OPEN DISCUSSION TOPIC V

First Car - Project or Present?

Did you manage to find parts and build your first car or did you manage to have your parents provide that first set of wheels for you?  Well, as the years pass it seems to hold true as we advance in time fewer and fewer teenagers are actively involved in 'piecing together' or building their first car.  There was a time when demands for money were so great our grandfathers and even our fathers had to assemble their first car.  Then naturally came the tendency to make it go faster and thus a hobby was born, hot rodding.

Let's look at life back in the 'day'.  You know the 'day', prior to video games, life before personal computers, cell phones, and even MTV.  Back when entertainment and social activity were nearly the same thing.  Life at the drive-in talking about sports, cars, and who to date next were all a part of growing up.  The entertainment was being with friends, enjoying the chocolate shake and cheeseburger, maybe a $1.00 movie to see the Duke on the big screen.  You remember, life before cholesterol was measured.  Life when being cool was achieved by either playing sports or having a hot car.  The combination of American Graffiti and Hoosiers all rolled up into one.

Hot rodding or not, it is simply the easiest way to learn about a car - dive in, get dirty, ask questions and somehow, someway eventually the car is started and taken out for its test drive.  Since there were not that many distractions and cars were pretty straightforward to comprehend, many people spent a lot of time in the garage.  Whether it was the corner garage or the family garage.  Unfortunately today, kids can't do too much of this on cars that are roughly 1986 or newer vintage, they are too complex.  Although the old cars are still around, the interest is not there because they are just that, old.  That leads to the presents kids get these days from mom and dad, newer cars that they really don't get the opportunity or pride from being able to work on them.  They are 'new' and my child will be 'safe' (heard this one before?).  I will qualify this, adding stereos, lights, spoilers, and a steering wheel wrap really do not constitute as working on 'my' car.

I have a couple of stories; one a generation ago with my father and one of my own experience.

The Father Story......

We have heard our fathers and grandfathers and have often wondered how much of their story is real and how much is fabricated - just like their cars.  My father, who spent his teen years in the mid to late 50's (yes, you - the baby boomer) told of many stories where parts were swapped and cars were purchased as a team project among friends.  "No, we never had money.  Just parts we had to combine to create a set of wheels."  One famous story involved an old Deuce coupe engine/chassis traded for some weekend labor.  After a few hours of labor, a 5 gallon gas can served as a seat, a piece of rope for an accelerator pedal - the team had a body-less vehicle.  Ok, add that one to your pile of old car stories.  Well onto my father's story.  His story referenced a 1948 Ford Coupe.  The coupe, purchased with money he earned at the local service station, became a project that engulfed the garage and the back yard.  Let's just say my grandfather was a neat, organized person who had others service his vehicles.  The story continues to the day when my father completely tore the coupe apart with parts spread across the single car garage and the backyard.  He spent hours with kerosene, soap, and scrub brushes cleaning the parts.  My grandfather's attitude kept in-tact throughout this process in wonder if his son would put this adult erector set back together.  That is until the day he come home from work and saw parts all over the back yard spray painted black with black paint sprayed on nearly every blade of grass.  Luckily for my father, that was the last step before re-assembly.  Over the next couple of years he experimented with at least 5 different engines and multiple transmissions all in search of the faster speed.  He experienced life at the dragstrip and realized he found a hobby for a lifetime.

Then His Son Came Along And......

After you hear the above story told over and over again, as a teenager your mind starts to formulate a plan.  You too wonder where you would acquire the funds for the first car.  Your father continually inquired about your plan for the first vehicle while constantly hearing, "When I was your age, we HAD to build our own cars."  Enough is enough, ok so we had the same father.  I was 9 months from getting my driver's license and I had spent a lot of those first 15 years in the garage replacing brakes, exhaust, oil changing and assisting with a few engine swaps.  That experience along with some money I earned working in a heavy truck shop changing tires and power washing chassis made me able enough to make my own vehicle decision (in my best expert opinion).  I decided to offer a farmer $75 for the 1972 3/4 GMC pickup parked next to his barn.  Yes, the one without an engine, floor and rocker panels rusted and the brake pedal that goes to the floor - that one.  I 'hire' a tow truck driver (friend of my fathers) to tow it to our concrete pad behind our house.  9 months and counting.  Then without a doubt dad came home from work.  After all the "what the *&#@*!" and the "How are you *&@^#%"  I had to remind him about his situation.  Then I simply said - "dad, you have been asking what am I going to drive - now you know."  Thanks to his assistance and perseverance (I was at the age when 9 months seemed like a lifetime and needed the occasional boot in the butt) and some blood sweat and tears on a very cheap budget the truck was completed.  Not a show truck, but a vehicle none the less that made me one of the proudest vehicle owners in the parking lot.  With the junkyard small block I had a conversation piece at school.  Nevermind that the truck was never re-painted and the floor of the bed was starting to rust - it was my truck.  Ever since, I have had that classic car bug.

Now I have a 16 year old stepson and as one of many projects, I have a 1970 F100 - in decent shape and in long term storage.  I have told him we can go through it and get it going for his first vehicle.  No thanks, not interested.  The video game controller fits too comfortably in his hands.  Interestingly enough, he is traveling to the local Vocational school to learn more about auto repair.  Hmmm - maybe there is hope yet.

From first hand experience, it is a lot more fun to drive what you built and paid for then to drive something worth a lot more that was a present from mom and dad.

As I have stated before....we need to continue to interest and recruit the younger generations.

Do you have stories you can share about your first ride?  What was it?  What condition was it in?  Do you still own it?  Would you buy it back if you had the chance?  I no longer have my truck but would buy it back in an instant.

J. Shelton