mine define's me pretty well, it's ton's of fun, make's me feel like i'm 16 again and i can't believe i'm going to be 60 in april. mike
like tommy said.... but i'll type anyways i always envied those people who have a car...and thats their car, thats them...you think of them and the car comes to mind...you think of the car and they come to mind... i always wished i could do that...just have one car and constantly make it better and better and more and more a reflection of myself but for some reason i keep wanting to have more cars. each one gets done to a point...then i want another. i want this collection sitting in a garage some day that i can just go sit in one and look around and BE back in time..all of the cars would be from that same frame of time i dont think i am defined by them or they are defined by me....you can ask anyone close to me though...my life pretty much "IS" 30's-very early 50's i try to buy things from that time period...not only car related im just stuck on things from that time i think i am more of a historian based on the car culture then i am a "car person" so i dont think a certain car defines me, but i think a certain time might. i like everything to be simple...go smoothly...and be FUN!!! i think people had more of a carefree at***ude towards things back then, not so concerned with trends and what was "cool" even though they did exist im so split between hot rods and customs(of that time) for some reason the "hot rods" seem to be more obtainable but if i ever find an affordable 36 roadster......that might be the do all end all for me! ...only time will tell i guess Zach 1946????
Kilroy said it for me too. Even before I read his post, I decided "My cars don't define me, I define them".
After thinking it over, I want to be defined by my hot rod instead of my truck. Anybody got pictures of traditional gun racks on roadsters?
I would prefer to say I define the cars I build. Its also safe to say I like many different styles and types of cars, so I guess since I define myself as "A.D.D." and caotic, maybe the built cars define my moods.
I think Craig hit the nail on the head. Different cars for different parts of our personality. But then again we both shared an experience with the same car and I think that particular car was very differant than any other car that either of us had before.
Me too. My cars, especially if you include the daily drivers, are 180 degrees different from each other. I'd probably drive a shrink crazy trying to figure me out.
Does my car define me? I suppose, in the way that I can't decide if it should be a custom or a hot rod cause I like both. Should it practical or outlandish, cause I like both. I have a Pontiac, but I like other cars as well, I just tend toward Pontiacs and Buicks, but I like the Poncho engines. I guess I'm too mixed up to be defined.
It is impossible to describe, you'd have to know and see me and what ever I'm driving. It's like a package deal.
Yeah, I think my car definitely defines a part of me. And touching on what SUHRsc said - I like the idea of my car being strongly ***ociated with me. When someone else uses your name as a prefix for "Coupe", "Roadster", "Five Window", etc. and it sticks... you know you've done something that's left a real mark... and you can quote me on that if you want.
Not to start a war on this issue or anything, but if you define your hot-rod - isn't that kind of a reflection of your self anyways? Even if you aren't meaning to do it, you are leaving your own mark or your car. That bit of quirkiness is what makes your car different from Joe Blow down the street with the same kind of car. I kind of see what you and Kilroy mean, but at the same time it's a bit of a catch 22. Unless you leave your car completely stock and you don't so much as hang a deodorant from your mirror you are putting something that you like into your car - which might not be what Joe likes, therefor making it reflect upon your own persona, and thusly defining (even just a little) yourself. ...man I should just hold my tongue sometimes.
no. i ***ume that you're talkin' about our hot rods, not our dailys. they're just toys to play with. wouldn't matter what kind of car i have, i'd still be the same person. however, a car might or might not indicate a person's current state of affluence or lack thereof.
Actually the whole idea is a contradiction... The term "Your car defines you" is problematic.... What does it mean... Does it mean that the car in form and function is an exact representation of who you are? Or does it mean that without your car, your life has no meaning? Or does it mean that your car makes you the person you are? Etc... All of which, in my opinion are completely shallow and sophmoric ***ertions... The last thing I want, is to be reduced to something I created in a period of a few months or years. I mean I haven't even seen or built a car yet that embodies EVERY car I like. They are all parts of a puzzle that hasn't been defined yet, and won't be untill I modify my last vehicle... My car is my creation... I define it... It's in NO WAY an acurate DEFINITION of who I am. You might be able to tell a thing or two about me by looking at it, but if you make the mistake of judging me based on that one creation, you will be DEFINED as an idiot... Basically, I think hot rods and customs are F*U*N... Nothing more or less...
I've been thinking about this i think some cars "reflect" more then "define" some people look in the mirror and they see a race car some see a dry lakes roadster some a 40's custom it reflects their inner thoughts and desires it reflects their life...it goes hand in hand with how they treat every aspect of their being. they may not wash their car every day, just like they may not comb their hair. They may not check the oil just as they may not go to the doctor for "check-ups" the car is part of their life a mirror image of who they are in a mechanical form then on the other hand some people go buy a race car "to be a race car driver" "to be a dry lakes racer" "to be the coolest guy cruising the streets" in this sence their car does define them, they have the car to make them who they "want to be" "hello im Joe Streetrod, look how much money i have" then theres a 3rd group, where their life goes along as they want it. and their interests fall on whichever time period or style they desire. but the cars are a part of them. its not one specific car thats fulfilling their desires in life but it is life. incorperated into every thing they think and do. its not a thought of life being incomplete without the cars. its that life wouldnt exist without them. its a 24 hour a day lifelong commitment to the cars for these in the third group its not a defonition or a reflection. it is life.
I look at it this way. If you build the car it reflects what you want that particular car to look like when it is finished. My current car is a 40 Ford and I wanted a certain look for the car, but, my next project is going to be a 64 dodge polara, so I guess what I'm trying to say is you define the look of the car depending on what your building and it is a reflection of what your thinking that car ought to be.
Your car can be an EXTENSION of you...of your personality and of your character, but it shouldn't define you. Your deeds, words, actions, the examples you set and the Life you lead are what define you. I know that far too many people here (and elsewhere) tend to measure a person's worth and status based upon material objects that they own (cars as the obvious example in this case), and that reflects poorly upon them, in truth. I like to see what a person has to offer and let the voice of their character, personality and experiences speak for who they are, rather than what happens to be parked in their garage or driveway at any given moment...but that may be thinking WAY outside the box in this zoo! Kinda reminds me of a good cop I knew up north. On the Job, he was all business and a stellar example of what a dedicated law enforcement officer ought to be. On his own time, he was just a neighbor, fellow human being and a friend. He didn't strut around in some silly "TV cop mode" all the time like so many off-duty officers do...he was just himself. As he once said, "Being a cop is what I do...it's not who I am." But, if you feel the need to measure my worth by my CARS, and let them define me, then I suppose that is your right. Guess that'd make me either a curious oddity from the Disco Era, or a negelcted 50s relic...you tell me, because they're just my cars, not who I am.
This is a tough one Ryan, and I had to think about it awhile. I tried to figure out which I was thinking about. Cars I liked becouse of thier design, or their at***ude, or outside influences. But that led me away from your question. Which meant I had to look closer at myself. Impatient, vain, and a problem streak with authority. But with a deep love and respect for machines and Speed. Like everyone else always tring to be a better man than I am. And wishing the world was a easier place to live. So that brought me straight to the 60's. I don't know why. So my defining car. Is the strip/street racers of the sixties. The primered beast that rolled the drag each Saturday night sporting the shoe polished times they had turned at the strip that afternoon, like a badge of honor. The cars that Fathers didn't want their daughters in, that rattled and sqweeked, over heated and drank gas the way we drank Ever Clear behind the burger joint. The cars the cops looked out for, and put a chill down your spine as their rumpty rump idle pulled beside you at the light. Dressed in gray, with black nagahide bucket seats from some donor car at the bone yard, Chrome steelies, anson slots, or black painted steel rims. Side quarter windows plastered with aftermarket stickers, like we where the big boys and had sponsers. A tach on the dash, and sunvisors full of those little monkeys from the straws at the drive in. A 8-track blasting Black sabbath, Led Zepplin, or Jimmy, rattling our JCWhitney speakers in their chrone speaker grills with the little note pattern. We ****ed at school, was never interested in sports, and band was for geeks. But when we fired or Shoebox Chevy and heard that BB come to life, when we slipped the clutch, when we barked secound as we p***ed the hang-out at the turn around. In our minds we where Gods. This was my Dad's car. And I'm building one just like it. It's who I am. Simple, but with a need to show-off.
Ryan You and I come from different eras of the same world. I was probably most heavily influenced by the guys that wandered in and out of my dad's shop in the later '50s and early part of the '60s. I've always believed in building your own ride or at the very least being intimately involved in the building of your ride. Your car (or bike) doesn't define you you define it. Your ride is a direct reflection of yourself. Most of you who know me know that I'm a little edgy, or perhaps its better said that I'm a goofball. But when it comes to what I'm going to drive I become dead serious, well maybe not dead serious if you know where to look or pay attention there will always be something there that just doesn't seem right. But I'm not going to tell you everything I think you should figure it out. I always prefer to build an imposter, more than likely the look is very understated or as some have put it to see it there isn't anything cool about it. Its all about what's under the skin that counts. I'm basically trapped in the '60s. But not the glitzy show car '60s. Give me a sleeper, good brakes, good suspension, and a healthy and dependable mill. I'm happy as a lark. If it doesn't need it strip it off has always been my moto. When or if I get around to paint it'll be understated at best as will the interior. I don't care about creature comforts, just give me a place to sit and something to hang onto. You'll always know me I'm the one at the stop light that's grinning at you not because I'm stupid but because I know something that you don't, " its a beater my friend but you won't have to see it long."
My spiritual life, at***ude and heart define who i am today. It's not what i drive or the cars i think i own, because in all reality i don't own a thing in this world, it's all borrowed stuff and on loan from God. I came into this world with nothing and i'll be leaving it the same way! but for the time being ...he's letting me borrow these two rides at the moment
My family members have told me I jacked up a Neighbour's car and was well on my way to remove one of its wheels. I was 4 years old at the time, and I must have seen him do it countless times 'cause he was always working on it. At age 10 I started to build my first car of my own. So I think building cars defines me. But the cars I build are what I want/need/like. What excites me... ( There are some simularities... More Horesepower than they originally came with, better roadholding, better brakes, use of period parts, etc... No time and money spent on Paint & Upholstery untill its absolutely neccesary...) I think a car should make me look over my shoulder at it once more before I walk into a store, because I enjoy owning it, driving it, and the fact that I built it. I dont own any cars that dont make me do that....
I'd have to say my cars define me pretty well. Look good from a distance, but a little ruff around the edges!
The Jalopy Journal
