hahaha, I was on my way home today in my '56 chevy, which is pretty nice but as far as classics and rods go, not the coolest thing ever, with 10 years of daily driving wear/tear; anyway as I was waiting to turn I noticed a Bentley Conti GT coming down the road, started checking the car out 'cause I don't see those things driven much around here and noticed the guy driving pulled his phone away from his head to gawk at my car while he drove by! Last couple months I've been paying a little more attention to the people that turn to watch the old car go by...it entertains me when it's the guy in the C6 vette, BMW 5 series or AMG Benz, ogling as if it's the coolest thing they've ever seen. The Bentley was a new one for me, today, though. I have to chuckle when I know I spent a tiny fraction of what they did, have far more sentimental value and history, way cooler stories about my time with the car and will command more interest and respect than their car ever will! And not that it's a pissing contest of who's car is better, I'm just doing what I enjoy and what I can almost afford to do!! anyone else notice that drivin your hot rod around?
I was on a cruise with a bunch of other rods, driving my 32' 3 window. When we get to our destination, the guy following me in a restored 54' F100, tells me he got run off the road by a gawker, who was staring at my 32'. One of the few times my wife rode in the 32', she noticed the gawkers at a stop light. She said, "Does this happen alot?". I tell her yeah, but the worse is when they start to run into you.
Its better to line up next to them at the light and show them what my hemi powered pile of parts does against there 70 grand late model.
LOL, yep today my fiance and I took out "da Chief"(55 Star Chief Catalina) and seemed like atleast 3 out of 5 were starring as if I were from another planet....I love it....
i get a kick out if the kids myself some of them just grin ear to ear i know i may not be lighting a fire for them but a little spark will do just fine
The other day, a local cop stopped his police cruiser in the middle of an intersection to gawk at my '29 Sedan as I drove by. He had that bewildered "What the f*ck is that...???" look on his face. I just waved. He waved back in an uncertain slow motion. It was priceless!!
I live in a family oriented neighborhood. When I round the curves in my daily driver,..nobody bats an eye. When I round the curves in my 65 Riv,..I notice the parents always pull their children closer to them and the little children are constantly checking over their shoulders when I'm coming up behind them. I laugh because the first time I ever saw a 65 Riv was in a magazine that reffered to it as a car that frightens small children and old women. Its True
it also seems like I get tailgated a lot for some reason, I mean, more often and closer than usual for CA drivers. don't know if it's the car or if I just don't notice it as much when I'm in my 4x4 diesel...with that thing I couldn't care less how close they are because a 2 5/16ths hitch ball is going through the radiator of whoever rearends me...
i got pulled over in my 53 coupe deville because the cop wanted to gawk at my car... needless to say that i was relieved that that was all he wanted. im not sure if that is legal to do... but i wasnt complaining. he was pretty cool and just wanted to check out the car.
It's because these cars are special. Old cars will always have that power. Whether you had someone build it for you or you did the work yourself, people know they are looking at something special. They know they can't just walk into the corner dealer and roll out in one. The older people smile because it brings back so many memories. The younger ones are curious because they have probably only seen one in a magazine, television or at a car show, where they were told, "nobody REALLY drives these things anymore." That's why you got to take it to the streets. Yea, it may get tiring spending 30 minutes to get 10 gallons of gas because some old guy has a story of when he had one, but it goes with the territory and when you think about it, it's part of why you built it. That's the spirit of it and you can't get that in a $60,000 Lexus. Hell, it's not even an option.
I had a county sheriff make a U-turn on I-70 and follow me into a gas station. He got out of his cruiser, walked around my model A and said "NOW THAT'S A HOT ROD. We stood around and gabbed about cars untill he got a call.( about 15 min)
I get 'the look" when I pass a state trooper,stopped on the side of the highway. Well they can hear me comming ,with zoomies,then watch as thier jaws drop,in the "what the f**K??? "expression...
I got that all the time when I commuted it to school. technically no, it's not legal for them to pull you over to check the car out but there are a fair amount of cops that are still good dudes and are car guys, though becoming fewer and farther between. To me it's kinda refreshing when they DO pull me over to check out the car and have a good car convo. I always got the "I pulled you over because you were weaving, have you been drinking?" pretty much just a CYA line in case the car conversation didn't go as planned...then they couldn't get turned in for an illegal stop.
First of all, I'll say....I'm a cop...I dont pull cars guys over to check out their cars, I understand they may have somewhere to be.... But....there was one instance where I was driving a loner unmarked one sunday afternoon and saw a fire breathin 34 ford P/U, 18" mickys out back and a blown 502 up front (not my style but it was nice). The unmarked I was piloting was not one of your typical unmarked cars (Ie It wasnt your typical I can tell your a police car cars....2006 electric blue tahoe with 20's...deffinatly not my style) Anyway, I saw a ricer trying to start some shit with the guy and race him, the rodder blew him off and continued to obey every traffic law out there, I pulled the ricer over and gave him a warning, later that day I saw the 34 again, still obeying traffic laws, I pulled him over... To compliment him on not driving like an ass and tell him he hadda cool ride...bought the bloke a soda and sent him on his way... so yeah I guess I'm a gawker sometimes too, I try not to run folks off the road though
My daughter says she feels like she's in a parade when we're out for a drive. She just smiles and waves at people. B
Have a lot of fun doin that to new factory cars, ricers especialy. some times i just cant help myself. But I try to do it safely. just hope if i ever get caught its somebody as coooooooooool as you
I was pulled over in my , non traditional, chopped Datsun pickup once because the cop wanted to see how I fit in it. I thought he was going to give me a ticket for obstructed vision, too small of a windshield. But he just asked if I could open the door so that he could see how I fit in it. Then he bent down and looked at the seats and out the windshield and just laughed. This same truck, before it was finished, got a double take from a pair of cops early one morning when I was taking it in to get the windshield put it. 5:30am and I'm driving down the street with no windows at all when a cop car pulls up next to me at a stoplight. The driver looks over and then looks back straight ahead. A couple seconds later he looks back at me again and just stares at the truck. I'm thinking "should I reach up and act like I'm wiping something off the non-existing windshield and hopefully they don't notice there isn't one or just act like nothing is wrong"? The light turns green so I slowly drive off, when they catch back up both cops are now staring at my truck and I'm thinking that they are going to pull me over for sure. I look over and they both just smiled, kinda chuckled and kept going. My other , non traditional, truck was another Datsun, a kingcab. Lowered and primer gray and a shell with only a back window, back of the cab and front of the bed were cut out so I could turn around and get into the bed of the truck without gtting out of the truck. (I know--F**king mini trucker). From a distance it looked like a mini hearse. I had several cop cars pass me and then slow back down and get either behind me or beside me just enough to be able to read what I had written on my tailgate. "friends help you move... real friends help you move bodies". I got pulled over in this truck once and the cop kept straining to see what was in the bed because I had black see-thru mesh material hanging between the bed and the cab. And it didn't help any that as soon as I stopped I stuck both hands (empty) out the window right away and told him that I had my gun in the truck. That'll make any cop suspicious of you right away.
My Plymouth's only been driven for a couple of weeks, but so far I've found that most young people dont even look at it, it's the oldies that gawk. Most young ones are more interested in a Honda Civic with big wheels.
gawkers are great, a friend of mine was driving his off topic 70' chevelle, driver of another car was gawking at my friends car and not paying attention to the road, the gawker bumped into the car in front of him.
I have been pulled over as well, when I had almost finished my old 32 coupe. The cop was honest and said he just wanted to look at it. He was cool so I didn't mind. Had some odd remarks offered though. I was washing my 38 out the front of my old Barracks when a young guy pulled up in his $70,000 dollar GT-P Falcon. He had a good look then asked me how I could afford my car on a soldiers pay!
I've had a lot of cars people gawked at over the years,it is part of owning a different car. Now that I have this Pink Dodge it is happening again,but differently.This car is so stock looking it really atracks the elderly crowd, and the other day a kid asked me if it was in the movie Cars.
I have a '53 Ford Customline, chopped, bagged with Packard Taillights. Everytime I put gas in it (which is often cause the gauges don't work yet), people stare at the car and start up a conversation. it is always guys in Mercedes, BMW's and even a Porsche. People honk, waive and point when I am driving. It's a cool feeling when other people acknowledge a cool car. I even had an old lady who looked like a house frau know all about the Customline because she had one when she was young. The funny thing is I just picked up a '41 Chevrolet pickup and it doesn't get half the attention. Except when my wife drives it!
Get over yourselves...............That is why you drive what you drive............and you love it....