Thinking Back......

[CaddyDaddy]

Feel kinda weird saying it (weird as in I don’t mentally feel it) but I’m 65 years old. As far back as I can remember, I’ve always hung out in a local speed shop, gas station, garage, etc. Well, we can forget about spending time in a speed shop today, but do/did you fella’s do the same thing? Let’s hear some stories of those times, back then or today.

[peteski]

Feeling nostalgic lately Chas? 

 

Back in the '80s when I had my '76 Camaro, my friend who had a backyard garage (actually fixing cars for profit) and I used to do some work on my car. Then my other friend had a (IIRC) '72 Charger and  we used to work on his car too.

And in that Camaro I had a Vector Research cassette stereo, 40W Sparkomatic booster/equalized and a pair of Pioneer 6x9 3-way speakers mounted in the package shelf (not just sitting on the surface). Yes, I blasted VanHalen tunes, but my favorite bass-line tune was "Urgent" by Foreigner.

 

 

Edited January 5, 2024 by peteski

[1930fordpickup]

Spent many a night after work helping a good friend work on cars. There were around 4 to 6 pf us that qere there mpst of the time. What ever he had to work on we helped. We also worked on our stuff. I had a 78 Cutlass that we put a 30 over 400 Chevy in to replace the 305 that GM put in it. That was a fun car. After the ringleader divorced his wife we started hanging out at the restoration shop he worked at.  He left there and we started to hand out at the Metal mans shop before he passed from Cancer. A nice list of cars went through those places. No i didn't get to drive any of them. Lol Sure seemed like home no mater what shop we were standing in. 

 

[NitroMarty]

A new kid moved to town when I was in the sixth grade (1973) and, once we discovered that we both built model cars, we became practically inseparable best friends. 

Turned out that his dad had bought the local body shop, so we spent a LOT of time there. His dad would put me to work, banging on fenders, block sanding and, eventually masking and unmasking cars in the paint booth... To this day, l can still smell the mix of bondo dust, primer/ paint, and cigarettes that was my summers, until I got a job at the local Conoco station, when I was a sophomore in highschool.

 

Edited January 5, 2024 by NitroMarty

[KMcc]

When I was five (1965), at the end of our dead end street, a 17 year old kid and his dad were putting together a '63 chevy II station wagon for the local drag strip. Every single evening, I would go check out what was going on. My parents would always tell me to stay out of their way, so I would stand on the wall at the side of their driveway and watch. They were so cool about telling me what they were doing and occasionally asking me to hold something or hand them tools was always a big highlight.

A couple of times my father and I followed them to the strip and my dad would put me on his shoulders to see better when it was their turn to run. I told everyone around us in the stands that I helped them build the car. They all chuckled, including my dad, but to me, it was the greatest feeling in the world.

Thank you Kenny and Mr. Baker, wherever you are! 

[KMcc]

When I was five (1965), at the end of our dead end street, a 17 year old kid and his dad were putting together a '63 chevy II station wagon for the local drag strip. Every single evening, I would go check out what was going on. My parents would always tell me to stay out of their way, so I would stand on the wall at the side of their driveway and watch. They were so cool about telling me what they were doing and occasionally asking me to hold something or hand them tools was always a big highlight.

A couple of times my father and I followed them to the strip and my dad would put me on his shoulders to see better when it was their turn to run. I told everyone around us in the stands that I helped them build the car. They all chuckled, including my dad, but to me, it was the greatest feeling in the world.

Thank you Kenny and Mr. Baker, wherever you are! 

[bobss396]

I still have one speed shop I can spend some time in. 

The cool guys with stock cars in their garages are gone. I used to be one of them.

When I'm working on my old Ford, I still see kids circling in the street on bikes trying to get a better look.

[JollySipper]

Me and my friends at the time (late teens) would hang out at the auto detail shop where I worked....... I had my fox-chassis Mustang at the time, which of course I kept spotless! Working at a car detail shop, you get to drive all kinds of cars. Me at 18 driving a then new C5 that we kept clean for a lawyer, another time I got the chance to motor a C2 Corvette (pale yellow, 327 coupe) across town. Lots of fun driving the wide variety of vehicles!