Do you like the attention your car gets?

Is it cool? You better believe it. Here's a pic from when a few of us Houston HAMBers went to the VA Hospital. Brads telling these two heros about his car and loved it. I think this pic it says it all.



Take a few minutes and spread the word and the fun. It's worth it and the goose bumps stay on ya for while.

 

I love when people make suggestions... I just give them the bobble head treatment.

 

Isn't it great?

I like the attention, but most of all i just like driving em. in rain, hot, cold, whatever. Keeping something 40+ years on the road is a great feeling. Also, being a younger guy i like having a car that a lot of my friends wouldn't know about if it wasn't for me driving it (and when it's faster than their tuners it's even better! ).

 

Haven't had the chance to drive around a classic yet, but I did own a Delorean for awhile. The attention is cool for awhile, but you soon realize everyone asks the same questions and makes the same jokes. THEN it gets pretty frustrating, I was actually glad to get rid of it.

 

A local guy built some crazy Rat style thing with a huge 40's firetruck engine and it's HUGE rearend. When asked how fast it was, he looked at the guy for a second, and said 403 MPH

 

did anyone ever ask you what happens when you hit 88.8 MPH ? lol

 

It was either that or, "where's the flux capacitor?" It stopped being funny the 2nd time, and it just flat out pissed me off after the 100th time.

 

How about some pics of your car?

 

After a while telling people the year gets old. Usually I do the "Huh??? can't hear you" then lay tracks.

 

Some times I fell a little put off, I may be trying to eat with the wife, But I get a little uncomfortable , I always give kudos to the man who did all the hard work ( body )
and he just says you were there to help and learn.

 

Totally agree on all of this.

 

Do bears crap in the woods?

I'm proud to explain what I did when asked. Basic, repetative questions always get the same answer. hell it's easy, no skin off my butt. It would be boorish to cut someone short. If I'm in a hurry I thank them for looking and tell them I gotta go, get in and crank the motor. The loud pipes usually get a thumbs up as I drive off. Treat them like I want to be treated.

At my age, women in their 50s are 20 younger than me. Whenever I am approached by one, it happens a lot in grocery store parking lots or gas station. I recriprocate by stating "Hey little girl, wanna go for a ride, want some candy?"
Mostly they laugh, some even take me up on the invite. Once around the parking lot gives them a real thrill. Gives me a thrill to do it too. My wife tells me that someday one of them is going to 'jack me. Oh well...........

When I'm asked about gas mileage I have a stock answer.
"I have no idea. I'm not a Greenie, and I get a kick out of burnin' gas, the more the better, just for the fun of it"!

Anyhow, can't imagine me being rude to someone that wants to talk. Those that I perceive as sharpshooters, turds,or assholes, are human too, and probably just inept at interaction. I give them a passive lesson in courtesy. Treat them nice,they usually reciprocate.

When I'm told by a 'purist' that I should have restored it to it's original glory, I can understand that, I restored a '31 chivvy once. I was proud of it, so I tell them about my experience with that. Hell, why not benefit from the interaction instead of pissing about his state of mind?

Conversation is a wonderful way of communicating. I hope that I'm never alone, longing for companionship, or the most rudementary of conversation. Life is too short to not have time for our fellow human beings.

 

I think that's why we build them. I get a little tired of the young ones calling my
cars El Caminos though.

 

This used to be my daily driver. Now I don't drive her so much. One night driving through Alhambra I was at a stop light and an Asian couple next to me were looking at my car smiling and giving me thumbs up. The man looks at his wife, then me and makes a motion with his arm waving up and down as if to show it had hydrualics. Cracked me up and made my night. It was classic.

 

Most of the comments I hear are in Espanol.

 

I certainly don't mind the attention my hotrod gets. It's very rewarding for me to let others enjoy what I have built. We live in a throw away and get another new one society. So when someone restores/builds his/her creation of a hotrod I think it is a compliment to the driver to be noticed.

 

I get more WTF looks when I am driving......they look at you like your car came from the circus and you are the clown.

 

Utlimately it's awesome! Glad I can do my part to keep old tin alive, and put a smile someones face in the process. It always the same. The first question is always, "What year is it?" The second is, "Where'd you get it? Just remember to always keep your cool and project a positive hot rodder image.

 

I am pretty desensitized at this point...it's fun when I have my 3 year old in the car and she asks "Daddy, why is everyone waving?". lol

Overall, regardless of the question, I'll reply in a positive manner. If the questioner is more of an interrogator, well, hey, I got stuff to do, places to be, y'know....and I can always befuddle them with arcane techspeak in regards to lump-ports and airflow numbers for the 292....hehe

 

"Nice Triumph...neighbor had one just like it"..really..just like this one ?

"A friend of mine died in a MG just like yours"..hmm..did he know Dean Martin..uh see below..

"How come you don't got wipers"..(no top either)

"Hey..that's the car DEAN MARTIN died in "...Uh...Dean Martin ?..uh..James Dean ?..nope..

"Did you buy it NEW"..yea MF..I bought it fukin new in 1953..when Dean Martin died..

With hood open..

"YOU RUINED IT"..yeah just for you.. anus..

"I love those old Jaguar V-12s"..guys lady wises jim to the 8 spark plugs...

"Jaguar won Daytona 7 times with these.."..Uh..LeMans..but not exactly the same car..
"Jaguar's leak oil..is your a kit car"...no..I don't use oil..

"It's a kit car..cause no one drives these on the street"....yeah we just keep them in the butlers quarters..

"Is it REAL ?"..no you're on acid..


"How come you didn't..you shoulda'...I woulda..you know it would be worth..How much...Barrett Jackass had..

Best one..

"Hey..my it's my wife's birthday..I think she's nuts but she wants your car...we can pay you cash..or her 98 Beemer.."..yes 'massah' I'll get the title for ya'll...want's me to polish it for Missus..

But mostly good folks admiring that some of us do what we love..and have saved something..made something....beautiful..

Sort of a mixed bag over the last 34 years..a long strange trip it's been...

 

Do we not build these cars for the attention they get?

Bein fun to build and drive is an added plus.

Look at it this way, if you're say, a state tennis champion you don't get to talk about it unless the conversation rolls around to tennis.

Tennis players don't get to carry their trophys around cuz people will figure they're assholes if they do.

You . . . you get to drive your trophy and you're perceived as a cool person . . . until you prove otherwise....

 

Hell ya I like it, that's why I got it. I get so many people coming up to me and say that thier dad or Grandpa had one just like it back in the day. They probably did, it is still almost totally stock. One thing that I am curious about is did Caddy's have push button tranny shifters like some other cars did? I get that one a lot!! " does that have the push buttons to shift the car?" I'll bet I have heard that one 20 times this summer alone.

 

my daughter likes it .she asked "dad why does everyone wave at us"? and i say cause we have a cool car and they dont .
i like it when older people stop and ask about it.this old woman stopped and told me about learning to drive in her dads 53 ford.
then theres always the it will look good when you get it painted.dont get alot of bad stuff if i do i just consider where its coming from,the average person has no clue.

 

I liked the one from the little old lady, upon seeing my '58 Chrysler, getting misty eyed and then grinning about "makin' out in the back seat of one of those"!

 

ive taken my ride out a few times now and the crowds anoy the piss out of me , like they have never seen a hotrod or some shit ... buggin. i hate the what kinda model a is it ( its a dodge) is that a 32 . the best comment ive heard so far is "well its too nice to be a rat rod" frick for real ? yeah its in bare metal and all cause i am shaking it down so i can paint it and not have to go back into the paint and do more work to the frame body and engine. . well i guess its a different car than my ol shoebpx which didnt get that much attention at all . oh well

 

And yeah, I know I have a flat tire. This pic is 2 years old and the problem has long since been corrected. Every time I post this pic up on a forum somebody feels the need to point that out.

 

Hey you have a flat tire! lol

"And if that were mine, i'd paint it, and change the wheels, and put a big V8 in it....and my friend's best friend's brother had one just like it, except it was a '54 Falcon with a diesel I think... just like yours..."

Nice car man.

 

of I course I love the attention. especially when I hit the switch and open the
headers (electric cutouts are a marvel).

I either get total approval or, if its an uptight yuppie the whole 'looking straight ahead with lips pursed im ignoring it' deal.

the Brothers love it. last week a 60 year old looking dude actually GOT OUT OF HIS CAR at the tollbooth on the bay Bridge and started dancing while I blipped the exhaust in time for him.

panhandlers on the median seem to get a big kick out of it as well.

I will occasional get a thumbs up from the cops. cops here are pretty cool when it comes to hot cars that are not asian in quality.

 

I too enjoy the attention they get. I'll occasionally have a few people comment on my daily driver (A 1975 Holden sedan) because you see them around once in a while.. but had brought my '42 Chev pickup out from being in storage for the past 11 months and had to fill up my old mans ute which had the cab in the back.. a fella about late 40's looks at it and says "Looks like a Chevy?" to which i replied "Yeah it is, a '42 actually.. why..? Do you have one yourself?" "Oh nah i don't, but my Dad had a few when i was a little kid.." "Oh yeah.. thats pretty cool.." and kept fillin up as he got in his own car and took off.

Also had a heap of people gawking on the highway / at the lights when i was bringing it home.

 

Only things that bother me are when traffic slows as the people around want to look and I can't get through or when people argue the year of MY ride with me. The up side is people slow down to let you out in to traffic more than when I drove newer cars daily.