Hot Rods I had to ask -

Yesterday afternoon I saw a guy roll in at the closed gas station across the street from the cruise in with a big dully truck and a enclosed trailer, I watched as he lower the door and eased a black '55 Chevy out & drove the car across the street to the cruise in, I watched as he walked back across the street to close up his rig and then cross the street again and started wiping and talking to anyone that stopped to admire his car.

Me being me I couldn't help but wonder why a local guy that I don't know personally but have seen around for years would go through the all the trouble of hauling a car to a cruise in, so I ambled over to his car, I commented on it being nice as he was wiping the non existent dust from the paint and I got a thanks, so I just ask him why he hauled his car instead of driving it, his response was a little pithy but he said he didn't want to take any chances of getting any rock chips or scratches because he has so much money in the car and is taking it to Pigeon Forge in a coupe of weeks to enter in the show and hopefully win one of the big awards.

I don't get having a car you can't enjoy, I do understand people hauling long distance and they may have a health problem or the car is just to small or radical but driving less than 10 miles seems like too much work for a hour or so at a cruise in. HRP

 

To each his own I guess, Danny, but personally I'd rather have something I could run the hell out of and enjoy cruising with the family. All that work keeping it spot free, chip free etc just seems like too much bother, kinda takes the fun out of it.

 

The above local cruise does seam a bit odd, but I've always questioned the comments that you MUST drive your car to enjoy it. Every one is having a*****ty time building the car/truck/bike, then the sun comes out and flowers bloom when you drive it down the road? Not everyone lives that long. Bob

 

Different Strokes.....I guess. Here is my philosophy. We don't OWN these cars. We are merely the temporary caretakers of them. At some point, we will either unload them or die and someone else will unload them. Until then, we should enjoy them as best we can. Hauling one around in a trailer would not give me satisfaction at all. My friend Randall said, "I restored it once and I can do it again if it needs be. Until then, I'm going to drive them."

 

I am with Danny and Oahu,,,
It seems like such a waste to not use the car or truck for some enjoyment.
Only 10 miles,,,,why tow,,,,I would be embarrassed to let someone see me do that!
It also goes along with the fakery that some feel they must out do someone else.
I can understand that some want to keep a restored vehicle perfect,,,it is your money that was spent,,,do as you please.
However,,,,I have much more respect for a vehicle that is not perfect and is driven a lot!
Trailer queens are gorgeous and I admire them,,,,but I truly admire the guys that built theirs and drive the Hell out of them.
That really takes guts!!!

Tommy

 

Spent a lot of money on the truck and trailer, gotta use it...????

Hey, they're his toys, he can play with them how he likes.

 

I guess spotlessness perfection has sort of ruined the enjoyment of cars, so much so
that I've given up on ISCA type car shows, so called cruise nights and even high dollar
specialty magazines. I can't help but think back to when my '66 Nova, '67 Camaro SS
and '68 Nova SS were my daily drivers, all purchased used at about two years old. Of
course me and my buddies wanted clean cars but perfection was out of the question.

 

I can go along with Squirrel, if that's what floats his boat, fine. But to be afraid to drive your car just ain't me. I drive to a cruise in get out of the car, get my chair and cooler out of the trunk and relax a bit. Then I walk around and check out the other cars and shoot the breeze with other guys. I get a kick out of the "show car people" that spend the whole time polishing, cleaning the tire treads and eye balling any one that comes with in 10 feet of their car to keep it smudge free. I do like to watch when its time to hand out the plaques or trophies, I hardly ever get one but I sure enjoy the folks that just know for sure they will get an award and then don't. I have offered some real cry babies my snotrag to wipe away the tears. I get the finger sometimes for some reason

 

I have always wanted to build a perfect flawless show car but have always driven cars that are less perfect and enjoyed not worrying about a chip in the paint. Lots of people tell me I should paint my avatar. Too bad. Its just fine the way it is

 

I was thinking about this the other night. I was wondering at what point I had the idea of making everything shiny and spotless. When did I decide that it was okay to worry about chips, scratches, the depth of paint, the layers of carnauba, and on and on. What about the fun? The friends at the cruise? I was just like the guy that you had talked to, less the trailer. Is it ego or just the next step in the car building phase?
Squirrel is correct though. Its his car and his money, and his reason for his build.
Party on Garth

 

I love driving these old cars and I know my old beater would never win any beauty contest and that's fine with me, Jim is right, it is the mans car and he enjoys it his way.

I guess I'm too lazy to haul a car around, I may or may not rinse off the car before attending the cruise in, I just enjoy seeing most of the cars that show up, I even liked the '55 Chevy but it just didn't seem too nice to drive. HRP

 

I'm with the drive it mentality because I'm brain dead when it comes to backing up a trailer. You turn left to go right and then somehow the brain gets all muddled.

Sent from my SM-T350 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

I guess that if it's a show car, then just show it at big shows. I wouldn't trailer a car around just for local shows and cruises. But, then again, it's not my car.

 

I talked to a guy like that once.

Your guy I can maybe understand. He has it perfect. He wants to take it out, but he’s planning for “the big show”. So, compromise by taking it out with the trailer. Not my cup of tea, but I can understand it.

The guy I talked to had it much worse. Mid 80s Camaro, some kinda limited number car, only three like it, and the other two are junk kinda thing. Dumped way too much money in to restoring this one, now he’s afraid to drive it. Enclosed trailer to a show, winch it out, set up under a tent, sit for a couple hours, winch it back in, trailer it home. He’s not enjoying it, but he can’t bring himself to fire it up and risking a bug splat on the perfect paint.

Kinda felt sorry for him. My 37 isn’t perfect, but it’s got 80K miles on the odometer, and I’ll drive it anywhere, any time.



Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Some of these dudes get off on awards more than driving, they must really love trophies.

Sent from my SM-J727T1 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

I guess what spurred my curiosity was having never witness anyone trailering a car to a cruise in, I have seen hundreds at shows. HRP

 

I'm with HRP. I simply don't understand what the point is of owning something you're afraid to drive. If there's one thing I hate more than body work it's cleaning, waxing and polishing, but that's just me.
I'd probably walk right past the shiny '55 to check out HRP's beater.

 

This sort of thing has ruined car shows for me to much emphasis on perfect paint there lovely to look at but may as well have scale models if all you want to do is look at it.

 

I gotta be careful here, today I did the wheel bearings on my car trailer, getting ready to haul a car 2100 miles to then drive it a thousand miles, then haul it home.

If I didn't have a co pilot, I'd probably drive the car out there and back. Fortunately, my friends have more sense than I do

 

On Labor Day there will be a Concours down the street with 125 cars. My wife will take her high performance rear engine German roadster and I'll take the Zipper. Bet mine gets more attention! Will put 5/10ths of a mile round trip on each car. Rethinking hooking up the trailer.

 

I enjoy driving, but it doesn't affect me at all if someone else doesn't, so I don't understand getting excited about it,

Mick

 

If 8 of those 10 miles were gravel roads, I'd do the same. But then again, I won't be wearing a Coddington paint coat to worry about getting flawed.

 

Wait - Wait - gotta say it - " No pics, it didn't happen"

 

I used to work at a resto shop and I know a lot of owners would put their freshly built cars into a big judged-type show for it's first outing. I can understand that, it takes an incredible amount of patience and talent to turn out those perfected show cars, I can see being extra careful with it and going to a big show before starting the clock on the use/wear.

It'd be way weirder if the car was just mediocre condition and/or had been built many years prior.

I've never had anything quite that nice, but I do have a few that I wouldn't want to leave outside the garage all week, or wouldn't park in the front row at a busy grocery store, so there's definitely different levels to it.

 

Jim, I have no qualms with anyone hauling a car to a distant location and you of all people don't need to justify your actions, I know you are a man that drives and beats on your cars and drives them back home. HRP

 

There is also the hassle of finding a place to park the truck and trailer.

 

I think he told you that after the big shows, he'll start driving it. Maybe I'm giving him too much slack but I understand wanting to show a car before it gets beat on. The 1st couple of shows have been special every time I finished a car. Even the ugly ones are at least clean for a bit. I don't own a trailer and am not planning on needing one. It takes everything to make the car hobby work so diversity is just part of it.

 

I find that most guys like that are buyers, not builders. That's why they have so much money in their cars and are afraid that something might happen to them or they might break and they won't know how to fix them.

My opinion is a lot of them are not real "car guys". They do like a nice car but to them, the car itself is nothing but a big trophy and they go to car shows just to show it off. I have nothing against them as they keep the shops going with their money. I appreciate seeing a beautifully built "trailer queen" but I'd much rather talk to the guy that built the car, not the owner that spent the money.

 

I also could care less what anyone does with there cars. They are the ones missing out on the journey, and that is the real pleasure to me the journey, not the destination. Now with that said I also drive a beater car. To me it is the real deal but my Model A is not going to win any car shows. For a couple of reasons, one it is never going to be in a car show, and two I am too busy driving the damn thing to ever make it perfect.

I will never put out the effort to understand the car show mentality. I competed for years at 1,000 yard shooting match's The one thing I do not need is another Fake wood trophy to go into a box somewhere.

 

Squirrel,
New Avatar pic,,,easier to pick out of a lineup?

Tommy