How many remember that moment in time when you fell in love with cars? One of the first things I remember is helping my father build model cars. Dad was always very meticulous and the models we built were flawless! One that sticks out in my mind was a Model A Ford, I wish I still had it today. But THE DAY I think I fell in love happened when I was 9 years old. My mom had a 1968 Camaro. Nothing special, straight 6 and 3 on the tree, she got into an accident and damaged the front end. As was usual, my father decided to take on the task of replacing the front clip himself. He was an airline mechanic by trade but could fix anything, a trait that fortunately he passed on to me! I guess dad decided it was time I learned how to work on cars so I was “recruited” to help. We had a single car garage with just barely enough room to get around a car but we were able to remove the front clip and luckily for us the damage was only sheet metal.
Mom’s 1968 Camaro – ca. 1974
I don’t remember exactly where it came from but at one point my father came up with a complete front clip for mom’s Camaro, not surprising as the car was only 6 years old at the time. I really didn’t know what it meant at the time, but the replacement front end was from a ’67 Camaro SS complete with non-functional air inlets on the hood. After we finished installing the new front clip on the Camaro I remember thinking “Wow, this car really looks cool now!”, love affair begins! Mom drove that car for about a year after that and as I recall my dad sold that Camaro for $500. I think about that now and wonder what if we would have kept that car? I also wonder about the front clip, bet you couldn’t find one today and especially for the $150 my dad paid for that one! This started my life long love affair with Camaro’s too, which puts me in some good company.
Do you remember that day when you first fell in love with cars? Tell us your story, we would love to hear it!
Recent Comments