Can a car be TOO nice? Post-build depression.

Understood. Other than the fact that I don't want a trailer-queen I have a few other factors affecting what I build...
You guys with your lowered ch***is wouldn't have a ****** chance of leaving the driveways here without a trailer because our roads are so bad. Potholes and "un-flat" roads would chew you up and spit you out in one mile.
The salt air here eats metal like crazy so the "patina" look wouldn't last for 1 year before it's an undriveable rust bucket. Besides... I like paint.
Keeping it that clean would be WAY too much work! I'm lazy.
If I had lots of bucks and could afford to have a car I drove 5 times a year.. maybe. Doubt it though.
I highly respect the talent and effort of these beauties. They are just not practical for my lifestyle.
Drive the ****er and enjoy it or sell it to someone who wants a peice of art.
Just my 2 cents.

 

When I brought my old 32 coupe home from the body shop the wife asked me i we needed to by a trailer .. I told her no i was gonna drive the thing and i did and i told everyone this was my last car then came the heart attack and a new out look on life and then a buyer.. I let it go just cause I was tired of trying to keep it nice. Oh ya the money was nice too.. My current 32 roadster project has the frame, engine,axles firewall and under side all painted . The top side is all primer.. I took a test ride the other day and heard a rock hit i laughed..
Dave

 

I have never done it to myself...But I have accidentally done this to my customers.
for Example, there is a reeeally nice 71 Cutl*** in the shop right now. When the owner finished it 3 years ago, he wouldn't drive it. it was too nice.
Thank god for motorcycles, I guess. He backed it into his garage ( no damage, just a scratch) and since then has put about 30 thousand miles on it. yep, the scratch is still there.

The 64 Galaxie we did is still in the "too nice" stage. it's weird for me though. I installed Airride on it like it was a beater- no fear of the hammer or torch. everyone that came by was a bit appalled at the mess I had going under it for about a week. I realized that for me, it was still the same beat up 'Ol Galaxie. Weird. I wonder if it's the same for Alex Gambino, or any of us that do this for a living...nothing could be so bad that it couldn't be fixed. Therefore, drive it like you stole it!

 

I say with all the work you put into that, you earned the right to drive that car on a daily basis, rain or shine without regret. Drive it, wash it once a week (wether it needs it or not) and be proud! The good news is, if after a few years, if you feel the paint is no longer up to par, you get to paint it all over again!!!! Whooo Hoooo!!!!

That car is beautifull, I would hate to see you part with it.

 

I think there might be something else going on here...

How long have you been putting 100% into this ride? You have had sleepless nights, long hours, late night trips and drained your pocketbook. You have poured pure heart and soul into that thing for countless hours.

Now, of course, you want to keep it nice, BUT what you are missing is more than just that.

Your body and creative mind have been thrashing 24/7 to get that thing done.... now.... BOOM. Stop. It's done. No more late nights, no more busted knuckles, no more all day thrashes.

Your body and soul miss the work and effort of it. You miss throwing everything you have at it and are rebelling by throwing some of that new free time and effort into polishin' and wipin'.

Just my thoughts, but I think you'll soon start to enjoy cruising as much as thrashing. Just give it some time.

 

A friend of mine bought a super nice candy apple 34 Chevy many years ago. The frame was pin stripped and detailed in chrome. He learned to hate it and sold it. It proved to be too muck work to enjoy. Drive it for an hour and spend six hours cleaning it. I've never aimed for that level of detail so not wanting to drive it has never been a problem.

It still can be clean without being a PITA.

 

I don't mind cleaning my stuff... it's kinda relaxing to me and gives me that new car feeling when I spend a little time making it shine like it's supposed to. I really got out of the mindset of driving my non-hamb '68 mustang last year, so my new years resolution was to properly beat the hell out of it this year. I've only driven it 3 times so far, but there's still fukin snow on the ground right now, so I think i've done okay grabbing the few nice days we've had... My dad has always told me to drive it like the old lady she is, but my opinion is that I didn't put a new motor trans and posi in it to put along mindlessly, i wanted to drive that damn thing! My buddy and I were just talking about waiting for some good rains to wash the salt off the roads, but I'm at the point where I realize I put mostly new sheet metal on it 7 or 8 years ago, and if it rusts up in another 5-10 years i'm still doing good, so **** IT! One of my favorite things my dad has always said was "it ain't broke till we can't fix it".

 

Sometimes so much money and care goes into a car, the soul is inadvertently built right out of it. Then it's time for a reality check: no matter how pretty or expensive, the damn thing is still nothing more than a pile of metal, rubber and plastic. The fix? Use it, and enjoy every nick and ding along the way.

 

Same Problem. Spent years working almost every weekend and spare nights on a nova. My Dad did probably 50% of the work and I learned a lot about everything. Then it was done. I loved driving it but worried about it whenever I parked it somewhere or whatever. Plus since my dad did so much I never felt that I had totally earned the right to own it.

The weirdest part was I felt that I was revealing years of my life and memories to complete strangers while I was driving it. I hate being asked stupid questions about it etc. I think that's when I realized I was anti-social.

 

Boy can I relate to this. when the '32 was finished (well, I really didn't finish /finish it) and I started driving it the constant maintenance drove me nuts. The first year I washed it twice and changed the oil two times. The second year I washed it when I got it out in the spring and cleaned the event fliers that had ac***ulated in the back seat. The third year I washed it just before we left for Indy and about 10 miles down the road it started raining and ended up being dirtier than it was before I washed it. So......... that's it for washing. If it needs a bath it will rain again ...........sometime.
I do change oil, go over the ch***is in the spring to tighten/check everything and give it a lube job, but the damn thing was built to drive and that's what I do. Something about looking down those 6 rows of louvers, hanging my arm out the window with the wind blowing on me just puts a smile on my face and making everything right with the world.
It started right up after 4 months of sitting this winter so I guess it's a stop at the gas station to fill up and we're ready for the summer. Year no.7 and counting.

Frank

 

I once spent a LOT of time, effort and money to restore a car and it was the best I could possibly make it - top to bottom and in between. I couldn't bring myself to drive it for fear of getting it scratched, chipped, a bug on the windshield, etc. I grew to really hate it and wound up selling it......never again !

 

I know it probably doesn't make any sense - it's still the same car, somehow I just feel almost guilty driving it now.

You know, out of all the responses I think this one hits closest to home. Just two months ago the car was in bare metal with a big *** hole where the rear window is now. It's not really that cleaning it is so much work, it's just that I don't enjoy it.

As long as I have the car it will be driven - we drove it to shows in six states last year, including the Hunnert. Hell, we just finished the paint the last week in January and we've already racked up a couple thousand miles on the initial shakedown and trip to Billetproof in Fl.

I never have and never will have a trailer queen.

Thanks for all the responses, I knew I wasn't the only one.

 

Thanks, guys. You have made me feel better, since i drive a real POS!

 

Bought a Model A delivery shell at St. Rod Nats in L'ville back in 1988. First trip out was back to L'ville in 92, year of the flood. Didn't want to get it out of parking garage that morning, so left a little late, thank god. The car was so nice, couldn't enjoy it. Had to baby sit in order to keep people off the painted running boards. Had it finished for 7 years and 2400 miles. Told my wife its stupid to own this thing and sold it at the frog follies to a guy around Detroit. Often wonder what it looks like today.

 

I ran into that with a 32' 3 window. Lots of powder coating because it was gonna be a driver. Had "Hots Rods and Hobbies" paint the darn thing and it was too nice. Don't get me wrong, I loved my car, but after 6 years of cleaning it, I sold it even though it was my dream car. Now my 31' has lots of "patina" and I drive it everwhere. A guy with a restored 31' Model A was looking at it and said, "It sure looks like fun. I only drive my car in parades."

 

we've all been there at some point. you can keep it spotless or dirty, it doesn't really matter. you just need to drive it and go out in the garage now and then and just smile.

 

I had to sell a T bucket,not cos it was so clean,but the everybody talking to you thing.If your not extrovert,a lot,it can wear you out!My next rod was a chopped coupe with black windows,and I also have a false nose and beard(starting to be silly now)

 

Just drive the **** out of it for a few years and let the new wear off of it. Then it won't nice anymore and you can enjoy it.

 

The attention will die down in a year or so. Right now you're crossing paths with people you've crossed paths with a thousand times before but never knew it. Once they get used to seeing the car you'll regain some normalcy at the gas pump.

 

Somewhere between a p.o.s. and a show car is about right. If a hot rod is too nice it takes all the fun out of it. If it isn't at least a "quite often" daily driver, you went over the edge with the build, and took some fun out of it.

 

Your car is not perfect. It may get lots of attention and complements but it doesn't sound like you enjoy it. That said, drive it anyway you want to, after all, it's not flawless.

 

what the ****? you guys are nuts. over the edge? that Caddy is ****ing awesome. He built a righteous ride. Jealous? ****ing crawl under a rock already...

 

When I had my 57 painted the guy asked me if I wanted a $3,000.00 paint or a $12,000.00 paint. Hell I don,t even want a base clear paint job says I......just shoot it straight enamel cause I got kids and they have bikes. Sure enough its scratched up already....Good thing I love my kids more than my car!

 

I know the feeling. The Atomic Punk turned out so nice I am actually afraid of it. It is way too nice of a car for me to own. Ha Ha Ha

I at least got the first paint chip out of the way though! ha ha ha

 

im too afraid to paint any of mine..the 53 stays with its original black , with many war wounds..and thin areas. Still cant bring my self to paint it. The model A has grey primer on it now and will probably end up with black primer on it for ever..I Hate Paint..or maybe it hates me?

 

Absolutely you can make a car too nice. We've been there before. They become more work than enjoyment. Then you become overly protective of it. Then you're at the shows waxing it and loving on it instead of enjoying the show. Then you got ropes around it with a do not touch sign on it. Then you set up your lawn chair behind the ropes to make sure no body crosses the ropes.

Maybe if ya go get your first ding out of the way it will make it better. haha Go throw a rock at it... a little one...

 

safe and proper storage becomes a issue. other than my kids school those were the reasons i sold my 66' nova ss and the 69' camaro ss convertable,i only had room for 1 and no room to work when 1 was in the garage. when i found out a ladder had fallen and hit the 69' i knew i had better sell it before someone really ****ed it up.

 

Hi Rich. Made any new **** movies lately?


Gator, WTF are you thinkin....."probably sell the Caddy and buy a rusty truck".......
I WISH I had something that nice I could drive and enjoy......oh wait...I WOULD have if I didn't work on everybody else's ****....

Go build a bicycle or a go-kart or somethin'...

 

yup! if mine gets messed up, i grab another can of paint or a roll of tape!
my ot car, 70 amx has that effect on me and i havent even restored it yet! but with a grill sellin for 2k, makes me a lil spooked to drive it!

 

Can a car be TOO nice?
Nope, not in my opinion.

There are really two kinds of people when it comes to taking care of their cars, ones that wipe them down, including wheels and tires and ones that don't. (of course I'm making a point with a fine line drawn) Really doesn't matter if the car has paint on it or not a person either is OK with driving a car with bug guts and dirt or not. (and I'm not referring to a cross country trip either)

Even when Big Olds had primer all those years I still tried to keep him looking as nice as possible, including sweeping out the steel floor every now and again and scrubbing the WWW when they started to look ragged. Kinda a pride thing I guess. I like nice looking stuff.

Thats not to say I didn't get lazy every now and again. Many a time I got to an event after a day or two drive, started hanging out with friends etc and before I knew it it was Sunday and I'm heading for home never having wiped off the road grime and bugs from the trip down.

Nothing has changed in my world as far as cleaning goes. I will continue to wipe him off when he needs it and scrub the WW when they need it. Will also be vac***ing out the carpet when it needs it too. Again, a pride thing. I like him looking as nice as possible. Nothing wrong with that just like there is nothing wrong with NOT liking or wanting to wipe off or clean a car. All personal preferance.

Is a car too nice to drive? Never, not even a Ridler car in my opinion, or Wes Rydel's, who I saw blasting down the highway just a couple months after winning the Ridler a few years ago. It's just a car right? Cars are meant to be driven and enjoyed and YOU my friend should be enjoying the heck outta the car.

Remember, you know a painter and if you need him he'll be there for you and the Caddy....and Big Olds of course.

I will share my first rock chip story with you, maybe it will make you feel better. I had just gotten Big Olds home from Mike's place the week before and drove him on the highway for the first time about 90 miles north of me to join the GMB's for breakfast. On the way there I actually SAW the rock come up and hit Big Olds' nose, not once but TWICE, actually skipped across his nose. Yes I was really bummed BUT after I thought about it for awhile I realized it was only a rock chip and was bound to happen sooner or later, after all I drive my cars. Of course everyone saw it as soon as I pulled up and like true friends they razzed me about it.

I'll see you at the NSRA Knoxville event in May. Let's park next to each other and check out each others chips.