Does the general public react when they see you out driving?

I always get the thumbs up,a lot of hand clapping,and occasionally a broad will show us her melons>>>>.

 

they cover their ears.....12" Zoomies on a hemi do it every time.

 

What I have noticed though is the number of teenage boys who don't even give a glance. I always think that's strange, since when I was a teenager I would go nuts every time a hot rod passed by. Either they're just to cool to be impressed now, or they are clueless.

 

Absolutely!! I probably get a better reaction from young kids than from anybody else though. They hoot and hollar like crazy. That gives me hope for the future of this hobby. This all happens in my non-HAMB friendly '65 Chevelle, but I've experienced the same in older cars that I owned in the past. We'll see what reaction the '62 LeSabre gets.

 

Funny you should mention that. Last Saturday I was out in the Chevelle and pulled up next to some teenagers in a Cavalier. Before I turn I overhear the passenger say to the driver "now that's a gas hog." Could hardly believe my ears.

 

Seems the more shiny or more radical, the more attention.
Can't go anywhere without a mob in the F-100 since I put the new paintjob on, but before that, in primer, it was invisable. . . But the RatRod A is all primer and gets just as much attention because it's so odd.

If they didn't pay attention, we would be building something else.

Craig

 

Tell me about it. I must say, I was teaching my fiance to drive my 55 Chevy. People were taking double and tripple takes to see that was in fact a slinder blonde driving that rumpity rumpity 55!

 

When I first got my 57 chevy on the road, 50 year old paint. My youngest son was in third grade, I picked him up from school. He said "Dad it doesn't even have paint, he was kinda embarased......then not 2 min later we drove by the baseball field and every kid on the field stoped and looked....one kid yelled COOL CAR....now my son is 11 and wants to drive one of my old cars every where.

 

For what it's worth:

I used to get lots of looks and attention driving my beautiful burgundy and white 55. Then, I wrecked the car. I put it on a new frame, and replaced the front end. I had removed the chrome to paint the car and the front end was grey. The car was almost invisible. Even at the track until...

One weekend, my brother and I sanded and primered the 55 flat black and left the roof shinny white. I put my vintage speed decals on it. I reinstalled all the chrome. I liked the look. To my amazement, I could not even swap my slicks on at my local track in peice. It was just as well loved and revered as back when I first built it all shinny and new.

I was soon reminded of the other looks of shock and amazement in the pitts. I would offen hear from spectators wondering the pitts:

Wow! It's a four door! I had'nt even noticed! I guess the view from the stands is not as high def when the car runs down the track. They seem to be destracted by the spectacle of a stick shifted 55 at the drags. Once common according to older friends, a rarity now days.

 

and wipe it's ass with a Rabbit

 

I'm usually pretty cool when passing old cars..I lurk on here just about everyday and am used to seeing all sorts of old tin.
but..
Sunday I was driving the minivan,7 gearheads inside..heading to a racetrack 2 hours from home and passed the most awesome blown coupe I've ever seen in these parts,he was on rt.28 cruising with a buddy in a sedan.
I slowed down a bit admiring his ride and caught myself drooling all over the steering wheel like some 16 year old driving Dad's car for the first time..he saw my grin when he looked over,just gave him a quick thumb's up and sped off.
wish I had a sign to hold up saying "I H.A.M.B."..

bet he would have understood..lol

 

been flashed by teen gals, been flipped off by road rage charlie, been almost rammed going down the freeway by a gawker that just hadda get to close to look.......

my favorite line from a looker who is about 80 is .....

" i had one just like it once"

yea right you had a chopped , fenderless, coupe...........

 

my cars primetimeand i love it

 

For the most part its a good feeling for everyone, thumbs up, freedom of the open road, only in the USA kinda feelin..its the people that run right up on my ass, like I'm this old slow inconvenience that they are willing to risk their lives, my life and everyones around us to somehow pass me and haul ass up screeching to the next stop light..this is bordering on old fogeyism, but those people hauling ass around in their Toyotas on cell phones are dangerous!..your hair/nails/daycare/Starbucks appointment isn't that important enough to risk your Life for folks...and I will still nail it on a open stretch of Highway...yeeehaw!

 

My wife hates riding in anything of mine cause; "people look at us".

I "torcher" my 14 year old daughter cause I'll pick her up from the private school she goes to in my lowered 62 unibody with factory rust and a little paint. She can't understand why people will talk to me about the truck.

In around 1991 I stopped for gas in the town of West Tx in my recently painted 71 ford conv., and this old timer sitting on the station sidewalk told me "that is a California car right there!"

I remember when I was a kid, and I'd see a guy in a old car, and I would think "One day I want to drive something like that!"

Now I hope that some kid will see me and think the same thing.

 

Kind of the same thing happened to me with a guy in a brand new Vette..
Thought it was cool as I looked at my turd in the reflection of his shiny red paint!!

 

About three years ago, my daily driver was a '66 Suburban, last year it was a '57 Chevy. Both of these had shitty old paint peeling off and really looked rough.

The people who "get it" really loved those cars. I had a guy at a gas station look at my '57 and tell me "I hope you never paint it". I thought that was a really cool thing to say. The Suburban would always bring the 'is that a hearse" or "is that an ambulance" questions.

The people who didn't get it gave me reactions like I might kidnap their children.

 

My 12 yr old daughter started a new school and was having trouble making friends at her bus stop....on my day off I dropped her off at the bus stop in the morning in my 52......now everybody talks to her!!...she loves when I pick her up or drop her off in the chevy!

 

Public generally doesn't react. I guess it's the people around here are odd.

 

In the 45 + years I been playin with hot rods my current primered 27 T has got more postive reaction than the other dozen that I had ever did total. Was thinking about painting it but now I'm damm near afraid to even wash it.And these haven't just been cat type people. Little kids and 40ish women with a couple of little kids in tow.

 

I get a kick when some really old guy in the next lane goes nuts. He's maybe 70ish and he's driving some totally practical econo box car, plainest car you could find. So he's well beyond caring about the style of cars at all. But he see's me and he just can't stop giving the thumbs up, his head is bouncing up and down in the car like a teen-ager! You just know some 40 or 50 years ago, that guy must have owned a sled.

 

one time this kid probably about 8, almost fell out his moms volvo checkin out my car at a light, when I cought up to them I gave the kid a nod, just like a hells angel did to me when I was a kid. felt good to know I destroyed that kids life. got to keep the cycle going.
I get lots of pics. at gas stations.

 

This is a great topic. I live in such a SNOOTY area people pretend they dont see me. It's kinda hard to miss a 18 foot long green machine... 4 inches off the ground. I think they feel sorry for me... Having to drive and old car. I will tell you this, straight pipes sure keep the Prep's off my ASS! I think they are afraid its going to blow. One advantage....I clear traffic faster than the C.H.P

 

That's pretty funny about the hells angels. When I was a kid in the 70's biker 'gangs' were all over the place riding in packs(or so it seemed to me ) and I loved looking at those bikes from the rear facing jump seat in the back of the station wagon

Kids get a wave from me, and they're always welcome to take a pic behind the wheel.

Gotta spread the disease

I guess you're right, maybe I'm just used to seeing the car and forget that not everybody is.

I like what someone else said, that people tend to let their guard down and open up a little to a complete stranger. That's been my experience, I've sure talked to people I never would have dreamed would chat with me. Like yuppie looking or wealthy guys that I expect are going to bitch at me for loud pipes or parking too near their house, and then start telling me about a car they used to own.

The other funny thing is I'm about the last guy anybody would consider particuarly friendly looking, yet people will still chat me up and wave and smile like I was Big Bird or something. Go figure. Learning how to smile more has been an adjustment Maybe its good for me.

EDIT: Yeah it kinda scares the hell outta me when somebody starts honking outta the blue, I think something is falling off my car and they're trying to warn me or something!!

I will say that I've never been honked at when I've been slow to leave a light or something that normally would produce a little horn blowing. Surprising to me people have cut me a lot of slack and let me merge or whatever.

It's also kinda random the people that don't know me but know my car. Like a cab driver that gave me a ride home across town one time, and when my OT car was broken into and the items thrown in a bush, the guy that found them told me he knew my car, and when he saw it parked on the street he knew that this was the area he wanted to live in.

I still see crooked panels, plexiglass, and windows that don't roll up right.

A pal of mine has a $$$ car that's beautiful. Every time I see it, which is pretty often, I notice something else about it that is really well done and I admire it more. Sorta similar, he just sees a money pit he overspent on.

Another reason why I'm such a cheap bastard!

 

Every time I take the 59 Ute out, I get questions.

Last Saturday at Big K, Woman asked,- How did you get that here from England? I said, - I drove it from Australia.
She didn't get it, but her husband did. Frank

 

The coolest experience I've had in my Plymouth was about a week and a half after I got her out of the shop and on the road again. It was the second time I had driven her to work and had driven over to a little italian takeout place up the street (Fazolis if anyone knows it). When I pulled in I saw two school buses and some teachers leading 50 or 60 second graders out towards them. They started flipping out, screaming "Oh My God" and pointing. The teachers waved me past and after I got my food out of the drive through, I decided to make another lap around the restraunt past the school buses. You could see the buses tilt towards me and heads started popping out of the windows. I gave a couple polite honks on the horn and waved. It brought me back to when I was about that age and sitting in the back seat of that same car staring, mouth agape listening to my Great Grandfather tell me about the other cars in the classic car parade as my Grandfather drove.

John

 

Listen to Fred Eaglesmith sing "That's A Mighty Big Car"

Pretty much says it all.

What, never heard of him? what the hell's your problem?

Look him up..

 

I always get thumbs up...and the regular questions.. "What year", etc... And there always the guys that used to have one or "my Dad had one"... It's fun... You get used to the attention...

 

what year/type of Cadillac is that?

It's a Lincoln!!

 

I get that all the time but it's when I drive the weird ones that I get the most attention.

If I take the Fiat 128 out, I can't hardly get anywhere when I stop from people asking me what is it or telling me they had one back in the 70s (this story always goes one of two ways - either they tell me how much it broke down on them and they finally gave it to the junkman or they blabber on about how much they loved it and how fun it was to drive and where can they get one etc.).

The best one was when I had the Fiat spider and this really grubby looking biker pulls up alongside and after a long stare nods his head gives the thumbs up.

I love pulling up alongside BMW Z4s, Solstices, etc. in this car and watching the sportos get that "OK, I'm a poser" look on their faces (except guys who drive new 350Zs. They don't get it just like the guys who drove new 280Zs didn't get it back in the 80s).

No one ever notices my 69 Chevy truck, it's completely invisible. Must be because it's not old enough and grungy.