Quote:
Originally Posted by Eugene Hackwith
In my opinion, a 16 year old should get a car that doesn't run, and will not run, without a years worth of transmission and engine work and a little elbow grease. This will teach the teenager the value of hard work and mechanical know-how. By the end of the project, they'll be teaching the workers at Auto Zone a thing or two about automobiles!
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Amen, Brother Eugene! Back when I was a teenager growing up in the 1950's, my dad gave me the old '38 Ford coupe with the peeling paint and choking engine. He didn't run out and get me the latest '57 Corvette. There was no MTV "Sweet Sixteen" crap in those days! And boy howdy, did I learn the value of hard work with that car. Didn't make much those days working as a soda jerk, so I had to learn how to repair the car myself. I thank my father for giving me that opportunity.
Of course nowadays when my SL65 needs an oil change I don't get all dirty and go under her, I'll just swing her by the Mercedes-Benz dealership and slip them an extra fifty as a "bonus" to ensure they do a good job on her. Still, I miss those days of being a grease monkey back in Bible college... Imagine me, looking all rockabilly with the folded up Levi's and the Converse shoes and the slick pompadour and ducktail with more grease than my car trying to convert all the hip cats around town to accept Jesus. "Greasers for Jesus" that was the name of our gang...