Been interested in how stuff worked pretty much forever. First thing I did when I got a new toy as a kid was to try and take it apart.
One of my earliest memories is of my dad out in the driveway under the hood of his Chevy. Once in a while, he'd sit me on his lap and let me steer while he worked the pedals. Probably never went over 3MPH, but to me, it was the coolest thing ever.
Later on, what really sparked my interest in cars was watching old hot rod movies on TV...bigger toys that I can take apart!
I never missed an episode of
Straightaway, and I'd always watch
Route 66 just to see the Corvette. For me, it was the star of the show...
My first car was a '62 VW Beetle with rust holes big enough to stick your head thru...paid $75 for it. My first real car project was rebuilding that VW's engine with parts out of a J.C. Whitney catalog. Drove it out to CA from the east coast and the rest is history. Better cars followed, but I still have a couple of old VWs that I tinker around with.