Hot Rods O/T But why do cherry projects land in the laps of idiots?

I wonder if the "diehard restorers" rant about us and our chosen path

 

For some reason I'm just not getting the point other than a HAMB brutha getting a rant of his chest. The reponses read like we're all some sort of caretakers instead of diehard enthusiasts.

To the point, I see so many ignorant, ridiculous, juvenile, cliche', mouthbreathin bullshit cars, and I just ask myself "why?". Forget our stuff, it's everything! You wouldn't believe what I've seen folks do to some of the high-dollar Packards I work on. Example, some old guy last month was so proud of his restoration of a 34 Super 8 7 pass sedan...right down to the vinyl pinstripe tape all over it. Yes, it was striped with that classic 70s 1/16-1/8 pinstriping tape! Seriously? You know what I said to him? Nothing. Why bother. On other cars, how many feet of slide on braided stainless can you see under a hood? Why do so many self proclaimed "street rodders" have the same fuckin air cleaner? The same gauges? The same bullshit these-were-the-cheapest wheels?

Let it go. Ya can't save em all, but then again, why would we want to? Yet again and again, not all the nice cars belong to dip shits either, projects or finished. I mean, Von Rigg Fink isn't a dip shit (as far as he knows) and he had some nice builder mat'l

 

ONE: Buy nicer cars.

A: Spend more money and buy nicer cars.

A ONE: Stop buying screwed up cheap cars.

B: Stop looking at cheap cars that are screwed up.

C: Raise the paddle later in the bidding at the estate sales.

And: Start asking little old ladies at church what kind of hobbies their men folks had.

BINGO!

 

when I see crap like cars with blower motors that have single reservoir master cylinders, people asking basic questions but intend to build high HP stuff, it makes me want to take their tools away and ban them from owning any more tools. I see it daily in the forums I visit, cars f'd up for no good reason at all.

 

That I will never understand, battered and bruised but "I love him", so she works 3 jobs so he can relax.

 

My Uncle had a 12,000 mile '70 Dart SE 318. He NEVER drove that car but changed all the fluids regularly and poured the "used" oil in the doors fenders and 1/4s its whole life. No rust what so ever and beautiful original copper paint and interior. Everyone in the family knew I would do anything for this car. When he died several years ago the car went to my good-for-nuthin, POS cousin. He proceded to tear the shit outta this car, crash it and use it as a hauler for his grass cutting service. I saw it once in the neighborhood with lawn mowers sticking out of the trunk tied down with rope!!!! After he had his fill of the car and it was on it's last leg and needing a trans, he asked me if I wanted to buy it!!!! I told him what I thouht of him and that he could F-off. I really miss that car....I think it went to a local salvage yard.....

 

It's not a matter of money either. I suppose I'll just hafta learn to let them go and deal with the fact that they can't all be saved.

This also isn't a matter of preference either, I can see how this post can be misconstrued as such. These cars will get hacked up and the projects aborted.

 

I don't wonder, i know.
Some of them, scratch that, most of them, hate hot rods.
I guess they feel the same way, or worse, as the OP, and with them, theres no distinction between trad rods, street rods and those other goofy rods.

 

Ohh Ohh.. Let me explain.. "watch the video see if it cheers you up"...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMKZTB9RL80
Or this one??
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Eb3Sf6Kf1I

(Cars were made to "have fun in") Some peoples fun is taking a $39 Harbor freight sawzall and cutting the windshield out, then trying to learn to chop a top on a Mint Lincoln.. Cause they can, and they are having fun.. (scrap man wins once the "burst of enthusiasm" is gone)

Didya see the 55-56 ford and the 54 leading the laps?? whoopie.. or the 57 chevy totaled before your eyes?? Perhaps the Studebaker Hawk?? or the 58 chevy pitt truck??

It's okay, OUR GOVERNMENT says I can't keep Old cars on my Property anyways.. I got the ones I have hidden. Politicians don't like to get grease and dirt under their fingernails.

 

I find the JUST the opposite to be TRUE

The smarter guys ... who have the MONEY $$$ ... are smart enough to buy the BEST cars.

Of course, there are exceptions to every rule. Even a blind HOG finds a acorn every now and then.

 

So henryj429 let me see if I get what you are saying. If I have the money to buy a solid car to modify , butcher, cut up or whatever, then I had to have sold drugs to get that money. And if I decide not to spend my time fixing a piece of junk then I'm a no-talent dirt bag. Brilliant !

 

If youre both cutting them up then youre both as bad as each other.
Doesnt matter if you think "oh but im going to cut it up better than the other guys going to cut it" hes probably thinking the same thing.

 

I must be a REAL dirt bag....it took me two years to find a decent car...

 

First let me say I agree with Frank Fab32, the man knows.

and I could be a dip shit as far as anyone knows
my build still needed a lot of things that were junk on the original purchase. but it was mostly complete so I knew what went where. why not start with the best your money can grab.
hell I passed up on a coupe that i still kick my ass over not fronting the 6G's to drive it home..yeah it woulda gotten Hot Rodded you fuckin bet.
and it coulda went in a model A stocker show., but that aint what im about

And to bring up the point again of very nice starter Cherry project buys turning into awesome finished projects is the Grits Coupe , and that for sure didnt land in the lap of an idiot..Gary is a great person and friend, and Builder and he started out with something way better then I did, and took it to a whole 'nuther level as far as im concerned.

 

I get what you are saying but a life spent worrying about what other people are doing, or worrying about things you can't change will only give you ulcers, a heart attack or make you miserable.

Not saying you shouldnt care, just devote your energy to things you can change,..like building your own car

 

Oh wait....

So from what I can derive here the hot rodders are PO'd that some one is taking too pristine of examples of old cars and making them something other than Hot rods.

Well......

If I go to the Old Ford sister site the old timers over there are PO'd that the hot rodders are roddin out all of the pristine examples. Ruining them I have heard tell.

Then....

If I go to the street rodders site and I read a bit I find that the street rodders are PO'd at the rot rodders over cutting up all of the good tin.

And then....
If I go to the rat rodders site........I vomit.

And finally then....
when I go to the crush em faster boys tin is money site I read that they will offer you top money cash for your old junk cars.

I gather that any of these things is better than the last.

 

People need to mind their own business.
Each of us humans, personally, is in need of so much work we shouldn't expend energy on what other people are or do.
Stay focused on you and your loved ones.
That, in itself, is a full time job.

 

i don't understand why anyone would worry about what someone else is doing to THEIR car. Now, if you are spending the money on THEIR car, you have the right to worry. But since most people don't fund someone eles project, it's kind of a moot point. Do you care what style underwear he wears? If he eats steak or chicken? How many bathrooms are in his house? If you do...you got way to much time on your hands.

 

real dirtbag too, because it took me quiet a while to find a good car to start with...and glad I didnt settle for a car that needed a ton of work... buy the best you can.

 

The last time I heard the term "cherry" used was from a used car salesman. I'll say no more.

Blind Elwood

 

It probably is also worth noting some people have more money than brains, which explains a lot of goofy things.

 

X2....if you spend your time living other peoples lives, you will miss out on your own

 

*** yawn ***

 

This isn't about preference to style or anything like that. I'll put it plainly, these specific examples I'm speaking of are in my area. The two separate car owners aren't hambers. And them "building" these cars is the equivalent of scrapping them for weight. They will ultimately end up as just that...weight. I'm not intending to be cocky and say I can cut mine up better than his. I'm saying I'm sad because I know what road these cars will go down.

 

If it makes you feel any better, all my projects have started out as junk. I hate to defile a nice car. I'd rather have restorers save the good ones for historical reasons.

 

There have been MANY cars distroyed, by unqualified "restorers" IMO.

 

So, here we are getting a bunch of shit out of our minds, having fun picking on dipshits, venting frustrations, basically hangin out in the garage BS'n, and you gotta come on here and piss on it by gettin all serious and supportive. I didn't think this was a philosphy post

What really chaps my ass about your reply is you're spot-on right. Prick...



I mean that in the nicest and most repectful way in case you couldn't tell.

 

I want to steal this for my sig.

 

I already told you guys, if you're going to call me names, I'm not gonna play and I'm going home.....

 

In MY opinion certain survivors should be "preserved" rather than rodded or restored. It takes a rare set of circumstances for a car to survive basically unaltered and in very good condition. The 41 Buick that had belonged to the current owner's great granddad is a perfect example of a true survivor. It would be a shame if that car was irreversibly altered.....and that includes restoring it. Thankfully it sounds like the current owner respects the car's history and doesn't plan to do much to it. Very few cars fall into this category.
Rodders and restorers will always be at odds over what "should" be done to cars. We need to remember that the owner of a car can do whatever he wants with HIS car. You want to keep the local dipshit from fucking up a nice car? Offer to help him do it right! Educate him while you help him, but don't knock him if his vision of the finished project is different than yours.