Working with Dad

How many people work on their cars with their father/son?

I'm 36 year old and spend quite a bit of time working on the car with my father who's 58 BUT we often fight like dogs (mostly in a good natured way). He is a throw it together then tweak it kind of guy and I'm an engineer so I plan it out and try to do it right the first time. Needless to say my style frustrates him and his infuriates me when things don't go right.

This past weekend Dad cut the molded carpet in my trunk to fit around my newly finished fuel cell. He laid the carpet in and to my horror began cutting it freehand. Needless to say it got hacked all to hell. He's a machinist and a perfectionist so I know he was upset with himself but I was really pissed.

Any other stories out there?

Sounds Like a Good Idea for a TV Show

No wait there is aleady one like that only they build bikes

First project for my dad and me was body work and a new clutch for my first car, a 1965 Corvair.

Last thing we worked on was Labor Day. I helped him put a new clutch in his 1992 Geo Metro. It's a three cylinder motor that get's 45mpg every day of the week. We used his Oliver Tractor's bucket overhead with a come-a-long to lift the engine and tranaxle out of the car. Swapped the clutch, bolted it back together and dropped it into place. Took about 6 hours total and a jump from my SC and it was back on the road.

My dad and I worked on cars together for years as a business. I recall one time in particular when I had been working for about 6 months on a rear engined 455 Olds powered mini-pickup. It's maiden voyage was to be a 600mile trip through the mountains. (ya that was dumb) Anyway we got a fair ways along before it was overheating violently and oil pressure was getting dangerously low. We finally called it quits with the truck on the side of the road, me sitting on the shoulder staring off into space and him driving off in the chase vehicle (ya we weren't THAT dumb, lol). Anyway, with me sitting there on the side of the road, my beloved truck having puked all its antifreeze on the ground, and my dad driving off in a complete rage I came to a realization.

1) My dad is a person much like me. All these years I had pictured my dad as some sort of hero or magician but I finally realized that he was mortal and not necessarily any better equipped to handle life than I was.

2) Realizing (1) brought me to the second conclusion. My dad is the closest thing there is to the other half of me and as such fighting is like stabbing myself in the stomach.

We haven't fought much since then. I think we both realized that we love each other too much to fight about stuff. Now I look at things my dad did which are crude (ya, he's a "git 'er done" kind of guy) and I look at those things as "artistic expression" rather than mistakes.

Well my real dad is deadbeat, but the person who really treats me like a son is my moms ex-husband. Hes a great person and when he and my mom was married, we got along great, then i his the age or 12 and thought i knew everything then we fought alot. Then i grew up got mature, and now at 20 we get along great, wish i could say the same for my mother and i but thats a different story. The last thing we worked on together was his truck, he knows nothing about cars, so when something breaks, he calls me. He had a leaky head gaset (yes ford, 4.2 i beleive) and we fixed it together, he learned alot about how vehicles work that time, be he still calls upon me, which dont bother me any because he always has a case of beer ready upon my arrival But needless to say, we get along great. Granted hes not my real father, but he has stuck by my side when i needed him and has always been there for me since the age of 7.

Derek

My real dad is also a deadbeat. That being said:

My Dad (read step-dad, but he's my dad to me) never taught me a thing about working on cars, I actually do a little bit of work on his cars. He's taught me everything about everything else though. He's a college football coach and he's taught me sports, finances, and most importantly, how to be a man.

I remember when I came home from the Navy, I said to him "Most guys wouldn't do what you did, getting involved with a woman that has a lot of baggage." He's not a guy who says a whole lot of sentimental stuff, but he just says to me "You'd have done the same thing". I never felt prouder in my entire life.

Thanks Dad! =)

My dad's a diesel technician. When we came to visit as a kid (my parents divocred when I was 6), my brother and I used to go and attempt to help him (my brother was always better at it ). But I did get to help him with the 69 Mustang he restored (helped build and install the engine and with some of the seat recovering) as well as swapping a new engine in his truck. Currently he's rebuilding his boat.... I think if he didn't have a project he wouldn't know what to do

Dad -n-Sons

My Sons and I have worked on their cars for years. Just an old "Gear Head" passing along some knowledge, tricks and tips. I'm 54 my Sons are 22 and 18

My dad tried to do that with me a few times but my ability and knowledge FAR exceded what he was capable of. Not because he is stupid, but because he has no common sence. You all know the kind. He was building an out building and did trig to figure out the angles of the gambral roof. WTF dad? Just change the spark plugs...

Chris

Working with Pop

My father and I work at the same company in the same department. It seems that what little patience he had when I was a child is long gone. He never opens the hood of his car. Except to maybe put washer fluid in it. Any work that he needs done he either calls me or my brother. He also has absolutely NO patience with computers. Ironically we both work as mechanical engineers that stare at a computer all day. One of my other responsibilities is maintaining the CAD software and general PC problems. In all of my years of messing with computers I have NEVER seen anyone have more problems with a computer than he has. Some things are so bizarre that I bet even the top eggheads at Microsoft would say "You made it do WHAT???" If the PC doesn't do what he wants it to do at that very second he throws a fit. And I though that my temper was bad. WOW! He is slowly turning into a crotchety old man. I envy those of you that have a close relationship with your father. We have never seen eye to eye. And probably never will.

father/ son

Ever since i recently purchased my sc a few months ago i have had over $2000+ in things break and my father has been helping every step of the way working on it. speaking of which this weeknd he is going to be driving up to my school in okc and we are going to be changing out transmission mounts in the parking lot.

Over the summer I auctually work for my dad. He owns a construction business....we used to fight a LOT, but since we started working together that changed bunches because we have to go home to the same house after work. I make deals at work with him like, I'll *insert sucky job* if you help me work on my SC. He keeps telling me to get point ignition and a carb....says nothing will ever go wrong that he couldn't fix. I reply, help me put the 428
SCJ you have in the garage in then....


-Darrel

My dad is the reason why I got into cars in the first place. We've been building cars together as long as I can remember (all the way back to when I was 3 yrs. old). It's great, too. While I'm better at the wiring and MN12 specific knowledge, he's way better at metal fabrication and general knowledge. We work together pretty well.

He is also a huge part of my MN12 parts business while I'm away at college. I'll get the parts orders from you guys, and half the time he'll pull the parts, pack, and ship them out for me.

I've definitely learned a LOT from him over the years.

-Rod

P.S. - It's a bad picture, but that's the hood latch panel on my DOHC 90 XR7. It says, "BUILT BY: ROD & ROD MAKSIMOVICH" and "THANKS DAD"

XR7 Dave said:

My dad and I worked on cars together for years as a business. I recall one time in particular when I had been working for about 6 months on a rear engined 455 Olds powered mini-pickup.

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This thing didnt end up in Florida did it????
I was at a car show 5-6 years ago and seen a isuzu with the same set up i even think i still have the mini-truckn magazine with it on the cover


My dad made a trunk lid cover for his Monte Carlo SS hacked it up i had to go back and redo the whole thing but if it wasnt for him working on his cars when i was young and me handing him wrenches i wouldnt tackle some of the things on my car today

Brad Klein said:

This thing didnt end up in Florida did it????

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No it is sitting in a barn back in Alberta. It's a 1975 Mazda Rotary P/U.

I started handing my father wrenchs when I was about 4 ( I don't remember but that is what Mom says) and always watched and listened to what he had to say about working on cars. He was a big Hot Rodder back in the early Sixties before they had mail order performance parts and you had to make them yourself, it was his passion for cars that got me addicted. When I was in my late teens I was on a huge learning curve with late model vehicles and how they ran, that is when my Dad stopped working on cars and had me do everything!! Now that my own son is 3 years old every time I work on a car I tell him what I am doing, how it works and I am starting to introduce him to my tools! My Dad still is my hero and always will be even though we always don't see eye to eye (he is an engineer and I am in sales)!! I only hope that my kids have a great childhood like I had....and that they love Fords!

My dad's interests are old Indian motorcycles. He's been building and restoring them for almost 60 years. He is a perfectist and has many of his bikes shown in antique motorcyle magazines and wins all the diffrent classes he enters when showing them. I did not take up his interest in motorcycles but gravated toward cars. We dont really work with each other directly but some of my projects like my 1.5 raised top he milled the flange to insure perfect sealing. He has equipment like a mill and a lathe to build a lot of his parts. I have the welders and fabrication equipment so he does work for me like machine work and getting my stuff chromed and I do all his welding on frames, tanks and the like. Like dave said I use to feel there wasn't anything he could not do. He is so good at everything. As I have grown older I have seen that in many ways I am just like him, and proud to be so

Ken