Art & Inspiration Odd reactions to your daily driver

Everyone calls my Dodge either a Rambler or a Valliant. I have a lot of people say you don't see many of those these days. I say there was never many in the first place with production of wagons only being 9500 in '61.

 

Back when I had my '40 Ford Tudor someone asked me if it was a really old PT Cruiser.
I just said yes and drove away.


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Highlander.The tourists here always come flying on my ass fast , just to see what kind of car it is.Bruce.

 

Bob, those kind of people just have too much $$$$$.Bruce.

 

I'm at a local cruise night when this old boy (older than me, so he's a REAL old boy) Says, I like your truck, says a few things about a 51 Chev p/u that he used to have. As he's leaving he says "how come its so close to the ground." I reply "aw, the suspensions shot". His reply? "Gosh thats to bad, but I still like your truck."

 

Maybe the ones that call it a Valiant are Canadians - the only cars I've ever seen in Canada that looked like that were Valiants.

 

I have a 1950 F1 done up like Tow Mater. People always taking pictures. Had someone jump out at an intersection and stand in front of me to take pictures and the light goes green.

Was getting in my truck one day when I hear a horn blow. Look up and a fellow coming out of shopping center across the street shouts "nice truck", I say "Thanks" and as I'm getting in I hear a crash. Turned around and he had run head on into a car in the turning lane.

Another time I was behind a car making an u-turn. I could see them straining to look back at the truck as they ran into the side of a car coming out of the side street. Don't know how many other accidents I've caused.

When I used to drive a Mini (original one) people would pull up beside me and before they could say anything I would ask them what kind of car they were driving. They would have a dumbfounded look on their face because that is what they were going to ask me.

 

I was driving my little 1914 Oldsmobile roadster jalopy the past week...with all the usual dings and still in bad need of paint....I was cruising along on a well used road that was pretty straight in that section....an SUV car pulls up to me with the window rolled down going about 50mph, and a very elderly man was hanging out the window waving his arms at me in the passenger seat...he yells into the wind at me as I look over: "Hey boy, I used to have one of those!!!...those were real good times!"....gave me a huge smile, and waving frantically....then they sped off with his arm still waving out the window. I bust out laughing, as I was afraid the old fella was gonna fall out of the window leaning like he was. It was kind of cool, and I appreciated the kind remark from him...those little things make this whole old car thing, just a little bit sweeter!!!

 

We ( my girl friend / domestic partner have 2 (special Interest) cars. She drives a 57 Star Chief drop top, ZZ4 / 700 R4,real wire wheels. Mines a 48 Merc coupe street rod, no matter which one we drive all ways get questions like who made Pontiac or where were Mercurys made. If we're 'cruising together people will ask are you going to a car show? Kinda cool.

 

Was putting groceries in the trunk of my 49 Merc Sled, chopped hard, slammed flames etc.and little
old lady came up and said young man ( I'm 70) is that a Hudson ? I told no it's a Mercury.
She looked at it a bit longer and said well you certainly ruined it didn't you ?

 

Can't ever recall seeing a Lancer up here. probably US only.

 

Was blastin up Highway 99 from Fresno to Modesto with a friend around 1977 in my highboy roadster when about thru the Chowchilla area, the speed dropped from 65 to 55. Not payin attention, I look in the mirror and sure enough, im gettin pulled over by the CHP. He walks up and tells me I should have slowed down in this area then asks for my license. Sorry, my license and registration is in my wallet in my pickup back home, but I know my DL number, so he asks me to get out and follow him to the patrol car. Asks my full name and address, then asks my buddy to confirm, which he did, then asks me to take a seat in his cruiser. He gets on the radio and requests " wants, warrants and priors" on my info, then asks me if I've ever been arrested, nope, well if you come back clean gonna let you off with a warning, he says, but if anything at all comes back, im goin straight to jail for the evening. After what seemed like forever, he says " this aint lookin good son, when it takes this long, they've got something on you". No sir I say, nothing. Little bit later it comes back on his radio " no wants, warrants or priors". Well what do ya know he says, one of the good guys. He warns me to slow down thru that area, carry my docs and lets me go.

Get back in the roadster and my "buddy" wants to see how big the ticket is. I say didn't give me one. He says, astonishingly, you mean you get stopped by the CHP for speeding, no license , registration or ID and he lets you go ? Yup. Unbelievable he says.

I pull back out on the highway and Im driving EXACTLY 55 and the cop is right behind me. Im thinkin, this guy is just waitin for me to screw up, so im holden her as steady straight as I can and right on 55.....he finally pulls out and runs right up next to me, and over his loudspeaker says, and I quote, "Mr Brown, if you travel exactly the speed limit, it may cause traffic issues...you have my permission to speed A LITTLE BIT!"

Thought my buddy was gonna shit right there. Stopped for speeding, no license, ID or registration, lets me go then tells me its OK to speed a little! Unbelievable he says.

He accelerates on up and takes the next exit, but re-enters the highway, right behind me again, pulls next to me, again, and over his loudspeaker asks " Would I be willing to sell the roadster. I shake my head no, he smiles, waves and off he went".

God I love this story.

 

I drive a '63 Dart wagon daily (except winter). It's kind of a pile, needs paint bad, but the 225 six is fresh, the interior is good, and it runs really well. I run it 15 odd miles (one way) up the freeway going to work, beaching it in the middle lane at 70 mph. It's like a reverse Moses parting of the seas in the mirror, people frantically going around me, often to return to the lane in front of me, and SLOW DOWN. Fuck me. But, every day, somebody gives me a thumbs up, a wave, a 'cool car' shout, etc. People take pictures of it when I'm parked in parking lots, it's crazy. More so than in ANY other old car I've owned, and I've had a bunch. My favorite was the young lady loading groceries into her Prius one day when I made a stop at the beer store. She had clearly never complimented anyone about their car ever. She sheepishly patted the hood and said "this, is VERY cool".
Sidebar, yes George, A body Dodge Mopars weren't available in Canada 'til '67, they were all "Plodges" '66 down.

 

I was stopped in traffic the other day, some idjit drives up to the right side of my car, asking me what that noise was. All I could figure was he was referring to the exhaust noise from the cam. Most of the time I can't hear anyone next to me with the car running.

 

Mid 1980's, I was driving my 40 Ford through the middle of no where. Late model car pulls up along side, occupants giving me the thumbs up and smiling. Eventually the passenger rolls down his window and shouts at me, "Hey, what year is it?". I look at him funny and say, "What are you Rip Van Winkle or something? It's 1985" and sped off.

Was headed to Columbus in my'38 Chevy. My speedo quit working so not sure of my speed but having a long way to go and a short time to get there, I was hustling along. Sure enough, get pulled over by a statey. I tell him my speedo just quit. He says, "I'll give a clue. When you're blowing by everything on the road, you're probably speeding!". When he looks at my registration he says, "I didn't think a 1938 Chevy could go 80 MPH". He writes me the ticket and when I asked him to give me a break he says to go to court and just tell the judge a '38 Chevy won't go 80. I wasn't going to go way back there to go to court and I never paid the ticket.

 

Back when I started the job I have now I drove the 48 to work at least a couple of days a week and one of my then coworkers told me one day that "that truck isn't any good, you can't take it up in the woods". Being a poster boy redneck he only owns 4x4 rigs and can't visualize anyone not wanting a rig to take up off roading. He is the same one who told me that my 71 GMC 3/4 ton camper special was too little to haul anything and I needed a real truck like his 88 Chevy 1/2 ton. Told him if he ever broke down give me a call and I'd tow him home.

 

A few years ago, about 20, I was moving from California to Colorado. In the process I was driving my '62 Studebaker Champ pickup loaded with moving stuff and pulling an MG on a tow bar. I stopped in Reno for gas an while I was checking the oil, etc. this guy comes up and starts negotiating to buy my truck! I thought that it was obvious that I was moving and told him that I was needing the truck to move and that it wasn't for sale. He got pretty irate that I wouldn't sell it. At that point I wouldn't have sold it to him for any amount of money the snooty jerk.

 

A bloke I used to work with came in one day and really excitedly told me that his dad was going to sell his PT cruiser. He seemed kind of upset when I didn't get as excited as he was then said "I thought you'd buy it straight away, you're into hotrods aren't you?".

 

I like to destroy these people with information. Usually these people drive a prius, so it's mentioned in there. I like to say something to the effect of,
"First of all, hot rodders are the original recyclers. It's because of people like me that these things didn't rot into the ground. Where is your old car? One thing I can guarantee, is that it won't be in a gas station 80 years from now soliciting some unwanted uninformed opinion. Second of all most of these cars are very well maintained and driven far less often then the majority of cars, making them much cleaner and friendlier to the environment then thousands of cars that are just seen as an appliance on the road every day. Third of all, have you considered that the Prius is one of the most environmentally unfriendly cars there is? How about all the mining it takes to create those batteries it uses? Not to mention the disposal of the batteries when they go bad. I could go on. But instead you decided to just buy the car that you were told was good for the environment without doing any of your own research. So how about next time, before you open your judgmental mouth, you educate yourself and know what the fuck you're talking about before simply regurgating the bullshit you were fed by the corporations and media?'

That usually shuts them up pretty quick.

 

They are pretty much the same car. Just different sheet metal. Dodge only used the lancer designation for 2 years in '61 and '62. I used plenty of valiant parts when restoring this one.


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I have done this on occasion, but it's usually when I am confronted by this sort of pretentious wanker in a social situation. If it's just some half wit on the street, I resort to plan A.

 

I had a Canadian '66 valiant ht years ago, wish I still had that.

 

Yea, I hear ya. I just go ahead with it because, that half wit on the street is someone else's pretentious wanker in a social situation.

I like to think of it as a social paying it forward. But in the back of my mind realize a person like that most likely won't get it, and will continue to be the wanker.


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About a year ago I was in my 59 Mercury getting gas on the rougher side of town. Two young tough looking gang bangers rolled up and asked me what it was. Then they said how cool it was and "you have a good day sir" I thought these guys don't call anybody "sir" much less a square looking middle age white guy. That's the power of an old car.

 

Were your hubcaps still on the car when you left??

 

I have been asked and I kind of chuckle inside a little when asked things such as...
What is it? A 1929 Ford Sport Coupe.
Is it original? No its a Hotrod and quite modified from original..
Oh. Why doesn't it have a hood? Its the look of a hotrod...
No wipers?...What do you do if it rains? I don't drive in rain...
Why don't you paint it a nice color? Because I like it the color it is...
They make radials that look like old tires now...I don't care I like the old tires.
You could do better with a 4 barrel... I like the vintage setup...
For the most part it is in fact just conversation and a history lesson for most...
I was on the way to a cruise night and the two lanes were bottle necked and this car was just hanging blindspot on the left for a fair bit and so sensing a losing situation I backed off a bit and let buddy pass to get in the fast lane and look over as he's passing and he's filming the car with his fricken phone.
Comes with the fact you stand out and it garners attention...It is what it is...



But the Cool car, thumbs up, wow look at that
are way more prevalent than anything else.​

 

When I was driving the '54 Chevy daily, I got a lot of "Nice Merc". I know that the Merc is the quintessential custom for the uninformed, and that's what they know, so I just try to educate and move on.

But I've actually been surprised at the amount of times I get the same "Nice Merc" from car guys that I would think would know a bit better.

 

Every time it never fails I'm asked."WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO RESTORE IT"

 

Yes, environmentalists.....I love those guys. Been questioned by city cyclists, why I drive a pickup truck, big gross polluter, I tell them because a bicycle won't pull my trailer, and its hard to ride a bike in a foot of fresh snow.
Have many times explained how building hot rods is the most environmentally sensitive thing to do, recycling used parts making them new again reduces the need to cast new pieces. saving the environment, just doing my part maam.

 

Last Summer I stopped at the gas station up the street to fill up. The guy next to me asks "Is that a '65 Falcon?", I told him "No, but you're close, it's a '65 Comet." Then he says, "I just sold my '65 Falcon a couple of months ago."