashmere blue and artic white.

We started going to Hershey and then Bill started judging after going to his first school in Clarksburg, W. Va. I got tired of being left in the RV and him coming back with all the stories of the great cars he had seen and the nice friends he had made. So I went to judging school and started judging. Now I have 74 credits and I have seen/judged some very beautiful cars and met some absolutely awesome people along that journey.

And sadly some of the folks have passed away, or no longer are able to go to shows, that were very active when we first started.

[1935Packard]

My grandfather had a 1935 Packard that he had bought in 1942, and that he still had decades later. He also had a barn full of old cars (mostly 1950s Cadillacs -- about a dozen cars altogether) that he had bought as used cars and then just rolled into the barn when they "died." As a kid, in the 70s, there was nothing more fun that getting to see that Packard and to spend a few hours with the old cars in my grandfather's barn. So I was hooked as a kid.

The funny thing is that the cars I love today are pretty much the same as the cars I was obsessed with when I was a kid. My garage has two cars in it: a '49 Cadillac, which was pretty similar to some of the cars in that barn, and my grandfather's Packard.

[OldsDoug]

I've been interested in _cars_ since I was 4 years old in the 1950s, remember sitting on my grandparents' porch and saying, "There goes a Studebaker, that's a Hudson, there's a Nash, that one is a Packard..."

My collector car is a '70 Olds Cutlass Supreme convertible.

None of them were _old_ cars when I first started liking them... what happened!?

[joe_padavano]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: OldsDoug</div><div class="ubbcode-body">None of them were _old_ cars when I first started liking them... what happened!? </div></div>

You beat me to that by only a few minutes...

[rocketraider]

Y'all got old along with the cars!

What hill? I don't remember no dern hill!

The 17-year old at the gas station up the street was saying something about my 93 F150 being an old truck when it was in for service last week. Told him a 93 was a new vehicle to me!

[Holly - Car Gurl]

I was 2 years old. I remember the moment of that day very well. I was riding in the back seat of my moms 1962 Pontiac.... 2 T-Roadsters passed us on the right... hot rods... I remember the sound and the chrome and I thought, "I'm not sure exactly what that was, but THAT is what I want to do." From there I began collecting Hot Wheels and working on my bicycle. Then I started to collect old bikes out of the neighbors garbage and fix them and sell them. Then when I was 13 I began turning wrenches on cars.... I would ride my bike to the local gas station and help out...

[Guest Trunk Rack]

I remember when I first fell in love with old cars. When I decided they would be more fun than walking !

Why OLD cars ? POVERTY, guys !

[novaman]

Dad'd been taking me to Hershey since I was little. First memories I have is of standing on the frame of his Merc convert (think it was a '39...don't remember it very well as it sold it while I was still fairly young) anyways I sanded a spot on the cowl in front of the driver's windshield. I had that spot smooooooth. Probably why I hate sanding now!! I don't mind doing body work but I despise the sanding part!!!

[Dave@Moon]

For me it was purely innate. I just started to prefer models and toy of older cars as a kid, especially after I was about 11 or 12 years old. I never had any encouragement from my parents (although my Dad did buy me a $50 24 year old Pontiac to "restore" when I was 16, but no parts or tools ) or my friends at that age either.

[jaxops]

Dad always got a junker in trade for a new Cadillac he sold, so we always had "classic" cars around. He also preferred to use his shared 1958 hearse through about 1970, and his 1964 hearse well into the early 1980s. The classic lines of these cars became more evident to me as car styling became boxy, and then rounded. Of course, I got to drive a lot of these cars in high school when I worked for him over the summers.

I had two neighbors in Glenside, PA that encouraged me to work on my own car and showed me how to restore cars in general. One was a corvette nut, and the other was my neighbor who fixed his own 1970 Oldsmobile. He had the same engine as my 1970 Electra. Although my 70 Buick looked really old, it was only 7 years old when I got it. I think about that today when I drive my 1990 Mercury every day and it is hitting 19!

[1940_Buick]

My dad was a car guy who grew up in the 1920's and 1930's. He started taking me to car shows when I was about 4 or 5. He'd lift me up to the windows to look inside, explain all about the different features, how to tell the different makes and years. He had a lot of stories about growing up with cars from that era... flying down the road in his friends 1928 Lincoln phaeton, his parents buying their brand new 1927 Model T Ford, his grandfather's confusion with shifting his new 1932 Chevy, after having nothing but Model T's before.

So, while other fathers & sons were into baseball, football, or some other sport, my dad and I spent our time talking about antique cars. I even had antiqe car coloring books when I was little.

But while dad loved cars, he wasn't mechanically inclined. I was always trying to talk him into buying an antique car, but never could. So, when I grew up, I got my own antique cars! It was a lot of fun driving dad around in cars he had talked about when he was young.

This is my dad in my 1923 Buick Model 45. It was his last ride in one of my old cars. He passed away a month later

[61 Sport Sedan]

Although I live on an island in the North Atlantic my love of cars I think was influenced by Americans. There was an American Military Base here ( Argentia 1940-1994) and there were many cars and trucks around here that I wouldn't have seen otherwise. Brendan.

[Guest wk's_olds]

I was about 22 years old and one night I dreamed I was driving a 1936 Buick sedan. I have no idea what prompted the dream, but I knew I had to have an old Buick. (As a child, a neighbor lady of my parent's had a new 1942 Buick and loved to take me places with her. It seemed to be wonderful compared to my Dad's old 36 Chevy. I always liked Buicks after that) I found a 1937 Buick that had been neglected, bought it and pulled it home and rebuilt the engine. It purred! My wife had a fit because she hadn't accepted the concept of old cars yet. She would yell at me about having to have an old Buick. Next, I added a '29 Buick, then a 47 Cadillac touring sedan, which she fell in love with! She got hooked like I was, and within a few short years, we had a collection of old cars-mostly Buicks-about 200 in all. We had several Oldsmobiles and Cadillacs, too. Many of the cars were simply parts cars, and I sold parts all over the world. A few were nice enough to restore and those were sold complete. I had to dispose of the collection upon moving from Indiana to California in '81. The untitled cars had to be cut up for scrap. I hated to do that, but I had to.

[MarkV]

Grandpa and Grandpa's cars below:

[keiser31]

One major thing that sucked me into the car scene was that my dad worked as a supervisor for Chrysler Export/Import for 37 years. He used to bring some odd cars home. He took delivery of this Ghia bodied 1959 Chrysler Imperial in Windsor, Canada one day and brought it home to show us kids. I am sure that the looks on our faces while looking up through the clear roof of that car at night and seeing the stars glow was priceless!!

[MCHinson]

My father started out as a blacksmith and continued to operate a machine shop across the street from my childhood home until a few years before his death. At about age 14, my brother Steve opened up a lawnmower repair shop beside my father's shop. He later added welding and hydraulic jack repair.

I guess my addiction started when I worked with my brother Steve in his shop. In about 1970, at age 16, Steve convinced my father that he needed a pickup truck to add pickup and delivery capability to his lawnmower repair business. He then proceeded to buy a 1953 Chevrolet pickup which soon sported Mag Wheels. The back bumper somehow soon was jacked up where it was even with my 10 year old nose. He explained that the jacked up rear end made sure that lawnmowers would not roll out in transit. Somehow my parents allowed him to get away with this.

Steve continued through a long line of older cars buying, fixing, selling and basically wheeling and dealing through all the time I worked for him as well as the rest of his life.

Some were hot rods, some were original, some were restored as original.

At age 16, my first car was a 1961 Cadillac Hearse. It showed up down the street from my house with a for sale sign on it a few weeks before I was to turn 16 and I guess it was just in the right place at the right time at the right price. It was lots of fun and I have a lot of fun, if a bit dark and twisted, memories.

I also remember all of the old wagons we had in my younger days. I was the youngest of 8 kids. We never owned a new car, and the family car was always a station wagon, until most of the kids were out of the house. I also remember a lot of photos of older cars that the family had before I was born in 1960. I still hope to one day own a Crosley and a Willys wagon, as I have photos of my parents with both of those before I was born.

I read about old cars and decided that a good first one would be a Model A Ford. Many of my antique cars through the years have continued to be Model A Fords. Something about them just appeals to me.

My parents grew up during the depression and I think that their values rubbed off on me and most of my siblings. I like old simple mechanical stuff that is easy to repair. I never thow out anything that I can fix. I enjoy tinkering and Model A Fords just seem to go well with my desire to do that type of mechanical work. With the exception of my affinity for the computer, I think that I was just born in the wrong decade.

[boblichty]

Before I could do my colors, numbers, maybe ACB's I could name every car that passed my house. My dad and two uncles loved cars. My dad was a Farm Bureau insurance agent and took me with him to all the body shops and tow yards he had insured. My uncle, Herb Denzer from New Philidelphia Ohio had a Ford/Mercury repair garage and let me spend a lot of time there in the summer. At about 8 (1955) I was climbing around in one of my uncle's Model T's and stepped on the starter and it taught me to drive Model T right on the spot. A little later he let me drive an old Crosley around their farm, way before they should have. I was hooked. I knew I had to have a career in the automotive industry and I followed my art ability to lead me into a career in publishing, writing, marketing and event promotion. It has been a super blessed career, working for some of the top companies in our industry and getting to know literaly everyone. But! It's all my uncle's fault and I will always appreciate him for it.

[Guest oldmobile1]

I started with model cars in the 1950's, first was friction motor promo cars, then AMT car kits, then I got a Doepke MG model, which I still have to this day. My first real car purchase was a 49 Caddy 2 door H/T (wish I still had that) then a 48 Caddy fast back. Rember these were just old cars at the time. I drove the 48 to high school in 63 and 64. On to a 41 plymouth 2 door sedan, then a 41 mercury coupe and then a 54 chevy 2 door H/T that I put a 265 v8 in. It was punched to 301 and screamed!! CARS CARS CARS. In 67 when I got out of the service I bought a 50 Olds, and a 66 GTO convertable 389 4 speed. But I was hooked on the Oldsmobiles. I've had like twelve 1950 Oldsmobiles plus many other's in between. Last count, approx 130 cars. At present, it is pretty much Oldsmobile for me. I have a 1951 88-A I've owned since 1971 a 1950 88 Fast back I chased since I was 16, bought from Mable, original owner, a 71 Cutlass, a 67 Delta 88 Convertable just picked up a 52 Chevy sedan delivery, just because it's cool, and oh ya, a 1971 Pinto station wagon. Don't laugh, it only has 28,000 miles, and looks new. Every one NEEDS a PINTO!! I could go on, but don't want to bore people, if anyone reads this stuff anyhow. Thanks for letting me rant. Doug

[OldsDoug]

Doug, I think we were separated at birth! And as you can see, I have a Firenza, something else everyone should have!

DK

[OldsDoug]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: joe_padavano</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: OldsDoug</div><div class="ubbcode-body">None of them were _old_ cars when I first started liking them... what happened!? </div></div>

You beat me to that by only a few minutes... </div></div>

Four, to be exact!

Keep on Rocketing, Joe!

[OldsDoug]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: rocketraider</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Y'all got old along with the cars! </div></div>

Hah - you were there too! I was thinking yesterday about the early Templeton shows, you came up to the first or 2nd one in the Delta convertible and we had to change a tire at the end of the show...

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: rocketraider</div><div class="ubbcode-body">What hill? I don't remember no dern hill!</div></div>

Yeh, the slope is real gradual and the crest is hidden!

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: rocketraider</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The 17-year old at the gas station up the street was saying something about my 93 F150 being an old truck when it was in for service last week. Told him a 93 was a new vehicle to me! </div></div>

Depends on your perspective, I guess... we were working on Moira's '71 yesterday (trying to recommission the A/C) and that didn't seem like an old car... worked on a friend's '65 Bonneville a few weeks ago and the only reason that seemed old was because I hadn't seen an AFB in awhile, gotten used to looking at QuadraJets!

Elmer (Fudd)

[Restorer32]

When I was 19 I was in a serious traffic accident in my Bug Eyed Sprite and was confined to a hospital bed for the better part of 6 months. I was always a voracious reader and had gone thru about everything I could find. Someone, a neighbor I think, gave me a stack of 8 page or so antique auto newsletters (Antique Auto Trader?) which I devoured. I was always into mechanical things so the transition to antique cars was an easy one. Dad, always willing to take advantage of a free and eager laborer, bought a '28 Cadillac out of a barn in Lancaster, Pa for $600 and I was hooked.

[Sweepspear]

I can't recall a time I wasn't interested in cars.

When I was 8 or 9, my Father bought and began restoring a 1937 Jaguar SS100. Then in later years a '40 Continental and a '37 Cord Beverly.

I kind of grew up going to CCCA, and other club events.

I feel it is just in my blood.

[Guest 1926pack]

Wife made the fatal mistake. "Husband", she said, "you need a hobby". Without further qualification. Its been downhill since.

[gwells]

I can first recall seeing old (pre-WWII) cars in a few early issues of Rod & Custom magazine. I think that was the beginning of my interest in collector cars.

When I was 12, due to family issues, my sibs and I were sent to be raised by our maternal grandparents in Nashville, TN. Our granddad was a minister and one of his parishoners, Tommy Shriver, was a hardcore Classic car enthusiast. At that time (mid-'60s) he owned a '32 Packard 903 Coupe-Roadster, a '34 Packard 1101 sedan, and a '30 Rolls-Royce P1 Windovers limo.

Tommy, sensing my enthusiasm for old cars, became a sort of surrogate father and taught me about Classic cars. Tommy was the district attorney for Nashville-Davidson County for 21 years and I recall many times waiting at his home for him to arrive from the courthouse after work. His first wife could not have been pleased that most nights he would take off his jacket and tie and start tinkering on one of his cars with me, rather than going upstairs to greet her.

During my HS years, Tommy would let me and my best friend use his Packard 1101 and accompany him on tours and shows. And he'd let me ride with him to every meet and show he attended. In such an environment, the hot rodders never got a chance to reel me in.

We lost Tommy to a heart attack one Sunday in the courthouse about a decade ago, where he'd stopped for a few moments on a trip back home from out of town. I still miss him terribly...

As I have mentioned on this forum before, when I think back on my past involvement in the hobby, the cars I recall can be special but nowhere near as special as people like Tommy Shriver and Don Peterson (West's dad), just to name two.

[Guest imported_Big Jake]

I got hooked when I saw what some people call the "Ugly" hood for the 1960 GMC Truck. Just kinda looked weird. But oh What an Engine.

[Scotts_DG8]

What started me down this path? I grew up in a Chrysler family, and it truly is a great beginning. My grandfather on my dad’s side of the family was just walking home when he had come across a young woman having car trouble (yes woman really did drive back in the day) and stopped to offer his service. He was successful in getting her back on the road in short order and in gratitude she mentioned that he was rather handy and that her husband was always looking for handy individuals and asked him to call the next day. To make a long story short, my grandfather was offered a job by Walter P Chrysler; it was his wife that had the car trouble. He, my grandfather, went on to being an engineer for Chrysler and through the years worked on numerous new cars (he actually had one of the Air Flow clay design models presented to him) and then spent a number of years out on the road running performance tests, coast to coast, and somewhere in the family still exists the 16 mm films of some of his test cars/runs.

I was exposed to cars it seemed like from all angles growing up. When I became old enough to appreciate the cars around me I also made friends with a number of like minded kids, one of which I’ve know since before I could drive and that is Keiser31. I also began to spend a lot of time with one of my uncles, prior to getting my license and afterwards, who taught me the ins and outs of brake jobs, tune ups, carburetor adjustments, changing clutches/shocks, check axle end play and adjust, electrical trouble shooting, along with lots more; this uncle along with another where Chrysler engineers working out of Highland Park.

Bottom line, as the times moved forward I moved with it (I went a good distance within the IT World) but held a passion and a longing for the simpler times, in many aspects, that I grew up in and the cars both from my childhood era and as far back as the 20’s represent these times very well. Besides, I loved the individual car styles back then, they all stood on their own.

Scott

[Guest ChrisSummers]

When I was old enough to sit up, my parents bought me a Matchbox Lamborghini Countach. We have a home video of me as a toddler, rolling it back and forth on the carpet and yelling "VROOM! VROOM!"

Then Grandpa bought, in 1993 or 1994, a '79 Corvette and gave me rides in it. I still remember roaring down the A1 in Ft. Lauderdale with the T-top off and that LOUD engine.

As for AACA, that was Jim Lackey, who gave me a membership as a high school graduation present.

[Guest Leonard Shepherd]

I think I was always interested in cars, but a neighbor, down the road, bought a 53 Studebaker Commander hardtop. I was 8 years old, but I thought it was the most beautiful car I had ever seen. We lived on a rural dirt road, and I would stand at the end of our driveway waiting to see him come down the road.

Here is a picture that I drew when I was 9 years old.

[Jim Bollman]

Grew up going to old car flea markets and shows with my Father and his best friend. When I got old enough the friend would hire me to clean either his 1915 T or 1915 Saxon for weekend shows. Had to clean them top and bottom.

My Dad had an unrestored 1936 Packard 110 Business Coupe 6 cylinder. If he would have held on to it just a couple more years, it would be mine today. He lost storage and sold it a few years before I was in a position to buy and store it. It was not a Classic but it was a classy car and would be great in HPOF. He sold it in the late 60s for $500. He originally bought it for $50 so he was happy.

[Mike Dube]

I was born with the affliction. When I was 4 or 5 I got into an arguement with my grandfather about what make of car had just passed us. He stomped on the gas and caught up with the car (I no longer remember what it was) and found I was right. He told this story for years to any and all.

My '63 F100 was his last new truck, left to me on his passing. I've had it for 32 years now and I still think of him every time I get behind the wheel.

[Guest oldmobile1]

For Olds Doug, I forgot to mention I have had a few AMC Pacers also. They are really nice cars!!! Wouldn't mind having another one. Would like a v-8 wagon this time. Far and few between now. Doug

[TG57Roadmaster]

A very cool thread, and Leonard's Crayola drawing is priceless! For me it was flying down the road in Uncle Marvin's '58 Edsel Citation Coupe, windows down on a sunny summer day in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

The previous Christmas morning elicited my following drop-jawed reflex...

...having slept with a new car and truck thru Christmas Eve.

TG

[kevin1221]

I am another one that can't remember when I did not like cars. As a small child, I always had them, eventually moving up to pedal cars, hot wheels and slot cars.

My interest in full sized cars also developed at an early age. I remember going with my Dad to car lots at "New Car Introduction time" for many years.

Growing up, we had a 1955 Fairlane, 1959 Ford Retractible, 1962 Pontiac Tempest Conv and several Oldsmobile Vista Cruisers, amoung others.

In high school, I started buying and selling cars to suppliment my income. Mustangs, Impallas, Chevelles etc were fairly plentiful for $600 - $1000 and very easy to resell.

I went to work at a Ford dealership in 1974, and continue to work at a dealership today.

After the kids grew up and moved out, I bought my current Mustang in 1996. At my first car show with this vehicle, I was parked next to a 1966 Mustang that was a Senior Grand National Car. I was taken back by the level of detail on that car. I made it my goal to get my Mustang to that level also. Finally, last year (2008), I won my Sr Grand National award also.

It seems you either have this desease or you don't. Unfortunately, none of my children share my enjoyment of this hobby.

Kevin

[keiser31]

Absolutely LOVE Leonard's drawing and story. Here is a drawing I did when I was about 14 years old of a vehicle that influenced me towards my every day driver.

[Guest Leonard Shepherd]

Great drawing keiser31. I did some drawings similar to that.

[keiser31]

NICE Studebakers!!!