Thread: What Was The First Car To Inspire You To Hot Rod

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Originally Posted by Ron B.

Sometimes it's not the cars, but the car people you come in contact with.

Ron

couldnt agree more with that

right on ron!

this is not my dads car but close as it can be , even the same color!

my momma has a ton of pics she wont let go of from the early 50s to the early 70s one day they will be mine but i hope its a long time off..

It's hard to say from among a blur of cars in '50s Hot Rod magazine, but I remember being impressed with a ride in a stock 1941 Ford Convertible, seeing a stock 1930 Ford Roadster and riding in my cousin's 1949 Merc coupe. I also recall a very nice 1948 Merc convertible painted light blue and then there was my own 1947 Ford convertible painted Aztec Red (orange). For speed it was first my cousin's 1949 Merc and later my Dad's 1969 Chevelle 350 (awesome!).

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

A 1968 Pontiac Firebird: My friend older brother had one. Their dad was a mechanic and their was also something to work on when I was over there.

That bird had a nasty altitude, and in the mid 70s all we could afford was those may pop tires, and they did.

My Dad's cars from when I was younger.. Just being around cars like 72 Javelin 67 Impala stuff along those lines..

When I was about 11 there was a guy in the next town that had (still has) a '32 5 window, full fendered with a 3x2bbl nailhead. It was a very nice dark blue and he took it to all of the indoor car shows in the area. Once when it was sitting up at the Texaco we were drooling over it and he said he would have it in the car show in Ft. Wayne. We begged my dad to take a bunch of us and I'll never forget the site of chrome and candy colors we saw when we first walked in the door. I instantly switched from model planes and ships to model cars. This was probably 1960.

The other cars in my town that had a major influence were a black '39 Ford Deluxe 2 door that was original except for the lowering and a '55 Chevy 265 with Vette dress up goodies that later became my first car in 1964 and a chopped/channeled and shortened bed '32 pickup with a DeSoto hemi with an Almquist Y and 2 97s. This truck was maroon and only had a windshield glass and a board over the seat risers to sit on. It was one the the most painful and memerable rides of my life when I was 15..

Tom

My Dad was always buying fast "family" cars , '61 Dodge wagon w 413, ;65 4 door h/t Pontiac Bonneville 421, stuff like that. Had a friend whos unclce had '56 Ford p/u w/ 312 T bird engine in it. took us for a ride(I was ~ 13) man that thing was fast! In H.S. helped a friend put 390 Interceptor in '56 ford Customline, another blast to drive!

Actually, wasn't so much a particular car, but more like a picture or a cartoon. Back in HS in 1961, I used to read hot rod mags in algebra (probably why I had so much trouble with it ) There were two cars that showed up frequently.. a T bucket and a rodded phaeton. I started drawing similar cars and was determine to own one some day. Well that day hasn't arrived yet, since I have neither. Don't know if I will ever get have a phaeton, but a T or A roadster will definitely be in my plans in the near future.

Especially after having seen Don's nifty little run-a-about.

The 53 Corvette was what got me.The local Chevy Dealers son drove a red one to school (my fresh man yr.).I knew I could not afford a new one,so my dad (trade off)got a bank loan for me and I bought a 1939 Ford 2 dr. for 150.00 dol.I traded that for a 59 Olds. Std. column shift.I was hooked.I dechromed,lowered,painted,upholstered and added 3 deuces.I was now one of the boys.Dragracing and cruising the local Drive Ins.A friend had a 32Ford 3/w cpe. stock v/8 immaculate.I had to have it.I traded him the Olds.,32 Owl Hd.Pistol,and 20.00 Dol.for the car.I added a 57 Chev.engine w/Duntov FI cam and other goodies and the rest is Another story (got married,sold the car).The Deuce is still in show condition and I see it occasionally when I go back to Tennessee.All is not lost,since finishing the 34.

My brother-in-law did a little bootlegging when Iowa was still liquor by the drink in the late 50's. One day he and my sister pulled in our driveway in a 57 T-bird, with a paxton supercharger on a built 312. He took my brother and I for rides and we were both hooked. BTW, he later totaled it crossing the bridge from Iowa to Illinois, while trying to evade the police.

Originally Posted by 41willys

My brother-in-law did a little bootlegging when Iowa was still liquor by the drink in the late 50's. One day he and my sister pulled in our driveway in a 57 T-bird, with a paxton supercharger on a built 312. He took my brother and I for rides and we were both hooked. BTW, he later totaled it crossing the bridge from Iowa to Illinois, while trying to evade the police.

My father use to tell me stories about a bunch of guys from the Tama/Vining area that use to "boot-leg"" a little.
The use meet to meet at some supper-club west of Cedar Rapids.
Who knows maybe it was true??

I heard a lot of stories from my folks about the hey day of bootlegging in Iowa. Some of which were about the CedRel Supper Club west of CR on Highway 30. My brother-in-law used to go to Rock Island and buy cases of liquor (pints because they were easier to distribute), and sell them out of his trunk at various nights spots, like the CedRel. He was doing just that in Clinton the night he totaled the bird.

Eric,
I guess I never noticed you were in DM. I lived in West DM back in the 70's and frequented both Couch's and Racers Den. Are either of them still in existence? As I recall Couch had his business in an old school bldg. on the north side for a while.
John

Like many guys my age, I was glued to the TV set every Friday night hoping to catch a glimpse of Grabowskis T on 77 Sunset Strip. I was about 12 at the time, and if they used it in that week's episode it was the buzz at school all the next week. I think that is why I am a roadster guy to this day.

A few local cars formed my earliest memories too, and I was lucky enough to grow up in a time when $ 25 was the going rate for numerous model A's, '50 Fords, early Dodges, etc. By the time I was 16 I had gone through maybe 20 cars, ranging from Crosleys to '32 Fords.

But I still have a soft spot for Norms T, and that will always be the one that really got me into this hobby.

Don