driving your hot rod to work in the morning

When i was working i would sometimes drive my '46 Chevy coupe to work. If the other car guys drove their rods it would look like a mini car show in the parking lot. It was only a seven minute drive to work, but i could stretch it to nine minutes, or shorten it to six minutes depending on my mood!

 

I like to drive my old cars to work.I trade off on my 3 cars ,the Airflow,custom Elcamino and my 26 T hot rod. The other day a young co worker said Do you have any normal cars? (Man you are living a dream ). I told him thanks and I am very fortunate to be able to do what I like. Car is no good just sitting in garage.

 

I drive mine 60 miles round trip every day for the past 6 months...makes the day more enjoyable!


Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

Great photo!!


Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

Every day 60 miles return trip.
I love the open pipes sound particularly when blasting past Prius's.



Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

Being a carpenter i'm usually in a full size pick up with racks... but on the rare occasion i can take my 30 roadster to work it does make my day. The cold air, smell of oil and gasoline which my girlfriend says is permanently on me.. The crack of the open pipes with that cold dense air being pulled down four 94's... I like to say "I could have the FBI, The IRS AND the DEA behind me with their sirens rolling and I'd still have a huge smile on my face

 

Couldn't agree more. It's like therapy. The only thing I struggled with is navigating my way through the underground parking garage built for compact cars in my 56 Pontiac station wagon! Things were a little tight to say the least!

 

My favorite story with driving to work was about 13 years ago when worked for Viking sewing Machine company. I opened a store for them at Ray Road and I-10, which is at the city's southern most tip and a good 20-25 miles from my home down town. As always, the Plymouth was my daily. For months leaving home at the same time everyday, when I hit the interchange where I-10 meats I-17, almost everyday I would meet up with a guy in a '66 or '67 GTO with the license plate "FLYBOY" on the back. If traffic was light enough to support it, from there on out the race was on! He too exited Ray road everyday, and some days he got there first, some days I got there first.

One morning it was exceptionally light traffic wise, and we both turned up the wick a bit. By the time we exited Ray road, we were neck and neck, and the lights at the top of the ramp went green as we approached. At the very last second he lifted, and I hit the corner hard enough that the tail came around. I stayed in the throttle and gathered it up and continued around the corner. I'd just come off some time driving midgets with a friend so this really wasn't too foreign to me! What was foreign however, was when the drivers door of the Plymouth decided it had had enough and started to open about half way through the apex of the turn! As gently as I could, I reached over and slammed it with my right hand as I exited the turn, realed it all in and jumped in the left lane to make my turn to work. The GTO guy rolled past sheet white shaking his head!

Later that day I was in the store showing a gal a sewing machine when this guy walked in and waited for me to finish my sale. He introduced himself as "The GTO guy", and shook my hand and said I won permanently, as he was done racing crazy people... Oh, and as a post script, the bear claw latches replaced the stockers later that week!

 

I have many ol cars and thats all I drive so every day is a great drive.


nightshot by farmgate, on Flickr

 

I'd really like to drive my coupe to work everyday, but work is closer then the car is when its sitting on the driveway. My shop door is 10' off the back door of my house. Its a another 15' to the car door. I do drive the coupe whenever I can, until the temps get below about 40.

Ya, I know, I'm a wimp. Gene

 

I have been driving the '57 Chevy all summer and fall. Tomorrow (and for the next few days) I am driving the '48 International. After that I will be using the '40 Ford P-U for the full winter like I have for the past 25 years. The daily round trip is 30 miles. The really bad snow and ice days suck but I am driving the old ones to be different and because I always have. It is not a good way to sneak around town though.

 

I drive my hot rods to work a lot,fact is I drove the pickup today,,,the weather for the morning commute for Wednesday 13 th is cold,,mid 20's,,I'll drive something with a heater tomorrow! HRP

 

Gotta love driven the rod to work, I do it two or three days a week when the weathers good, can get pretty cold with no windows, or a heater.

 

Morning drives are the best.

 

open car ...no roof, I remember driving it to work one morning and there was still snow in the fields.....gloves,hoodie,hat,scarf....and loving it !

 

Been driving the Merc to work for years now....except when I get another driver....like the '60 PU.

 

Saturday is normally the day I can drive the 39 to work as I need my daily driver for the week for the car seats for the kids dropping them off to school etc,and I do find myself waking up a good hour earlier to get ready to meet up with a bunch of guys for cars and coffee at the local Burger King sat morning, the coupe is also a great employee when I bring it, I'll have people poke their heads in my store to ask me about the car and while they are there they end up buying vacuum cleaner supplies and even the odd vacuum cleaner!

 

Man you guys are lucky, no traffic in lots of your pics. When I used to leave for work at 530 am, it was already bumper to bumper 30 mph traffic on the highway. The only downside of retiring is not being able to drive your hot rods to work.

 

One summer I would drive my 57 Chevy Hard Top, 396, 4 speed, tilt glass nose, white with flames, blue metal flake top to the Chevy garage, where I work. I would start it up in the morning and the guy next store would cry about the noise, so I had to push it out to the street. I had about 4 miles of normal street driving, then onto a 5 mile run on the highway. Every morning, I would hit the highway fast lane and wind it out, passing everything in sight. By the end of the summer, I was out in the fast lane, when passing the last car in line, (or the first car in line--no car in front of him), a 56 Chevy Nomad,who step up to the plate and blew me away. His lic plate read, "427-CU". I meet up with him at work, (he work next store in a tile floor shop), when he came up to me and said, "I have been waiting all summer to run you, I just got my car on the road". Oh yea, my lic plate read, "57 RAT".

 

30 MPH is ace. Here in this great city of Austin, TX, it takes me over an hour to commute 7 miles during morning / afternoon times. Gotta love all the transplants

 

Great thread! Best thing about driving mine is looking at it right outside.

 

I don't have to work anymore but I drive my Hot Rod every where. To the grocery store, to Home Depot, To the parts store. To In-an-Out. They are made to drive not sit in trailers and look pretty!!!!

 

drove mine to work...

 

Drive my '49 1/2 ton 365 days a year, only vehicle, pretty easy winters here in central VA. Enjoyed your morning ride to work story...sounds like you need to rebuild your generator and/or go through your wires. When my '49 was 6 volt the lights were never dull, 12 volts now I use brighter headlamps.

Happy motoring.

Cosmo with the '49

 

I love driving my car to work. Had some kid with a new BMW run a 4 way, almost got me, then he got mad and tried to chase me down. I know I should not have taken advantage of the situation, but, when he reached my back bumper I put my foot on the floor and he never reached my front bumper, couldn't out brake me either and I was able to keep him in the left lane all the way to the next 4 way. I'm usually pretty cool about the fools, but, it was fun surprising the kid with the 66 Lincoln Grandpa car. He always stopped when I saw him after that.

 

this winter is a killer! dying to get the car out and beat some pavement.!

 

Ice everywhere,the hot rods are where it's warm & dry. HRP

 

Nice and sunny in Australia, been driving mine all week

 

Finally got this back on the road. Needs a little carb tuning but otherwise it runs great. Drove it to work a couple time in the last week but a 50 year old heater has been struggling to keep up with our crazy low temps lately. Sure makes me not care about being late to work having to drive a little slower than i do in my late model. Prefect start to the day.

Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

I do my Pinstriping out of mine at local body shops.....always fun to drive it to the shops.....it always starts a conversation.......How old is your ride...that's usually the first question..85 years old.....then I get some smart kid...Did you buy it new?.....I say yes...keep the oil changed regular and they'll last kid...the old timers love here me give the punks stupid answers......Stupid young kids is what keeps us old guys young....gives us someone to pick on...........