Did you get into cars because of family or...

[Ghoste]

How many of us got into cars because of a parent or sibling and how many were some other reason?  Whether it was from seeing DOH or seeing a cool looking old car in a local car lot or what.  Just curious how many had it spoon fed to us and how many sought it out after a brief exposure.
For me, it came through my father.  (although as a Ford guy I guess I was still a disappointment to him  )

[Rolling_Thunder]

my parents hate old cars - I got into it because I liked the simplicity of classic cars - plus they just look a lot better.   

[TruckDriver]

Cause of my uncle. He has a few old Oldsmobiles, and always had old Ford pickups.

[nvrbdn]

my mother was a mopar nut. she had a 60 dodge w/ push button trans,then a 65 newport all black, then a 72 new yorker dark grey with a black vinyl top and a 440/auto.the first time my eyes seen a 2nd gen charger i was sold. dad drove fords. ford falcon, ford truck, ford granada etc....

[69_500]

Through my father and his nice stash of wing cars he had when I was growing up.

[BrianShaughnessy]

Born in Detroit...  it was my destiny.   

[charge69]

Always loved cars. My Dad taught me to drive on an old 1950 Plymouth with a Six-cylinder and 3-on-the-tree tranny before he died (I was 10 almost 11 when he died of cancer). We had the one family car (as usual for the time) and he wanted me to be able to drive a stick shift car. Took to it real fast and drove the s%&t out of it.

I remember the first car race I really remember. The 1964 Daytona 500  with Richard Petty driving the new 1964 Plymouth with a 426 HEMI and how he dominated the field. I still remember the announcer marvelling at King Richard Smoking the tires when came off a turn at full throttle! Had to have one from then on !!!

[68 Bullitt Charger]

I have alway's loved car's, although my Brother is a huge Packard fan. Soooo he also contributed to my love for classic cars. I must say, MOPAR is the way to go.

[chargerboy69]

When I was a real little in the early 80's my moms summer daily driver was a burgundy 1969 Ford Torino 428 CJ, I am not kidding.  I still remember mom driving through downtown traffic, dropping down into second and punching it.  That was one fast car and mom still drives as fast as she used too. Of course the Torino is long gone, but a new Jeep Rubicon sits in its place.

Dad was into his Cadillacs, he seemed to buy a new Fleetwood every couple years or so.

The Dukes of Hazzard was my main inspiration for a muscle car.

[Ghoste]

So far then it appears that most of us had it handed down to us from another person.  Interesting.

[NHCharger]

Richard Petty driving his Bird did it for me.

[bill440rt]

Without a doubt, my dad. He was always a car nut, still is.
My favorite memories as a child was going to car shows, swap meets, etc, with my dad. I remember riding around in his '57 T-Bird, we also had a '66. Although early on he had Fords, he was really a Chrysler guy.
I was 9 when the DOH first aired, I had no idea what kind of car the GL was but I was awestruck by it's styling. Didn't know what it was, only that I wanted one bad. Took a few episodes as a kid to learn that it was a Charger, & I immediately began reading up everything I could about them. It was through reading all the literature that I developed an appreciation of them.
My dad has always owned Chryslers since then.  

[41husk]

No one in my family collected or restored cars.  My Grandpa and dad always had mopars.  I never had a car of my own until after I was graduated H.S and in the Navy.  My wife says thats why I have so many now! but then my wife says a lot of things!

[jb666]

My Dad definitely played a huge roll in my getting into cars.. From "helping" him in the driveway when I was a kid, to sitting on Friday nights watching The Dukes, to test driving an '81 T/A with him PRAYING he'd buy it (he didn't)..

But, he was always around and always doing stuff (car related) with us.. 

[Cooter]

Got into cars like most out there, from watching DOH. My Best friend in HS had a cousin that had a 1967 Satellite, 440, 4-speed and would race another local at the local Dairy isle on Friday and Sat. nights. Couldn't wait for my buddy to pick me up in his '66 Dodge Coronet 500, 2dr Hdtop, 361, and cruise down where all the "Cool" guys hung out. The "rebels" if you will. Wasn't much on sports, wasn't a jock, wasn't in the "Preppy" croud, so I hung out with people that didn't laugh at my hand-me-down clothes from the early 70's. I got almost all my cousin's old clothes and was so proud to wear them. Nobody even knew WTF Judas Preist was, but I did. So, The croud I hung with wore basically the same thing, and treated me way better than the so called "Cool"/"Popular" kids at the time(Mid 80's).


After my best friend asked me what kind of car I liked, and I told him "69' Dodge Charger", we were automatically "in" with his cousin...I guess i kinda got "Branded" a "Mopar guy" cause of the DOH....I wouldn't have changed a minute of it for the world though. I've hung around the "5.0" croud, The "Chevy" croud, etc. and the Mopar guys/gals seemed to be a "Closer" knit group.

[69bronzeT5]

I got into cars because of my dad. I grew up around muscle cars.....the '71 Camaro RS Z/28 and  '70 GSX my dad restored were the main two I was influenced by. However he also got me into watching the Dukes which influenced me big time and made me want a Charger badly. He bought me mine when I was 6 and since them I've been HOOKED.

[Old Moparz]

For me it wasn't family, that's for sure. We lived in New York City & almost nobody in my family had a car except for my Grandfather. A car to him was in the same class as owning a toaster or a hand tool, it was just another "appliance" you needed. It wasn't until people started moving from the city out to Long Island, New Jersey, & elsewhere that they had to have a car to get anywhere. Even then it was still basic transportation & nothing cool. Only a second cousin on Long Island owned something that was cool, a late 60's early 70's Corvette. I don't even remember which cousin, & only saw the car twice when I was about 10 or 11. Both times it was in his driveway being washed like a typical Vette owner.  

As a kid in the 60's I loved all the Hot Rod & other car magazines & Racing was a big deal, too. Anything Matchbox, Tonka, etc., I liked them all, & the Speed Racer cartoon was one of my favorite shows. It was all on my own that I was hooked on cars & drove my parents nuts with it. When I got a slot car set with a yellow & black, number 7 Daytona, with it, it instantly became my favorite car. I had thought it was strictly a race car & never knew it was available to the public because I had only seen it as a race car in magazines. When I found a magazine or a book in the late 70's that showed a stock, street Daytona, that was it, I had to have one.

Over the years I still don't know of any family member that ever bought, or ever really liked classics, hot rods or muscle cars. Maybe I started something that my daughter will carry on.  

[TXcharger70]

Non of my parents where into cars. It was in my blood since I was a baby I always had a fascination with cars. Hell at 6 yrs old I try to take my parents Ram charger out for a spin. Luckily I didn't kill myself or anyone else. My first real love was a 69 charger gl

[Fred]

So far then it appears that most of us had it handed down to us from another person.  Interesting.

Not me...............I was born with iron in my blood!!

[TheGhost]

Honestly, I have no idea.  I've always liked cars.  I used to spend daycare at a table drawing cars.  No idea what started it.  It was my dad who got me into Mopars, though.

[TK73]

First generation car nut 

Musta been the Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars I had as a kid...

[Mike DC]

       
TV/movie cars.  "Dukes" hooked me the strongest, but I was watching pretty much every car movie & TV show that I could get my hands on. 

There's no real history of gearheads in my family at all.

[404NOTFOUND]

Another first gen car nut here. I still remember standing in front of the local store in the mid '60s when I was about 4 years old and a new vette with factory side pipes rumbled up in front of me and the headlight doors rolled shut. Even at that age, I knew that was no ordinary car. By age ten, I was reading books that had drawings of different car models and it was obvious that the Chargers looked the best to me. Later came the Dukes of Hazzard and the one guy in the area who had a copper '69 R/T. I couldn't take my eyes off it. It would take another 35 years but, I finally realized my dream of owning a '69 Charger.

[tan top]

nope  , got my self into cars  when i was a kid , watching

DMCL  

Bullitt
DOH
two lane black top
original vanishing point
funny car summer
original gone in 60 seconds
last american hero
there was another grandnational film also , first  black  stock car  driver  , can't remember the name  , but was a real good film  , based on true story  
not seen it for years  

[Old Moparz]

nope  , got my self into cars  when i was a kid , watching

DMCL  

Bullitt
DOH
two lane black top
original vanishing point
funny car summer
original gone in 60 seconds
last american hero
there was another grandnational film also , first  black  stock car  driver  , can't remember the name  , but was a real good film  , based on true story  
not seen it for years  

No love for Speed Racer?   


Was the black stock car racer flick the one with Richard Pryor called Greased Lightning? 

[tan top]

nope  , got my self into cars  when i was a kid , watching

DMCL  

Bullitt
DOH
two lane black top
original vanishing point
funny car summer
original gone in 60 seconds
last american hero
there was another grandnational film also , first  black  stock car  driver  , can't remember the name  , but was a real good film  , based on true story  
not seen it for years  

No love for Speed Racer?   


Was the black stock car racer flick the one with Richard Pryor called Greased Lightning? 

yeah thats it Greased lightning 

[Cooter]

A documantary about the first black NASCAR driver Wendell Scott.

[FC7 V code]

It was family for me. My Dad had a 1948 Nash that he had bought and instead of trading it in when the time came he just stashed it in an old garage(a few rust holes here and there). At times when I was a kid it seemed the car was holding the old building up. My Uncle kept a 1955 Cadillac into the 70's along with a 68 Chrysler 300. When I graduated from H/S I received the cars as a graduation present. The Cad. is in great shape while the others need some work. My cousin had a 69 GTX in the mid 70's and a couple of his friends had a 69 Charger R/T and a 71 340 Demon. Hanging with those guys in my teen years really got me hooked on Mopars. My biggest regret was when my cousin sold his GTX in 1977 for 2k and my Dad had a total meltdown about him offering it to me(guess he figured I'd wrap it around a pole at the ripe age of 18). Anyway the car went to someone else and I saved money and bought my first Charger in 1982, still have it and it's been joined by a few other Mopars over the last 30 years. My Son is now working on a 70 Challenger SE that I had bought for 500 bucks in 1983, so I guess I may have passed the love of Mopars to him.

[tan top]

A documantary about the first black NASCAR driver Wendell Scott.

yeah course Wendell scott  remember now 

[ChgrSteve67]

Bought my Charger 26 years ago because I thought it was a cool car and haven't been able to get rid of it since.

I'm just glad the wife puts up with it and me.

[Fred]

Yeah! some wives are worth their weight in gold!      

[bobs66440]

My dad was/is a huge influence. He was one of the original hot-rodders back in the 50's. Very cool guy! 

[bakerhillpins]

Wow, how cool is that!

No one in my family was big into cars. My dad did watch some racing (I always remember the Indy 500 being a big deal) but my parents split when I was in 7th grade so that didn't have a big effect. I religiously watched DOH and remember getting a ride home from camp one summer in a Challenger. That had a lot to do with it! Some of the older kids in the neighborhood were into cars, I recall a few TA's and even a Valant. But we mostly screwed around hot rodding lawnmowers and trikes.    My friends dad once got into a rant while we were watching MTV about how he couldn't get anyone to mow his f'in lawn because the mower was broken, but if he put it out for the garbage man we would have that thing running laps around the neighborhood in an hour.    I always was drawing trucks and cars and giving them all sorts of weird paint jobs and dreaming of having the money/space for them. I suspect my love of engineering and working with my hands has a lot to do with it.

[BIGBLCK11]

Myself, my brother and older cousins all got into cars because of my dad.  He gave up drag racing after I came around(1 of 3). But, he got into street rods and had a 35 Ford pickup with a 327 Chevy motor. Later, he built a 35 Ford Sedan with a 350.  I spent a lot of time during the 70's at street rod runs, great memories.  I always wanted a 41 Willys coupe, I don't think I could afford one of those now, especially a steel bodied one.  The DOH def. got me into Chargers.  My dad always hated working on my grandma's Dodge products and was a Chevy guy.  When I was 15, he said no way on a Charger.  So, I went and bought a 69 Mach I.   The Ford went over about as good as a Dodge.  I could kick myself, for not just bringing a Charger home back then.  The mustang was a basket case and I collected parts for years, sold it still apart in the 90's.  25 years later I finally have a Charger!  I think he actually likes it.  He did drive 14hrs each way to get it with me.  He still has the pickup, currently rebuilding the engine with a tunnel ram.  He is always helping me with the Charger, whether I ask for advice or not. 

[greenpigs]

My uncle Rick mostly, but all my Moms brothers are gear heads. Some of the cars they owned & I am not making up any of these up either.

Bob: 1969 RA 4 Judge, 2 1964 GTO convertibles, 70 Javelin 360-Just has memories
Donny: 1964 GTO, 1974 Trans Am SD 455, 1969 Firebird pro street w 428- still has this Firebird
Ed: 1967 Shelby GT 500, 1968 HEMI Charger, 1967 Firebird 400 convertible, 1970 Super Bee, 1974 Barracuda, 1969 Charger RT that had 23K miles, 2 68 383 Chargers.1970 Hurst 300, 1/2 65 GT 350 clone... Others. 67 Mustang DD now
Rick: 1974 Torino, 1965 GT 350 clone- made in the 70's so it has a lot of original pieces, 1970 Hurst 300 that was Ed's & another 1970 300- has all but the Torino still.

My Dad took me to all the car shows & drag races I asked to go to & was\is great!!!! Plenty of support

My Dad has had 2 1967 Firebirds, both 326 power glides. If it wasn't Mopars I would own a Pontiac & I still have a hankering for a 1977 TA.

[472 R/T SE]

I imagine it had to be my old man.  When he was home, he was always out in the garage wrenching on something.  Seems like he always had 4-5 rigs too.  Except it was always Chebby or a Harley.  The other side of the family was Ferd.

Thing was he never taught me how to work on anything.  He always said I needed to learn like he did, trial & error.  Always pissed me off.

[Dino]

Cars?  I'm not into cars, never understood the whole attraction.   

Funny enough, I'm not exaggerating all that much.  I grew up in Belgium, a very busy and crowded port city.  Growing up with a brother who's 7 years older introduced me to a few cars but they were all cheap European or Japanese cars, from time to time I would see an American car, the only ones I really liked but I liked them mostly for the sound that big V8 would make.  Of all the cars I saw the big 50's cars were always the most beautiful, almost like rolling sculptures.

When I was 16 I bought an old Vespa scooter and I loved that thing.  I was in high school and had no idea what I wanted to become later in life.  One day the Vespa got pretty trashed in a crash so I decided to try and save it by customizing it, made a little hotrod out of it and I loved it so I got into bodywork.  Of course customizing something or doing collision are two totally different things so as soon as possible I got in custom and resto work.  I've seen some pretty amazing cars and bikes during those years but very few that really spoke to me.

One day, must've been 1993-1994, I was talking to a coworker and he mention the Dukes.  I saw the show as a kid but was only 6 or so and couldn't remember much of it.  I wanted to know what kind of car they had and he told me it was a Charger.  He said there's a custom car mag on the racks now that has one in it so I picked it up after work.  It had a dark blue 68 in it, black top, black interior and rear shackles.  That was the first time I really fell in love with a car and I was hooked for life.  I bought one not long after and drove the crap out of it until it was lost in a fire.  Years later I bought a resto project 69 that I sold about two years ago and now I have another 69, but a solid driver this time.

I think the Charger is one of the best looking cars ever made and in its class it's hard to beat.  But after all this history with cars, I still don't consider myself a car nut.  I rarely go to shows or watch car shows on tv because I get bored real quick.

Love working on cars, especially restos, but once I'm done with them I don't care much for them at all and just want to start the next project.  With the Charger it's different, I will love that car until the day I die.

[jaak]

I have always liked cars from an early age, and I'm in the DOH generation, so I watched it religiously as a kid. And I have always liked Mopars more than any other car...they always caught my attention as a kid. But the real car I guess that started it all....one of my Grandfathers died when I was 10 years old. He had a '75 Dart 4 door. After he passed my Dad got the car and drove it back and forth to work for a few years. It was a plain old 4 door Dart, slant 6, 3 speed column shift. I guess I just liked it because it was old. I also have memories of Dad teaching me about a manual trans in that car. I would sit next to him and shift the column shifter when we were going down the road. Then on to high school, I had a friend, him and his Dad were big into Mopars (still are), So he always drove something cool to school. Back then he would show up in his '69 340 Dart, sometimes his Dad's '68 Dart GT convertible, or other times his Dad's '69 Superbee (383, 4-speed). Knew then I got to have my own Mopar(s) someday.

BTW, the 4 door dart is still around been sitting up behind a shed at my folks house for many years. I would love to see it back on the road....but sort of hate dropping a lot of $$$ on a 4 door. But when I look at it, it does bring back memories.

Jason

[ACUDANUT]

 My folks and brothers always hated old cars. I got into for the pure passion.

[TUFCAT]

Born in Detroit...  it was my destiny.    

Likewise. Plus my Dad worked at Chrysler his entire career.   We had some cool cars

[472 R/T SE]

If it wasn't Mopars I would own a Pontiac & I still have a hankering for a 1977 TA.

Why's that?  My high school car was a 77 T/A. 

When it was hot out I'd go to the outskirts of town where there was an area we called "3 trees".  Two on one end & the other one was a 1/4 mile away.  Anyhoots I'd light 'em up all the way through the 1/4.  Don't know why, but I thought it was cool back then.  I had frickin' tar/rubber on the rear quarters & wheel wells.   
The front seats would recline into the back seat.  Still don't know how the girlfriend was always getting knee burns?   

[greenpigs]

I like the style of most of the bodies from the mid 60's till early 70's and also the TA from the disco era.

As for motors the 400 is a solid performer and even in the smog era ran OK for what it was.

[472 R/T SE]

I can't remember, but what year had the Oldsmobile 403 sprinkled in?

My buddy had a '73 T/A in high school & still has it   .  Just a regular 455 car, no SD or HO.  That car flat got with the program.  Western Kansas, we used salt so I guess the rear frame rails are bad now.  
One of his kid's started college, actually out here east of Salem, Or., & another one is a junior in HS.  When the kids are out of college he'll restore the T/A...again.

If I were to drift from Mope, it'd most likely be Poncho based...like a '70-'72 T/A.  Couple years ago I was looking @ '69 Firebird 'verts.

[greenpigs]

77 was last year for the 400 & I think in California they got the 403, but I could be wrong.

[Tilar]

I've always loved cars. The first one that I remember really liking was a barracuda my first grade teacher bought. It was the first year for them. Just something about that long sloping rear window that looked cool.

It really surprised me and sometimes still does how much Mom really likes old cars. She even went to Carlisle with me a few years ago.

[Lennard]

It's my brother in law's fault that I "wasted" all my money on cars for the past 20 years.(and probably for the rest of my life)
When I was a little boy I watched every episode of The Dukes of Hazzard and a few years later my brother in law bought a '69 Charger and restored it from the ground up and we went to cars shows/meetings in it, that's when the virus really got me.