Hot Rods Are you a outcast in your neighborhood?

I bought my home 16 yrs ago on what is known as snob hill, i had no idea. I was an enlisted man in the A.F. serving the last 2 yrs of a twenty yr hitch. I went out on a saturday morning to mow my yard and found my nieghbors out with thier lawn boys wearing khakis and Izods. So i went out in cut off jeans, harley T shirt a cold MGD in one hand and kicking the shit out my old oil burn Murry to get the recoil to retrack and have never looked back. I am now and have been for many yrs the go to guy for just about anything in the nieghborhood. Some times being an ass can bite you in the ass, but sometimes it can work out, just be cautious!!!

 

I try and keep my junk behind the fence.

I'm not too worried about what others think because there is no HOA for them to be part of.

Non-neighbors bring me transmissions to build but those go right in the garage. Neighbors ask me really simple car questions. That may ramp up since we lost a damn good neighbor earlier this year.

 

Expect to be treated exactly like the way you behave. Be a dick, and people will treat you like a dick. Be nice and respectful, and that is probably what you will get. Remember, when it comes to neighbors, there are more of them than there are of you. Do you want to take the chance that 1, 2, 22, 125 of them will want to make your life a living hell? You won't stand a chance. Make friends, or make enemies, your choice. I suggest that you take the high road.

 

Yes. I just ignore most of them. I try to kill them with kindness............................ I belong to a PAC or political Action Comity............................... The bosses of the inspector's run for office. The PAC chairman makes calls to local officals and for some reason most of the time the zone people don't come back................ For a back up a good lawyer always helps.. I have noticed the neighbors sure are nice when the need some help. I always say "Yes" I will be glad to help you out. Some will still try to stab you in the back.

 

Burnout would be Gold to see haha. But you gotta live ther and build cars there hhmmm.Being a rodder you'll be able to bring a different perspective to those people rather than piss them off.

 

Why would anyone want to be an asshole in his own neighborhood? I've lived in the same house over 37 years and have yet to leave a black mark in the street. Not that it would matter now, the neighborhood has gone mostly rentals and thebuttholes next to me make all the noise and blackstripesin the road that anyone could ever need. The good thing is they usually only stay six months before they get evicted. When we had home owners for neighbors I was the go to guy for fixing things and everyone got along. Why would I want to be a jerk to my friends? To say nothing of the little kids playing outside. It's just a grown up thing I guess.

 

I had a opportunity to purchase a awesome pole barn type home on 27 acres. I'm away from my family four days a week. My wife just didn't like the idea. I do plan on buying some land and putting up a building so we can house some dirt bikes and go shoot guns. It is depressing but my family is happy.


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I'm the guy with the dirty old truck to some neighbors. They don't call the cops but I can tell they don't approve; they never did before either. Then there are other people who will be excited and we'll talk like we're old buddies. I just keep my head down and try not to draw attention and only drive at night.

 

I have it good. My house is a little remote which helps. I have only one neighbor to the side and he runs a business out of his yard, keeps it neat and orderly. There's lots of bikes and some rods around and we all get along or ignore each other. I keep my gig behind a closed garage door and I keep my yard immaculate.

My brother who is close by lives in a HOA communtity. Talk about hassles. When his 2 kids had cars there, 1 had to park off the property, a major pain in the ass. Someone ratted someone else to the town for something on their deck, fire marshall comes out and says "no more gas/charcoal grills on the decks.". How do you live in suburbia without a gas grill?

Bob

 

He is right on! every one of my neighbors come to me for help with something, and I ALWAYS help them out.
And when Im out there at 9pm banging away on a old fender.... no one says a word about it. as a matter of fact they all stop by to see "what Im up too" on nice days when I have the garage door open.

 

exactly why I sold the house in the burbs and moved shop and house to my farm property.
In the neighborhood, I was the guy who had lots of rodded minibikes and carts etc, I was always working on someones mower. A new guy moves in down the street, has a minibike and runs the hell out of the neighborhood and pissing people off. I am the one that got the visit from the police, me standing around 5-10 minis all the while saying "its not me your looking for" they of course didnt believe me. 16 years there with no cops at the door until then. The hell from the "older" neighbor down the street with a slot on the HOA started that day and wouldnt stop, even though I wasnt the one at fault. fuck em.
5-6 years ago the hoa sued me for hurricane storm damage on my home that farmers ins. was arguing about. the suit cost me almost 800 to make it go away or they were going to file a lien on my home.
fuck em, I dig the country.

 

not in the neighborhood....just in the family

 

Am I an outcast, hell no! I'm the guy with the cool truck that everybody wants but is afraid to admit. Everybody waves at the guy in the '49 Chevy truck, daily driver only vehicle so they see it alot. We're a nation of polishers and car washers, gone are the day of actually working on your vehicle. I am a reference point, a throw back to their grandfathers time. You just can't go to a car lot and buy my ride and that confuses the hell out of them. I can see 'WHY?' and 'WHAT'S THE POINT?' in their facial expressions. Fifteen years of 0 car payments...that making sense to you now?

Regards,

Cosmo49

 

When I first moved the quiet upstate NY village I used to joke property values in the neighborhood dropped. Between motorcycles and old cars, and tending to look like a scruffy biker, I doubt I would have even met most of my neighbors if it weren't for my wife - I guess I tend to scare people away. I was definitely the outcast, but people warmed up to me and I tried to be respectful with keeping tool and engine noises during daylight hours and keeping the property looking nice (kept the wife happier that way too). And once my neighbors found out I actually knew how to do things I became something of a local fix-it guy. I sorta felt bad for my closest neighbor, who's kitchen was practically on top of my garage, but it was me she turned to when a pipe burst in her basement.

I had a good relationship with most of my neighbors, with little interaction with many of them. Some of them were probably quietly relieved when I moved a couple months ago, but there were no incidents. IMHO it helps not being a dick.

Now in TN I have more space and well away from neighbors. I'm probably still an outcast, but mostly cuz I'm from the north. But they'll still wave at me when they drive by.

 

Ha! I used to joke I was the white sheep of my family. I was the only one NOT brought home by the cops when I was a kid.

 

I try to be a good neighbor and treat the folks around me the way I want to be treated,as I said in my earlier post I have been in my home for 40 years and most of the people around me have ether moved or died so I don't know everyone like I use to.

One neighbor is the sister of a great friend that passed away several years ago and I watched her grow up,,she calls me her older brother. HRP

 

Maybe I'm an oddball here, or like my wife says, maybe I'm just an old man trapped in a 26 year olds body, but how much noise and commotion do you really need to make that you are worried about it? Ive run air tools and grinders, broken in cams in the driveway, and before kids when I had free time the band I was in practiced in my basement, and none of this was so noisy it was obnoxiously loud at the neighbors houses. We love in the suburbs on half acre lots so my neighbors aren't far either. Everything I do is still quieter than the neighbor boys subs in his pos, or the little kids down the block who set up there bike jumps in the cul-de-sac all screaming and yelling and having a good time. Don't run open headers, don't play your stereo loud enough to hear in the neighbors driveway, don't do burnouts, and keep reasonable hours and you'll never have a problem if you smile and wave and make small talk...


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I live in a neighborhood where if you dont have have a hotrod ,harley .four wheeler or some other noisy toy you are the out cast.

 

I'm the young family in the neighborhood. Had a 68 Tbird and 53 f100 in the drive. I'm always trying to be as polite as possible. Someone did call the cops about the 68 when I parked it on the street. Finally sold 68. Keeping truck though. Only rodder around has a 3 car garage. I have a carport. Soon to be 2 car...closed in. Keep the peace. You catch more bees w honey than you do with vinegar. Good luck

 

I do not live off of the government so I may just be an outcast in my neighborhood.

 

Well said!


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As others have said, an HoA and covenants can work for you and against you. At least where I live, covenants are considered legal contract. When you sign the deed, you are agreeing to abide by the covenants. Read before you sign! If you don't like the covenants, buy somewhere else, or you'll be fighting people who were there before you.
We have some reasonably restrictive covenants here - part of the reason we like it here. They make for a little extra trouble sometimes (can't store any inop vehicles or trailers outside for instance), but they also make for a nice neighborhood. I've been on the Board some too - not an easy task being an enforcer, and we do have a couple of problem residents (not car related).
I also agree about being a nice neighbor. We hotrodders struggled for decades to improve our image. Why would we step back to tarnish it again? Be a good neighbor and you'll have good neighbors. The "Screw 'em all!" attitude hardly makes for low stress living.

 

When we moved in my wife and I made it a point to do a meet & greet with the neighbors. I try to be nice and appologize for any loud noise I make. When I got my 61 GMC I bought a car cover and never left any junk in the driveway visible from the curb. Now my two adjacent neighbors always ask how the truck is coming. What sucks though is the neighbors in the cul-de-sac across the street from me. They act like their shiznit don't stink and they never wave back whenever I try to wave hello to them.

You just gotta be nice. Don't do anything stupid or inconsiderate, because as others have said your neighbors can make your life hell.

 

Careful who you try to make friends with.. I've got some neighbors that I'd rather have as enemies,so I avoid them. Nosy as hell,and it isn't a good idea for every neighbor to see what you have in the garage.
Where I used to live,I had 2 nosy,old women across the street and next door. The bonus was they seemed to be deaf when I made noise late at night. But let a strange car or truck sniff around my house,and they'd both call me at work immediately. I appreciated those old busybody women,but didn't invite them to hang out with me.
Now I'm the crusty old guy in my neighborhood. I'd rather some of my neighbors fear me than want to hang out.

 

I bought the eyesore of a house and brought my old trucks in at first people were reluctant and as they saw my house become nicer and nicer finally it looks like one of the nicer homes instead of the eye sore people always walk by and talk about my trucks. I took a neighbor for a ride in the 53 the other day, she was super excited about it. when I first moved in the cops were called because I did not have current license and registration on every truck on my property. now they love me they ask for my help and watch my house and my pits for me. By the way having pit bulls was another issue people were freaked out about. now people ask me how to train their dogs, I even let some of the neighbor kids take the dogs for walks. everyone love it

fly under the radar before letting your freak flag fly

 

I am not allowed to live in a neighborhood.

 

If you don't want your neighbors to make assumptions about you based on your appearance or possessions, I suggest you afford them the same courtesy. Just because everyone isn't wearing an approved car-guy-girl uniform doesn't mean there aren't any car folk in the neighborhood. You may be surprised at what is in closed garages right nearby.

20 some years ago I moved into a garage apartment in a very quiet residential neighborhood. Thought I was the one cool motorcycle owner type until one day the supposed "yuppie" across the alley came rumbling in on his new HD. I walked over to say hi, I still assumed it was a mid-life crisis buy, until he waved me into his garage. Ducati Pantah, Moto Guzzi V7, beautiful Triumph Trophy 500, well worn BMW GS, etc.

 

Grew up on a country road, great place. There was about a mile stretch right past our house that was empty. Neighbor kid liked to do burnouts in his old primered Camaro, until one day he nearly ran over this 8 year old dork on a bicycle. I was the dork. Never seen my mother fly into anybody else like that before!

Respect.

 

Like it, or not, we're a slowly dying breed. You really want to throttle-up, and get us all to the end much quicker? The world belongs to the non-rodders, and no, they don't see any difference between us, chainers, ricers, bikers, euro-tuners, or whatever. We are just "those people", in other words, not THEM. Piss them off too much, and they will take it all away. Be the diplomatic mission from the hot rod world, to the real-world. The alternative will not end well.

 

What are you talking about Outcast? I thought we were the cool guys?


All kidding aside becoming the fix it guy and minding your P's and Q's will work to your advantage. But if you want to be the "Rebel" as you see it then prepare for alot of grief and being pised off at alot of people. It's not worth the hassle for me, but maybe it's because I've already been down the angry Neighbor road. Burnouts on the new street are a no no within the first 12 months.


Tim