Why cant my dad understand?

AznStanger3v

Active Member
Aug 11, 2003
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Northern VA
I just don't understand my dad sometimes. In 1994, when I was just 7 years old, I saw the SN95 body pull into my driveway. I instantly fell in love. 1994 is my favorite years of the Mustang. Mixing the 5.0 with the newer body. I have ALWAYS wanted a 94 in Canary Yellow. My dad bought one and I bought it from him a year ago and I'm still in love with it. Everytime I bring up a mod that I'm doing with MY MONEY, he gives me this speech about how I should save up and buy a newer stang. I DONT WANT A NEW ONE! I said, "If I could afford an '03 Cobra, then I would buy it and get rid of the stang." I work 2 jobs and I pay all my own **** and I can't even come close to those payments. Why can't he just support me on what I want to do to my car? Would he rather I just spend my money on drugs? Rant over.
 
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ahhh, he is just being a dad. Mine is somewhat similar he was all about having the manifold done "professionally" but after some hard work i convinced him it would be fun to do together...and he had a blast. He is a dork about some things, but is truly a gearhead at heart....but has just gotten a little old over time :nice:
 
Funny you were seven in 1994 when you first seen the new body style and I was driving one two years later in 96. Anyway, you are only 17 and it's hard to get parents to understand the mods. Trust me I was in the same boat as you and it was hard just convincing them to allow some exhaust a minor stuff. I know you pay your own stuff but you still live with your parents so what they say goes. Now in a year or two when they don't have as much say in the matter lay hell to it. As far as the 03 cobra is concerned there is no way that a 17 year old can make payments on the car let alone afford the insurance on a 03 cobra for a inexperienced driver. Just drive the car and enjoy it for now. Once you get into mods one thing ends up turning into twenty and it's nothing but more money from there.
 
i told him im buying a hood. i dont see the big deal in that. its my hard earned money. i work 2 jobs, 7 days a week, go to school 5 days a week, and im pulling a 3.8 GPA. im still buying that hood. he can suck it. he loves fast more than i do. he just wants to make sure when his 05 stang comes in, no one will even look in my direction. he thinks he slick. he wont stop me. he'll bitch until he sees it then fall in love. we go through this all the time.
 
he just doesnt want you to make a mistake somewhere. hell my dad is a gear head and was always racing/bnuilding when he was my age, but for soem reason has a hard time letting me buy stuff for my car or workign on it. for example he didnt want me to put my x-pipe in so one day he up and went took my car to a shop and had them pu tit in. i mean it was an awesome suprise when i came home from work adn heard it for the first time.
 
All it takes is someone to mention that they were 7 in 1994 and I feel old. I bought my 1994 Mustang in 94 and was 18 years older than 7 in 1994.

Cut the old man some slack. He takes an interest in what you're doing at least. He just feels that spending your money on the older car is not as worthwhile as having a new car. It's the perception that older cars become money pits eventhough you're voluntarily spending the money. He doesn't realize spending the money on the older car is fun because you get to mod the car a little at a time the way you want it. Even if you bought a new Mustang, the mod bug is hard to shake and you'd likely be spending more money on the new car as well.

Personally, I disagree with your pops because I would keep the '94.
 
Man I think weve all been there. It took 2 years for me to get a GT. Then about a week of arguing to buy exhaust. And now that I have money for a tmoss/thumper combo, oh man, I have no idea how to sneak the order.

Funny how when I wanted to upgrade to the cobra brakes he didn't argu. :shrug:
 
i remember when i had my first Stang....a '73 Mach 1 back in 1988. My Dad wouldnt let me do any thing to the car at My house i had to work on it at my friends house and when he found out about it he was pissed. Then i wrecked the Mach 1 in '89 and my parents talked me into selling it and getting a new car. And i went out and bought a '85 GT.....still cant figure out the logic in that one (sell the slow '73 Mach and get a 85 GT thats twice as fast)

Moral of the story is....We've all been through it
 
This is a great thread.. My dad was the SAME exact way. He hated me spending money on my car. And when i look back on it, i was buying cheap things like an x pipe, cai, maf, tbody. I found that the first 2k i spent on my car was the hardest, after that its easy sailing. He totally understands my passion to go fast now, so he "kinda" supports me. I still cant talk to him about mods though, he just dont listen lol.
 
I feel your pain. I'm given grief all of the time by my parents for different things i buy for my numerous hobbies.
Whats funny is your line about spending the cash on drugs. I have actually used that line on my mother once. My parents were ranting about something (cant remember what it was but i think it was when i bought my sportbike..lol) and i told my mother that "i guess it would be better that i did drugs like some of my friends do?"....LOL Stopped them cold in their tracks. They know i would never do drugs but it puts things in perspective pretty quickly.
Let him rant all he wants, some fathers (like mine) rant for no other reason than to hear themselves talk. Let him feel like the big man, wait a few days/weeks and then order it...LOL
Mike
 
well ive owned my car for 5 years now (was 16 when i got it). i put my first mod on the car at the beginning of the summer 1 year ago. didnt touch anything else on the car til the end of this summer. i had enough saved up and stuff to trade to get allll my mods in a matter of a few months. my dad hated it but didnt have a choice cause i sent the items to my friends houses and did the work at other places. he only saw the end result.

now a month ago, i broke/bent a valve so i took out the engine with him, got it freshened up and i put it back in with him. i also converted to a 5spd. now this is the dad that didnt want my wasting my money on wax for my car just a year ago. it will take time to break him in. you know when you get a new hood that you need a new paint job right?? that costs good money too. i am truely addicted like the rest. always searching for ways to buy really cheap parts that i kinda need :D .....wish i could just save up for somethign really nice but oh well
 
My dad was the same way. After awhile he stopped complaining and started helping me out, lol. Especially after I got involved with the engine swap...what a pain in the ass, lol.

Keep at it and have fun with your stang while you can!
 
The older I get, the more my dad will listen. I think parents have more things are their mind when you're 17 than just what you are driving. Most parents just want their kids to have a car that is reliable and doesn't drain the bank account.

As I get older, my dad realizes that this is one of my 2 hobbies and it won't change. He used to bring up reliabilty alot when we talked about stuff, he seemed to be saying "I helped you get the car, don't mess it up." in a roundabout way.

Now I am looking forward to going home on the weekends and building a new motor for my car with him. We haven't worked on a project together since I was a little guy and it was fun having him help me wire in a manual fan switch for the 89 a couple months ago. I can't wait to see how much fun a motor swap will be. :nice:

My advice, stay steadfast, but have him help you put on the parts if you can. You'll miss your parents when you move away! :)
 
HtownGT said:
well that and free food. :D

:drool: Free food! I miss my grandma's chicken and mashed potatoes!

Anyway, :OT:

They do come in handy sometimes. When I was doing my clutch, I called my uncle for some advice about resurfacing the flywheel. Turned out he had a plethora of knowlege on the subject. He really helped.

Sometimes ignorance can be an issue. My dad doesn't know as much as he thinks he does. He told me not to even bother resurfacing the flywheel. He would have liked to see me pay someone to install the clutch too!!!LOL! A perfectly good waste of $300+.

Truth be told, what I do is my business. I live with my mom (going to school still) and so does my 18 year old brother. As long as he makes his car/insurance payments, they don't say much. We just put a cat-back on his 03 GT, and I didn't hear a peep from either of them.

I guess you can't really make your parents understand. Some just don't see the want/need. Some see car's as transportation purposes only. Now that I have a car I love, the mod bug has hit me HARD!
Scott
 
sorta interesting... My dad complained about the stereos that i have put in my cars over the years... He has always said in his day he use to go up town and instead of thumping he would be revving, showing off a new cam or parts instead of a new set of subs.

Now that i have turned into a gear-head he loves it. (except that it is a ford). And now he is starting to not like it as much because im installing new mods to fast, and not seeing what they will truley do with practice.