Hot Rods Cars with a soul

My old heaps talk to me...

My current garage filler is named Judy...
Yes I know this thread is over a year old...

 

My favorite cars extracted a lot of skin, sweat, saliva, and blood DNA as they were built.

 

At the risk of sounding mean I am going to say this, sounds like car has problems. LOL
I had a good friend, for decades, a hot rodder to the bone, he's gone now (no condolences necessary). He used to say that a car would break down because it wanted your attention. I am not sure that he was wrong at all.

Now on the subject of soul. I was in a conversation (for lack o a better term) with an man of substandard intelligence the other day on a different social media platform. I should know better. I digress sorry.
The subject of our conversation was Corvette, '63 v 2024. Piston v electric. I had said that I would ruther own the '63, and he said I was an idiot. Perhaps he was correct. Finally the conversation rolled around to the late model being superior in every way. That remains to be seen I suppose.

But there is one simple truth that I pointed out to him. The '63 has soul. The late model has no soul. The only redeeming quality that is has is ??? well none actually.

 

Maybe not soul but feelings.... ya ever notice that a clean car runs, drives and handles better. That's 'cause it's happy!

 

don't tell Charlie or Porky. The Filthy 40 never got washed.

 

Most people won’t agree with me but part of the soul of a hot rod or custom is the history and journey the car has been on over the years from the guys at the plant making it to the first guy to modify it . That is my opinion and why I will never think that a fiberglass or brookville car has a soul. It is not the same to me. Your opinion may vary but that is fine

 

Personification is the term. And yeah, I suffer from it.
but I get it- my off topic '82 Granada wagon, Clark definitely has a personality as does my '59 Edsel, Olive.
Rio, my '62 Galaxie Sunliner hated an old girlfriend and would run poorly and never heat when she was in the car. If Rachelle was out of the car and away from it, smoothe and warm.

 

The roadster acts up like it has no soul. Pieced together from parts, I guess it has no soul. Melted down or failed to start at almost every cool event I've brought it to.
The 57 has on the other hand has a soul. It wants to run, it wants to chirp 2nd and 3rd. Rarely has it let me down

 

I concur.
When I decided to sell our '39 Ford Deluxe coupe there were clues that should have told me it was a bad idea from the get-go. I still swear the car was yelling at me: "You stooge! Don't sell me!"
The night before the buyer made the three-hour drive to look at it, I was going to back it out of the garage to give it a final once-over and cleanup. No start. Starter solenoid contacts toasted. Clue number one? I called the buyer and explained that I wouldn't have time to pull the starter and fix it. He said no problem, he was coming anyway. So I had to rely on the old backyard trick of getting under the hood and jumping the solenoid posts with a screwdriver to get the starter to engage before he could even take it for a test drive.
We made the deal and agreed to meet halfway to make the exchange. With the starter now fixed, a few days later I drove the '39 to the meeting place and my wife followed in our El Camino. When we got there my wife asked me if I knew how fast I was going? Yeah, I said, guess it was a good thing I didn't meet any cops. The car had never run so good, and it kept wanting to go faster. Clue number two?
On the way back, maybe forty miles from home, a car sailed up behind us flashing the headlights and honking the horn. It was the buyer and his buddy. "The wiring in the car burned up!"
Whaa-aa-aat? So we back tracked, I opened the driver's door on the '39 and smelled that nasty burned insulation aroma. I crawled under the dash to find an un-used hot wire, formerly connected to a stereo that had used an in-line fuse. The remaining wire was partially routed under the carpet, had rubbed against a screw that held the accelerator pedal and shorted. Yes, it was an oversight on my part and I take full responsibility for forgetting to remove the un-fused wire. But in about five minutes I had removed the offending burnt wire, separated the few wires that had partially melted insulation, scrounged some tape and had it temporarily fixed. Was this clue number three? You know the saying about three strikes....? I offered him his money back, even offered to give him some extra to cover his gas. Nope, he wanted the car. He drove it home, and I later paid another guy to re-do the damaged wiring that I could have - and should have - done myself in the first place.
Thus, my final question: Why did the wiring malfunction rear its ugly head at that exact point in time?
** Sigh **

 

Sure they have souls, and personalities, too. Old cars, and hot rods in particular, require more from us - more maintenance, more care, more thought, more involvement - they're not static, like an inanimate object, turn the key and they come to life, ready to travel, to seek adventure. But, they force you to get to know them if you want to drive them. You can't just jump in one and take off, there are rituals you must perform, you have to master the secret formula it takes to get one started and if you're going to drive it you need to know all the handling, braking, shifting, acceleration quirks to drive them in relative safety.

Maybe I've been lucky with my Model A, but it has asked precious little of me and it's given back more fun and enjoyment than any car I've owned. It's introduced me to all kinds of cool people with equally cool cars. it even captured my wife's heart and she swore she'd never ride in it when I brought it home. Honestly, I think it appreciates that I saved it from a life alone in a dark garage where it sat for years not getting any attention, never being driven, slowly wasting away. I'm pretty sure it enjoys getting out and heading down the road for the day just as much as I do.

 

At least you were a stand-up guy before and after the sale, but I fear you may have caused permanent damage to the psyche of that poor '39! Oh, the humanity!! Can you actually sleep at night? I hope the new owner has a better conscience than you!

 

Haha... good point! This all happened years ago. The guy I sold it to wound up selling it again not long after he bought it from me. The next owner drove it all over the country with no apparent major problems so maybe all that damage to the car's psyche had dissipated!?