Partially inspired by a comment from my friend Jason Crouch on another post, I thought I would talk about a little of my "car upbringing".
Jason commented: "Lane - I've never been a car guy, mainly because I never had anyone to teach me about cars when I was growing up. Wanna be my dad?"
My dad wwasn't a car guy... I actually pushed him in the right direction though, and we restored a couple of Thunderbirds together (a '62 and a '66), but he didn't start out that way. It took me until college to get him that far.
But growing up, I had a few mentors that really fostered my love and enjoyment of cars.
The first was Jack A. Jones. He was a deacon at my church, and a retired welder... and a serious car guy. Jack did all of the fleet maintenance for the church and the daycare my mother managed. But he also did a lot of my 'pre-driving' maintenance. I used to break the frame of my bike pretty regularly. After a while, Jack had welded up all of my breaks and my bike was solid as a rock.
When I got my first car ('73 Mustang), Jack helped me rebuild the carb and go through the brake system to make sure it was safe. When it wouldn't start, Jack came over to help me troubleshoot. He seldom did the work for me, but instead, he told me how and (more importantly) WHY the car's systems worked the way they did.
And then I started getting the bug to modify it... Jack was a stock kind of guy, so he hooked me up with his son, Jack L. Jones. To all that knew (and still know) him, he was Vonn. Jack was just about old enough to be my father... he had a kid about my age... but we related very well. And his garages was a 1 car candy store. He had engines and speed parts and magazines. And like his father, he was always willing to help, and explained the hows and whys of hot rodding.
He launched me into the world of invisible high performance Fords and Mercurys... like Shelbys, Marauders, Lightweight Galaxies and Thunderbolts. He explained powertrains and how everything was connected.
Vonn also had a pretty substantial rolodex. He had a lot of 'car guy' friends, and was willing to set me up with whomever I needed. Engine builders, racers, suspension designers... He had gone to high school with them or dated their sisters when he was younger. He was also a welder, and through his industrial contacts, he had more access to people that I ever would have thought possible.
I have been truly blessed to have been befriended by Jack and Vonn. They were able to channel my energies and likely kept me out of a lot of trouble.
Maybe we should all be a little like the Jones guys...
Getting youngsters involved in the car hobby is a great way to keep them so broke they can't afford out of trouble.
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