Art & Inspiration "is that a real car?"

Hell I think Its kind of neat this old iron makes such a deep connection with people so much they want to talk about it. I find myself interacting with all types of folks that normally would otherwise just walk on by. Its cool to have a common bond & build bridges w new people just by driving a rad hot rod ! Ive met lil old ladys, old dudes that "had one just like it" & the kid at the gas station says our wagon "Is Lit"... The Cholos love my 52 Styline, Its all love and respect the way I interpret it. If you feel like the questions are stupid take a second to drop some knowledge and maybe teach em a bit, be an ambassador for what we do.... Or be an introvert and rip a nasty burnout w a middle finger in the air ! This wasnt directed at any post in particular, just my 2 bits..

 

My favorite was a lady saw the Texas plates on my 37 Buick sitting in a grocery store parking lot on the Iowa-Minnesota border and asked if we drove it there. Answered, "Nope shipped it Fedex".

 

In response to the question...

"No, and if anyone asks, you didn't see me here either."

 

I stopped at a red light in my 57 chevy wagon and the guy next to me asked if it was a hearse.
"how old are you?
"19"
"oh, its a station wagon."
just a kid but he was interested.
Another time, an old woman asked what kind of car it was. I told her she was old enough to know what it is. She asked, "Belair?" I said yes, even tho its a 210.

 

That reminds me of a gas station story. I used to use a personalized license tag on my Model A Tudor that read "Low Buck". I'm at a gas station filling up and a guy comes up, looks the car over and says, "Nice car but why did you put a Ford engine in a Buick?" I hesitated for a moment and said it was Low Buck not Low Buick. He just nodded and walked off.

 

Was at a small local car show a week ago with my avatar 36 pickup. Granted, the paint is very thin 60+ year old black that was sprayed over the original red with the red now showing through. I always let kiddos climb on the running boards and in the cab. The day of that car show it had rained earlier that morning. Yesterday I was getting the 36 out to go for a rip and I laughed to myself at seeing all the kid sized muddy footprints on the running boards.

 

Love your choice of metaphors.
Surely you don't think there is any snobbery ingrained within our hobby...........
Had a lady who worked in the office with me. It was well known that she had implants, and they were rather large for her diminuitive size. She was also known for occasional crude comments. One day the subject of donor organs was being discussed..........and I asked her if she planned to donate them............

 

Back when I had my 32 sedan, I was getting gas and a guy, old like me, was at the adjacent pump. He says, “That’s a 32 isn’t it? I recognize the grille and the gas tank at the rear. Used to have one many years ago.”
And from his grin, it made his day. At least one other person gets it.

 

Not unless you built and live in a straw bale house/shop like I did! I have the 3 minute tutorial memorized after 17 years


Think about car comments this way. EVERY time a person asks you about the car it is a chance to educate them on the reasoning and practicality of driving an older car. For every potential Tesla or Prius buyer WE have a chance to show how important the history is as well as the fact we are keeping something on the road instead of buying into the throwaway mentality. It is a chance to show them that no, these are not polluting behemouths they have been told they are. My 54 Chevy was parked next to a buddies Toyo when he mentioned how heavy it must be? Had him open the door and read the GVW. His modern sedan out weighed the 54 by 400 pounds. At the time I could get 20-22mpg with a V8. My daily pickup at the time barely got that!

 

I don’t get the mileage question. It’s not like they are paying for the gas. I just tell them I don’t know and when it needs gas I put it in. I try to be nice about it though. Snowman ⛄️

 

My favorite one was at Target store, some guy (in his 50s or 60s, hard to tell around these parts...Everybody looks like the folks in Walmart gags)
Anyway, the guy says, "Nice '53!" I say "Thanks, but it's a '55." He counters: "No, it's a '53, Ford just changed the body style."
I told him to look at the grille. "Henry wanted to be able to tell the years' difference, so he designed the '55 grille to be discernable. See how the center is a big "V"? That was for the Roman Numeral Five. It was done 'a-purpose'."
The guy stared at the 'V', slowly nodding. "I see..." he said. "Thanks."

One other old guy at the bank, as I was getting out of my F100. I locked the drivers door, this apple yells out, "Hey, the locks still work on that old truck?"
I yell back, "Yeah, and it'll do 65... On the freeway..."