Family. Dad loved cars, though he never had anything "collectible" himself. He did as much of his own work himself as he could, including rebuilding the straight six in our families 1st second car (seeing that engine apart and all it's little parts organized on a sheet on the garage floor is what I think really got me hooked. His Dad had a '53 Imperial with Hemi, and a 1926 Dodge. Grandpa, Dad and all us 3 boys always talked cars around the dinner table at birthdays, holidays, etc. Still do.

My oldest brother turned his new '75 Dart Hang 10 into a Street Machine in the late '70s, and took me places with him. We also had the Street Machine Nationals in town(or near by) for many years. This picture captures just a glimpse of my brothers Hang 10 on the far left at the Nats in Springfield, his friend and custom painter in the red S-10 next to him, and another friend with the 427 dual quad 4 speed Bisacyne next to that. There were others they ran with, and they always let me hang around, go to shows with them, etc.