Art & Inspiration it was just my car.

That was my first thought when I saw the thread title, but I can understand the other side as well. None of my cars, even my late model dd, is just a car to me. My '32 Chevy is almost a member of the family since I've owned it since 1973. I'ts even run a few times...

 

ouch!

 

When I think back about the cars I had 50 years ago they were daily transportation,I loved all of them but the hard truth is they were just cars,I didn't have a shed,carport or a shop to park them.

Rain,snow,hail...whatever Mother Nature offered the cars sat outside.

Today,all these years later,I see them as more than "just cars" mainly because instead of buying them,the sweat,the hours wrenching and fact that I built them the way I want. HRP

 

Drive a late model "muscle car" and one of the cars on this site into a show or even a random store parking lot and see which one is "just a car". I love and appreciate all of them, but there is something missing from the new stuff. It can out perform most of the old junk, but it has no soul. People look right through them. Most of the cars on this site are rolling smile factories for people, that's the best recognition there is.

That being said, I have been through a fender bender with my 51 and drove it three hours in sleet and ice with my dad riding shotgun. It will never be just a car because of the memories.

 

"just cars"..have now evolved into pampered/cherished/expensive cars.
Some of us who are a bit older, remember when the collectible, sought after cars of today, were daily drivers. It was normal to drive them in all weather conditions, they were our everything cars. Sure, there was pride, in keeping/hoping them up, but they were driven, not trailered (unless broken down).
Even with that being said, our cars were an extension of our personalities then, as they are now.
My DD's are "just cars"..my collector type cars are so much more than that to me.

 

I totally agree! HRP

 

I knew an old man when I was growing up, who used to wash and wax a beat-up and very dented 1952 Chevy 4 door sedan...the thing was well used, and my friends used to wonder why he was ''ALWAYS'' spending so much time on that old car, which had obviously seen better days....he was ''ALWAYS'' polishing the rust and scratches on it while whistling a tune.....then, one day my friends and I happened to drive by his house, and suddenly he pulled out a 1956 Corvette, which was pristine....he went to work 'polishing' the Corvette in the same mannerisms, with the same loving care he had for that old Chevy sedan with a happy whistle....taught me a lesson, about judging an individuals 'ride' when ya' just never know what else they may drive on Sundays just for the fun of it.....that old fellow has stuck in my mind all these years later...nobody knew he had that Corvette, and he was always tinkering on his old sedan....I don't think either car was ''just a car'' to him....he enjoyed what he had, and smiled a lot.

 

I just got back from a show/swap & race with my dad n son over the weekend in memphis & while there I returned to the show area sat afternoon to find a fellow in his mid to early 50s going over my ride & he met almost in tears wanting to know if my car "I've had over 30 years" could've been his old car. Not being the case & Being a mirror image of his first car he said ... I've got to ask how much?" I replied after all I've been through with it as "just a car" money can't even begin to buy the memories Ive had with it. I couldn't help but feel badly for him as he said he swapped it for a van, in mid 80s while giving his PoP a guilt trip for encouraging him to do so. As with many of you guys it has followed me through this journey of life as a daily driver & is now a pampered but driven extension of my life. Not just a car. I too am ocd about it even early on. Painted it in 89 n it still recieved an outstanding award after all these years, one lady said .... That paint is 1989?i replied "lacquer mam easy to touch up." Cars are meant to be driven. Flux

 

The wife's suv. The toy hauler F-250. If they get hit, fix'em or trade them. No biggie. But the '69 Mach 1 or the '32... those are part of me. They are my personal works of art. Other may not like them or appreciate them. I could care. All my time, energy, money, hard work.... blood even. Michelangelo had David. I have these. Driven and raced? Absolutely. That's what I built them for. But always pampered, well maintained and 100% ready to go.

 

When I was younger I drove a 61 olds f85 everyday. It had an lt1 motor and modern running gear. I always saw it as just my car until the day a kid ran a red light and totaled it. Then I realized that it was one of my favorite cars and it will always be missed.

 

Don't forget the context of the time for your dad's car, a lot changes over 40 years in determining what is collectable and what isn't.

I'm not going to say they're never just cars, but many, including mine, aren't. Years ago before my car was done, I used to drive it all over. It was my only car. I drove it to college where it sat (and got hit) in a University parking lot, I drove it to the mall, to pick up parts, to go out with friends, to go to work, rain or shine. But that also took it's toll on the car, and now that the car is nice, I don't subject it to that kind of treatment anymore. Which is not to say I don't drive it often and drive it far, but I'm more judicious about where I go, weather, overall care, etc. There is definitely something to be said for having an old beater car that you just drive the hell out of and don't car about, but usually once you fully restore or customize one, it moves up into that preferential treatment category. Whether they're just cars or not, if you drive them you have to expect chips and dings here and there, and the potential for worse. It happens.

 

As I tell some of my friends, you can't take it with you n some day the next guy will probably drive the wheels off it , even if you choose not to. Usually it's harder for the guy who fixed it up any who. Kinda why I park my old paint jobs I've spent hours of blocking the panels straight on way , way out crooked in the parking lots so they don't get smacked by a Kia door. That's why I believe some "just a car's" sit around too much, fear of the unknown, but what a shame , they all need driven regularly or stuff goes bad n a hurry. Flux

 

Flux
I used to have a friend ( he's gone now) that always had the neatest chit. I jump in a just finished roadster with him once and when parked it in a store lot he walked around it looked really close then took his keys and keyed a spot on it. Not huge just a little scratch. I thought what the hell and he looked at me and with a smile said, "it always makes me nervous until it gets its first scratch"

Some of us build 'em and drive 'em and some of us build 'em and pamper 'em. I don't think it makes any of us appreciate them more or less but the end of the day it is just an old car. I think it is easier to own a car that is driven then it is to own one that is pampered. Of course I have never owned a show quality car before either.

 

I got my 37 when I was 14. Didn't get to drive it legally until after I graduated HS 3 years later. It was the only vehicle I had until I was 21. I drove it all over and one summer I hyrdroplaned and ended upside down in a field. At the time I was reading too many magazines and had it it my head that I had to build a chassis for it and on and on. I knew I didn't have the resources to do it then, so I let it set for years beat up and neglected.

I had an epiphany one day a few years ago that it din't have to be a 6 figure magazine feature vehicle for me to enjoy it, I was proud of and loved my truck from the time I got it. I knew I would still love it in an updated and safer version of my HS bumbleings, so I decided to get going on it again and make it realistic.

Life has gotten in the way, but I hope to put it back on the road sooner than later and it will be in between just a car and can't drive it when it rains.

I figure I have already rolled it and I will bring it back, how bad will a fender bender be? I am sure I can fix it. I don't plan to beat it up, but I don't think I will be horrified if I get a ding in it or a rock chip.

 

mcgyver,
There lies the rub. traditionally hot rods and customs were driven, most of the time they were not second cars. So we talk to our dads if they are still around and they say it was just my car. They are telling us the truth, if they didn't drive it we didn't eat or have shoes or a roof. They obviously liked it well enough to tweek it but it was still what they needed to get around.

This is not to say that there were not show cars that didn't get driven or driven very much, but the average Joe was driving his hotrod.

The one that kills me is when I see someone with a rattled out old coupe or sedan and they won't drive it because the weather is bad. Come on man it just a rattled out old beater.

I have an acquaintance that used to work for GM in the Fairfax plant. he has a '69 Road Runner that he bought new that is his winter car and has always been his winter car since the day that he bought it. His reasoning is that he really likes his Chebbys and it is just a damned old Plymouth.

 

About like today. If I went out and bought a brand new 5.0 Mustang I'm going to drive it. To work, to the store... Sit out in the elements in the driveway. But in 50 years if everything else is 4 cylinder econoboxes and electric smart cars that 2015 Mustang is going to be "nostalgic" and be more than "just a car" probably.

 

Hey mines no show car and I aint taking it to Pigeon Forge this weekend too many crazies tourist down there.Specially after see what happened to that nice red buick out on R.T. 40.I do putz around in it and good food shopping with it though.Bruce.

 

They are all "just cars" to some extent. That isn't saying that I don't enjoy driving my old stuff more than the new. But, if I can't drive and enjoy this stuff, I will have to find another hobby. I probably don't really treat my old cars much better than the later model stuff. But, that being said, my wife suggests I park everything too far out and in an end spot in parking lots no matter how junky it is. That is just because I would rather not trash any car.

 

A

Amen, Porknbeaner. It's sad that some folks too worried about their rides to ever truly enjoy them. I'd never intentionally scuff my paint like your old pal but sounds like He might fit into my "everybody's normal till you get to know them" cliche! We've all got pals that ain't normal but sure are a hoot. Dirt track racing helped me, after a couple of good cosmetic scrapes n bruises I could enjoy it! Flux

 

Most of the people that I like ( respect?) are a little off center. My oldest living friend who was the Ol' Man's friend when I was little once told me while we were in the process of exploring another galaxy around a came fire that, "even among misfits you are a misfit." Of course I may have been fast approaching Andromeda while the rest of the fellas were just in the fringe of our atmosphere. I was known to do that back then.

I probably wouldn't purposely scratch one either. But I do know that once you get past the shock of the first mishap things settle out really well.

 

all of my cars are "just cars" in the same way my penis is "just a penis"

 

Great topic.
I came home from overseas on leave in '68 and bought a 57 Pontiac off the back row of the local car lot for $250. Stored in the back yard of my parent's house 'till I came home for good late in '69 to claim my car. My brother [Jangleguy here on the HAMB] had kept it clean and polished while I was gone but it was just my car..my only transportation.
I replaced 4clutches, 4 transmissions, a rear axle shaft and finally swapped the tired 347 for a good used 389 and a muncie 4 speed trans..........couldn't afford a proper Hurst 4 speed shifter but was given a Hurst syncro-loc 3 speed shifter.......used a separate handle for reverse gear. Put a set of chrome reversed wheels and cheater slicks on it...I drove it year-round and it sat outside in the weather always. It was just a car, man! One night I fell asleep on the freeway and put a guard rail crease down the driver's side. Another day I was racing a 55 chevy [327/4 speed] on the freeway and kicked his ass....got a knocking wrist pin for my trouble tho. The trans began making noise and rather than fix it, I felt it was time for a muscle car...stepped up to a 64 "vette stingray coupe and sold the "car" off. It was only a car fer Christsakes.
I've had a "wanted" ad in our classifieds for years...looking for my old car. It's a lot more than just a car now.

 

Yeah , I forgot about one of my biggest mishaps until our trip this last weekend. My dad was telling my son this weekend about a mishap I had as a teen with my first car ...."I remember it was about a week after your dad "me" painted his car he parked it at the house so nobody back into it scuff it & it rained the night before & the car wouldn't move off the wet grass in the yard after we closed the shop for the night , so we used a tow chain & hooked on the ol ih scout "big" well casing bumper, pulled him back he touched brakes n slid right into front winch bumper poking a hole through freshly painted deck lid." That my friends was a major lesson learned. It made me sick but I fixed it & here we are 30 years later & it still looks ok. Things are gonna happen. Fix them if possible & press on. I put about 60 plus hours of after work detailing in my ride for this memphis show cause I wanted to for my sake & realized if I'd maintained the cosmetics as I went along the last 3 decades it'd been easier on me. I visited with a nice this weekend with a guy who had a impala he'd restored & had 3 miles on it since completed 12 years ago. That my friends is not for me. Bug guts n rock chips can be fixed. I think I seen it on here once somebody said ......do you own your car or does it own you! Flux

 

this is the kind of story that got me thinking. just a car and treated like just a car, and with that all the memories, good and bad, that made it special........we have the capability to fix it .
i think we need a smiles per gallon rating.

 

I think a lot of the guys that won't drive their cars paid to have their cars built, don't know how to work on them, and don't want to go thru that expense again.

If you built the car, you want to drive it, maybe on nice days only, but it will get some miles.

 

Very true, my best friend once broke old car owners down into 3 catogories..... (1) Those that solely just enjoy possessing it even if it sits n rots outside n their yard or sits for decades in their shed / garage & not for sale. The quest is solely having said car. (2) those who love to "show it off" the attention seekers "look at me" . Those who want to be seen in said car. (3) those who solely love the pleasure of driving their old car becsuse it makes them happy. These I admire most. Told me once I was the (1) type guy who was happy just to have said car. He's usually right about most things & as years roll by I realized what a shame to not drive them, so I've let go a lot of projects n drove the ones I've actually finished & although I'm not a car show guy in general "I like cruise in's" I love to go n mingle with like minded folks who love the hobby. All this said to say I realize sitting is the worst fate for a car & really it's all about what makes you happy. Kinda like a thread that talked about an older fellow having s car up until he passed but kept it indoors "saving" it for the next guy. It just kills me to see some rotting outdoors "not for sale". Everybody's normal till you get to know them! Flux

 

Somebody's quote on here to the effect of - Not driving your car so it's nice for the next owner is like not having sex with your lady so she's better for the next guy.

 

I drive my cars, and then I 'fix em' as needed....I think that is the main thing I notice among today's driving society, is that I can actually 'work' on my cars, and know how to do it, without the high tech stuff involved...I can enjoy it much more because I can drive it the way I want, and then work on it as needed, when needed...and continue onwards....modern cars scare me, with all the recalls, gadgets, etc... and I can barely open the damn hood!!....my wife wonders why I can't work on her new car while I spend hours in the garage working on ''mine''....she asked ''aren't they all the same thing???"....drive the car I say!-------------if I wanted a trailer queen, I'd have a steering wheel on my trailer

 

Exactly! What's the purpose of having it in the first place?

 

I wouldn't say my old cars are "just a car" but I do use them as such, always had. My wife as well, she drives a 45 year old Dodge Coronet to work every day, parks downtown in a parking structure during the day and outside on the drive every night. Of course they are not show cars like the ones I build at work but then that's on purpose, too nice and it takes the fun out of it IMHO.
I was at Home Depot a couple years ago getting some plywood in my DD, a 57 Ranchero. A guy parked next to me jumped all over me, wanted to know how I could possibly be putting plywood in the back of such a "valuable car". I told him that brand new truck his helpers were throwing bags of concrete in cost about 5 times what I paid for the 57, wasn't he worried about value as well?