Why are you in this ????

[budd28]

The cars which I still own from my grandfather are a 1940 packard 110 sedan [hpof certification Hagerstown] 1948 packard 22nd series sedan [hpof certification Roanoke] 1951 buick special sedan[hpof certification Winchester] my favorite car that I have is a 1928 Chevy coupe[hpof certification Punta Gorda] my grandfathers first car was 1928 Chevy coupe,and he always wanted another one butyou can't fit 4 grandchildren in a coupe hewouldn't buy one.I had the chance to buy one 1 year to the day of him passing so I did.

[John_Maine]

Simple - I love cars, always have and sometimes wish I didn't quite so much. However, I'm not mechanically inclined, don't have a garage or tools or any place to work on them. So, I have a couple of decent daily driver's that I can wash, wax, clean and pay someone else to work on when necessary. Fortunately, I have a couple of friends who can work on cars and if it's beyond them, they know where to go. And, they aren't so old that parts are hard to come by.

[Shop Rat]

..... That car aroused feelings in me that I recognized as very similar to the feelings I got staring at some of the more well built young ladies that had crossed my path. I Knew I WANTED one but had no idea how to GET one. .....

I apologize but I can't resist.

A young guy that likes a "great set of headlights".......and on cars too! Makes perfect sense to me.

[Restorer32]

I apologize but I can't resist.

A young guy that likes a "great set of headlights"......

I was always more of a fender guy actually!

[R W Burgess]

Cool video Jeff. I want to hear that big block idling next time.

Wayne

[Big Beat]

I simply like old cars and enjoy owning one. Plus I've always been somewhat of an amateur historian and preservationist by nature. I'm always accumulating, repairing and restoring various vintage objects, cars included.

[R W Burgess]

That's a little louder than my '56 6 cylinder Chevy!!:eek:

W.

[John_Maine]

While reading through this again, it makes me think of the cars we had in our family or I had the opportunity to buy way back when - my grandfather's '56 Chevy 210 4 door hardtop w/powerglide and powerpak, a '61 Lincoln Continental 4 door convertible w/ 40K on it that I could have purchased for $750 in 1968, a '61 Impala 4 door hardtop w/30K on it, 348, turboglide, p/s, p/b, p/w, p/s for $650 in 1969 (I didn't buy the Lincoln or Chevy because I was in college and wanted something easier on gas), '62 Super 88 2 door hardtop, '59 Impala convertible in red for $250 in 1968 - a little rusty but very clean w/50K miles, the list goes on....

[Dynaflash8]

I'm in it because the cars of the late 1930's and early-to-mid 1940's remind me of so many good times I had growing up. Although I particularly love Buick's of the period, if I were a multi-millionaire I would have a museum with nothing in it but all the cars of that period that belonged to relatives, neighbors, friends and school-mates that were from that period. A teenager in the 1950's almost never had a newer car, less than 10 years old. I remember the durability of the cars built just before and used during the War, and the excitement of the new cars coming out just after the War, when I was still collecting paper cars. I remember these same cars being possible to own when we were 16 or 17. Cars of the 50's were the most beautiful ever built in America, but they were new cars when my life began to get serious and cars of the 60's were unobtainable during my low income years. Cars of the early 70's interest me because they were the first new cars I could afford to buy. Cars newer than that are just something ordinary to me, to get me from point A to point B and back.

[budd28]

My uncle George has told me time and time again that his son Tim and myself are the only 2 kids that grew up with the aaca and still involved with the hobby

[poci1957]

I did too, got into old cars at 13 and now at 41 I am still here, although I sometimes question my own sanity for it.

[Shop Rat]

I did too, got into old cars at 13 and now at 41 I am still here, although I sometimes question my own sanity for it.

Welcome to the ward. There will be juice and cookies later.

[Guest Richard D]

I used to build scale model RC aircraft. Six months to build it then fly it twice a month or so. But I realized while it is fun and quite a risk to fly them I am standing on the ground, with no seat of pants experiance, just using my ears to hear engine RPM and eyes to make sure plane was right side up, flying towards me etc. Plus no matter how long you fly them they will crash and turn into a pile of very expensive toothpicks. With automobiles I can experiance the feeling of completion and bring back the smells and starting methods of cars of my youth, setting the automatic choke, knowing how many cranks to start it when hot, cold, etc. Plus folks on the road or at get togethers can look at the cars and remember back to when they had a car like that. Oh Yeah, It's FUN!

[Rusty_OToole]

I don't drink smoke or take dope so I had to find some other way to ruin my health, waste time and **** away my money.

[Guest customcharlie]

It's genetics virus or a bug. My Dad loved old cars and would try to restore and fix them up. He quickly lost interest and then it was my turn to mess with them. By the time I was sixteen, I had won the Los Angeles car show with a 54 Sunvalley that was highly customized down to its Tujana interior. Because of my old car collection and city ordinance I had to go into the restoration business. So my hobby became a job. After that happens there is not much fun in these cars. But wait there is hope. I have a wonderful new wife, old one didn't much like cars, I think this is like trading up to a new model. But my wife is car crazy with her corvettes and my love is with big heavy cars, so my baby is a 1957 Caballero. For those that don't know it is a Buick. So we work in our garage on our vintage cars and with any luck we will spend the kids inheritance, because I agree, that this new buinch of kids are into Japanese cars we can't spell and not American iron. So good luck to anyone working on an old car and keep it fun! Customcharlie

[Guest Norm Sparks]

Seems to be a lot of humour in the AACA about why we are all in the hobby. Mine is simple. My wife will not allow me to have a girl friend. The Packards and Porsche must do instead

Norm Sparks

Lord Selkirk Region

[Guest Camperch]

Great question, I enjoy reading the responses. My Dad fixed cars " on the side" to make a few bucks, he had me late in life and I was his young apprentice. He learned by observing others and as a matter of making ends meet being the oldest of three syblings whose parents passed when he was 18. I remember cleaning many brake, carb, parts etc. and origanizing tools for him. I learned a lot. He did not seem to have any affection towards old cars, but owned a 1938 Buick in the early sixties, I was about 9 years old. I loved that old car and he could not understand why, he paid $250.00 to "run around the neighborhood". It broke my heart the day he sold it to a guy who nearly killed himself when he wrecked it two weeks after he bought it. He bought his first new car a year later, a 1964 Ford Galaxie. Guess what? I inherited that Ford when he passed away, I was 18. I tried caring for the car but eventually I found the car owned me I did not own the car. I sold it in 1979 for $500.00 it was run into a light pole one week later. 55,000 miles never saw rain, waxed everything once a month. After that, I owned anything that ran and cost less than a grand "to run around the neighborhood". I always thought one day I would rebuild an old car, once the kids were on thier own and I was retired. I would make the most perfect car and keep it that way, Until I met Roger with his 1950 2 door Ford W/ pontiac 455, camaro front end and Earl Scribe paint job. He showed me an old car should be fun and driven and not cost much. Now I view them as sheetmetal, steel, rubber and glass. The person imagines it's more than that. I have Rogers 4 door Ford ready to be put back on the road (not restored to perfection) and a 1958 Dodge pick up I could not pass up. My heart pounded out of my chest when I went to my first Hershey show, and later at local club shows. The old cars allow us to tinker within our linits, meet very nice people, and get that fun feeling when driving down the road and people look and smile. It's not about the money.

[Shop Rat]

..... So we work in our garage on our vintage cars and with any luck we will spend the kids inheritance,.....

And if they give you any static about spending the money, tell them it isn't an inheritance until you are dead and leave it to them. And the local police know where they live. :eek:

[Guest QuoteWarz]

I do it because it is my passion. Ever since I was a kid I have always been into cars and I don't think that will ever change.

[39BuickEight]

of course I am a car guy...

The main reason I got into the older cars is because I think they are truly beautiful cars, and because I've always wanted to drive to the family Christmas gathering in an old car just like the one in A Christmas Story. My Buick is about as close as you can get, so that's how I ended up with it.

[Guest 1hooligan]

It is interesting that I was sitting here, at 5:00 in the morning thinking about the very same thing, and low and behold starting reading this thread. I got into this because I left home at 13, lets say a not so nice step father was the driving force in that. But I had lots of DADS that were into antique cars, several of my friends fathers. They took me under their wings, showed me how, took me to swap meets, and basicly taught me how to be a good man. I am sorry to say that they are all gone now, but what they gave me will be with me forever. Yes, I found, baught, and resold over 300 classic cars. Paid for me to stay in grade school, high school, and collage. Back then you could make a nice little profit, but I found the cars that were rotting and rusting away in groves, back yards, and garages and got them back in the system. I am proud to say most have been restored. Today, I do it because it gives me back that warm and fuzzy feeling, that I had working with those great, loving men so long ago. God has blessed me, and I thank him for that and still every night say a prayer that He is taking care of them as they did me. My wife, just smiles and send me out to the work shop when she knows I need it. Concerns me a bit, now she is the one who says, honey guess what I saw today, its cute, maybe you should go look at it......it may be for sale. God Bless, and Everyone have a SAFE, and Happy New Year. Pat

[rocketraider]

For me it's an opportunity to own cars I admired when I was younger but knew my family's modest circumstances would never allow us to own.

The Oldsmobiles were kind of a given, since the family was rife with them starting around 1937. But there's other cars I've always liked and wished to own before my time here is up. What will happen to them when I'm gone, I don't know. A couple of my younger friends are gearheads, but they're like me and have no time to devote to them.

My dad said I could identify cars on the road starting when I was about 5 or 6. That was back in the days you could tell one year's cars from another, instead of now when you can barely tell what make it is.

[sambarn]

I want to blame genetics - It was my dad's hobby but not only did i never question his love for the cars, I was so in love, I never knew there was a question. for twenty years between my moving out of the house to go to school and my father's passing, It was the cars, the projects that brought us together. Every holiday, I'd end up in the garage while the sane people (like my ex-wife) would stay inside (I still don't know what they did in there, there wasn't even a parts washer!!). My 14 year old tries to play it off cool but both of my boys get that "lookin' at a nice set of headlights" look when a beautiful car rolls by. Then they ask questions I have to answer and then they don't understand so.. off to the garage to tear something apart - put something together or just sweep and talk until the answer is either clear or irrellevant. I will never get those times again with my dad but I can give those times to my boys. As far as inheritance goes, the car's I could have bought from anyone, what I gained from them and my youth in the hobby...I could never replace, only hope to pass it on. Oh and that smell of old cars gasoline and motor oil - some people don't like that???

[jeff_a]

I'm into old cars because my dad was.

I'm into old cars because my grandfather was.

Maybe my Epidemiologist, Dr. Ron Munger, should look into this!

[D Yaros]

I'll add my 2 cents worth. I am into this because my generation, baby boomers, grew up with cars as a big part of their lives. We could not wait to get a driver's license. Then, we could not wait to get our very own car.

Of course, we had little-to-no money, so having a car meant learning about it and keeping it running. Being a shade tree mechanic was a necessity. That necessity turned out to be an enjoyable activity. I try to do all I can in terms of vehicle maintenance myself; on both the vintage and current vehicles I own.

I am sure a very big part of it is the admiration for the old iron, as well as the youthful memories they engender. Natch, you have to be an ol' codger to have youthful memories! Right?

One of the most enjoyable aspects, I find, is the pleasure not merely of owning, but of sharing; whether it be in displaying, swapping stories, helping others or whatever. It is a great hobby, so long as you can afford it!

Edited December 31, 2009 by D Yaros
correction (see edit history)

[TG57Roadmaster]

I remember vivdly the smell of my Grampa's garage, a Standard Oil gas station and body shop that he ran from 1938-54. It was long-closed by the time I came along (1957), but the building still existed, filled with hubcaps, parts in boxes in the office, paint cans on shelves, and more. There was my late-uncle's '58 Edsel Citation Coupe sitting on blocks since his death in 1964, which I used to dream of restoring to take to Senior Prom. This was all in the late-'60's, early-'70's, and that particular dream is as yet unrealized.

Grampa used to talk of old cars, he bought models of them for me to build, the usual stuff kids did back then. Strewn about the fields and woods of his place in Michigan's Upper Peninsula were dozens of clapped out vintage cars; I pillaged the emblems from them, crawled around inside of them, fell in love with them.

My parents understood, and after a trip to Harrah's Collection in 1968, I realized that was it; this hobby would be the thing for me. I have Grampa's wrenches and body tools, and as much automobilia that I could save before his garage's collapse in the early-'90's. The pack rat "collector gene" definitely came from his side of the family, and, common to such afflictions, I acquire but rarely sell.

Occasionally, while working with his tools on one of my cars, the unique scent of his place returns, and all the warm memories flood my senses like an exotic automotive perfume. I'm making my own memories now, but, as a single guy with no protoge to mentor, these modern-day histories are shared here, and on other forums.

Thanks for starting a very cool thread,

TG

[Guest Hinckley]

Fascination. I am fascinated by the evolution of technology. I also see the various body styles in a context similar to how many people see fine art.

I am not the typical old car guy as I derive very little pleasure in vehicle repair. In fact I find it very frustrating even though the work needed to keep a vehicle on the road is completed in my driveway.

I find vintage vehicles fascinating as they are tangible links to history. Enhancing this is driving the vehicle, especially on an old road such as Route 66 or the Lincoln Highway. At that point a vintage vehicle becomes a time machine or sorts.

For as long as I can remember escaping into the past with a long drive in a vintage vehicle has been an immeasurable source of pleasure. Fortunately I have been blessed with a wife that also enjoys this.

When we were dating some 27 years ago I would drive into town in my 1946 GMC. We would double date in a 1926 Ford.

Until early this year my wife's car was a 1973 Olds. When we met she was driving a 1970 Charger. She really enjoys long drives in the gas guzzling 1968 Dodge Adventurer and is on board as we search for a 1931 Ford pick up.

[Scotts_DG8]

I myself can’t give a lot of credit to my father specifically but in total it was my father’s side of the family. Most all of them worked at Chrysler. This Chrysler history all began when my grandfather helped out Walter P. Chrysler’s wife when her car broke down on Ridge Rd., a job was offered in appreciation and he ended up as an engineer for Chrysler which often had him driving/testing cars all over the country; after he retired he worked in sales at Mason Chrysler/Plymouth on Woodward and 10 Mile. Besides my grandfather two uncles were engineers in Highland Park and my father and another uncle were regional sales managers.

I myself got into cars around the age of 14 through one of my engineer uncles who worked on cars on the side on weekends; he lived close by (bike or walking distance) and offered to pay me a few bucks if I came over and assisted. First it was small gofer tasks which moved into performing repairs under his guidance, soon I was doing the majority of the work spanning brakes, suspension, transmission, full tune-ups including carbs, distributors and chasing electrical problems. I did this weekend work off and on into my late teens.

My introduction into the older cars was an accident. I was walking around with my brother and he was going to go over to one of his friend’s houses and I tagged along. As it turned out my brother’s friend’s dad had this old car that was in pieces and his dad said that he could have it if he could put it back together. I helped that summer to put this car back together and he drove it throughout the rest of high school. My friendship grew partly out of admiration of this old car and the time spent putting it back together. I don’t know, but if he didn’t have that old car I would probably not have known him; as it turned out I’ve known him ever since that summer.

I’ve read the poetic references to the automobile being a work of art, a technological wonder, an icon that for some allows them to reliving a specific time period. I can submit to all of these points of view in varying degrees. To me the automobiles from 1970 and back represent a simpler time, especially to those of us that have been there and done that. Although the clock does not run backwards the ability to surround ourselves in works of art and technology of a given period allows us a break from the current fast paced, high tech, impersonal world around us today. Also a new trend that I’ve seen at several other sites outside of the AACA forum is the collection of old period photos that present a visual image to aid the memory of the days gone by. That’s my story and my P.O.V. I’ll continue with my collection, the friendships that they bring and opportunity to stop and relive what in my opinion were better periods/moments in time.

Oh, and it is sure not for the money. If I told stories of the moneys lost throughout the years because of either bad decisions, errors in judgments, or simply circumstances some people would surely think that I fell out of a tree or two at some point in my life…

[Jim Bollman]

I grew up being rolled out of bed hours before daylight to sleep in the back seat of either my Dad's car or a friends as we went off to an old car flea market so we could get there to watch as vendors unloaded, the only real way to find bargains.

My Dad had a 37 Packard 110 6cyl all original that he decided to sell a few years before I was out on my own with a garage that I could have used to store it. The friend had a 1915 Saxon roadster and a 1915 T touring. I spent a lot of days cleaning one or the other top to bottom including the undersides for a show. These were drivers that were also very nice show cars that were owner restored.

Both families went to Hershey a couple of times in the early 60s. That was when the strategy was to quickly go through the whole flea market to find any real rare items and then go slower a second or third time looking for bargains. The friend would put a sign on his car giving the hours he would be open and setup a card table of restored brass horns and lamps. Most of what he was bringing were already sold to his regular customers.

Throw in all the local regional activities and I guess my fate was cast.