I remember my mother and father telling me that back in the late 50s (when I was four or five) I could call out the make and model of almost every car on the road. You know how little kids are with things like that. That was probably the first sign.

The deal was probably sealed for me in the late '60s with British sports cars. My friends had Healeys, XKEs, Sunbeams...I had a Spitfire.

There were some dark days in the 70s and '80s (in my opinion) but my MINI has definitely rekindled my car nut ways.

 

Here are some vintage ones for yaa.

Early Drivers Education training, Griffith Park, circa 1967 (too bad the GP race car wasn't Chili Red... at least it's LY !)

Hard at "work", 1969


Building our "own" 911, 1970


Laguna Seca, 1971


Last but not least, Dr. Ferry Porsche and wife Louise after signing my Porsche book, 1973 Monterey Porsche Parade.


Yup, I'm a certified car nut.

 

Seeing as my first word was "car" I'd say I've been a certifiable car nut since infancy.

 

i knew i liked cars from when I can remember.

my son loves cars too. i think he was enjoying my MCS while he was
still in my wife's stomach.

 

I remember it like it was yesterday. I was in third grade (1983), and a kid in my class brought in a poster of a Lamborghini Countach for show and tell. It was a panoramic poster, like 6 feet long, by 2 feet high, showing the side view of a red Countach.

It was one of those "Wonder Years" moments; where my inner monologue spoke to me in a voice very similar to Daniel Stern's. I had to have that poster, and any other poster of the Countach.

I then proceeded to do just that; collect any and all things Countach. Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars, calendars, posters, magazine articles from my dad's Car and Driver. I was hooked so much, I started drawing them, over and over again.

It was my first crush, <<sniff sniff>>...

 

I grew up with car nut parents. I distincly remember reading books w/ my brothers in the childrens section of the local library while my parents went to their Corvette Club meetings. I remember "selling" (more like getting in the way) chips & hot dog at the yearly car shows. My parents had a friend with a huge garage and paint shop... we used to spend the weekends there playing with their bunnies & running around while they worked rebuilding a 1928 (? 28 I think) Ford Model A. I remember the day we found these big rolls of pink insulation in the garage and decided to hide in it.. then came home complaining that we were all itchy

My parents eventually traded a GOLD 80s Corvette for that 1928 Model A and we still have it to this day. I remember riding in the rumble seat w/ my brothers.

My first official love... I was determined to have a 1957-1961ish metallic baby blue Corvette. Maybe some day I will.

 

My dad owned a Triumph TR3, TR4, TR4A, and topped it off with a '66 427 Corvette Stingray, all bought new. The family was autocrossing, rallying, and finally SCCA road racing practically every weekend until I was about 12.

I guess it was forced on me, but I've been loving it ever since.

...nice shots TSR53.

 

I never really cared too much about cars, alway like a convertible (owned two seebrings and a lebaron), but never crossed into the "nut" realm. That all changed October of 2006 when I test drove a Mini.

 

I think there are subcategories of carnuts. Muscle Cars, Luxary cars, sports cars, etc.

 

When I was 14 or 15, my neighbor was taking the small block out of his '68 Camaro SS and replacing it with the big block 396 that he had rebuilt. I helped him with the change and I was hitched. Can you say TORQUE!!! Luckily, I eventually came to my senses and got into smaller, quick cars. I'm now happily modding our MCS and have my eyes on an S2 Lotus Europa that a friend of the family has had since '75.

 

I was into cars as early as I can remember, and had begun working on them years before I was able to (legally) drive them. I am still as nuts about cars now as I was back then.

 

I can remember hanging out at race tracks while my parents did flagging and communications for the SCCA. But I think what truly did it for me was riding with my dad in his '64 Vette and learning that "blowing out the carbon" was a good thing!

 

I think I was about 4 when my Dad bought me a ride in wrecker truck (I still have a photo of me with it) and I proceeded to take the wheels off. Then at age 5 when my Dad was doing a tune up on the '55 Olds he had placed the distributor cap with all the carefully number wires on the ground and I "helped" him but pulling all the wires off. In High School I helped my neighbor rebuild his '51 XK120, he did the body/chassis and I did the twin overhead cam 6. Went to the GM institute between High School and 'Nam and been turning wrenches ever since.

Ah......sweet sweet memories.....Les

 

Hey! I was there,too!!
Nice pants on the right!
Jim

 

The first word that I "read" was the hazard light switch in my dad's '79 turbo Mustang. The story goes, I was sitting in the driver's seat, and I pointed to the swich, and said "Hazard. Just like the Dukes of Hazzard."

But, my first enthusiast moment was my first car magazine, Automobile's comparison test issue with the F40 vs. the 959. Google search shows that as the 8/88 issue. That would have just been after my 8th birthday.