When did you "know" you were a car guy?

I’m a bit younger so this would have been around 87 or so. It’s interesting how time passes and generations come and go but a lot of the stories here are the same. My mom says I made “engine noises” well before I could speak while driving my cars and trucks around. My fascination with the automobile has apparently always been present, my fascination with Mopar is something I guess I learned from my dad. Notice the tail lights of the 72 Scamp... The Scamp was his first car and it’s still with us today! We don’t have a fleet of cars but between the two of us we have 6 classics and a few modern cars we have a lot of fun messing with. The modern cars are mostly me and just something I think he tolerates to stay in the shop with me. While I have been and hopefully always will be involved with the old school Mopars, I’m still fascinated and enjoy trying to understand some of the modern systems used today to increase performance. I guess if that trend continues I will be replacing OEM battery packs with my son and upgrading to the newest high performance battery’s offered by the high performance market..... Maybe not tho.... We are at least trying to start him off right!!

Rainy Day Auto said:

It's great to see the assumption that all "car guys" are in fact guys

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generic "guy"!

My daughter is a car "guy" - "gal" whatever! she is so proud when she fixes something herself and gets so mad when, due to circumstance (lives in an appt. no garage,) can't do it and has to take it to a shop or Dad!

as long as I can remember. One of my first memories must have been around 1970 I was ten and being raised by my grandfather, in the back of an old pole building was an drag saw I kept telling my grandfather we needed to build a go kart using that motor he would just smile, and then about the 10th time I mentioned it he said if you get the motor running we will work on a go-kart. It was summer and I was out of school about a week later as he pulled in the driveway from work I pulled the Rope start and to his surprise fired that old motor up. Something about the sound of that straight pipe and the feel of the rumble of that motor gave me a feeling inside like none other and thank God it's still there.

Around 6 or 7 yrs of age, i was growing up in a all girl neighborhood. 3 of my neighbors had horses and thats what I asked for, for my birthday. My Dad came home from work that day and had a mini bike in the trunk of his caddy. He set it on the ground and said, " Here is 5 horses boy!". My interest from that day was always motor oriented.
11-12 I was throwing a pillow in my brothers 57 chevy. 283 3sp manual and didn't need a key to start it as was left unlocked. My bro was 10 yrs older and in the Marines then so the car just sat. Had a broken leaf spring and too young to know that but i'd back it up the lane at the house and let her rip till 1 time the drive shaft rubbed thru the hump and caught the rear seat on fire. Got my a$$ beat for that! Lol At 14yrs old I would constintly take 1 of the 3 cadillacs my parents had to school. They never knew it as they would take 2 of them to their work. My dad worked different shifts so only 1 wk out of 3 was I able to do it. Picked up the hottest girl in my class 1 time and we skipped school, riding around in the mountains and spun out, not keeping my eyes on the road, and cracked the rear into a tree. Well Christmas presents were in the trunk and that wasn't opened till I figured how to crawl in from the back seat and pop it. It was still drivable but I did get arrested and couldn't get my license till 6 months after I turned 16. That sucked but looked for my own car after that and seen a 71 dodge demon 340 auto for sale at a car lot. Worked my butt off and bought that bad boy for 750$ cash. Total mopar ever since and still have that car. Its sentimental!

As a young child I was into Matchbox, Hot Wheels, Johnny Lightning, diecast cars. I then progressed into building plastic model car kits (spending my weekly allowance on a new one every Saturday (K-Mart)). Then around 10 years old my buddies and I built some go-karts using old lawn mowers (trash picking on "garbage night"). Then when I was old enough to drive it was just a part of my life. After I got married, and we started having kids, I sold my "toy car". When my youngest was about 6 years old, I found the Dart GT.

Well, of course as kids in the 60’s and 70’s, we had matchbox, sizzlers, Aurora and AF/X, and all manner of cars. But, my grandfather was a Kendall oil rep, and some of his biggest clients were the likes of Don Garlits, Kris Karamacenes, Connie Kallitta, and the likes. We were so enamored with cars and racing, we wanted to go to every event with Grandpa. Then, in 1970, my Dad brought home this car. He was the coolest Dad in the neighborhood, and everybody knew and loved this car. To this day, when we see my parents old friends, they will still mention that car, and of course all of our friends remember it too. It instantly rose is up to the stratosphere of all things automotive.

I had Hot Wheels, slot cars as a kid. Got into racing BMX in the early 80's. Rode to model train shows in the 69 Charger I now own.

Bored as a 15yr old in rural MD with a cornfields outside my window - hot wired my parents 'backup" car - a '66 Cadillac Calais, key on the dash, three wires. Rode around in the summer when they were at work. I was a bad kid.

I still don’t think that I am a car guy. I never had any formal training on how to fix anything. I just read the instructions and do my best. I just like cars, but not so wonderful on working on them.

Valiant63 said:

I still don’t think that I am a car guy. I never had any formal training on how to fix anything. I just read the instructions and do my best. I just like cars, but not so wonderful on working on them.

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Not many of us had formal training. I use to read Motors Manual to obtain the most knowledge of many systems. You're a car guy if you enjoy driving them, going to shows and swap meets. Certain work you may have to call on the pros. It's OK.

DartGTDan said:

As a young child I was into Matchbox, Hot Wheels, Johnny Lightning, diecast cars. I then progressed into building plastic model car kits (spending my weekly allowance on a new one every Saturday (K-Mart)).

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I grew up nearly the exact same way, Hot Wheels, slot cars, plastic model kits, spending my allowance every Saturday at K-Mart, would spend the weekend painting and assembling the newly purchased kit.
My older brother had a friend whose dad had a 68 Cougar GT with a 390 and big M50-15s on the back, loud dual exhaust, air shocks, etc. Had older cousins who were into cars, one had a '71 Challenger R/T convert, B5 with a white top, 383 auto, that one left a real impression, another had a '70 Chevelle SS454 LS6, another had an AAR 'Cuda, plus a lot of the neighbors had cool cars, including a '67 Corvette 427, and a '70 Superbee. My dad did some buying and selling when I was young, always wanted to see what he was doing and help out if I could. I had a Honda Z50 that I used to ride everywhere, broke a ring one day, tore it all down and with some help from dad got it going again, then moved up to a 95cc Chaparrel dirt bike, rode that one everywhere too.
First car I drove was a 1964 MGB that my dad had bought with a seized engine, I was 10 years old.
Seemed a natural progression for me to take automotive class in high school, though I did take some computer science courses too, but by then I was hooked. Now 50+ years and almost 140 cars, trucks and motorcycles later, I still find happiness and enjoyment pulling wrenches in the garage. Guess that means I'm a lifer. LOL

My "favorite" car I've had would be hard to pick. The Plumb Crazy 70 Challenger I built from a basket case. 440 six pack Dana rear end 4 wheel disc brakes etc. I spent ALOT of money building this car and owned it 13 years before selling it to buy a new SRT Challenger in 2012 (mistake). The 71 Cuda was a 383 Billboard car I had been wanting another 71 Cuda since I sold the gold one in 1983 after buying it and fixing a few things the orange 70 came up for sale. It was a 64,000 original mile all original paint 440 RT that I had known about for 25 years. Buying that car and owning it for a couple years was a treat. Then life happened and I went through a divorce and had to sell it.

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