History survivor miss used

what makes all these cars survivor's ? im a survivor of viet nam , 4 heart attacks , do i qualify???
im confused on this term , as i have had 2 "A"s , both of which i had to bring back to life ,
but i didnt figure they were survivors , just needed someone that cared . another over used , morphed phrase ............... gezzzzzzzzzz

 

I agree the term is not always used correctly. To me the term means a car that has remained as it was originally built and has been generally in continuous use over the years. Not taken apart and rebuilt/repainted/modified. A survivor is different from a barn find (another overused term....) in that a barn find is parked and out of use. Survivor should be a car that is at least used occasionally.

 

"Survivor" is nothing but a marketing term. Any old car that is still here is a survivor, in my pretty much useless opinion. I have had 2 heart attacks and a brain bleed and have 3 stents, so am I a survivor or a restomod (another useless marketing term)?

 

In my way of thinking a survivor, when it comes to our hot rod & custom car hobby, is a car that was built back in the golden age of rods & customs and have not been changed or updated since the time period it was built. HRP

 

arkie , never had a brain bleed , but do have 3 stents . im glad you are still here ! take care .. steve

 

I had a non-H. A.M.B. friendly car that was totaled by my insurance company but since I worked in a body shop it got repaired and I drove it for another 9 or 10 years before I sold it. Guess that would be a survivor too since it didn't end up in the junkyard.

 

A survivor to me is a vehicle that escaped the perils of mankind or mother nature

 

To me, in hot rod terms; a survivor is what you see in my avatar. I first saw it in 1968,dad and I got her in 1972. Same build, same paint, same interior, same driveline ;except for the 301" block I cracked in 1975. It has just been maintained, but not changed. Run her at least 100 miles every summer. Not pretty,alot of scars,but she still can light um up. Thanks for your service.

 

"Survivor" used to mean (to me at any rate), a pre-WWII car that survived the scrap metal drives during that war and is in original condition.

Now, I guess, any car that hasn't been crushed is a "survivor".

 

Survivor and Laser Straight are the newest sales tool, I'd say if it ain't Fiberglass it's a survivor.

 

Yes sir, you are indeed a survivor. Thank you for your service.

I love the study of language and what I know is that the meaning of words can change over time, but the meaning of words is not determined by a governing body, it is determined by common usage. In spite of many historical attempts to control the "queen's english", language evolves naturally and it is determined by the people that use it. It has always been so. So, if through common usage the word "survivor" (as it applies to old cars and hot rods) means a car that has "survived" intact and without change from an earlier era, then that could not be considered incorrect usage. Thirty years from now it might have a different meaning, who knows? Words like "deuce" and "shoebox" didn't always have the same meaning.

I'm reminded of another word that I have heard a lot recently. The word "dizzy" for "distributor". Thanks go out to our Aussie cousins for that! The first time I heard it I thought "WTF is a dizzy?" I tried not to use it but it is so much easier to say than "distributor" and I have notice many other Americans using it now too. I guess we naturally try to economize on syllables when we can.

All that being said, it bothers me also when I hear the incorrect usage of a word. My point I guess, is that when it becomes common usage it is no longer incorrect. I know, I have a hard time with that too!!

 

I'm a survivor,I have survived the most recent updated format. HRP

 

I thought you had found an old race car named Miss Used.

 

To me a Survivor is an old car in unrestored original condition, but very good original condition. Compare this term to "Older Restoration" or "Barn Find" and you start to feel the difference.

Some guys call any old driveable car a Survivor, but if you do that the term loses any particular meaning.

 

"I thought you had found an old race car named Miss Used."

Me too, ha ha ha

 

Shit! I thought he was talking about a girl I dated in college.

 

survivor... a car that has survived in reasonably good shape without being restored, or a modified car that has survived in its original Hot Rod configuration. seems pretty simple to me.

 

.................Classic.

 

To me a survivor is a Model A that has not had the dreaded S.B.C. stuffed in it!

 

i consider this a survivor;
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/33-chevy-3w-time-for-a-cool-change.863287/

 

My beater was built some time in the 60's...I consider it a survivor.....

 

I survived Viet Nam, a triple bypass, kidney failure and a coma, but life is great now!!!!

 

..............You win!........and glad to see you came through all of it.

 

I hurt my foot and learned today that you can't carry a cup of coffee while using crutches. I just finished cleaning the carpet of the coffee stain( I hope ) . We'll see if I'm a survivor in a couple hours when my wife gets home!!!

 

This is how I would define it as well. My '26 T was first built into a rod in 1958, but it's been rebuilt twice since then and has lost a lot of it's original build parts along the way, so I wouldn't consider it a survivor, just a hot rod with history.

 

I'm a survivor,I have survived the most recent updated format.
HRP
I'm not sure I'll make it but I keep plugging along.

To me a survivor can be an un-restored car or an old hotrod with out a bunch of modern updates.

 

Survivor.

 

just got my first stints and one line blown out.....kinda like stillrunner....

 

I became one 10 years ago...two aneurysms, 7 hours of brain surgery, died twice on the table...

 

Adelia Foster broke my heart in the 6th grade.........does that count?...she was the first girl I ever kissed and my first black eye also...both happened within 30 seconds of each other.... BOTH WERE FROM HER.......hehehe