Remember your first car?

[ewoss3]

Richard, I can see your postion and still know that not all spoiled children are bad. But I truely feel the pride and dedication to a project that you worked for go a long way to build a better adult. I have 4 nieces and 3 nephews who are terribly spoiled but I will assure you they are well mannered and respect what they have.

The oldest niece is 14 and she wanted a mustang really bad, she had been saving her money from 2 years of mowing in the summers. Last October she had saved $1700( I agreed to matched her dollar for dollar). She and I went and found her a 69 mustang fastback for $2300 and now we are restoring it for her. She is getting the hands-on experience in mechanics plus she has to stay within her $3400 budget.

This is how I feel we can build better values in children by working with them, teaching them to respect others and their possesions, helping them with their projects, showing them how to do something, and letting them learn about bugetting. I realize this is not the only way to mentor to children, but I feel it works really well.

 

[Corm]

Thanks for the question that rekindled my memories - It was a dark blue 1970 Mark Donohue Javelin from American Motors. 390 CI, 325 horses, 410 rear end, Hurst 4 speed, 7 grand factory cam (a rare one!), posi rear end. Bought it brand new for $3250. God, I loved that car!! Proposed to my wife in it. Sold it when our first child came along.... Don't regret selling it, just miss it a lot!

Corm

 

[jhburke]

I can remember when I was a teenager many moons ago. You could tell the drivers who did nothing but drive all expense was picked up by someone else. You could tell when all at once they had to pay. No more long burnouts and no more jackrabbitt starts.

 

[cowboydoc]

Rob,
I agree with you completely!!! I didn't have alot of time to respond yesterday but you are right. No I don't think you should give a brat everything that they want but if you've got hard working good kids I don't see the problem with spoiling them.

When I was a kid my grandparents biggest thing was school. I wanted to be out roping and riding and making money to buy a new 4x4 pickup. Their deal with me was if I graduated in the top 10 of my class I could have whatever pickup I wanted. I graduated in a tie for #1. I got my pickup.

So no I don't believe in giving kids whatever they want if they are not good kids but if you've got good kids who try hard I think they deserve some nice things if you can afford it. I know I sure appreciated a new 4x4 ALOT more when I was 18 compared to now. I appreciate the ones I have now far less than I did back then. Back then I was so proud everyday to wash my truck and drive it. Now it's just a vehicle. I would hate to deprive my kids of all the good feelings I had with having my dream truck at that age.

 

[PaulT]

Doug,

Just curious, but did your Dart have a ticking speedo needle? Maybe that was just on the slant sixes, but I have spent a lot of time in several of those beasts, and every one of them seemed to have a nervous twitch in the speedo. Those cars were bulletproof, if not the most attractive.

 

[Mosey]

My parents gave me my first car. I think I was 17. I got a 1966 Fury II (or Fury III, I don't remember). The engine and transmission were shot. They said I could have it, but it was up to me to fix it. I got a running engine with transmission attached at a junk yard and installed them. I don’t know what they came out of. I'll never forget it because the original transmission had a linkage that shifted the transmission from the column and the transmission I bought had a cable, so I had to figure out how to adapt it. I got it all to work and drove it for about 2 years. Then I bought a car I wish I'd never sold, a 1967 Camaro. I swapped the original automatic transmission for a Muncie 4 speed and almost killed myself with it before I became more sensible!

 

[Wingnut]

Richard, it looks as though we're closer together on this than it first appeared.
You weren't "given" the 4x4 ... you earned it by living up to your part of the bargain.
The "beef" I have with parents - in general - is that things are given without anything coming from the kids.
IMO, too many parents are trying to compensate, with "stuff", for not spending time with their kids.
Your gradparents were obvoiusly <font color=blue> very </font color=blue> wise folks!

 

[cowboydoc]

Yes I agree with that Wingnut and you are right about parents compensating. My daughter though goes out with me every morning at 5am and every night and does chores and helps me ride horses. She helps build fence and was my main help on the barn, holding tin up and getting me tools, etc. I do spoil my kids I admit that but that's only because they do work hard and at only 4 and 6 years old.

 

[s1120]

sounds like a good deal Richard.

 

[Bayrat]

1962 Dodge Dart 440 with a 318. Paid $400 to a relative for it, took all the money I earned in my life up to that point to buy the car and pay for the insurance that cost $227. Push button on the dash and the 318 was the old style big block. I did some distributor, carb and exhaust work along with a suspension tuning and the thing was pretty quick. Really wanted a H/P machine but the bucks just weren't there. The one I wish I had kept would be the 1967 Austin Healy 3000.