My Plymouth has been hit and rebuilt so many time that a friend of mine suggested that "any car that has been a frame rack 3 times is either a circle track car, or something special to someone..." I'm thinking of making cutout silloiutes of late model cars to spay for "kills" on the fender. Mostly illeagals, and never once my fault. Ya just fix them again.
Yeah im a bit scared. Because while people pay attention to the classic on the road, theyre too busy looking at it and not the road. My 55 studebaker was what really got me. I bought it with a crunched right corner. Replaced it, a month later i come out of the grocery store and the SAME quarter had been hit bad.. Ended up depressed and sold it. Heck..even someone hit the trunk in my 66 volvo wagon.. i dont know, i feel like all parking lots hate my cars now.
my wife just got hit by some jerk texting. (actually it's the second time in the last 4 months) he side swiped the entire side of her daily driver. Jersey sucks so bad. My wife and I have been hit 6 times in the last 8 years. It's ridiculous. I always think I shouldn't be driving my hot rod. Definitely makes a case for a roll cage and a harness. It's really bad when you feel safer going 110 mph at the drag strip than you do driving home from work. People are so stupid.
Come to Australia, trust me it aint any better. I drive a petrol tanker for a living and the behaviour I see on the road every day beggars belief. Some of the bad drivers I see I wouldn't put them in control of a ride on lawn mower let alone a motor vehicle, and drivers on cell phones is also a big problem here aswell. Still, won't stop me from driving my hotrod, I just keep a sharp lookout for what everyone else is doing.
Mine only comes between the witching hour and dawn to avoid these kind of hassles. It's not that I'm scared of other people, it's just that I really don't like most of them.
I just aim at em and throttle down. If your gunna get hit by me its gunna be hard. Not im my RPU though. Defend your lane! If an illegal hit me and my car was still driveable, i wouldnt call the cops and hed be callin an ambulance. BUY CELL PHONE JAMMERS!!!!
No better joy than drivin' down the road in your ride... Yes it's the idiots out there on the road that's scary, and there seems to be a lot of people with an attitude about our cars. They'll pull right out in front of you, knowin' that you'll be the one that slows down, because of your nice old car. And then there are the other A**holes that like to get as close as they can at a stoplight, just to see your reaction. But, Cool is the Rule... Don't let em' intimidate you off the road!...Enjoy the Ride! ...
i do relate because i drive my galaxie every day and i think about it every time i see a accident. i just drive for me and others. in other words i try to watching all drivers around me.
I drive mine all the time and try not to worry about it. On the way to work recently I saw a dumb bitch eating her Cornflakes out of a bowl with milk. The level of driver smarts/skills/attitude in Aus is a fucking disgrace. The system here is engineered to fleece you, not teach you HOW to drive. Hell most idiots would'nt know how to put air in their tires. Which is why I wont ride a bike. If they can't see you in a land barge, how the hell are they going to see you on a bike? Rat
I was reading this thread and had to share this story. When I was 17 I had a '73 Chevy 1/2 ton that a lady had given me. It had been her husband's and she didn't think it ran anymore and just wanted it out of her yard. This thing looked like it had been recovered from the ocean floor. Literally not a square inch of paint left on the bed and not much left on the cab. One day sitting at a red light I felt a slight bump from behind. I turned around in time to see this woman in a Grand Marquis that had just lightly rear-ended me backing back up. I wasn't mad...yet. It was barely a tap. When she looked back up and saw me looking at her she threw her hands in the air and gave me a "wtf you looking at?" gesture. I threw the truck in reverse and caved the grill in on her Mercury. Got the hell out of there laughing all the way home.
FlaminAbone, sorry to see both of your fine rides suffered the wrath. But I guess that is the price of puttin them babies on the road, hope they both repair o.k. That A is not only a fast mofo but a great lookin rig as well. Best wishes on repair. ~sololobo~
Some funny stuff here,you all are gonna ram the plastic shit box cars ...Hopefully you don't kill any one..............like a child in the other car. Or,look at the photo of the 56 Olds above this post..Read the driver's injuries.I don't know if he had seat belt or how fast he was going when the car hit the tree.....But you may just have a single car wreck like him....
If you are afraid to drive your land yacht perhaps you should sell it to someone who will enjoy it.Perhaps you could find a new hobby, Bird watching,stamp collecting,catching butterflies or maybe scrapbooking. I broadsided a Nissan some years ago driving my bumperless 56 chevy sedan delivery. My delivery still fared better than the asshat that made a U turn in front of me. I did get ticketed for not having a bumper,but the accident was his fault.
Had some dickhead roll into the back of my 1940 sedan delivery when I was stopped at a red light. Being bright red I guess it's a little tough to see. Luckily I had mounted the rear bumper two days earlier....
I guess it all depends upon where ya are . When I lived in Dallas , well more or less Arlington I was always scared as some jerk was always tryin to fu-- my rear . Look, a stock Flathead is only so damn fast. I would routinely pullover to the right to let the ass wipes on . Oh I would get all kinda honks , dirty looks and New Yak Hi signs . I'm now in just as bad an area now as i drove it to my current home south of wundurful Dee- Cee. These NASCAR wanna bees all tryin to beat me to a red light sheesh ! scrubba
Not driving your car is like not f**kin your girl. Might be nice to look at, but so much more fun when you use it.
Life is full of risk, which is why we buy insurance. There always have and always will be bad drivers on the road. As the saying goes, "drive defensively" and make allowances for people driving new stuff that generally handles and stops a lot quicker than our manual drum brakes. Try to keep a good distance from other cars and a good lookout way ahead to what's happening. I also prefer secondary roads to interstates. I don't mind driving mine as much as I hate parking it unattended, even if I'm running into a store. Old cars tend to be a$$hole magnets.
i saw the thread title, and said, naw, it can't be MY old thread... but, yep, it is.... sorry to say, on one hand, that i had to sell my '59 (to another Hamb'er locally; Toucan), but still have my Falcons. was headed out yesterday at School Bus time, and sure enough, some jackwagon driving a SUV passed a stopped school bus with the flag out and lights flashing.... i would be the most hated cop in town if i had a badge. i see more jackasses talking/texting/reading(!!)/adjusting their tampon strings while driving than you could shake a stick at.... i think i'll install a 500watt linear amp like my Dad had on the house CB radio... key the mike and it can kill an electronic ignition.
Lotta good posts here...I agree, you gotta drive it. My personal poster child for this topic is my bro-in-law, who spent years redoing his '65 Imp 'vert that he has owned since '76...I think he has put about 200 miles on it since he finished it -in 2006! ...Mmm, fun. As for crashes, sage advice posted earlier: working brake lights (the toggle-able reverse lights idea just RULES, btw), healthy brakes and the awareness of a city motorcycle rider (I dare say you can't TELL someone what that is/means - IMO, you have to develop that first hand) are a good start. But despite all the preparedness, I believe when it's your time, it's your time. Being T-boned this past New Years Eve cemented that one for me.
Scared? No. But do get a little nervous at times. This weekend I had 3 close calls in my little Valiant. Alot of idiots out there on the roads and you gotta be ready to dodge them all
You could be laying in your deathbed thinking, Damn I wish I could drive my old car one more time. Lifes too short to worry about the what ifs. You are lucky enough to have an old running classic, drive it. Some people dont have shit.
Your not driving fast enough if you get hit in the rear I had a friend years ago had a vette yellow camaro with black stripes. you couldn't "Not See IT" Dave said that all three times that he got rear ended the offending drivers said "they were looking at his car but missed the brake lights" My son never would drive my old cars. didn't want to be responsible for any damage. I tried to tell him. I built it from scratch and I could do it again. just drive it like you stole it and have fun. Now he has a cool primered beater and wants to trailer it. He must take after his mother!
The Jalopy Journal
