Curious people helping themselves

So saturday I went to the local Ace Hardware to pick up some upholstery tacks for a chair I was redoing. When I walked out of the store I saw 3 geezers (70+) around my car. One of them had one side of the hood up and was telling his bud "I'll bet that's the original straight six in there". To which his friend replied " Maybe but I'll bet that Holley and that AC ain't original. The third guy meanwhile has the driver's door open and is sitting in the seat. He hollers " Hey its got tilt wheel and there ain't no clutch pedal". About this time I walk up and ask them if I can help them. They all got flustered and one of them said he hoped I didn't call the cops but they saw my car and just had to take a look. Taking a look is one thing but exploring is another. My ex-brother-in-law was arrested for just sitting in a car that was exactly like his but was 2 rows over in the parking lot. I'd lock my car but its a hassle since the only key lock is on the passenger's door. That means I'd have to get in and out on that side. Then there's the hood and the trunk. No locks at all. I don't want to carry around a rabid dog. What do you guys use for security?

 

I keep my wife sittin' in the front seat. NOBODY in their right mind would get in the car with her sittin' there !

 

I would spray some disinfectant where the old geezer was sitting.

 

this happens to me as well, now i lock the doors most places i go, i only have a lock on the passenger side to, that doesnt stop people from opening up the hood right in front of me, looking at my oil leaking 250 and saying its nice to see i kept the old flathead 6 in her, the funnest was one day after parking at a street market where i sell iron work a guy walks up and sticks his head in the open drivers window, looks it all over then says to me it smells just like his grandfarthers truck, i didnt tell him i left the window open to airout the bakedbean fart i just let out just before i parked. i`m thinking i`ll install an emobilizer.

 

I carry two rabid dogs. Best car alarm in the world.



When I was a kid, my Dad and I came out of a store and some idiot had his kids sitting on the fenders of his '35 Plymouth. I thought my old man was going to end up in jail. No respect.

Chris

 

I let the "old timers" get by with much more than I ever would the younger guys. Sitting on the painted fenders......that would REALLY piss me off.

 

Colt or Ruger.......

 

I've had this happen at car shows but never driving it out and about.
I dont have an answer if you cant lock the doors you're at their mercy. You took it pretty well. I invite kids dogs and old men to sit in, touch, and lay on my cars all the time. But without an invitiation I would have been alittle upset.

 

I know they are annoying, but what about a car alarm with a good shock sensor? Rig an extra set of "door buttons" on the hood to have it go off when it is opened. It may not completely stop them, but it'll sure get their attention if they touch or bump it. And no one likes to hang around a piercing alarm siren - they'd at least look like thieves instead of the car owners showing off parts of it.

Personally, I'd be pissed off and probably knock the shit out of someone for making themselves at home in one of my vehicles. I've still got the sawed-shotgun within arms reach of the bed after someone stole the stereo outta my truck a few years ago.

Thank god or the powers that be for the Oklahoma "Make my day law"

 

I'm sure it happens with my old beater more than I know.
I don't lock it because I don't want anyone to break a window out.

I did catch a guy in the old neighborhood trying out the pass door one night at a convenience store. I walked up behind him and ask real " Daaaamn my brother did you forget something in my truck?" I noticed the rest of the bros stopped on their way to the store and locked their vehicles. Guess he was out of work for at least 15 minutes.

I do keep a rat trap under the seat because I went out one day and found everything pulled out from under my seat. I works well as a theft deturant, I found it tripped once and just one thing out in the floorboard.

 

shave your door handles

 

Of course, there is the theft deterrant the guy who I got my Dubble A from uses. He's got this sweet, big, baby boy Cane Corso. This dog was just as awesome and playful as could be. BUT... dude put him into his truck and closed the door, then had my wife tap on the window... and this MONSTER went to snarling and snapping like he was going to kill someone. Open the door, and he was just the big baby again.

Dog was the perfect alarm system.

 

Wow. That's ridiculous ...

You'd think the old guys who like these cars would have the respect and the common sense to not piss off the people who keep the passion alive by driving them everywhere.

 

I'd think old guys like these would go back in time (in their minds) to when old cars were just old cars, and nobody got uptight about climbing all over them.

We just gotta face the fact that cars are not special to most people...they're just cars. The rest of the population don't see them like we do.

What do to about it...there are some good suggestions here, one more would be don't get bent out of shape. Of course if they scratch the paint, you might have to tie'em to the car and drag'em.

 

I'll never understand how someone can even justify touching my car let alone getting in it. It's honestly a big reason I can't bring myself to buy a gun, I know my temper just goes nuts when people start touching or leaning on my rides... it'd be self defence in my book...

I can understand that not everybody "appreciates" cars the way most of us do, but if that's true, then go fukin lean on something you like and leave my car alone!

I'm done ranting...

 

All my cars are JUNK......so I don't have to worry about it......

 

My sedan is still pretty rough, our roadster is almost in the "beater" category, ain't no big deal I guess. I can always park the car with my son's bulldog in it. Gina will sit there all day and no one will approach her.

 

HAhaha thats what I was going to say. Most people just tell me "nice truck" but its just got a home spray job so I dont lose sleep with it in the wallmart parking lot.

Man my pop taught me (and I my kids) that looking is cooool, touching IS NOT!

To this day when I or my wife/kids walk up to get a closer look at someones ride, we all either keep our hands behind our back, our in our pockets. Its as natural as brushing my teeth.

IF I saw somebody INSIDE anything that I owned there would be a quick call to the police and at least a report filed, theres no excuse for that in my book, and my book doesnt have a lot of rules!
Sammy

 

Reading this I'm just amazed that people are so brazen, my Dad is close to 70 and he would never do anything like that, I can't think of anyone I know who would think it's OK. I don't think there's been anything invented yet that will protect you from ignorant people.

 

Ive noticed a lot of people rubbing the roof of my car, Ive never had a car with a heavy 'flaked out roof before and people always want to touch it. Even total strangers in the store parking lot and stuff.

 

That is crazy! Old cars and tattoos have somthing in common. people feel the need to talk to you about them. Now, im a pretty friendly guy, but most people have no idea about manners. i was in the grocery store the other day, minding my buisness in line when a middle aged woman grabs my arm and proceed to gawk at my ink. my first reaction was to yank it out and see WTF was going on. but to have some weirdo pawwing you ride.. I'd snap! As Degreaser stated Old timers can get away with a bit more. But touching another mans ride is enough to get you shot in some parts.

as my handles are shaved i dont really worry about it. but if i going to run into a store i leave the windows down. but then again, i live in the country....

 

Even when I "paint" one of my toys (like the truck as my avatar), I find some kind of rattle can that matches pretty damn close and if I get a scratch or two, I don;t lose any sleep over it. Most of the time I leave as much original paint as possible, and and just drive the hell out of them. I had people all over my Plymouth (pic below) when I came out of a store...not sitting in it, but propped on the one fender and checking it out....I asked them to move and got in a drove off. I figure if they like it cool...if they're looking at it to make fun of it..."F" them and let them bring out their rice burner for a lesson (performance wise or to show how real metal holds up compared to rolled out coke cans for supporting body weight).

Bottom line is we all drive something different because we like being different and even (to some extent), enjoy the attention our cars get us. So you have to deal with it the best way you can...my option is to not sweat it and just enjoy the drive.

 

Years ago I made a real nice pass side rear view mirror for my old 37 truck. After parking it I was maybe 30 feet away when I realized I forgot soemthing turned around and walked back to my truck - when I spot a kid climbing on the truck doing a chin up off my "new" mirror trying to get a look inside while HIS PARENTS stood there waiting for him to finish. Needless to say I flipped out on the parents - the wife started to give me some LIP - it went down hill from there....we won't go into that.

Now in retrospect I can admit I over reacted and could have certainly handled it better - my problem with THEM (then and now) was that they felt completelt justified in their "so what" type of attitude.
The old timers mentioned here - KNEW they were wrong and apologized for it. Doesn't make it right - but it goes a LONG way to difusing a potentially bad situation. If it were me - I'd tend to think after I initially flipped that I could see the "no harm no foul" and part ways on good terms. It sounds like you kind of did that. On how to prevent this - I really don't know - other than trying to educate them - one nitwit at a time.

 

A big ass kickin where I come from!

 

I had my truck on a little shake-down run last week and the carb was acting up. The first place I saw to pull into was the local Ace. While I was tweaking the carb an old guy came up and started offering all his wisdom, all while trying to poke at the carb and flick the throttle.

The best thing was when he told me my carb was too small because I had the '300 horse' motor. I asked him how he knew that and he told me the serial number on the intake meant it was the 300 H.P. version.

The number he pointed to was 18436572.

 

If your really concerned about people on your car carry a blamket with you...

 

ok, i'll share my "revenge" story, since this thread has me sooooo fired up...

on my honeymoon, we were driving down to florida... somewhere in georgia, we stopped to go check out cameras at a best buy or sumthin... well, the wifey last minute decides to stay in the car, so i stroll in to find a nice camera...

it probably didn't help that the idiot behind the counter in best buy couldn't help me to save his ass.... so i came out empty handed.

hop in the almost new cutlass we just bought to hear my wife saying the guy that just got out of the suburban next to us popped his door right into our car, then proceded to LAUGH about it w/ the driver. guess they didn't see her in the car...

SO, i start to get out to go find the asshole, but my temper flared up a little about the laughing about it, and i just decide to give em something to laugh about... i slammed my door into that truck soooooo many times that door was fukin caved in like you wouldn't believe, i still wish i woulda had a camera to save my work.... bent the edge of my door in some, but was a pretty easy fix for me...

i just hope they realized WHY their door was sooooo fucked up... maybe one less dumbass out there...

 

I've had it done at car shows and I am constantly worried about it if I leave the car in a parking lot.

I personally would like to have these gents standing around to deal with those who dare deflower my sacred car when I am attending other matters.

 

HAHA! That's a good one ...

 

I was at a cruise night one time and as I walked back towards my car I saw this 300 pound lady leaning all over my '55 Vicky (new Paint!). I walked up and asked her if she knew "Gil Gonzales" she said WHO? I said Gil Gonzales.... you should because that's the guy who's car you got your BUTT parked on. After telling her it was a new paint job and maybe if she was so tired she should try to find a bench or something to sit on and not someone's car!