Who has children that help them in the garage?

[J_D]

My 8 year old granddaughter Savannah asked Grandma Nancy "Do you think when Grandpa dies he will leave me his racecar?".

She thinks my '02 ZL1 is a racecar.

Grandma told her that she would have to talk to her Uncle Dusty as it goes to him after Grandpa dies.

I am not planning on leaving it to anyone soon.

[L72COPO]

My 11 year old Grandson Alex spent some time here last summer (they live in Belgium). Just so happened I was starting the LS-6 project and he asked if he could help. Naturally I had him do all the dirty work underneath and he loved it.Three days later we had the car apart and he had to throw his clothes away and was proud to do it.
Soon after they returned to Belgium and now every time we talk he wants to know where I'm at on the restoration. He also has studied the "internal combustion engine" and totaly understands how it works and can explain it.
He'll be back this summer and wants to take the LS-6 to a car show.
Great bonding experience for us both.

[Mr. Chevy]

I don't have any kids and the Wife & I are not planning any.. But I have a year and a half old nephew who I think will be into the hobby. His Dad, my Brother In Law, is a mechanic and he is already being exposed to cars, trucks and mechanical things..

Once he is a little older I plan on taking him out for rides in the Nova, taking him to car shows/cruises and to the race track.. I think it is great to get young kids involved in the hobby. I became interested in it by about age 14. My old neighbor while I was growing up, who is about 10 years older than me, was a "gearhead" and was always playing around with different Chevys. He had old Novas, Chevelles, Vettes and Camaros. His Dad was a salesman at a local Chevy dealer. I used to walk over to his house and watch him turn wrenches on these cars.. I think this is also what made me a "Chevy Guy".

Rich

[Allen]

[ QUOTE ]
My youngest son helps sometimes. Occasionally we let him paint something and hope he doesn't run it to much.

[/ QUOTE ]

That was funny right there........

[427TJ]

On New Year's Day my 7-year-old son and I removed the front bumper from my '55. He was thrilled to help dad. I showed him how to lie on the floor, skootch under the car on his back, look everything over and devise a plan before putting a wrench on anything. Big one: how to hold the light so it shines right on the task and not in dad's face. He got an A+ on light holding. Then I showed him the places where we needed to remove nuts/bolts and explained that you want to loosen them but not remove them so the bumper does not suddenly fall on your head. Keep your face out from under where you're working so all the dirt/grit doesn't fall into your face/eyes. How to hold the ratchet firmly by its head so the force applied goes directly to the fastener. How to loosen tight fasteners carefully, feeling how tight it actually is, so it doesn't suddenly loosen and you punch the frame with your wrench hand and bleed all over the place. Remove all but two bolts and then see how loose the bumper is. Get out from underneath--big one: don't hit your head on the car!--and then loosen the remaining two bolts and pull the bumper off the car. He stood on the driver's side and held the bumper and I was on the pass side and we wiggled the bumper off the car. He was thrilled. The serious look on his face and his 100% attention throughout the job was the best part. I could see the "wow" look on his face when the bumper came off and there we were holding the bumper and I said, "See, no problem." He looked like he had just soloed an airplane for the first time. Then showed him how to attach the un-needed brackets back onto the bumper so you'll have them someday when you either put the bumper back on or sell the car.

There is nothing in the world like seeing your son's (or daughter's) face when you show them how to do something that seems so easy to us but seems impossible to them.

I then showed him how to spray satin black on the exposed areas to make it look good. Later on before dinner I got out some of my old books and magazines and showed him '55 gassers without their front bumpers and explained why racers would remove the bumpers, etc. What a great day.





Oh, and when I lifted the bumper up into the garage attic and put it in the rafters he was fascinated. "Why are you putting it up there?" "Because I don't need it anymore but someday someone will buy the car from me and I'll have the bumper to go with the car." "Are you going to sell the car?" "Not anytime soon but someday it will get sold." "Oh." Then into the house to tell his mother all about it.

[Dog427435]

Love the new look of your '55
Your son will always remember helping you give your car that Gasser look, and hopefully keep the tradition going with his rides!

[427TJ]

[ QUOTE ]
Love the new look of your '55
Your son will always remember helping you give your car that Gasser look, and hopefully keep the tradition going with his rides!

[/ QUOTE ]

Got my son this Ertl 1/18 you-build-it kit for Xmas. He and I put it together and I suggested we leave the front bumper off! Looks cool! I then dug through my 40-plus years of model car decals (big shoe box) and came up with the "Fagan's Speed Shop" and the "B/G" (didn't have any other Gas-class decals that would work) and then the speed parts decals for the windows. I even had a 1962-correct NHRA decal for the back window. The "Fagan's" decals are at least 40-45 years old and they almost didn't work but we got them to lay down and then brushed some clear over them. The satan heads on the fenders came from a 1960 Jo-Han decal sheet! Never throw anything away!

I later realized that B/GS means supercharged so I carefully carved the S off and now it just says B/G.

[njsteve]

They both help out when they can. The girl helps with rebuilding engines and painting assembly line markings and the boy helps me with the small car stuff and anything involving hammers. In exchange I help him build ringers for Pinewood Derby. That's him yelling "First Again!" Check out how the car pulls at the top end. (It's the yellow convertible and it was underweight, too, at 4.8 ounces.) He is dangerous with a can of spray paint, though.

[x Baldwin Motion]

Steve that is pretty cool, I had to watch it three or four times !!

[DarrenX33]

Man, I was embarrassed with the derby car I built this year. I might have to farm out my next car to you..