Hot Rods Goofy Comments From the General Public

What a great lookin' car! And no, I don't think any skulls or barbed wire would be an improvement. Some cars should just be left looking stock.

I'm curious, what response (other than stunned disbelief), did you give this guy?

 

Hauling the '37 home after we got it. Stopped for food and a guy in the parking lot says "cool coupe, going to make it look just like the one in that Graffiti movie?" I looked him square in the eye and said, "nope, going to make it look just like Steve Bolander's white '58 since my name is Steve, too". He says, "good thinking" and walked off.

SPark

 

Depending who asks, it's sometimes a "limited edition International sedan".

 

I was driving my Cleveland powered Model A Tudor years ago and stopped for gas. I had personalized tags on the car at the time that said, "LOW BUCK". A guy filling his car comes over for a look. He is very complimentary and walks around it several times while I'm gassing up. He stops and says, "I got one question though. Why did you put a Ford engine in a Buick?" I just shook my head and said it's not a Buick. And he says but the tag says LOW BUICK!?

 

I drive my avatar all over socal and I've gotten my share of just about every stupid comment known to man. Every once in a while you get a jewel in the gravel. In a gas station an older gent walked up to me , circled the car a couple of times and then asked: "What did this start out as ?" Legitimate question, if you think about it.

 

The general public doesn't know any better so I can deal with the "I used to have one just like that but different" or "is it street legal", or is it "all original". Some of them who know a little bit are interesting to talk to as you never know if you can get a good lead on a car sitting somewhere or parts. It's the car guy know it alls who I can't stand. Summer 1987, take the 31 A PU to it's very first cruise night. Local high tech street rodder guy comes over and starts cutting my truck down left and right, "those split wishbones are dangerous" , "you'll be sorry running those old drum brakes".

 

Phttttt some of those guys hang out here, don't they.

 

I'll have to ask Paul about that one, too funny.

 

Probably not everytime 600 MPH is above economic cruising speed for a lot of commercial airliners. With a strong west-to-east tailwind maybe.

 

Several years back, on a drive back home, I'm gassed up & go in to pay, standing behind a large older farmer. He looks out at my 34, looks down at me & asks "so what year did that car usta be?" That struck up a good conversation as he was looking for parts. He had a lot of stuff in the barn, but none of it was for sale.

 

ad 20 mph and make a sonic boom.

 

I get what BLUDICE said. Is that a Studebaker or a Tucker. Nope, it's a cross between the two. it's called a fucker

 

I love the "Why does an automatic have a clutch pedal?" about a three speed on the column.

 

More like 162mph more....

 

Did you build it or buy it like that?
Built it.
Really? How come?

 

I was reading about the speed of sound a while back and the article said that @ 620 the air passing over the wings is traveling at the speed of sound. I guess it is an aerodynamic thing, something that I just don't know enough about to talk about intelligently. I guess I could make something up though, they say if you can't dazzle them with brilliance baffle 'em with bull shit.

 

In about 1997 , when I had my autumn gold 62 Impala coupé registered and on the road for the first time, I was waiting down town to meet some friends. I was attending my first car show with my own car, so I was sitting there waiting for my friends to show up, all 4 windows rolled down and feeling like I was the king of the world. After a while this older man walks by, nods, kicks a tire and says: " Well , a very nice car... I had one of these Ford Capris too when I was younger, it even was the same color gold!"

I thanked him , baffled and at a loss of words...I will never forget that one...

...another good one was, when a guy at a carshow tried to convince me that he was building a 1932 Model A Coupe.... almost just like mine ( I was there with my fullfendered 34 Plymouth sedan) but a coupe... So I asked him 3 or 5 window?
He got a little upset and answered " Anyone knows there´s no such thing like a Model A 3 window coupe!"

Later on we found out, it was not him building the car , but one of his buddies and it was a 30 Coupe on an A frame with a 32 grille...

 

I've been asked if this is an early Indy car! WTF?

 

We've gone from goofy comments from the general public to goofy comments from HAMBers.

Example, comments on this:

 

I used to run a set of plates on my cars that spelled out my full name. In the 80's I drove one of my 58 Chevy's to work at Kodak Park during the summer. Coworkers always liked to talk to me about cars.
One morning a friend who had been checking out the 58 in the parking lot, came in and told me about this cool car he just saw and asked if I knew who owned the car. When I asked him what the license plates said, his response was oh s*** it's another one of yours.

 

I had a few people ask if my 50 mercury was a cobra... because of that Stallone movie im guessing?. Ive also heard the "what year is that?..that's my favorite. " What really pisses me off is when some dilldo who drives a 93 ford Taurus and doesn't even own a old car starts telling me what I should do with mine.. "what you need is a aluminum big block with a blower and bla bla bla vomit shit fart"
fuck off! Get off your lazy ass . Quit watching reality tv and build your own car!. Sorry got myself worked up. Any way Ild be a bold face lier if I said I never asked a stupid question. There is a ton of information out there related to the old car world. I sure dont know it all. I try and educate them when I can. Sometimes you cant . . Oh well

 

..............Easy big guy, maybe back off that caffeine just a tad in the mornings.

 

I have a 1952 Ford Sedan Delivery, bright yellow with mag wheels. A neighbor walking by asked me "Which year 1957 Chevy Nomad was it?" Another wanted to know if it was the NEW Plymouth Suburban. I live in the country now!

 

Sorry! Im chugging coffee on the way to work ! Half wired! Plus its hard posting and driving..

 

That right there pretty much sums it all up. The general public view a car as an appliance, something to buy, use, then get rid of. Newer is better to them, they don't understand our love for cars built before many of us were even born. And they only know what they think they know, which isn't always right. I can understand not being able to recognize year models and extinct brands if you've never been exposed to them before, heck, I can't tell you many vehicles made after the 70's that I even know what they are. There are exceptions to that, but as a rule, most just blend in together, and I think that's the way the general public view our old rides. They know they are old, just don't know how old, don't know the different models and makes, and for sure a lot don't understand why we had rather drive something that doesn't have 15 cup holders and a heated massage drivers seat. So, when they come across us and an unfamiliar ride, they don't want to show their ignorance, they want to blend in with the crowd, so they say what they think will let them fit in. Herd mentality. That knowledge may or may not be even close to being right, but they are just trying to fit in with something they truly don't understand. You just have to overlook youthful ignorance and older memories that aren't always what they should be. The brash, braggart, know it all types, well, that's a thread onto it's self!

 

Most people seem to like my car...thumbs up when I am driving, nice car yelled out the window. Most just ask what year and make and when i tell em, they nod...
its the "car" guys that get on my nerves. The restorers hate ti cause it is not stock.. Se the sbc and walk away shaking their heads. The others get hung up on the not finished interior or paint flaws...

 

I know that was just mean.

 

Some don't ask "What year is it?" They guess and, more often than not, will guess that my '37 Chevy truck is a mid-fifties model. I tell them that it has a '56 GMC engine tho' and that's probably what threw them off. Most will gratefully smile for the mulligan I've given them.

 

I had this from an old lady once about my roadster "that's a nice old car does it keep up with traffic"