Does the general public react when they see you out driving?

Let's see.....women love it. I had a whole car load of them flipping out and waving the other day. People stop their recreational activites. I usually pass a driving range, some tennis courts, and voleyball courts when I'm out for a spin. People just stop in the middle of their swing/serve and gawk. Lots of thumbs up, the occasional "cool rat rod!!!" and my new favorite; never being able to make a left hand turn before the light turns yellow. While I wait for on coming traffic to pass I just sit there and watch the expression on people's faces as they slow down to stare while I'm waiting to turn.

Little kids seem to really dig it too. They usually stand there on the sidewalk and just point as I roll by. I always think to myself, I probably just made a life long impression on that kid."

 

had a guy offer to trade his h2 for my delivery once. we swapped numbers, but apperently he wasnt as dumb as i though. id trade in a second, then i would sell that pos h2 and build a couple cars, but i could never get ahold of the guy. he must have found out mine wasn't worth 1/3 of what his pos was

 

I've had a bunch of vehicles (T-bucket, 36 3 Window, '51 club coupe, a couple of antique Fire Engines, and a couple of '60's Corvette's among others) and always got my share of waves, thumb's up, and comments, which were really appreciated. The absolute most comments I EVER got when was I picked up a wrecked '67 Corvette coupe in Dallas about 10 years ago and hauled it back to Minnesota on an open trailer. The car had been wrecked when it was a year old, so it had been sitting in storage for about 30 years and was covered in dirt (it had been hit really hard in the right front). EVERYONE on the road slowed down to look at it; some of them even tried to get me to pull over for whatever reason. Whenever we stopped for gas, the car was instantly surrounded by everyone in the place. There were innumerable offers to buy the car on the spot (they obviously thought I didn't know what we had). It was really uncanny what effect that badly wrecked, dirty car had on the hoi polloi.

 

They'll do that for just about anyone in Keswick, won't they?

 

i was sitting in my heavly chopped 50 merc at a mall parking lot when an old lady came up to the window and she said she hoped i would not mind her saying this;"but this is the ugliest car that i have ever seen"
my grand kids called it the roger rabbit car so i guess it did look like a cartoon.

 

Got experience with both nicely finished and 'under construction' daily drivers.

My daily truck was 'rattle-can finished' almost 20 years ago, has dents and still the original glass and weather stripping, etc.... I really couldn't tell you how many times people asked me if it's for sale over the last 13 years.

I always got looks and reactions, but nothing compared to my coupe, I got since last year.
Man, every day I get smiles, waves, people who like to chat, but never once so far has anybody asked if it's for sale.

Out here in CA, I guess once it looks finished you certainly get more than noticed. If it doesn't look shiney and done, more people ask if it's for sale.

I would do just as well without all that attention however.
It can feel weird when all you ever owned was a ride older than 50 years.
My Chevys are like my dogs - I never am aware others notice or care, until people stop me and start chatting about them.
Always takes me a little while to figure out what's so exciting and they wanna talk about.
I never display at shows or weekly meets.
It's just what I like to drive and play with, not really a conversation piece....
But as long as people are respectful and friendly, it's only fun and yet another good thing about life....

 

Old cars seem to make other people act "human" for a slight moment in a busy world.

They let their guard down and blurt something out about your car.

I think everyone on the planet would like to talk with strangers, but don't dare in these times.

 

Chicks dig it!

 

It great getting thumbs up and making people smile and have cool memories come back.

The only part that I do not like is when they honk at you to get your attention.
This scares the hell out of me.

 

I always get "You restoring it?" I usually tell them I'm just driving it.

I heard a guy at an ice cream shop telling his wife how he thought sure that was a Plymouth, "but the grill says Buick"

 

They all spit and cuss. Because they have to take the bus.

 

yeah, i get it all the time.
the funny thing i get asked all the time is "who's car is it ?"
no one seems to think that a guy my age should have a car that's so old.
well, i'm only 39...but i look to be about 25...so they assume that it CAN'T be my car. it must be my dads car or something. i think that they assume that i should be driving some tuna can rice box because i look so young.
when i tell them that it's my car, i get 20 questions about how much a young guy like me would know about an old car.
i try to be cordial....but sometimes i just want to shake my head and walk away.
but the majority of the people are cool.

 

some laugh, some give me the thumb, but I like it and thats all that matters

 

When I drive by the Sears tire center in my 1961 Impala the guys allways freak out yelling "OHHHHHHHH YEAHHHHHH NOW THATS WHAT IM TALKIN ABOUT!!," I honk and they respond with "OHHHHH YEAHHHHH!!!!!"

Whenever I drive the ratty ass 1950 people generally are afraid to make eye contact with me at stoplights for fear that some hell monster is driving that grunting beast.

 

Just the other night the wife and I were out in the roadster and I stopped at a convenience store for ice cream and a sweet young thing comes running up and says: "What is that?" "a '32 Ford Hot Rod" "Coooool" That's usually the way it goes with most people, honks, waving, thumbs up, big smiles, etc. Driving your car is the best experience there is in many ways, and this is just one of them.

As they say, "It's all good".

 

I get loads of waves etc. But once I had a painful experience. My wife and I pulled up to the lights one Saturday night, and a BMW convertable with 2 hot young blondes pulled up next to us. They started talking to me (hot chicks never talk to me) and of course I had to converse. Ever tried to talk to 2 hot chicks in the next car without your wife seeing?

 

I love it when they Yell out the window while driving down the highway pointing at you "Hey, Your driving an old car!!!!"

No shit genius!

 

I was driving in Sydney a few years ago in my old 38, at a set of lights in Brighton Le-Sands a Lambo Mercialago pulled up next to me. He popped his door pointed and called out,
'That.... that is beautiful'
I was kinda stunned.

Had guys with $70g Monaros ask me how the hell I can afford something like that on a soldiers wage, I coulda bought 7 of em if I had 70g!

Got blasted by two old lady's at a rod run on day for terrorising the town and ruining it.................. while parked and talking to friends. She went on to ask if we were Hells Angels!! I guess some people have an odd view of the world.

 

I was at a stop ligt once and had a construction guy walk up to the 35, hop on the passenger side running board, lean all the way in the truck (far enough to grab the steering wheel if he wanted to), and smile to tell me how much he liked the truck. I shouldve drove him home and put him to work! But I was nice and said thanks for the compliments.

 

I'm constantly amazed at the attention my faded, scraped up , smokey old Stude with half an interior, cracked glass and a slight list to Port draws. Even as ratty as it is people still love it. I never had this much fun in my finished cars but then none of them were this old. I was going to tear it down this summer and start scraping and painting but the heck with that, I'm going to make it reliable and drive it as long as I can and patch the body one piece at a time. I'll probably pull the engine this Fall and rebuild it over the Winter and do the tranny swap and then back on the road it goes in all it's faded glory.

 

-kids are the coolest
-smiles everywhere
-horn honks when they are right next to me ..... not so cool
-Pulling up to a new vette and they look in the mirror but wont look when you are next to me? HATERS!
-I always wave when I see any cool type of old car
-phone hanging out the window on the freeway for a picture - very cool

95% of the time very fun - 5% I just want to get home

Brian

 

I can tell you guys a cool story about me and hamb member Glen. He was in his 48 Buick "sewer pickle" and I was in my 53 Chevy. We drove from Chandler to Phoenix on a Sat night to see a friends shop. The next week and into the following weekend we heard rumors of two customs bombing the streets of Phoenix. It was a great feeling that we created such a buzz from just our cars in about a four hour period of being on the streets. It was like no one had ever seen a custom out "late at night". Other than that story we always get the thumbs up everywhere we go. I think the general public just loves to see the cars that all of us here on this forum love to own, drive and restore. As long as I put a smile on someones face that makes me happy. Our cars are like time machines to the passer bye looking. They will always take someone back to a moment in time of their life....thesneakytiki

 

Everybody comes up to me and it's always " My dad had a Ford just like that" .. "My brother had a Ford just like that". "I got one just like that when I got out of the Army, got it brand new" .. Started as I was trailerin' it back from Colorado and still goes on .. Is cool !!!

 

Most people are really cool, but you do get the wierdos. I was out in my 50 Merc and more than a few times got the guy who had to tell me all about his like classic '75 Volvo 4 door haha.

 

Its odd what you get used to. We live with our cars so Its a little odd to see others responding to them so much.
When I was in the Army I was in the Parachute Display Team (Red Berets) while posted to the Parachute School. We would fly t air shows in a Herc and the RAAFies would open it up to the public. There were always 100 meter long lines to look inside it, always blew me away but how often do they get to see something like that?
Sam with living on an airbase, fighters taking off all the time and a huge variety of military aircraft, I was always a little taken back by the publics interest in what to me was a daily object.

 

I liked the "user friendly" tag! I think that most rodders, like their cars are easily approachable by folks & many of them have an "in the old days" story to share.

I've had guys stop to yak & end up pointing me to a stash of old flathead parts that them or a buddy has stashed in the back of the garage. Despite what my girlfriend says, it pays to talk too much!

I think that the best part of owning a primered rod is looking at the faces of the guys that just brought their hi-dollar, trick paint cars out for the 1st time. Esp when the crowd walks past these rolling checkbooks to look at your beater. Freakin' priceless!

 

Ya, almost every time i go out, but sometimes it pissis me off when someone beeps the horn and it startles me, I just give them a friendly wave. But other than that I do not mind. When I am at a car show and the little kids would check my car out I would ask there mom or dad if it would be ok to put there kid in the driver seat. The look on the kids face is priceless when they a sitting and make beleive they are driving.

 

I dont think it matters if your car is primer or not. I have a very nice primer grey 47 desoto and a mint shiny blue 1948 desoto and both get the same reaction ....all smiles and waving and old stories about the good old days its great. I must say i take advantage of those interactions. You never know seeing your car that day maybe will change a youngsters path from honzuki to hotrod!!

 

People who dig my wagon rule, but their eyes are usually bloodshot and they talk real sloooooowwww.

 

This past weekend was my first time driving around all day. The different reactions is awesome. Shock, glee, confusion, envy and maybe even fear. But the best reactions are from the guy or girl in some expensive cookie cutter sportscar. They see and hear other people checking out my car and they look like they got ripped off with their purchase. LOL I love it.