From the time we’re young we’re asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up”? Some people answer that question by simply following a family member’s footsteps into a certain field. Other people have a dream that guides them into a career. For me it was more of a challenge that drove me into a particular career.
Last year my father bought a 1968 Ford Falcon. The body was solid with no major dents or holes and only one small ding on the rear passenger fender. The car did, however, have a lot of surface rust all over the body, and a few rusted out fenders. The interior was in surprisingly good shape for a forty-year-old car. There was no engine or transmission, or much of anything else resembling drive train.
My father didn’t have any particular intentions for the car. He just bought it because it was an amazing deal, only $200! I asked my father if he thought I could fix it up; between all of his laughing all he could say was “No”. He agreed to let me try, but told me I was on my own, and I even had to finance the project myself. Still He was convinced I couldn’t do the work properly, or I would give up long before it was finished. The truth is I decided to do it just to wipe that smirk off his face.
Dad said that I could have the car if I paid for, and did all of the work on it. The first thing I had to do was get a job. I lucked into a job at a local grocery store, no easy feat in a rough economy for a fifteen-year-old kid. Although my father has several power tools, they were off limits. All he let me use were a few hand tools.
I started with the body. I knocked out the ding and sanded down all of the rust, and replaced the rusted out fenders. It was a lot of hard work, but I didn’t give up. I di...
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...me a toolbox full of MAC tools for my birthday.
When that man drove off in the Falcon that I had put so much of my time, effort, and money into, I knew that I wanted to do it all over again. I realized what I wanted to do with my life. I am going to restore classic cars.
Although I did make a profit on the car that is not why I wanted to do it. I want to feel that sense of satisfaction from seeing those old beauties come back to life one piece at a time, and see that look on people’s faces when they drive off in a car that I restored.
I have already found my next project, a gorgeous 1964 Thunderbird. If you look at it right now it looks worn and rusted. But if you see it as it once was and will be again it is truly beautiful. I wanted to prove my father wrong, and I guess I did, but I found my future in the process, and it looks pretty good too.
Growing up my father taught me everything I know. I remember him working on the house every Sunday. I being the child I was would always attempt to lend a hand even if it was only handing him a screwdriver. One Sunday he would be working on the stoop, the next week fixing up the cellar, after that maybe adding a few finishing touches to the porch. There was always some addition to make the house better. My mother would always say “there’s more of him in that front
When we were little, we thought the word “Career” was not a big deal, but as a senior in high school, the word has become our reality as we start to finish our last semester. The question we’ve been asked all these years is, what do you want to be when you grow up? But our answer is simple: we don’t want to grow up. As an innocent kid it seemed like the time would never come, but it has. It’s time to get serious and really ponder this question.
If there is interest in restoring a truck and have yet to find one the best advice is to look everywhere. Anytime when out and about look on streets, alleys, body shops, junk yards, farms or any other places that might have a truck sitting around. If there is a specific truck in mind the Internet is the best option. The only downfall to this option is that these trucks will be all over the country so traveling will become a problem (Gunnell “Chevrolet” 196).
dissonance, I decided to store the car at my parents house and only drive the car infrequently. I
I like to work on my car and one thing that I have learned over the time of doing it is that what we learn when overcoming an obstacle will benefit us in later success. Cars are very tedious and sensitive things to work on and coming into a tough obstacle can really make a turn for the worse. The best way to overcome these obstacles is to have the right tools, take notes, and do not give up.
Is the engine in good running condition? How about the transmission, does it shift right or slip? What about the electrical wires, the upholstery on the inside, and the paint on the outside? Picture your dream car. Your dream car may be something you have always wanted like your brother’s car from high school, your dad’s old car, or even a car you have always wanted but could not afford, maybe it could be something fast or exotic like a Ferrari or a Lamborghini. But for people like me, one of my dream cars does not come from the present nor the future, it comes from the past. For those of us whose dream car comes from the past, we cannot just walk into a dealership and purchase one. Buying an older car that is three, four or maybe even seven decades old can be a big pain in the rear end because it can present several mechanical problems. But if you have the time, dough and the ambition to do such a thing, you should probably consider something called car restoration. We all know cars are not suppose to last forever, but restoring a car can breathe a new life into an older car and make it look and run like new. Restoring a car makes it more valuable when you sale it or at an auction plus it guarantees its status at being a collectable car but it will not come easy. “Restoring a car is a big undertaking. It's not something to begin unless you have plenty of time, money, and know-how. But if it's done properly, you can bring a car back from the dead and up to its original factory specs -- or you can build your own custom machine. In any case, why pass up the chance to finally drive your dream car?” (George) The job, the cost and all the work that needs to be done to make the car look like new again will all depend on the car you choo...
By completing these steps an old rusted out car can be turned into the ultimate dream car. Whether it is turned in to a rat rod or in to the restored classic car, it is worth all that hard work to get that ultimate dream car.
As a young kid I was constantly intrigued by what he was doing. My mom could never seem to keep track of me because I would sneak off to go see what my dad was fixing. The next thing you know I was holding a flashlight for him. This became my new job for years to come, I may as well have had a name tag that said flash light holder because I couldn’t do anything else. As I got older and got my first car, I started to learn how they operate and the engineering behind cars. I began doing oil changes, rotating tires, brakes, and many other little things I learned about on my first car. Around this time, I got a small job to start making some
Along with receiving my precious truck, I also was given the costs to maintain my new truck. I realized very quickly that I needed 70 dollars a week to fill my trucks gas tank. This was very stressful because I was not employed, but things got worst when the price of oil rose significantly which in turn cause the gas prices in Texas to raise. The raise in gas prices meant that I would have to earn 120 dollars a week to fill the gas tank of my truck. All of the money I needed was going to have to come from somewhere, so I decided I needed a job. So far, the van to truck switch has brought much stress into my
Restoring your first classic car is fun, exciting and sometimes confusing. Within a few days of beginning the project you soon realize how much you've already learned. The next car you restore will benefit from this real world experience. The goal of this article is to reduce the learning curve of the disassembling process.
I. To customize a car it takes weeks, months, and in many situations it may take years. It is a very long and pain-staking process where you witness your car being torn up into a bunch of pieces then carefully re-assembled. If patience isn't one of your virtues then I would not suggest customizing your vehicle. Along with the time consumption there is also a very sufficient amount of money being poured into customized cars. *Show visual of the process in which the truck is being worked on.
I became the youngest individual in the family to purchase their own car. Nevertheless, it did not come easy without the three essential traits which were hard work, responsibility & ambitious. Growing up without a father was extremely difficult. Consequently, with three other siblings and my Mom working full time it was tough to get any attention. I was in desperate need of a father figure to help develop myself into the man I evidently became. My first job was at the age of 13, where I worked in a landscaping business owned by my grandfather. I looked up to him and how hard he worked, whereas a 20 year old, he immigrated into the United States and
The first model Mustang the early 1965, or as many like to call it the 1964 and one-half Mustang, interests me the most because of its unique design and style. The rareness of this year’s Mustang fascinates me because so little are left; over the years people have either crushed or cut them up and made race cars out of them, which makes me sad to see these rare, fascinating cars go to waste. When the 1964 and one half debuted, only a coupe and a convertible could be purchased featuring a base 170 cu in six-cylinder engine with a three-speed floor shift transmission, also available with a 260 cu in V8 engine, in addition to a four-speed manual transmission or a three-speed “Cruise-O-Matic” transmission. The interior featured “wall-to-wall” c...
About a month later, my dad bought another old Honda in beautiful condition, and about a month after that I bought a ...
Choosing a career is one of the most important decisions a person has to make in their life. It is so important because that is what we will have to do to support ourselves throughout life. Imagine being stuck in a dead end job and having to go to work every morning and dreading it. That is no spending oneÕs time and life is too short to work 35 years and be unhappy with it. If a person likes the job they do then it is not work, because finding satisfaction out of a job can bring great happiness. That information has enabled me to make the decision of choosing my area of study and career in the field of Information Technology.