Well my sons 14th birthday is coming up on Saturday. He's been raised right, he bleeds Ford blue. Been working with me in my shop since he was old enough to hold a wrench or swing a body hammer. He's pretty good now. Anyway I told him he'd have a car when he was 16. Thats 2 years from now. I bought a 1969 Mustang fastback for him. Well, I got a shell and a title. The rest is up to him. It needs everything. If it could be unbolted from the car it was. It's not even a rolling chassis at this point. My plan is to make this a father son project. We'll work on it together. He works, I drink beer and make sure he doesn't hurt himself. Occasionally give some advice. I have a pile of FE engines for him to pick one he wants to build. A couple of transmissions, some rear ends. It'll be good. To pay for it he's going to come to work with me after school. I'm a painter in a body shop. My boss is going to pay him $7 an hour to clean the shop. If he needs something for the car and it's not laying around then he's going to have to pay for it himself. I just thought I'd share this with ya'll. Seeing as how were all Mustangphiles here. I'm passing the torch to a new generation. Anybody else here do something like that? It seems to me that this way he'll appreciate the car more considering all the work he's going to put into it.

 

Sweet!!!!!! Im fifteen and i paid for my mustang ($3000) My dad buys little stuff for me even though i dont ask him. I work at a grocery store so I pay for the expensive parts. Im guessing that you can paint the car for him?(or help) which is excellant. as you know paint is one of the most expensive part. We need pics!

 

Hell no I'm not painting the car for him. He painted his first fender when he was 8. By the time he turned 10 he could paint a panel with no runs, solvent pop, or orange peel. On my 64 1/2 he painted the hood and decklid for me one afternoon while I was at work. Looks damn good. I will however make sure he paints this car in the paint booth at work. With the doors shut and the fans on my shop is ok, but not great. I have a 64 Galaxie on a rotisserie that he works on with his little brother every once in a while. My boys will likely go into the paint and body business. They're naturals. My daughter is going to college though. Believe that.

EDIT: When I asked him what he wanted for his 10th birthday he told me a Sata Jet paint gun and a De Vilbiss primer gun.

 

Sounds like you are on the right track George. My son and I built a car from the ground up when he was a teenager, and he is now 32 years old and takes care of his cars without taking them to shops. So, your method of raising your son is the right way to do it. There is also the father and son relationship and bonding thing that takes place with these kind of projects. At least he is being given a real world thing to do during his down time from school as opposed to video games, etc.

 

Sounds good! If you are in Ga then ill pay him to paint my car! I used to play video games. I sold them a month or two ago.
When your boys are old enough you should open a shop and have them do the work.[8D] There you have a nice family business going.

 

im 17 and only recently, when i was about 15, i found the joys of working on cars in my friends autoshop, it was a great experience. and my dad bought himself a 71 mach 1 and we pretty much rebuilt it all, the only thing left is paint and interior, and now, im actually looking for a 69 fastback for myself. and ever since, it is rare i play a video game.

 

My kids don't play video games anyway. I might sound like a hardass but they have school to study for and chores to take care of. They get to watch a few hours of TV when their chores and homework are taken care of. No video games in my house though. You know I've thought about opening up my own shop for a while. I just make so much money now that I don't see the need. I did my taxes last week and I brought home $150,000 and change. Real good money for north Texas. Plus I do little side jobs (custom work, not collision) on my time off so I make a little cash under the table. I only do custom work, if I did collision it'd be a conflict of interest with my job. I get paid 25% of the total ticket per car. That means I get a percentage of the body work, prep work, and finish work even though I only paint the car. If I got my own shop then I'd make more money but it's pretty stressful. Now when my boys are older and my boss is ready to retire I might buy the business from him. Turnkey would be the way to go.

 

where in north texas? i live in north texas and we are looking for a place to take our mach to paint

 

I'm 17, got my pony about 8 months ago when I was 16. I've wanted a classic stang for as long as I can remember, or at least been in love with the classic stang. My mom saw one for sale but thought I didnt like Mustangs. I was like WTF! But she supported me and we got me a nice little project. All i have is a nice body and a parts car totally rusted out but its on the road of restoration.

 

I'm in Wichita Falls. If you want a car painted right I'll do it. Does it need any body work? I can do the car on my own time and paint it at work on a Saturday. Just need to give the boss a little kick back. For body work I charge $35/hour, prep work is $15/hour, paint time is $75/hour, and finishing is $30/hour. Rust removal and repair is $65/hour. My rates are about 25% less than what the shop I work for charges. I run straight time. As long as it takes to do it right. I take no shortcuts. Materials are my cost plus 10%. My specialty is black. Theres very few painters who can do black right. If you want a black paint job with no orange peel that looks a mile deep then I'm the guy to talk to. I'll only do a car black if it's 100% straight. Black shows every dimple a mile away. If you bring me a car that already has the body work done well and just needs a little fine tuning to be perfect it should come in for around $3,000. That includes jambing it. A black paint job will be more because of the hours of wet sanding required betwwen color and clear. If you want the car taken apart and each panel done individually then that costs extra. Of course if you bring me a clunker and a truckload of repop panels I need to fit then we're talking $7K+. It may seem high dollar, but your car will be done right. Also I only use Du Pont or House of Kolor paint on custom work. No U-Tech. It may be cheaper but it doesn't look as good on a stand out car.