Vintage Photos of you back in the day(s)

[Indy Dave]

While we (or rather many of us) may not have grown up in the age of (more than) abundant cell phone photography - where any and every little thing is documented to the point of being so redundant that pictures can lose their uniqueness due to the near daily pictorial posing and updates. Let us travel back in time a bit, to an era where photography (baring a Polaroid) and photos were much less a science and the results were unknown in our age of non-instant gratification (and retakes). Pictures took on a greater significance back in the day and the camera's infrequent use in general was generally reserved for documenting milestones (with many exceptions), and there tended to be noticeable time gaps between photos. But I digress.

 

Feel free to show us how things were back in the day(s) . .

 

This was a Christmas photo - with the Junior Partners in PJ's. My mom here is serving as the model for the Princess Leia Duel Bun  Combo Hairdo and Ear Warmer circa 1973ish

 

 

Apparently the Duel Purpose Doo took a while to catch on, as my mom is still sporting the ear warmers in this photo (celebrating my Grandfathers B-Day) 10-12 years later. And ya, corduroy is coming back

 

 

 

 

What you got?!?

[Hosstage]

 

 

Thanksgiving a million years ago

 

Mom looks so proud of her boys

 

 

The era of big collars and weird toys

 

 

[Indy Dave]

What State were you living in when the first photo was taken?

[Hosstage]

1 hour ago, Indy Dave said:

What State were you living in when the first photo was taken?

All in lovely Minnesota.

[Indy Dave]

I thought it was Minnasooo-dahh

 

[Hosstage]

You'd think the character Jerry Lundergaard in that movie was an exaggeration, but he's not, that really is the way we talk and act around here. I didn't want it to be true, but once I started to pay attention, we all talk like Marge here.

The plaid shirt my grandpa is wearing in that family photo? Perfectly acceptable high fashion.

[Indy Dave]

The casting is so good in Fargo!

 

Oh Yaahh!

 

 

[Hosstage]

So yah, like every conversation!

[duckhawk64]

[roadscholar]

 Before I rode it off the end of the front porch WO.

 

 

Trouble..

 

seconds before I knocked them over, JK..

 

With the neighbors/cousin’s dog

 

Eric Clapton in training, my Mom wasn’t impressed : )

 

 

the 70’s.

 

 

1980 Sebring 12 Hours.

 

 

Late 80’s, back to bikes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[BamaJohn]

 

1944.  

 

[syntorz]

The socks-n-sandals fashion trendsetter!

[Indy Dave]

30 minutes ago, roadscholar said:

 Before I rode it off the end of the front porch WO.

 

 

Trouble..

 

seconds before I knocked them over, JK..

 

With the neighbors/cousin’s dog

 

Eric Clapton in training, my Mom wasn’t impressed : )

 

 

the 70’s.

 

 

1980 Sebring 12 Hours.

 

 

Late 80’s, back to bikes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All right Bill.... What the 4 1 1    914 and 912/911 details on those cars?

[roadscholar]

No biggie Dave, just a couple of the very few car photos I have (with them). '74 914 2L a buddy modified I traded a project 911 for, it was actually a good road car, that was my brother and I visiting the parents in Savannah at Thanksgiving one year. And the '75 RSR I got in 1978 and ran a season of SCCA to get an FIA license, my first real race car and 1st of six years I ran at Sebring, discovered later it was far better to drive someone else's car : ) 

 

Edit, if I remember you're a BMW car guy too so here's a couple semi-oldies from about 20 and 8 years ago respectively.

 

 

[Indy Dave]

Well.... Porsche's have always been my favorite cars, going back to 6th grade when a family from Cali moved in across the street. They had a 911 and the college age son rebuilt 2 356's in their garage. His daily driver was a customized 57 VW bug with the small oval window - modded motor, Porsche gauges. Etc. One of the 356 was a coupe, and the second was a Speedster which was his track car. At 16, I bought my first car - a rusted out POS 69 912 my Aunt's boss was selling (we were on a family visit to CT). The 912 broke down on my way home from Connecticut on a Friday, and had it towed to the dealer - who couldn't fix the car until Monday. They got it barley running so I could return to my Aunt's, where I parked (abandoned?) in my Aunt's driveway and flew back to Indiana. They quickly got sick of the deteriorating car blocking their driveway and took it upon themselves to find a buyer. Best move ever!

 

I had all of the '80s Porsche posters with the flying RSR, the 917s, the two factory posters that chronicled the lineage of their road cars and their racing cars.

 

Sometime in college I bought a used 924. That thing was on rails but was severely underpowered. My buddy has a 944 S2, which at some point I think we'll get around to putting the torque tube replacement we have in it.

 

Some time in college I got introduced to BMWs and ended up going that way, although like most enthusiasts, I still have a very weak spot for 911's. I came very close to buying early '80s 930 turbo in the mid 90's, it was the only one I had driven, and it just didn't seem right and I didn't pursue it further.

 

I always enjoy reading and hearing about your cars and I appreciate how much of your expertise you share with the board.

[roadscholar]

Thanks Dave, the 356's, 911S's, Carrera's, and 930's are long gone but still have a 944S2 (great drivers) and an SC Targa I need to get back on the road, look forward to driving them both again. Have a bad fly and drive Porsche story too I’ll relate some day, it turned out ok though thru some luck and good timing but was a bit scary for awhile.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Hosstage]

1st grade pic. Damn I was cute!

 

 

[szurszewski]

I'm not as, uh, mature, as some of you - I think this one was taken just a few weeks ago (or, maybe it just feels that way). 

 

 

I hope you appreciate the "picture of a picture" filter I used - I even photoshopped in some dust for authenticity. 

 

 

[Indy Dave]

On 12/1/2024 at 6:21 PM, roadscholar said:

 Before I rode it off the end of the front porch WO.

 

 

 

Is that a 'Woody' in the garage?

 

Your comment . . 'Just before I rode off the end of the front porch . . ' reminded me of a, dare I say ... legendary ...... story that foreshadowed my future as a Bumbling BackRoad Rider™ . . .

 

I was the youngest of 4, and the consensus my siblings and I came to long ago, was that our parents were quite interested in the act procreating, and not so much the results of said activity. Their attitude was more . . . 'let the chips fall where they may', as it were. So God help ANYONE who was foolish enough to accept the role of babysitting this wild bunch of out of control kids. I was fascinated by cars and engines from a very early age, and I remember starting up our VW in the driveway and walking to the back and listening closely (and no doubt breathing in the lead laced exhaust fumes) as if I had just tuned the engine - and having my mother come running out and stopping my experiment.  I was still at the riding-a-tricycle age - whatever that is.

 

What I DON'T remember - but my siblings do - is that when one unlucky kid from the neighborhood (that's the same as neighbourhood @marcopolo and @bluenoserswife) was charged with babysitting all 4 of us, I went to the VW and started it . . that was back when you could start the engine WITH THE CAR IN GEAR and the VW started up faithfully (IN GEAR) and . . I (or rather the car) ran over my TRICYCLE! Apparently I was able to turn off the key and prevent more damage. Again, I don't remember this. But - I'm told that my only concern - was that I had run over and ruined my tricycle! So of course I had the obligatory meltdown! My much older brother  apparently heard the commotion (and presumably stopped clubbing baby seals for a brief minute)  and gave me his old tricycle.

 

I keep imagining that poor babysitter trying to explain to my parents what happened, and I'm quite sure my parents were not phased at all, and in fact probably expected to come home to worse!

 

Anyway - here's Yours Truly at age 13 with my Raleigh Super Course MK II - which I proudly bought with my own money from mowing lawns (ok - my parents matched my earnings) And, as an early nod to my cockpit mods/customization - I was quite proud of my - rare for the era - finger-tip shifters located on the lower ends of the handlebars. Having frame mounted shifters made no sense to me . . .  and I was right. It just took the world another 5-8 years to catch on. I'm nothing if not a trend setter 

 

 

 

 

 

[Hosstage]

I also grew up with 3 brothers. We broke a lot of stuff. Including each other.

[Rinkydink]

Mount St Mary’s 1975 Prom. 1973 Fender Telecaster thru Acoustic amp and a Sunn 4-12 cab. Tele was stolen a year later😡

 

1976 Hall High School Talent Show. First gig with my new to me 74 Les Paul Deluxe Goldtop. I still have it!

 

1962 My first grade play. 
 

 

Approx. 1971-72. Hanging out learning chops and harmonies with friends. 

 

 

 

[Indy Dave]

@Rinkydink  Turned up to 11 I hope!!

[Rinkydink]

Huh? High frequencies are a thing of the past. And I wore ear plugs!

[Indy Dave]

I can't hear you due to the ringing in my ears . .

[roadscholar]

4 hours ago, Indy Dave said:

s that a 'Woody' in the garage?

 

Your comment . . 'Just before I rode off the end of the front porch . . ' reminded me of a, dare I say ... legendary ...... story

 

Good eye, I was trying to figure out what car that was and hadn't noticed the wood trim. First memory of riding in a car at about 2,  it was my Mom's 1950? Ford woody station wagon, black with red interior and a big bench front seat, no seat belts, no kiddie seats, just hang on and roll with it. My Dad had an XK120 about then too, one of the first on this side of the pond, he flew to NY and drove it back to central Fla, have a photo somewhere if I can find it. I still have the scar on my forehead from the tricycle/E. Knievel episode, learned the hard way Sir Isaac Newton's theory of gravity, what goes up must come down. 

 

Liked the sniffing VW fumes story and reminded me of one. When the mosquito fogger came thru our neighborhood in Summer I'd get on my bike and follow it closely getting lost in the fog. It was some kind of kerosene/diesel concoction, years later I liked to get behind old Greyhound busses on the highway because they had that same smell : ) One summer in the 60's I came back from California and my Beetle wasn't in the garage, asked my Mom where it was. She mumbled something and kept working in the kitchen, I said Mom WHERE'S MY VW? She said your brother took it one night and rolled it at the top of the hill (the first 90* curve a mile away). I said you mean he totalled it, she went yeah it's gone, he was 12 or 13 didn't have a license nor apparently knew about the handling abnormalities of rear engine cars : ) Couple years later I absconded his Honda 160 and rode it at college a semester or two.

 

 

[roadscholar]

2 hours ago, Rinkydink said:

976 Hall High School Talent Show. First gig with my new to me 74 Les Paul Deluxe Goldtop. I still have it!

 

That's worth more than some of my cars now, nice ones : ) Had a Les Paul Jr I left at a buddy's garage recording studio in the 70's, no telling where it is now. Still have a J50 I bought used in 1967 {a '65) it was $175. then. Oh, and I traded an old Martin tenor F-hole that had been in the family since the 50's for a nice Z3 a couple years ago : )

 

[OilDoner]

1 hour ago, roadscholar said:

 

That's worth more than some of my cars now, nice ones : ) Had a Les Paul Jr I left at a buddy's garage recording studio in the 70's, no telling where it is now. Still have a J50 I bought used in 1967 {a '65) it was $175. then. Oh, and I traded an old Martin tenor F-hole that had been in the family since the 50's for a nice Z3 a couple years ago : )

 

I am glad I don't have my first electric guitar, a mid 90's Epiphone night hawk.  The salesman that talked me into buying that hot garbage should win an award.  Luckily the quality of the axe doesn't define the lumberjack...so I gave it to my younger brother :)

 

The question I have is what songs were being played in said photos above?  

[OilDoner]

1 hour ago, roadscholar said:

 

Still have a J50 I bought used in 1967 {a '65) it was $175. 

 

Would love to take the J50 for a ride sometime if it is ever near SoCal. 

 

And for old photos, this is the best I could find, which is with my sister prior to the haircut I gave her, on her request, with fingernail scissors, also on her request. 

 

That year I was the incredible hulk for Halloween, still remember the green makeup and how I had an allergic reaction to it but I didn't know what that was at two and my mom told me to stop itching and was upset that I kept whining...  Of course until the makeup was off and you could see the hives....

 

Also the year I tried to ramp my huffy off the back of our flatbed trailer ....   I wasn't strong enough to pull the front wheel up when I got to the end of the trailer and remember doing a front flip straight to my back still holding the bike in the air...  and then I was certain that I experienced what it feels like to be dead as I laid in the field behind our house all by myself ...  This was the first time I remember having my wind knocked out. I think I told my mom I died and she again said something like stop whining...

 

[roadscholar]

12 minutes ago, OilDoner said:

Would love to take the J50 for a ride sometime if it is ever near SoCal. 

 

 

Unlikely, it lives in N. Fla  but will tell you it still has a beautiful sound/tone, I just need to play it more often.

 

[Indy Dave]

2 hours ago, roadscholar said:

 

Good eye, I was trying to figure out what car that was and hadn't noticed the wood trim. First memory of riding in a car at about 2,  it was my Mom's 1950? Ford woody station wagon, black with red interior and a big bench front seat, no seat belts, no kiddie seats, just hang on and roll with it. My Dad had an XK120 about then too, one of the first on this side of the pond, he flew to NY and drove it back to central Fla, have a photo somewhere if I can find it. I still have the scar on my forehead from the tricycle/E. Knievel episode, learned the hard way Sir Isaac Newton's theory of gravity, what goes up must come down. 

 

 When the mosquito fogger came thru our neighborhood in Summer I'd get on my bike and follow it closely getting lost in the fog. It was some kind of kerosene/diesel concoction, years later I liked to get behind old Greyhound busses on the highway because they had that same smell : )

 

 

 

 

WE had a  1950 Ford Woody with 15,000 original miles. I have a picture or two -  When I find them, I'll share the story.

 

So funny about the Bug Fogger . . .I went off to summer long camp in Rhinelander, W for all of June, July and most of Aug and when they would fog the cabins, a few of us dimmer types would run around inside after it was fogged. I was there for 3 entire summers from age 10 to 12. In fact - in that photo of me on the bike (at 13) I have a Camp Deerhorn shirt on. The fogger was kind of cool, and I watched the camp handyman start it several times - but I could never figure out in my head how it ran. He would push a kind of plunger to get it to start - I guess kind of the opposite of a kick starter?

 

 

 

Here's how little I was back in the VW days . . . I'm in the back back - I don't know who the other kids are.

 

 

A jag like this??

 

 

[Indy Dave]

28 minutes ago, OilDoner said:

Would love to take the J50 for a ride sometime if it is ever near SoCal. 

 

And for old photos, this is the best I could find, which is with my sister prior to the haircut I gave her, on her request, with fingernail scissors, also on her request. 

 

That year I was the incredible hulk for Halloween, still remember the green makeup and how I had an allergic reaction to it but I didn't know what that was at two and my mom told me to stop itching and was upset that I kept whining...  Of course until the makeup was off and you could see the hives....

 

Also the year I tried to ramp my huffy off the back of our flatbed trailer ....   I wasn't strong enough to pull the front wheel up when I got to the end of the trailer and remember doing a front flip straight to my back still holding the bike in the air...  and then I was certain that I experienced what it feels like to be dead as I laid in the field behind our house all by myself ...  This was the first time I remember having my wind knocked out. I think I told my mom I died and she again said something like stop whining...

 

 

LAUGHING OUT LOUD!!!! (about the bike trick)

 

I bet your sister wasn't smiling like that when you were done. eh?

[Indy Dave]

The Woody - better picture and story later. The Cedars was a family summer home my Grandfather's Grandfather built on Waloon Lake in 1909

 

 

[Indy Dave]

38 minutes ago, OilDoner said:

Would love to take the J50 for a ride sometime if it is ever near SoCal. 

 

And for old photos, this is the best I could find, which is with my sister prior to the haircut I gave her, on her request, with fingernail scissors, also on her request. 

 

That year I was the incredible hulk for Halloween, still remember the green makeup and how I had an allergic reaction to it but I didn't know what that was at two and my mom told me to stop itching and was upset that I kept whining...  Of course until the makeup was off and you could see the hives....

 

Also the year I tried to ramp my huffy off the back of our flatbed trailer ....   I wasn't strong enough to pull the front wheel up when I got to the end of the trailer and remember doing a front flip straight to my back still holding the bike in the air...  and then I was certain that I experienced what it feels like to be dead as I laid in the field behind our house all by myself ...  This was the first time I remember having my wind knocked out. I think I told my mom I died and she again said something like stop whining...

 

 

and yet you still are whining . . .

 

So do you have any note (HA!) worthy Gee-tars now, Mr. OilDoner??

[roadscholar]

4 hours ago, Indy Dave said:

A jag like this??

 

No, like this, a silver/red XK120, probably about a 1949 (I was born in '48), can still remember the smell of the Connolly leather in it. The story goes my Dad was looking at an Argosy magazine in his office one day and saw an ad for the Jag, he picked up the phone called the number in England and said when can I get one of those. They said the first boatload will be in NY soon, he was there : ) My Mother and he went to the first running of the Sebring 12 Hours in it in 1950 (it was just 6 hours the first year). Still looking for the actual photo.

 

 

[beemerboy]

Third grade (I think) school photo.

 

With my sweetie in her parents' front yard, sophomore year in HS. Please note my ATGATT attire. 

 

At the second UN in Gunnison, UN 5? That's Sir Rodney I'm giving the bunny ears to.

 

 

[MachineJoe]

Im the one in the chair, I brought my older brothers along for protection. This was around 1960

[Indy Dave]

Curly, Moe and Larry?? 

[OilDoner]

3 hours ago, Indy Dave said:

 

LAUGHING OUT LOUD!!!! (about the bike trick)

 

I bet your sister wasn't smiling like that when you were done. eh?

It was my mom that wasn't smiling.

[Indy Dave]

No doubt you told her to quit whining!

[OilDoner]

3 hours ago, Indy Dave said:

 

and yet you still are whining . . .

 

So do you have any note (HA!) worthy Gee-tars now, Mr. OilDoner??

Several.  This one of my favorites.  From a builder named Ron Thorn, called a Grantura.  Pretty cool semi hollow like a Collings.

[Indy Dave]

@OilDoner looks like Ollie is turning it up to 11?

 

Maybe you needed a 'Sledgehammer' instead of the huffy?

 

 

 

 

 

[DaveCinNO]

Talking about cars of the past can be a bit sad, thinking about the ones got away.  From the early '70s to the late '80s I spent way too much playing with these things.  The 356 Roadster is what got me started and it ended with the Targa.  I miss the Roadster the most.  None of them went fast enough out of the box so I was constantly tinkering with them.  My garage was small and as you can see cluttered.  Have a 911T engine on the floor, a 911E on the table and a 356 S-90 on the test stand.  My friend is pouring over the 911 engine manual...now how does that cam timing work again?

 

How about a HS prom pic...1963.  This was in Bangkok and once we returned stateside in '64 I didn't see my date again until we met in 2022.

 

Good idea for a thread, Dave

 

 

 

 

 

 

[roadscholar]

 

Nice collection Dave, looks like we had similar tastes, funny little German cars that nobody wanted back then.   I did a couple 356 motors and a 911 under a watchful eye but left the cam timing to a pro, I couldn’t afford to mess that up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Dennis Andress]

On a group ride in Pennsylvania in spring of 1979, about 2 weeks before the reactor leak. That's not the Three Mile Island reactor, but we were somewhere in the area.

 

1983, a B-52H in Darwin, Australia.

 

Getting there meant riding in a KC-135A (they have no heat). The first day involved us and another tanker ferrying nine F-16s to Hawaii. The little planes stacked up on our wingtips and constantly rotated around to get a sip of gas. The boomer logged 60 connections for the flight.

 

 

Germany, 1986. At this point the only original parts would be the airbox, license plate bracket, and title.

 

 

Tucson, 1988. The hairy guy was not a nice person...

 

Punta Chavato, Baja, 1988.

 

[Indy Dave]

6 minutes ago, Dennis Andress said:

 

Tucson, 1988. The hairy guy was not a nice person...

 

 

 

 

You're both hairy!?!

[Indy Dave]

My first 4 wheeler.... In Kindergarten. Hit by car while riding my bike...

 

 

And this was not my first broken leg....

[RandyShields]

Well, it took some time to dig up some really vintage photos and digitize them.  They include: tricycle on 2nd BD; riding grandparents dog, Ginger; on Grandpa's farm tractor; Road King with nephew; Gold Wing.

[RTinNC]

Now here’s a cute little guy. 
 

 

[wbw6cos]

My brother and I.  What a happy little cuss, eh?   

 

Mmmm, cake!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Traveler1]

My twin Brother and I.   Obviously not identical twins.