Did you have a parent who was into cars?

I just thought it would be interesting to read about your guys' stories on if one of your parents are to blame for you car addiction, or if it was a self inflicted addiction. Reason being because I'm about to teach myself to weld since neither of my parents know how. For me, personally, it all came from within. Neither of my parents are into cars, for them its just point A to point B. Everything I know about cars and fixing them I have basically learned it all on my own. My parents have never taken an interest in it and I don't think they ever will, but boy am I glad I was able to get into cars! Much better than drinking and partying...like most people my age (college) do almost every weekend. ;)

Nope, closest family into cars are my grandparents on my mother's side, and neither of them talk about it much.

My father was interested in cars and a very good shade tree mechanic. What I do know about cars I owe to him, but he knew more than I ever will.

He never had any fancy cars or hot rods or anything, but he did keep a lot of old GM iron rolling for a long time.

I think I can safely blame my father for my car infatuation. Half the cars I have I purchased or was semi-gifted from him. Last time we tried to track the cars he has had, we ran out of paper. He has worked in the automotive supply chain for his whole career, and he and my mother used to write a newsletter for the English stock car racing series in the seventies. I owe all my empty pockets to that man.. They are both into their seventies now, and still are highly active in the British car clubs in the area.

My dad loved car stuff. Taught me how to use tools. When I was a kid he would rattle off a car and year; 1955 Oldsmobile 88 and I was amazed. Then I got older and could do the same for my era; 1972 Cutlass 442.

Nope, neither parent, no extended family members, or close friends. Self inflicted from as young as I can remember. Lots of expensive mistakes along the way!

Dad is and just about every guy on mom's side as well. Lots of old Ford in the family.

My dad was a farmer and car salesman in the winter. Brother 17 years older than me was a mechanic for a while, ended up owning a welding shop. Oldest brother was a trucker who became a newspaper editor...so he built newspapers. I'm the most car crazy in the family, but I'm not an abberation.

Apparently back in England, I come from a line of farmers, preachers and stonemasons.

Neither of my parents were interested in cars, but my dad has always been supportive and still does car stuff with me, even at 86.

When I was really young, my Uncle George was a total car guy. He lived with my grandparents and converted my grandfathers garage from two bays to four. He was in the Early Ford V8 club and had a '39 Mercury (first year) and a '36 Ford coupe. As far as I know, both were completely original show cars. I still remember riding in the rumble seat of the Ford. The toy cars that I played with at that house were a Mercer Raceabout, a Silver Ghost and a Stutz Bearcat. Unfortunately, he was gone by the time that I was six or seven. One of the Mercury hubcaps still hung in the garage until I was in my 20s and parking my '65 Mustang in there. I wish I could spend just one day talking car's with him.

Growing up with a young family Dad had station wagons mostly, but after us chillrens got older and left the nest he treated himself to a couple of P1800's of which one is still in the stable today.

Dad raced Formula Vee back in the mid to late seventies and was always mechanically inclined. One of my earliest memories is of him trying to fix something on his VW Dasher and he couldn't find the distributor cap. He showed me a picture of it in the book and eight-year-old me immediately pointed under the hood. I was always in awe of how he could fix anything and knew how to get out of any mechanical jam. It wasn't until later in life that I realized he had no idea and was just making it up as he went along, but he knew enough to be able to just figure it out. Most valuable life skill ever.

No. My father could fix cars, but he wasn't "into" them. He just hated to pay someone to do something he could do himself.

My father was. When he left for Vietnam, He left behind a 62 Chevy Impala vert with a transplanted 409. It was gone when it returned (older brother sold it off) when we returned from Spain, he brought back a 1968 Opel Kadett Rallye (yes, THE rallye, not the tape and spotlight special)

After that it was a series of MGBs and the 1971 Formula Firebird that I learned to drive on

My dad still has the 1948 chevy fleetline aerosedan that he had since a couple years after high school. Growing up, between him and the neighbor, i had no chance. Neighbor still has his 65 impala ss convertible that he got when i was probably 3-4.

My dad was into cars and bikes when I was growing up, and I'm pretty sure that led to my interest. In the 60s, he had several interesting cars such as a Corvair, two Barracudas, and a Simca. During the 70s he still had the interest, but raising a family took priority. He had a 1973 Capri which I never got to drive after someone rammed it at an intersection and totaled it. He also restored (I use this term loosely here) a '68 Triumph T100C which he rode to work most days. Around the time he hit 55, he sold his 1973 Beetle, stopped riding his bikes, and bought an Oldsmobile. He drove those for the rest of his life. I'm still not sure what happened. Maybe he just didn't want to tinker with his cars any longer. I'm just hoping it isn't hereditary.

No one in my family was into cars. I got the dirt bike bug from my friends at about 10- 12 years old and slowly learned (mostly the hard way) my way around repairs. I've got one son that has become an master auto tech and is grooming my grandson to be handy with the tools. My dad owned a boat moving and repair business when I was young but he was a wood worker never did the mechanical repairs. He did teach me about using the proper tools and being methodical. I am lucky that I now have a bunch of friends that bail me out when I get in over my head.

My dad took me to my first autocross for my 18th birthday. He still regularily auto crosses his 66 Corvette. He even sold me my Miata. Not to mention two step brothers who are both huge car guys.

Come to think of it, last time I was using his garage only one car had all four wheels on it.

My dad was a car guy from an early age. I grew up around 55/57 Chev street projects, circle track builds and was the shop parts cleaner and car shuffler. When they needed to move something, they'd put me in the driver's seat, tell me where we wanted to be and start pushing. I would have been doing that at about 2, and at 4 years of age did my first job, a cam swap (with some help) on a flat head in a 47 Ford B stock, stock car. Our family car when I was a kid was a 71 Z28, and I was a regular with dad in the pits at 10 yrs old. Dad was still racing in his 60's, and at 65 got the local dirt track's trophy for best roll of the year.

My father definitely was. The 65 289 Mustang behind my Alfa was one of his cars.

He replaced that Mustang with this one which did a lot of Auto-X and track days.

It had a 390 engine with a bunch of aftermarket parts.

I inherited my 77 volare from my father upon his passing in 1991. So either he was a car guy or a masochist. Possibly both.

My dad is into cars, but not projects. That being said my love of weird oddity cars comes from him. He had a corvair, then a falcon, then fell into diesel vws in the late 70s and has had diesel vws since. When I got into modifying he allowed me to chip his 1.9L TDI, then to do injector nozzles, coilovers, to fit bbs wheels, limited slip and finally a larger compressor and VR6 clutch using a g60 flywheel. It was one of my favorite builds and the end result was a properly quick sleeper that would give a healthy chirp of rubber in 3rd and would still see 50mph on the highway if you stayed out of it. Part of me was crushed when he sold it, but he's ability to drive manual has been compromised by terminal medical issues and it was time. The gentleman he sold it to still has it and in spite of my work at last update it was north of 460k miles. Part of me wants to get a MKIV TDI to build. Part of me knows that I should start getting to work on modifying the ND, as he's always loved the miata as a platform and the insanity and focus of some of the modified ones that he'd see when coming out to autocrosses or see stories on. Sidenote, to exactly one college football game that I played in, yet has come to no fewer than a dozen autocrosses, rallycrosses, club races or stage rallies that I've been in. It's as if he knew what would be a part of my life and a passion longer.

My dad spent 25 years as an ASE master certified tech working in a shop that specialized in AC VW. He drag raced a string of chevy's as i grew up. He gave up the garage too roof when he was in his late 40's but built sandrails on the side. Hes who i call too this day if i cant figure something out. Hes no longer physically capable of wrenching but his brain works.

Dear old dad back in the day

This was some sort of autocross/rallycross on a dirt oval somewhere in upstate NY

Another autocross in his Snell-rated fedora

My dad's the sort of guy who can tell you the difference between a 1966 and 1967 Oldsmobile from the door handles, but he's not a performance junkie nor does he work on his own cars. He does his own work around the house, though. My uncle was involved in Formula Atlantic right from the start and was a racer, but I wasn't that close to him so it's not a direct connection. The mechanical part is all self-inflicted. I started with bicycles and grew up from there.

No one in my family was really into cars. My dad was rather insistent on an shiny happy person mechanic fixing everything, then when I caught them red handed not doing the job so I'd be in every week for repairs, I taught myself.

I've always loved cars though, so getting into fixing and building them to the best of my abilities just happened.