When Is A Purchased Car Really Yours, Thinking out loud

I've been working on puting together an alternate set of wheels and tires for the tub. Peronalizing it to my taste as it were.

Got me thinking. I know rides are traded, swapped, purchased and dealed for on the board so I pose this question.

When I picked up the T from Trent (Tman) in November I was stoked to say the least, but it didn't really FEEL like my car. I kept looking at it on the trailer on the trip home,excited by the fact it was now LEGALLY mine ( money changed hands and I was in possesion of the title) but it took awhile for it to start felling like it was actually my car. I've been working on little stuff since the cold weather got here and even drove it hard enough to break it once before the teens set in, so it now is begining to feel like MY car.

Anyone else have similar feeling on purchasing a ride you didn't build?

Just curious, early morning ramblings.

Or are real men not supposed to talk about thier feelings, LOL

GV

 

once your broadslide a few corners and get it airborn a couple times

 

The longer you maintain it, the more it becomes 'yours'.
Like adopting a dog...
r

 

Sometimes you have to paint them.

I have some friends that I used to race with, one sold his racer to the other, it was never recognised as the new owner's car till he repainted it (even the announcer couldn't seem to get it right).

Your not racing yours though, so that probably doesn't apply directly.

 

I kind of agree...you have to make to make changes to the appearance.

But then another side of me says...read some of the history here on the HAMB of the cars that are found...a lot of times, even though the car has been owned by a number of people and the body's been modified, the car is still associated with the original builder.

Maybe it's never yours unless you build it yourself.

 

From a lot of angles buying a vehicle is probably the best way to go.So I have no problem with someone buying a rod. However I have read and heard guys get blasted for buying a Boyd car or Foose car Etc. How does this square with not blasting buying a home built rod from someone ? LFE

 

You may be onto something.

Doane Spencer's deuce roadster is... Doane's.

 

Some good points made here. We purchased our roadster "El Tiki" from Tom Culbertson. He built the car and gave it the name. He never really drove the car, the only reason he built it was to re-sell it.

The name has just sort of stuck with the car. Looking back at the pictures of what it looked like when we bought it vs. what it looks like today I think we can call it our car.

Tom will always be the builder, that part does not bother me in the least, but with all the mods over the past two years it really is ours now.

 

You are asking for opinions, which are like SBC motors everyone has one - except me - I think ya own it when you fire the motor off for the first time and hear the pipes.......Of course, smoking the tires lends a sense of ownership too....

Ken

 

For a lot of people it will always be "so-and-so's" car. I have friends that have repainted the thing, added new wheels, interior, and engine, and some still refer to it as the previous owner/builders car. I bought my truck 15 years ago after finding it in a field for a friend. We built 2 similar trucks and I bought his when divorce came into his life. Since then I've had everything apart except the cab and some still think it belongs to someone else. You can change parts, but it's much harder to change other people's perception.

 

I understand where you are coming from. I just bought something to be my daily driver. It was the only way that I could afford to have something I enjoyed to drive everyday. I am changing a bunch of little things, Bumpers, Grille, etc and I am changing the look from flat black to a nice gloss paint job. I will never be able to say I built it, but I can say I finished it, and at that point it will be mine.

 

Interesting question.. I bought my old 33 Ford truck and did do a lot of work to it, but it was never 'mine' in the sense that i had built it. It was originally built in the early 60's by two guy's i had eventually met and became friend's with. No matter what, it was still thier truck, not mine. I was fortunate enough to bring it out so to speak, so it could be seen by the public so many say it's my old truck....That's cool, but the fact of the matter is i was only the care taker...
The latest one i bought was built as well........
BUT, i am now in the process of doing a complete rebuild including a LOT of sheet metal fab work...in fact, when it's done only the chassis and basic sheet metal will be the same..
So, is it still someone else's....i personally don't think so anymore. Not when you have your hand's in every part of it to bring it back to life..
Maybe if the body remained the same and i only changed small thing's like paint and interior, but the drivetrain has been changed, complete wiring, many sheet metal mods, different dash etc......
To some it may be so and so's old truck..but as far as i'm concerned aside from the outer skin and frame, there's nothing left of it...........

Tony

 

Like marrying a woman who was divorced. Hearing her refered to as "so and so's ex" would tend to get a nerve every once in a while. I guess in the end, it only matters whose garage the car parks in.

 

I've been going through it for the past 11 years with the Merc. This is how the Merc at year 11 it became mine. Different front fenders, rear quarters, changed all four doors, wheels, trunk, hood, dash and threw away all of the ugly. Finally the Merc will not have "thats old so and so old car."

It bothered me more because it was ugly and the guy that used to
own it was not kool.

In your situation, you bought such a kool Hot Rod who cares if it was some one elses car. Change the wheels and do whatever you think it needs to fit your taste.

I think that it would be worse if you heard "look how he messed up so and so old car." For example; what Starbird did to Stuckey's Little Koffin. How is that for preasure!! LOL!!!!

Don't let it bother you. Kool is kool no matter who used to own it.

Drive it and have fun..

Happy Trails,

Mick

 

HMMMM....Is it still "Henry's" car after all these years? He's the one that built it, and gave it life. (The Title)

Even after you just change the wheels, you've modified it from the original, to YOUR tastes. So it would seem to me that it would be hard to call it so and so's car.


HellRaiser

 

In the late 80's, I bought a "Low Buck" 34 International from a local guy. He got far enough along to drive it a little, but never really finished it. I changed engines, suspension, brakes, interior, wheels, wiring and pretty much rubbed on it until I was satisfied with what I had. It was still "Jackies old truck" for ten years until I sold it. Ever since then, it's been "Larry's old truck"........so who knows.

 

It's yours as soon as you pay the money......
I bought the last 3 cars I have had..(2 rods and a Kustom). The Kustom is real famous (in the UK) so will never be anyone elses but the builders, dispite haveing a lot of owners since being built. Was gona paint it and do shit loads of work to make it mine....but even then it would never have been.
The 2 Rods...the 1st had been redone so had a different look to the original build and hadn't been around much for 3 or 4 years before I got it....only real die hards recognised it as the original builder car...I even got asked a few times if it really was Old No 7 or a clone so I guess it became my car even though I didn't change it much during the time i owned it.
The Rod I have now has sort of become mine too as I have had it nearly as long as the builder did. Also it didn't really get round too much till I had it but again there are some who still refer it it as "Gary Mcs A". I do have some plans and have done a few things that have changed it somewhat but to be honest it's too good as it is to fuck with too much.
I don't really care if any car I have is known as the builders coz it's me who gets to drive it !!

 

if it's a hand crafted car it will always be that builder's work

if you owned the Mona Lisa and had it covered with a fresh coat of paint
it would still be your da Vinci..

how about when a car is a (near) perfect recreation of a significant car?
ie: is the Lightening Bug Von Franco's Grabowski?

 

I like your analogy!!!


HellRaiser

 

not a car, but the same thing with bikes.
the previous owner is a great guy, but this bike is still called "his old bike"

 

Thats why I always buy project cars. Meaning I do all the work and once its done I can proudly say, "yeah, I did that". I dont think I can ever buy a car already built and just put gas into it and call it a day, no matter how much I like the car. Even if the car need some minor work, its just does not feel right to me at least.

 

I sold a 40 Ford pickup that I built/modified, to a friend, over 12 years ago. They still call it "Ebb's old truck" instead of "Ronnie's truck".

 

An after thought....

I believe the real problem would be the new purchaser claiming to be the original builder and not giving credit to the original builder. This is why we have been reading here on various members trying to find the "History" of such and such car they have found in a "Barn".

For me personally, I have kept all of the old papers that came with the cars I have bought over the years. And I keep the receipts for the items I've purchased and added to, or taken away from the original builder's deisgns or modifications. Now that I've got this new fangeled gadget called a computer, I can even scan the title from whom I bought the car, print it out, and add to the paper work before I have to surrender it to the DMV to get it put in my name.
When I sell it, (If I when and if ever do!!) then all of the paper work goes to the new owner.

Q. Is it mine?
A. Yes it is.
Q. Did you do all the work?
A. No I can't take credit for all of the build.
Q. Who did the work on it?
A. I don't know, it was that way when I bought it. (Unless their name is on the receipts, or something to tie them as to being the builder)



HellRaiser

 

The perfect example on this subject. To quote from page 39 of " Hot Rod Milestones" written by Ken Gross and Robert Genat -

"Interestingly, Doane's 32 roadster was already a hot rod when he got it. He and his friend, Jack Dorn, were students at Hollywood High School. Dorn first owned the roadster in 1941, when the then full-fendered '32 got a filled grille shell and shaved deck lid, along with a 21-stud, '37 Ford V-8. After Doane wrecked his Model A, he gave Dorn it's genuine George DuVall split windshield. Jack then paid noted Hollywood bodyman, Jimmy Summers, $45 to modify the '32 cowl to accept it.

Accordinging to Pat Ganahl,...,Doane paid Jack Dorn $500 for the roadster in 1944....Spencer soon began modifying the car further."

So I guess we should refer to it as the Dorn roadster really!

My personal OPINION is many people like to find a way to degrade other people or make out they are better than others and by referring to a fellows car as the previous owners or by putting a fellow down for not building a car themselves is just another way for people to do this. There are a lot of reasons to buy cars - economic, skill levels, time. Once a car is sold it's the new guys. Now it's his to change or leave alone.

Some cars are built so perfect it would be a crime to change them, some have history so also shouldn't be changed, some need changes that can be immediately seen, like paint, others need changes that are difficult to see or subtle.

 

Funny this should come up. I'm going thru "withdrawls" right now. I bought my '34 coupe from the guy who built it and he started calling it "our coupe". I got to be real good friends with him and over 4 years time I made it mine by changing a few things about it. Last fall he says he wanted it back because he never really got over selling it to me and he liked what I had done to it,so reluctantly, I swapped it back to him for a really nice '34 roadster.

I think I made out on this deal, but here's the funny part: He kept it a month and swapped it to a guy out in Las Vegas ( he's on the east coast ). Next I see it on Ebay going for some serious $$$$.

It's crazy but sometimes I wish I'd kept it.

Glenn

 

When it breaks down on you. Everything is fine and dandy when your showing it off, "oh nice wheels" ya they were on there when I got it, " great looking paint" oh ya I bought it this way, but when its " hey can you help me push this giant landbarge out of the intersection before it starts a traffic jam". then its yours

 

So I guess we should refer to it as the Dorn roadster really!

Dorn/Summers roadster ya mean?

I have the utmost respect for folks who build their own car, but, even then, there of different levels of 'build'. Did you cast the block, hammer out the fenders, forge the pistons, mold the taillights, stitch the upholstery? Or were 'existing' products brought together to make one.

I think this is one discussion that could go on and on.

 

none of us ever really "own" are cars, we are just the care taker for a certain amount of time. The ride will eventually be passed on to another owner.
I feel the if one buys a car that someone else has build then it's only right that we give credit where credit is due.
Some of the cars that I have built I have never really "bonded" with, a real love/hate relationship. The last one was my 57 Olds. Hated the car from the day I dragged it home. Had the car for 5 years, enjoyed it/hated it, but never bonded with it. The new owner loves it to death and drives it all the time. So I guess it was better off in his garage....

 

WOW ! Am I glad I saw this thread. This subject has been on my mind for the last few months since I bought the " SO WHAT" coupe. I have several copies of the Rod and kulture magazine that featured the car over a 3 page thread and on the back cover. All pages say " Clark's T ". Even at car shows, I hear the words, Clark's T over and over again. I admit that at first it bothered me a little bit. The car will never be associated with my name and I am now fine with that. I have taken the attitude that I am but the current caretaker of a cool as hell hotrod and I even refer to it now as the SO WHAT coupe. I wanted to make some small changes but I realize it needs to stay the way it was shown. I am making some small mechanical changes but few people other than JR and Clark would ever notice.
It is no Doane Spenser roadster but it is an original SO WHAT SPEED SHOP car and I want to protect that title...........
but don't get me wrong, 10 minutes after picking it up, I was somewhere in the low 80 MPH going through downtown Hanover PA. I promise, I will drive the shit out of the car as often as possible.
A vote of thanks should go to Clark and JR for putting out a fine ride....Thank You very much

It will always be CLark's T

John

 

It can go both ways too. My dad completly built a choped 59 panhead HD in the mid eighties. Put about 100,000 miles on it put it in several local show over the years ect. He traded it in to a dealership in the early nineties. A year later him and his brother see it at a bar at a small town picknick. The thing was TRASHED. Oil everywere ect. A few girls come out and start saying, "Ohhhh there Johny's bike, it's so pretty." My dad is just like "well thank you." They just looked at him funny. The guy comes out and is completly plasterd, takes him 5 times to take off (sucide shift). He ended up bieng a drug dealer, ran away to Flordia, and got busted down there. Some cop probably has it now. Never seen again.

It will always be my dad's bike no matter who has it. He built it.