Trish, I'm envious of that part of your upbringing!
Even though my mother and my aunt tell me NOW that they were maintaining their air-cooled VW bugs back in the day, I never got "exposed". Though I did have the "bug" ;) and always wanted to know how to take care of them (et al) myself.
My first car was a VW super beetle...bought in '86 for $500 (pretty sure I paid too much) and I immediately started having some trouble with it. Wish I had known there were manuals you could buy :(
Now my stepfather expresses the same wistful regret...that he always wished he had learned more about maintaining and repairing cars (he likes em british...but honestly he's a great guy! lol) and bought me the latest issue of Diesel Power magazine, partly out of humor, partly to bond over cars. sweet.
I don't plan on having kids, but this coming year I've got a nephew on the way, and at least 2 close friends who are due...I've got my eye on the next generation...and plenty of time to learn stuff to tell them!
Caitlin
Santa Fe
--- In diesel_mercedes@yahoogroups.com, "Nate" <vwnate1@...> wrote:
>
>
> Wow ;
>
> You're quite the catch Trish . I hope Kevin understands this .
>
> I think teaching your children as your folks did you , is very important ~ not so they'll grow up to be gearheads but so they'll grow up responsible and realize how life works .
>
> Were you raised in Texas ? .
>
> Although I'd hoped my son not decide to be a Mechanic , I'm not sorry I taught him all the related details of mechanics in general , fire arm safety , financial responsibility and so on .
>
> -Nate
> Trish wrote:
> >
> >
> >
> > I may be a female, but in my family we weren't allowed to drive until we
> > could change the oil & a tire. I got the application for my learners permit
> > when I turned 16, not a car! After I took drivers ed and got my license
> > that summer I was allowed to borrow my parents '70 Delta 88, (Do you KNOW
> > what kind of motor that car had???? What were they thinking?) but I had to
> > write down the mileage and pay .07 per mile and replace any used gas!
> >
> > Many years later I had a Pacer. Yes, the aquarium/roller skate car. My
> > water pump went out. I got home from work one afternoon to find my dad had
> > taken my car apart, laying each piece out the way it had to go back in! I
> > had to hurry because it was starting to snow and we had no garage or
> > carport!
> >
> > Years later I bought a '67 Mustang for $600 that had been sitting in my
> > landlords pasture. I did most of the restoration work myself. It was much
> > like this car. Hunting for that one piece, connecting with others like
> > minded.
> >
> > I loved my brand new T-birds, but they wore out. I'm looking forward to
> > years of enjoyment out of this car for the payment of proper maintenance.
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
