did i do the right thing?

[trucker]

hi, just wanted an outside opinion on this

needed time to concentrate on my mk3, so i gave my mk2 to my 14 yr old stepdaughter to work on with my help for next year or so.

i'm making her pay for upgrades, which i'm limiting to a n/a 6m with intake and exhaust, to be done for vegas this year(mine wont even be close to ready) a few months befor she gets her permit.

going to make her do a lot of the work, sanding and such, have her put some sweat equity into the thing, thinking if she helps build it it'll be more likely to run speed limit and stop at stop signs.

anyone think i'm going to be on right track with this, or am i going to be putting a new driver in too much car?

 

[wingman]

just make sure she knows that her abilities are probably far below that of the car's....i started off just like any other teenager with a (kinda) fast car, and I blew it...good thing it was only an N/A, otherwise I'd have probably killed myself. I learned from my mistake, but if you can learn with that mistake never happening then you know you've done a great job. Just remember that if she starts bragging the car up it's time to put the foot down, because from the horses mouth "this car get's up to this speed in this distance" really means "the street is my racetrack!".

that's when it's time to go out and buy her a honda!

 

[robbo185]

i think its a good idea...i wish my dad did this for me...even though i babied my first car because i paid for it.

it will also bring you too closer together because you will have a common interest...not many parents have that nowadays

 

[mkiiSupraMan18]

Of course you're doing the right thing...
my dad and I did this and if for no toher reason you'll get to know her better. I mean, what the hell else are you going to do while putting parts on that are nothing more than just time consuming? Yeah, you'll get a lot of chances to talk about things you've never thought of. Or atleast that's how it worked out for me. Probably some of the best times I've ever had with my dad. Who knows, maybe that car will wind up meaning something more to her than just a Supra. Being a mkII, chances are she already loves it. :icon_razz

 

[goliath]

i think its a good idea...i wish my dad did this for me...even though i babied my first car because i paid for it.

it will also bring you too closer together because you will have a common interest...not many parents have that nowadays

:withstupi I completely agree here.

"putting a new driver in too much car?" That's your call. You know her best. Can she handle the responsibility?:dunno:

 

[92turbo4life]

i got my turbo right before i got my permit. kinda early but i started to learn about them and started to do lil things to it. ive had it 2 years and now have rod knock. i think its a great idea. thats awesome to hear that the youngins are gettin into the supra game. we need more....

p.s i didnt even drive the car 3 times when i had it with the permit i was scuuuuredd

 

[souprat]

i dont see anything wrong with what you did. i also see no reason why you should pay for her upgrades. my parents dont pay for mine, or the car itself, or the gas. i think it helps me appreciate it even more.

i know when i'm teaching my kids to drive once i feel that they can handle a car well enough i'll be taking them to the track and an auto-x for a day. to show them that "this is where we play with cars" and so they can get all of their speed needs out. but after that there is no excuse for a speeding ticket because they will know that the right place to drive a car fast is on the track.

 

[americanjebus]

before you give it to her to drive, get her something really shitty, like an old subaru gl or tempo. let her hone her driving skills for a few months, get a feel for driving in traffic, manevering, and basic driving skills. once she has gotten passed the basic safe driving habits repaint the mk2 and give here a NICE car that she put so much work into with her dad. she will baby it and appreciate it more than any new car, not to mention knowing how to drive it safely.

take her out with you and have her romp on it in a safe place and push her untill she loses control. Be there when she's reaches her breaking point in driving skill, its better than if she does it alone in an unsafe environment because sooner or later she will get there.

 

[Troyota]

^I just hope my daughter would be interested in doing something like this with me when she gets to be that age!!! I say go for it and cherrish the time spent on the project together and teach her all you can (it will stay w/ her for life). Just imagine, maybe she can school her boyfriends/husband on a thing or two because of the things that you have taught her.

On an interesting side note...MY first car was a Ford Tempo. Within 6 months I had it sitting on it's top on a mountain road. I lost the tip of my middle finger on my left hand when the door frame chopped it off while I was holding on for dear life. One can get into trouble w/ any kind of car if abusing it. I can't even imagine what kind of damage I'd have done if my first car was the Supra! However, I didn't have parents that taught me all that I know about cars...I am a self taught stuntman and mechanic...if I had a mentor to teach me the ropes and to look up to I doubt I would have gotten into the trouble that I did. Right now, w/ the collection of cars that I do have...I am a very responsible driver (can't honestly say the same thing about the wife..shhh) and hopefully a good role model for my kids. Congrats and good luck!!!

 

[Joel W.]

I don't have kids, but I would not give it to her. Make her buy it. Even if it's for a $100 or whatever. If she works it off by doing extra chores for a few months like dishes, mowing the lawn, washing your supra or taking out the garbage she will respect it more. I don't know her, but I see it in my younger sister who has everything handed to her and thrashes everything with no remorse. Just my oppinion..

 

[trydrew]

I don't have kids, but I would not give it to her. Make her buy it. Even if it's for a $100 or whatever. If she works it off by doing extra chores for a few months like dishes, mowing the lawn, washing your supra or taking out the garbage she will respect it more. I don't know her, but I see it in my younger sister who has everything handed to her and thrashes everything with no remorse. Just my oppinion..

I think that maybe the sweat and labor put into it will make up for some of this. If she has enough love for the car to fix it up every time it breaks and keep it healthy, she should take care of it.

With all that said, make her really work for it, and if her responsibilty and good driving skills are up to par (or far beyond just to be safe), let her own it.

It just sounds to me already that she loves it, and would keep it safe within her limits. Just my $.02

 

[supradan22]

This is the way I started and im still currently in this process Ive been on the road for 2 years driving a minivan it sucked and my dad almost bought me an old century for 50 bucks as a project car for us to bond and such but after I drove it and found a rabits leg in the trunk I passed that idea and said I could wait longer for my own car.

Later on I found my supra in a steak n shake parking lot with a rod knock motor n/a motor. I got a hold of the guy who owned it and got it for 400 bucks.

I was 16 with no job so I busted my ass for a full summer mowing yards to pay the guy for the car lucky for me it was one of the lucky n/as with an LSD.

Now im currently rebuilding/swaping the car with a upgraded turbo motor and painting the car prememim white from the RSX myself thanks to tech school.

I must say its the best felling in the world knowing that you took a car from nothing and making it something.

OH BTW since she is a girl and I also had this problem she may actually start losing faith in the car for a little bit be sure to show her pictures of what the car can look like and probly will to keep her motivated.

 

[92turbo4life]

yeah well actually i saw sw's9 second supra in virginia when i was on vacation and i was 14, i then started to save up thinking that i would have enough to buy a mk4 tt. hmm then one day i was on google and searched something with supra in it and came across some website called supramania at that time i had about 6800 and a whole lot of blisters from bustin my ass for that money. then i started lookin up and learning bout these cars and one day i found my baby

kinda funny becasue i was going to buy a tt 6spd from readytofix.com and i would have been stuck!!! im glad i got my 92.

sry but i just had a moment

 

[lanky189]

I could write a whole paragraph..but i won't

Thats one helluva an idea...go for it.

 

[trucker]

thanks guys i feel better about it now

and joel..i just gave her a 300 barely running bucket with a solid body...the money for upgrades is on her, besides the wrench time she will put into it

she already has a vision on how she wants it...basicly a sport compact rat rod

well see how it turns out this summer

thanks guys

 

[Joel W.]

I must say its the best felling in the world knowing that you took a car from nothing and making it something.

That is the kind of thing I was refering to trucker.. However she sounds like she has more respect for things than most kids at her age. It is good that she is showing an interest in it.

 

[Anomili]

Even though almost everything useful has been said... My dad was original owner on his 87T and when I was 16 we either had to junk it or I had to take it on... Best idea ever, especially if you want to get the father/stepdaughter project going. For the record though, I spent so much time on upgrades and repairs that I spent most of my learning time in a driving school's manual 4 cylinder ford escape and my mom's mini van so I can't really comment on the whole responsibility thing.