[themoose]

Thinking back to when I really became interested in hot rods the one thing that sticks out  most in my mind was when a older friend of mine who lived in my neighborhood and belonged to the local hot rod club called the Mill Rocker convinced one of his club members who had just completed building a 40 Ford coupe to swing by my high school bus stop while on their way to work and offer me a ride to school. Are you kidding....a shinny bright read 40 Ford with mag wheels and a hot 283 rumbling under the hood...LET ME IN. It was a business coupe with fold down seats in the rear area and the whole interior was done in a maroon Naugahyde. I remember being thrown back as we accelerated through the 4 gears and listening to the tires chirp each time he shifted. I was in my glory and thought nothing could make the day any better. I was proven wrong because when we pulled into the school lot there were a number of buses unloading their cargo in front of the school and the red coupe got everyone's attention and I had all eyes on me as I got out. I was mobbed by a bunch of kids (many of whom were girls)  wanting to see who had come to school in such a cool ride. I was king for a day. I knew then that I needed to have one of those hot rods.

On another note:
Imagine if something like that were to happen these days. The school would go into lock down and my memories would be somewhat different!!

[EDNY]

Really don't know who influenced me or why I became involved in hotrods. Grew up in the city of Buffalo, NY and it seemed that everyone was into cars...just part of the local culture.  One goal of living in Buffalo was to secure a career with Bethlehem Steel or the motorhead preferred "Tonawanda Chevy engine plant".  Worked at the steel plant before entering the military...never had the opportunity to work at the Chevy plant.

One sin I remember from my youth days in Buffalo was driving a 57 Chevy in the county demolition derby

Wish I could explain my preference for 30's cars over all others..maybe Dr Phil (a 57 Chevy owner) is reading and can explain my disorder!

Ed

[TFoch]

Cool story Moose. 
I can remember my Dad taking me to a friends house in the next town to show me what he was working on in his garage.  I was about 7 or 8 at the time and he was working on a Model A that was channeled and had no fenders.  It wasn't running yet but I got to sit in it and hold the steering wheel.  When my he and my Dad got to talking about the engine, I remember wondering as a kid that age, why would you put a Pontiac engine (389 with three deuces) in a Ford?  I just couldn't figure that out.
After that it was watching some friends who were a little older that me work on their cars and modifying the engines.  They always had me as the one who would turn the key when they first fired them up.  One got real pissed when he asked me if the ignition was off and I said yes.  Scared the crap out of me when he touched the magneto and jumped a few feet in the air!

[ghost28]

My older brother got me into by letting my younger brother I along with him work side by side on his 55 chevy 150 series, and later his 60 corvette and then his 59 chevy truck daily driver. But earlier than that was a trip to south dakota and my cousins letting me drive some of there b tractors and then tear up the corn field in a stock 32 chevy coupe. As A 12 year old I was in heaven

[32chevy vett]

I was 12 years and my brother took me to see a friend of his. This friend was building a 40 ford coupe. This was 1954. I was hooked. I would go to his house to watch him. As he chopped, channelled and lowered it. This car had all the fenders and hood when he was done. He done all his filling with lead. All self taught from rod and custom books. He built the engine. He had it on the road. When he he turned 15. I remember this Because we took a ride to NH. And took side roads to avoid the cops. The side road we took was the wrong one. It had the police station on it.
And a cop just came out. We were told to get back to Maine. And don't come back till you are 16. I talked to him two years ago. And that car is still on the road. It still blows my mine to think how young he was. And how good a job he done.

[sixball]

I was already pretty far gone because of my uncle and from hanging out with my brother and his friends from his car club, but I was hopelessly lost in the summer of 1958. My brother graduated that year and was moving to California from Texas to go to JC and live with our grandparents. He and I went in his '39 Ford Coupe. It had a loaded flathead, primer, wide whites, moons, '49 Plymouth bumpers, Black and white naugahyde interior. He was barely 18 and I had just turned 13. We had one hell of a trip and kind of went from wrecking yard to wrecking yard.
43 years later my son and I drove from here to Texas so he could go to college. He was driving a 1954 Studebaker station wagon. It had a supercharged Studebaker 289, flat black, wide whites and moons and black and white naugahyde interior. He was barely 18 and I had just turned 56. The car had fewer than 200 miles on it after a frame off build. We had one Hell of a trip.......