Introduced to cars at 5 yrs old, Bought/built 1st "Hot Rod' ( uninspectable 36 fd coupe) at 15, Made weekly payments on traffic citations for 2 yrs . Fines suspended at 17 on condition I join the Army. To date Best decision EVER, ended up in Kansas where there was NO speed limit (open roads), no car inspections which basically allowed anything on the street as long as it had wheels & brakes. Took my 1st drivers test in a flamed 34 Fd coupe with mechanical brakes & no hood, fenders or glass & passed my test before I got to the end of the block lol Due to a lot f street racing, tags were pulled & car banned from "street duty so stripped it down & turned it into a circle track car. Two days before departing for "Operation Sage Brush" in La was running the Memorial Day Classic in Topeka, Ks where I was involved in a multi car pile-up barrel rolling the car 6 times ending up in a corn field with a broken leg & jaw. Escaped a court martial but was demoted to a PFC rank which I held up until I got my Honorable Discharge in Aug 1956. After discharge signed up for the army 3 yr OJT program to learn the Auto Body Repair trade (before bondo & fiberglass was introduced) After completing my OJT training opened up my own shop building, showing & racing many of the cars I built one of which ran at NHRA's 1st Annual Drags in Great Bend, Ks.
In late 60's decided to move to Ind where there was a higher demand for the cars I was building.
Began showing the rides I was building on the ISCA circuit one of which was a 1938 REO Speedwagon chain drive wrecker that won on many Awards & much magazine coverage. Ended up selling the REO to purchase a "barn find" Willys Gasser that was one of the "big dogs" that ran at the Lions Drag Strip in Ca in the 60's (back in the day the gassers were what we know today as "funny cars". Ran 9 yrs undefeated at the at the Nostalgia Drags in Indy setting a new et record for the 1/8 mile. Before selling the car to a gentleman in Australia the car was featured in/on the cover of Hot Rod, Drag World & Street Car.
With busines booming was "ushered" out of the Auto Body Trade by OSHA in the early 80's & ventured into videotaping car shows/drag races thru out a 35-state area until 2014. After 3 trys at retiring promised wife I would give it up when I hit 80 & donated all my recording equipment to a Crippled Kids Charity event we were covering & relocated to Va. where I found myself climbing the walls being away6 from all the cars/people. Hearing of my plight was contacted by a Auto Trade Magazine & offered a "job" that would put me back out there with my "family". The job, tell them where I want to go, do a story on the event & they'll pay all the expenses + "play money".
Tough job which we've been trying to hold down for the last 6 yrs.
On my hunting/fishing escapades. In Ks. Carried my 410 Mossberg behind the seat & took my Liver Tick Pointer to work with me every day so we could hit the fields after I closed the shop down. In Ind lived on the shores of Lake Mich & never missed a day fishing for Salmon when they were running. When we were on the road doing shows , we got to fish most the states we were working. Today, 2021 , if I'm not working on my frame off 57 Cadillac restoration or on the road doing a magazine event you can find my wife & I drowning worms at one of the nearby fresh water lakes