I'm laughing my ass off right now because as I'm typing this I'm exchanging PM's with a HAMB guy that saw Big Olds for the first time at a cruz last week. As we walked around the car I pointed out body mods and everything that has been done over the last 6 years. I talked so much he got out a flashlight to shine on Big Olds cuz it was getting dark and I just kept on and on. He must not have been too anoid about it as he still PM's me.
I usually just walk away from those asshats like that. Don't want to waste time I could be doing something else. The guys who just set me off,are those guys who "had one just like that". Think they know everything about YOUR car,and proceed to explain to me all the knowledge he has about cars!!! You want to come up and say hi, ask me about my car,tell me about your project, or just shoot the shit....GREAT,i'm in! I just can't stand those guys who have to prove how "car intellegent" they are. I actually like hearing more about other guys projects than talking about mine...
and she is still pm'ing me about Big Olds...but it is a great car and what a joy to meet a rodder that is totally absorbed by the making of his/her ride. sometimes we all like the chance to go on and on, but can't find an ear willing to listen. I was stunned by Big Olds and the lovely lady that owns him. It was my treat, Denise.
Even worse is the guy that's a jerk when he thinks you are a spectator - After seeing you have a car, then become friendly. Screw 'em.
My brick for the pile. I quit going to the little shows they have around here. Whole tribe of guys that made money in business and pay someone else to do everything just have to tell me, insistently, what I need to do with MY CAR. Like I work for them, or something. Odd behavior. Roundup was great; not a syllable from anyone about what's wrong with my car. It even made a few guy's slide show. Slide.......
If it happens to be the owner of this car, I'd have to say I'd be surprised as the man has always been fair with me BSing and trading parts states away. Lets just say I own a few rare parts now and then but I'm not exactly in the guys tax bracket and thats never seemed to alter his attitude in the way that many people act while hiding behind a computor. This guy is a Hamb member and a good person to know. Matter of fact I'd still be hunting a rare piece without his help, that I know there a few collecting dust on shelves elsewhere that will go unused unless pryed from cold fingers. If its him or not, it depends on how you come at a person, and some people just don't mix well no matter. We all have friends or even family that just don't get along the way others would. I know I just don't mix well with check writers. The type that never have built anything but give you the "I was there" line while cleaning their streetrod that they don't even know the year of because they bought it last week and don't remember. Then there are the modern 50's greasers running their mouth about period correct 40's rat rodz because they had tunnel rams, SBC's, chain link steering wheels, and Colt 45 tap handles back then. I talk mostly to people that hammer out their own cars and live for that next rare piece for them, those that don't have say where or when because you can tell. It takes all kinds, but not everybody wants to play and make nice.
Has an owner's attitude ever put you off a car? About as long as..........what were we talking about again? Why should I give a flip about someone elses attitude?
Yep Todd, you've met him too then. That's the one - and look at the prissy assed (wannabe fake - not the real deal) 'designer label' contents of the trunk! I might add that in the past I have talked to Steve Moal and found him to be very approachable and easy to talk to - this guy on the other hand.... I think the Aussies and Brits would call him a 'Wayne Kerr' and, as my girlfriend so succinctly remarked, he probably suffers from 2IDS - 2 Inch Dick Syndrome.
Maybe he was a jerk, but maybe he just knew how unlikely it was for anyone else to have a set of heads like those. Maybe people often BS him and he was getting tired of people making things up.
Not to defend this guy, but maybe he was having a bad day. Maybe he's not a talkative person. Maybe he wasn't feeling good. It's all about perception.....I've been dubbed a prick too, though I'm not sure why. When people ask me something about my car I answer....I don't elaborate all the time because I'm pretty reserved in person. I answer the questions I'm asked, I speak when spoken to. If I don't know you, I'm probably not going to talk with you for an hour....I'm not incredibly comfortable with people I don't know. Doesn't mean I don't like you or think I'm better than you. Yeah, in your case he was probably being a dick.....but it's not always the case. If the guy really was peeved, it's probably because now he's not going to have "the only one." One of those folks that gets off on being the only one around, the first one with the coolest new gadget. Now he has to sell the car and find something else no one has done yet. Poor guy!
That's funny you say that, but my experience with vintage RR owners has been the same! Brits just love to fix old british cars(good for them), and in general , even the RR guys are passionate and good to talk to. On the way to work the other day I ran into some crazy Brit at the 7-11 that was driving a convertible rolls, top down, 5 am, wearing driving gloves. It was too early to chat but he was certainly approachable and you could tell he was proud of his car. Decent guys, those chaps! Ehh honestly I don't talk to anybody at a car show i don't know for just that reason, I assume they're a*holes until proven otherwise. The exception of course being HAMBers, who have offered me free beer and merchendise and stuff at shows! You know who you are, and thanks! In all the car shows I've been to Ive never met a group of guys that were more fun and easier to talk to without car show attitudes than the fellas at a HAMB BBQ. Y'all really are the cream of the crop.
Guido, No ... I have not met him ... I just know you are building a car with a Gurney Weslake 351C ... put two & two together ... and remembered Algon's pics of the car in 1badnov's "Stopped by Moal Coachworks" thread. I totally agree with you about Steve ... he, his wife, and sons are all wonderful people ... our families have been friends since the '70s! Since I've never met or spoken with the owner of the roadster, I will NOT jump on the bandwagon here and label him a "wanker" ... he may very well be ... or maybe (as others have suggested) he may have just been having a bad day ... you may have caught him at the wrong moment ... he has a shy personality ... etc., etc. Were your impressions of him based on what he said to you ... or how he said it to you (i.e., his body language)? While I try to be friendly to anyone inquiring about the coupe, there's been more than one occasion that I've had to cut the conversation short because I had some other obligation to attend to ... I'm sure those folks thought I was being a bit of an A-hole. I've also had the recurring experience at rodding events where I walk up to my car and overhear a couple of guys critiquing the coupe ... and then, when they realize it's mine, they start asking questions about the HEMI engine or some other detail about the car ... I answer their questions as politely as I can ... but I'm sure that my body language isn't saying that I'm too happy to be talking to them ... who's the wanker? ... them or me? I try not to let these "negative experiences" ever ruin my weekend ... I don't expect everyone (or anyone for that matter) to like my car ... I (like you) have strong opinions about what I like & don't like in a car ... but don't expect everyone to have my same tastes (e.g., I really dig your Hupp ... while others may find it f-ugly). I also realize that expressing a favorable or not-so-favorable opinion about a car has always been a part of this hobby of ours ... hell, it's one of the reasons I like the H.A.M.B. so much ... there's something on here for every taste ... and a few of us with some very strong opinions! Again, I'm not saying this guy isn't a jerk ... but maybe there's more to the story ?
I would have gotten the impression that he didnt know squat about his own car (probably 'cause he didnt build it) people only get defensive if they feel accused and dont know the answers, he just got punked and he knows it.
Hey, I work for that guy! Just your typical asshole with too large a check book. And your right they couldn't tell you how to hold a wrench to save their life.
What's the matter with these weenies - insecurity, zero self worth? Ain't a hot rodder in my book.[/QUOTE] Small penis.
The guy did you a favor... He didn't try to come off as a nice guy. You did not waste any more time with the asshole. You have checked him off your list as a potential source of knowledge and friendship. I don't mind the complete assholes. I can recognize and avoid them. It's the phony assholes that pat you on the back and try to bullshit you that get my goat. It's not hard to pick them out either but it does waste time that could be spent with the cooler people. Your asshole sensors get refined with age. It makes you appreciate the cool people that you meet at car shows. I miss the good old days when car shows were for people that loved cars and not display cases for the rich and famous.
I've had the opposite experience when I met a big buck guy and I had a preconcieved idea and expected him to be a real dick and he was a down to earth, cool guy that knew his shit,... it was Bruce Meyer
Maybe he was just having a bad day. Someone turns me off, I just walk away and forget it. Lifes too short anyway.
Damn good speel COLDWAR. I totally agree. I tried to in one of my car clubs to elimnate that atitude. We built a bigger and better show...but allthis did was bring out more tater heads like the one mentioned. That really turned me off about the whole car show deal. I do continue to go but I rarely talk to anyone unless they talk to me first. I admire the car/truck and talk to my wife about the styling and the craftmanship of the said car.
We all have our moods, notions, and first impressions. Sometimes they hit, sometimes they miss. Here's a good one, Last weekend I was at a swap meet and tried to strike up a conversation with a HAMBr in a mokan drags shirt. All I got out of him was he'd been here 7 years before he wandered off with better things to do. Probably one hell of a guy, just didn't come across that way at that moment. Honestly the truest friends you'll ever find are those with a hard outer shell. BTW money doesn't make you a dumbass, but having a chip on your shoulder about somebody else's money does. For the record, I have no money
i met a cheque book hot rodder once at a local cruise. he had a wantabe "graffiti " coupe (glass car, says its worth $100,000.00 g`s) he had all his cleaning supplies out making his turd look nice, couldn`t give the time of day. what to do? drove my high-boy p/u all week, dead bugs plastered all over the windsheild, bugs stuck in the grill, hit as many muddy puddles that i could find. the truck was red and mud tu-tone. the next cruise night i parked beside him, he got in his car and left.
our club was having our annual car show a guy pulls up wants to see the trophies. when we tell him thear are no trophies at this show he gets back in his car and goes. did'nt hirt my feelings .
Bruce Meyer along with Jay Leno are two of the nicest, genuine car guys you could ever hope to meet. These attitude weenies could learn a lot from either one of them. Bruce is always the consummate gentleman and talks to you on the same level - never talks down to you. Just a class act. With these guys it's all about the cars - pure passion - not about being perceived as King of the Hill. I guess that with these checkbook jockeys it really all boils down to insecurity and trying to smokescreen your lack of knowledge rather than having the honesty to admit that while you love hot rods, your skills in life lie elsewhere. What's the problem with that? The guy might be a brain surgeon or rocket scientist and I am sure there is respect for that. I don't suppose a surgeon or musician can be expected to risk their hands working on cars, but you still respect them for what they do.
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