Hot Rods Goofy Comments From the General Public

in regards to Beulah...
damn... all my cars rattle down the highway. ain't that why we turn up the radio???

 

Friend of mine has a resto mod 47 Lincoln convertible with Dolphin gauges and usually has the top down. Now anyone familiar with Dolphin gauges knows it says Dolphin on them and there's a little picture of one on there as well. Nowhere on the car are there any emblems that say Lincoln and people always ask what kind of car it is and what year is it which is totally understandable being a somewhat rare automobile. We were at a show one time and a young couple was walking around the car and after several times of walking around it and not seeing any emblems the lady looks inside at the gauges and says to the guy, it's a Dolphin! Priceless

 

I don't know how many people have looked at my 72 chevelle and said, I had 1 just like that. Then there was the guy that said, I bought 1 just like that back in 1970. Then they ask, Big block? and I say small block, What size? and I say 434. That really screws them up. I had my rear engine dragster in the garage 1 time and a guy asked me what dirt track I ran at.

 

Two kids about 12 or 13 walking by my 51 fleetline, "Wow a gangster car" LOL On another note with me is not so much the stupid questions it's the ones where they're sometimes so insistantly dead wrong and go on and on about it.

 

They might be Goofy, but at least these people are taking an interest in our hobby !

 

Most are, some aren't. I think we're smart enough to know and respect the ones that are. The kid in the beater at the stop light who wants to trade is only interested in making his buddies laugh. That's OK too.

I get the "nice rat rod" one a lot too, even though there isn't a skull, daggers, exposed welds or whatever it takes to make one on it, it's just in primer and I'm going to drive it that way until I get it done. I understand the intent, no big deal. At least it's not "crappy rat rod".

 

Someone asked me about my 31A roadster at a car show
nice convertible is the top in the truck

 

I havent gone thru all 6pages and I dont know if anyone else with a flathead has had this asked to them But I dont know how many times Ive had people ask if its a v6.

 

Thanks for the laughs. I read every post and learned a lot from it. As some members wrote remember if they are looking and commenting at least they noticed.

 

A few years ago I took my daughter to her soccer game. As I parked in among the bmw's and suv's I noticed this guy kept looking over at the Ranchero and finally came over and asked if there is a parade today. I said no this the only car I have. He said he didn't know they were still legal to drive everyday. LOL.

 

Well after all "Everybody's normal till you get to know them"........ But from a gear head perspective, Having patience & knowing when to keep ones mouth shut can & most often is the right thing to do. Although really hard sometimes. Much easier & polite to let it roll off our shoulders n Try n teach those not in the know! Even after my earlier posts I always do. The fact they noticed as previously mentioned shows interest. Although I've also returned to my old cars & had folks sitting uninvited behind the wheel? That one I've never figured out? I'm starting to think they've watched too many TV auctions. But this one took the cake. Last year at Petit Jean Ar. June Swap meet I Was looking at a doodle bug style t pickup & this gal walks up, looks inside it at the dash & says to her man .... "What's this button for?" as she simultaneously pushes it & guess what, it started in gear! It was heading straight for a toddler standing In front of 2 restored tri five Chevys & somehow it spluttered to A STOP! After that dumb comment I realized that one can never think ahead enough to secure the safety of bystanders & that of your ride! Flux

 

What kind of truck is that?

International.

No, no, no I mean is it a Ford or a Chevy?

Sigh.

 

And no one feels the need to stop this spread of stupid-

 

I stopped talking to most people, especially here in Missouri. I just don't have the patients anymore.
I don't take my cars to much local stuff, but I took my Roadster to a get together here in town at one of the Burger joints for a kid that got hurt. I'm standing back watching people, I see this guy walking around all the cars as he's making his way up the isle. He's dragging his hand down the sides and across the hood and trunk of all the cars. He gets to mine, as he walks up and is about to start feeling it up, I say, "Hey, this isn't a fucking petting zoo! Don't touch the cars" He looks at me like "WTF?" He walked on by, but didn't touch anymore cars.
I've tried to educate people about the "V6" Flatheads too, It doesn't work, so I don't bother anymore. Yea I'm an ASSHOLE. I've earned it.

 

I've met you in person, an ass hole for
Sure haha

 

Last Summer at the gas station.....

Other Dude: Is that a '65 Fairlane?
Me: No, close though, it's a '65 Comet.
Other Dude: I used to have a '65 Fairlane.

 

Haha. This reminds me of a story. We hired a new guy at the shop a while back, a talented fabricator, but didn't know much about hot rods at the time, as he had an offroad background.
He asked if a flathead in the shop was a V-6, and we told him to go by the spark plugs to know. The next flathead we had in had dual plug heads and really confused him. Haha.

 

All of the time I hear "What year it is?"

I'm about 50/50 answering 1960, or 2015.

 

Be glad you don't have A Blueflame 6 Chevrolet. three intake ports and four exhaust ports.
People really can't figure that out!

 

All I get when people ask what cars I have and I say Willys, whats a Willy? The person im talking too !! JW

 

Yep, several times. I also had a couple of young guys ask me where the computer was. When I told them it doesn't have one they looked mystified and wanted to know how it could run without a computer!

 

There is a little "pickup" click at the local car club. They have 48-53 short bed model chevy trucks. They love talking about how my truck is long bed and less desirable. They only come up and look at my truck when they think I'm not around. Stupid comments don't only come from non believers.

Before the last meet I put a sticker in my back window...

Men took long beds to work, women took shortbeds to the grocery store.

 

I get a lot of what years is that Ford? But no one has asked me if its a deuce yet.


I also get a lot of is that a Sporster? But seldom get asked if its a knuckle head. I guess its an honest mistake



I don't have pics but in my old Galaxie I got a lot of I lost my cherry in the back of one just like yours, and once at a big show the wife and I came back to an *older couple snuggled up in the back seat. They told us that he had a new one when they were dating and that they used to go to the drive in in it. So I went and mooched a doobie of a young guy that I knew partook on occasion and the missis went after a couple of slices of cheese pizza and we went back and watched the show with 'em.

*older as in older then my big sister older.

 

A while back one of my buddies was stamping louvers in our license plates. I had my bucket in a show and overheard a guy telling his wife "now see that,he's louvered his plate and leaned it back to the radiator to get more airflow through it".

 

Getting gas one day, the woman at the counter said "I know EXACTLY what kind of car that is!" So I asked her, "Okay, what is it?"

"It's one of those cars that takes dead people to the funeral."

 

Had an old guy give me hell when he saw I had a floor shift in my 57. "All those years we wanted to get the shifter off the floor and you put it back there". You would have thought I told him I just screwed his sister when I told him it was a 5sp by the look on his face.

 

LOL or his daughter.

 

At local shows, I some times get, WHY WOULD YOU PUT A CHEVY ENGINE IN A FORD! Almost always by a guy that came to the show in a caravan, or a escort, or honda etc........

 

A guy starts telling me he remembers my car (60 Caddy) when it was new and he remembers it driving around the city we live in. I let him go on for a little while and then told him it was imported from the U.S. 5 years ago. There was probably less than 5 60 caddys in Australia at that time, and none in my city.
What motor do you have in that thing (Caddy)? -me-"390" "Why did you put a Ford mill into that?" "no, it's a Cadillac 390" "Oh ,you mean a BBC?"
Yep, whatever you reckon is fair.
Or at a show with my 37 Chevy- "what year is it" me-"1937" " oh yeah, that's my favourite"
I could have said 1904 and got the same reply.

 

The general public's questions never bother me. I realize I'm just one of the 18 or 19 freaks that are into this old shit. I do try to educate them a little... if they care to know. What jerks my chain and keeps me away from mainstream car shows is how often I'm asked : Are you going to redo that old coupe? or Is it fiberglass? ( with 50 year old paint on it!) or Are those early Cragers? These and other comments coming from other "car" guys...