Hot Rods Goofy Comments From the General Public

Hildebrandt was for real, but most people think you mean Halibrand

 

When I take my ’51 Chevy business coupe to cruise-ins or shows, the question I get asked the most is: “Why did you take out the back seat?”

After the 50th person asked, I figured that a sign would be simpler, so I made up a nice little window sticker that has the make, year and model along with an explanation of the how-and-why of business coupes and a list of the accessories and changes that have been added/made to the car. This has turned out to be a real plus, since I’m usually out walking around, looking at all the other cars present.

I also get a lot of people asking why I haven’t changed to: disc brakes/a SBC/a 12-volt system. Telling them that I like it the way it is just usually gets met with puzzled stares. The best conversations, though, are from the over-70 guys who remember these cars from when they were young. I love it when they say: “Don’t change a thing!”

 

for you old guys, bored or punched?

 

Well 30 years ago, they were all "ZZ Top" cars.

-KK

 

You do know about the tooth fairy, right?

 

Don't know about the tooth fairy or fairy godmother but we had a Uncle we kept a close eye on! (Dean Martin quote) Pete

 

LOL - It's Edel-mo-brock
Like - Cadi-mo-lac [/QUOTE]

Don't forget: Brewick

 

Hawged out. I used to frequent a machine shop where if you took a 283 out .125 the old guy who owned the shop ( he was decrepit old when I was young) would say that the 283 was hawged out.

Carl is 100% correct on the Hildebrandt thing and more then one of us have had a hard lesson on that one. I don't think that they ever made wheels though, I think mostly covers like side covers for 6s and rocker covers. They may have made other things beside that, bit someone else would have to answer that question.

How about an injected statement.

I was at a place they used to call the Candy Store in Buringame, CA once at an open house. There was an over restored '54 jag there that had belonged to some actor (his name escapes me). Anyway there was this fella there pointing out the *"Fuel injection" to my Ol' Man. "Them Jag-U-Wires was all Fuel injected back then" he just smiled and said, "yep they all ran on "POP""

*SU carbs

 

At the station:
"You could get it transformed to run on electricity you know!? This way how many lts do you need to run 100km?".
I just answered "Well, I like it this way" and walked, my mind puzzled as to how on earth would someone say something that damn stupid". What was he thinking?!

 

Had a guy in a Prius pull up next to me Friday, he motions for me to roll my window down, and he yells, "your the reason I drive this"! When the light turned green I did a big long Burnout for him!

 

As long as it was you and not me.
Check your messages I don't want to clutter this post up any more then I have.

 

When we were street racing, junk yard scrounging high schoolers there was always one kid around that dabbled in hot rodding via dad's checkbook. They'd turn up on Friday night with their fresh builds: "Yep, just got it built, got a short block Chevy, align bored 30 over, angle milled headers, 4 hole mains, short peened rids...". Trouble was those nice fresh engines got put in cars with little regard to anything else, and they usually got beat by someone with a junk yard engine that knew how to tune it.

But don't feel sorry for those kids, they likely went on to become company presidents and CEOs while the rest of us pumped gas and became mechanics.

 

Many comments are around the environment and fuel economy, but there are also those that relate to the fact that to some these are just old unreliable cars. I had some already and I just answer back: "Yup, you're right, but I'd like to see how your car looks like at the age of 60".. Shuts them up all the time.

 

My Merc's chopped 3' vertically front and back. Not really radical. Have had folks look at it and say,"How do you see out of that?" I tell them to get in and try it and they then say, "Hey, you can see pretty good!" Best way to respond to that question.

 

When I was in Jr. college back in the 70's I had gone in to Dairy Queen to get something to eat. Looked out and saw a cop pulled up behind my truck with the lights going. He came in and asked if it was mine and said your right tail-light is out. I said it only has one, it's a 52 and that's all that's required. He got this funny look on his face and said I didn't think it was that old, that's a really good looking truck and beat a hasty retreat. Kinda made my night.

 

The good old days were when ten year olds would run up to the truck and look in at the speedometer and yell at their buddys "this one will go 140" and then run on to the next car in line.
Now the ten year olds walk up and ask "what's it worth?"

I don't know how many times I have been asked what year Studebaker my truck is by someone stnading directly in front of it with the hood ornament looking straight at them.

Had a kid ask me at the Chevy/GMC truckin nationals why I had chopped such a "rare" truck while standing in the middle of a foot ball stadium with about 75 AD trucks within a hundred yards of my truck.

Best one was by a former coworker who says "that truck is no good, you can't take it up in the hills". Have to give him credit because he has never in his life owned a vehicle that wasn't 4 wheel drive and is the Washington state poster dude for rednecks.

 

I had an off topic '71 Skylark ragtop that folks kept calling a Cutlass. They knew it wasn't a GTO or a Chevelle, so they grasped at whatever other A body that GM built. Apparently, the concept that Buick built such things eluded their mental capacity. And some of these folks weren't civilians, some of them were car guys. Or so they claimed.

 

My wife and I were looking at a home that was for sale. As the real estate agent was walking us through the home I noticed a tape recorder sitting on the table recording our every word. I walked over to the recorder and yelled "looks like some jerk is recording us, we are out of here. After many apologies from the agent....we simmered down some. But yelling into the recorder was kind of fun. Gary

 

LOL last summer I was at morning coffee with the farmers in the little town that I plan to retire to. I was with my neighbor, he has a little sumptinerother 4 wheel drive thing, its tiny and he is not. Anyway we are climbing in it and this guy rolls in in a caddy and begins to have a discussion with his woman ( who is definitely not dressed for browning), I am doddling as usual. Finally this fella walks over and says to my buddy, "Excuse me sir, what is that little car?" he says, "why its a chick magnet!!!" the guy turns to his lady friend and says, "see I told you it wasn't a ford"

I would have had to say, Oh my gawd Mary did you see the size of that cockroach?

 

When I see you I'll ask "how's it drive?" Maybe I can take it for a spin.

 

Was he choking back angry tears?

 

here's one i've gotten several times in various cars, a "civilian" will ask if it's all original or if the numbers all match. when i say "no it's a hot rod" i get the disappointed/sympathetic "oh that's too bad". my answer to the "do the numbers all match" question is "yep all the numbers on the title match the numbers on the vin tag".

 

OK. Wait outside on the corner for me!

 

I was going to say I have been asked more then once in my lifetime if the numbers matched by a police officer. I usually tell them yes or get ready to vacate the premises or both.

 

When I am asked if the numbers match I tend to point out that when I am driving I can't see the numbers, just sayin.

 

My sister visited us after several months in the North East ....with her best friend....they came out into the garage where I was, and looked around...and my sister said "How come you don't sell these cars and buy a new car?"....the friend said; "Yeah...I bet you can buy a nice electric car for all this stuff and ...you don't ever have to work on it!".....Oh boy....I crawled back under the car!

 

My first old car was a '37 Chevy sedan. It was an old survivor, mostly stock and I couldn't afford to do too much to it, but was proud of it just the same. I took it to a car show, just to be there and enjoy the atmosphere, the first Summer I had it.
A guy waked up to the car, walked around it several times and finally said, "You almost fooled me". I was understandably confused and asked him what he meant.

"Well", he said, "from the windshield back is stock, but the whole front end is a replica."

I said, "No, it isn't (and it wasn't")

"Yes, it is" he said insistently.

I finally said in a low voice, "You're the only one that noticed, but please don't say anything, I'm trying to win a prize."

He said, "That's OK, partner, your secret is safe with me." With that, he turned and walked away with a smug look on his face. I laughed to myself and haven't been to a car show with one of my cars, in 40-years.

 

I was spectating at a NSRA event several years ago and ran into a friend. I told him I just bought a '49 Chevy pickup to rod. He told me I should have kept looking 'til I found a '47 or '48 so it would be NSRA accepted. We were standing right next to a entered AD truck with a curved windshield ('54 or '55).

Gary

 

Guy walked into the shop the other day and saw the car we were working on. He then told me his friend just finished a 1934 model A just like it, same body and everything. This is what we were working on

 

Stupid questions I can take...... Stupid statements, not so much.