Hot Rods Money Buys Anything

Have some of you noticed this kind of thing?
Last weekend I attended a car show. A small show. Only 2 Vendors, But the thing that really caught my eye was that out of the 47 total cars in the show. Only ONE had been even partially been built or owned by a car person.
Every other car (46) in the show was owned/displayed by a NON-CAR Person.
I understand buying a car, I understand learning about cars. But these were all purchased to buy a hobby.
One owner had 3 cars there, a 57 chevy, a 63 Vette, a 70 Camaro. This person had no idea even what kind of tires he had on any of the cars, much less what engines he had in them. He was so proud of them... WHY?
All others were : Buy it, Bring it to the show, Win a Trophy..
In People choice trophy, I Voted for the One guy who did everything on his car other than the paint job. Built the car. Did the body work, Did the wiring, Built the engine, Etc. (he did not win) It was a Beautiful Car too...
I guess it is a sign of the times.
Money can buy you a Harley but you are not a Biker
Money can buy you a Hot Rod but you are not a car person
Money can put you in Politics. But....................

My total respect for all who have built most of their own car, or even work on their own cars.

All others. Sit down, Shut up and Hold On.

Hope I did not offend anyone here. But I am gonna guess that I did.
But then again. I am waiting to see the post here that asks.
"Where do I put the gas in my car"?

 

Gotta pick and chose the car shows you attend!!!

 

Spend a little more time talking to these guys you are talking about.
I have many friends who either can no longer build cars due to health or age reasons or they are at a point in their lives that they can afford to buy a car already done.

Who picked you to rain on their parade?

 

Some of us don't have enough time left to build a car!!!

 

here here...I second Steves32....yes..there are some that buy and they nothing about the car...its a start though....But, most just can't or don't want to build anymore.

 

I just helped a 70 plus old pair a dice cruiser member fix his 200CI six. He bought the car 7 years ago and has health issues, Has always been a very active club member and he and his wife attend and work every event to the best of their heath allowed abilities. I would not trade club member like that for any I'm better than thou types who build their own .

 

At 52, I've learned to be careful where I point my finger because there are three pointing back at me and one at God...

 

If no one was buying ready-built rods then it would be far more difficult for an enthusiast to build a car more than once because there would be no way to get your money out of the last project and in to the next one.

Sounds like some of these guys had nice cars - so even if they know nothing then they have "the eye". Maybe they've decided they can't take the cash with them and they are buying into a hobby at the top end now. Doesn't matter really - their money is as good as the most dyed in the wool hot rodder or muscle car guy. Unless, of course, you can put your hand on your heart and say you'd rather sell cheap to a real hot rodder than get top dollar from a gold chainer (I believe you call them over there)....

 

Like said, certain car shows are all builders. I guess the "buyers" are the ones who support the "builders". A lot of guy who build their hot rods get their money from working on "Gold Chainer" rides if you think about it.

 

Hey those people have feelings too! really I deal with people every day that couldn't adjust the idle on a carb. but they own the cars because they like them. so there is a common bond. juat as there a different tastes in life.

Get off your low brow horse and don't be a snob.
If everyone was the same, we would only need one type of car, one color paint and one set of wheels

if I had money I'd buy one of everything. I sure wouldn't know how to fix them but I'd enjoy driving them

 

Lack of time. skill, money and many other things make many of us who love cars unable or unwilling to build our own. If you love music but don't play, should you not listen to it? I don't think so. Centurion9

 

There's an old saying, "money talks and bullshit walks", always has, always will. I too get pissed off at the guy with the trailer queen cars that his money bought him and doesn't have a clue. But, hey, if he's got the $$$$ and the cars make him happy, so be it. At least he had to pay someone to work on those trophy queens. There are guys who love cars and aren't mechanically inclined and do read up at least on everything they can. There are some of us getting older and just can't handle a build anymore, so we have someone else do it while we supervise. THE BOTTOM LINE IS KEEPING RODDING ALIVE AND BEING ACTIVE WITH ORGANIZATIONS THAT LOOK OUT FOR OUR RIGHTS. OK-I'M DONE.

 

OOuccchh mean suckers that pay rodbuilders
to build cars. Hope they stop doing that so
the poor rodbuilders dont have to build cars
for money and can work with something else

 

I agree with Steve and I have been building cars and making money at it for over 30 years and I can tell you half of the Junk I see on the road these days..I wouldn't be too proud of. Second not everybody has the time to build a car for themselves, I know people who have gone from being young men to being old men and the only thing different on their cars is the layers of dust that has built up and never realizing their dreams. So you "Old School Posers" out there need to check yourselves and look around and just be happy that these things are on the road and that there are people who care enough about them and want to just have fun. So really! you want to start pointing figers at people with the old he built that and he bought that car thing. Think! there maybe somone out there doing the same to you. Just Drive and shut up! seriously

 

A perfect example is my accountant. I've always been into hotrods. His idea of a hotrod was the Prowler he bought 10 years ago (and loves). Last month, at 69 years old, he went out & bought a turn key 37 Ford. He knows nothing about the car, he's never even worked on cars. He's like a little kid in a candy store. Yes, it's a street rod w/ billet wheels- yes, it has a street rod graphics paint job on it.
So what? He's in love with it. Sunday- he emailed me a picture of him & wife standing in front of it w/ his 1st trophy.
I was happy for him. He's doing what he wants to do & loving it. I have no right to take that away from him.
There's room for everyone, even you

 

How true Steve. I would like to share a comment made to me many years ago by a very good friend who is now hot rodding in Heaven. His thoughts were that he had an incredible ability to make money, but had no skills in building a hot rod, but dearly wanted one. So, he decided to hook up with a hot rodder that had very little financial resources but had the abilty to create a "killer" hot rod. All they did was to exchange abilties, Ed's money for Jim's hot rod. They both came away from the experience with a good feeling they had accomplished what they were after, one, finally his hot rod to enjoy, and the other, finally with a bit on money in his pocket to enjoy.
The moral here is, don't be so quick to judge others that do things different than you. This is a HOBBY, not a SPORT, and my definition of a hobby is that you do what you want, at the pace that you want, on your terms, not those dictated by others.

 

Well said my friend

 

Ditto. you dont have to be a mechanic to love your car.

Those same folks you are bad mouthing put the food on my table, and parts on my cars.

One of my customers is a heart surgeon, he loves to work on his cars. One day he smashed his thumb with a hammer, it cost him more money than most of us make in a year.

He pays others to work on his stuff now. That make him an asshole?

 

I am one of the guys who has to pay someone else to do things I cant, or sometimes dont want to do. I am good mechanically but my fabrication and paint skills are poor to horrible. So I pay to have that done.

 

I think a lot of people say "It's a sign of the times" but in actuality there's always been people having it done for them. Guys have had LSR cars built or modified for them to race on the beach. The names Barris and Winfield (among MANY others) are famous because men PAID them for their stylings... not because they built these cars for themselves.

It doesn't bother me if someone goes out and works HARD, earns money, buys cars and enjoys them. Hell, it doesn't even bother me when someone lies to me about what their car is or whom built it... because it doesn't really matter and I've noticed that some that tried hard to fit into a "fashion" were soon onto another trend. I realize after typing that, that I'm not into it for the people... I like the hot rods.

I postulate that a lot of people are searching for their identity, for something that suites them and they keep moving on until they find it. I'm guilty of it in my own life concerning career...

 

I hear what you're saying Herman...indoor shows draw the trailer/garage queens out of their stored places...BUT....I'd say unless you for sure know all 46 folks there, don't be too judgemental on appearances because many times much of the build has been done by the owner.....and then whatever kaching, kaching, kaching,$$$ has been spent by all has gone to support someone who is in the hobby and actually makes a living hopefully doing what he loves to do...personally, I couldn't afford to have any of my rides if I didn't do it myself and learned early in life that it was a pisser to pay to have something fixed and then bring it home and have to fix it !! Build the best and safest you can and DRIVE 'EM !!

 

Up till about 15 years ago my pet peeve was trailer queens.... I tended to get pretty vocal about what I thought was acceptable and what was not as it regards proper usage and enjoyment of ones hot rod. I used to joke and rib people about wearing out the trailer, etc, etc. I was also adamant about building ones own car vs whipping out the Visa and then complaining about how much it all costs. I basically felt, as I sense you feel, that if you can't turn the wrench you shouldn't be allowed to play the game..

Then one day, while I was busy crapping my pants over this subject, something I have no control over, I had an epiphany... A single, simple thought just popped into my simple mind and from that moment on, my life became much less stressful and old cars became much more enjoyable.

The thought...

"Who the fuck am I to decide how someone else enjoys this hobby?"

As stated in other posts, there are numerous reasons for not building a car. I used to be able to spend 16-18 hours a day between working on cars for a living and working on hot rods at night. I now consider it very good day if I can muster 6 hours out in the shop without suffering significant pain the next day.

After 45 years of ruining perfectly good detroit iron, my car building days are rapidly coming to an end. But I intend to continue to enjoy old cars as long as I can drive....

So there...

 

There are all kinds of people in this world. I know a few folks who love cars, but only admire them from a distance. I know a few folks who own a bunch of cars "just because" they want to. I know a few folks who love cars, own a modern DD, and wrench on the vintage stuff because it's interesting.

If it's an issue of money - go make more to compete with the gold chainers.
If it's an issue of building the car - quit complaining on the HAMB and go show everyone what you can do.
If you don't have the skills to build it like you want - go learn from someone who probably got paid by the guys that pissed you off at the show.
If it's just a venting - well - it takes all sort of folks.

 

Did you build the computer you used to make this worthless thread or did you buy it?

 

Hell, come to think of it. I had someone else sandblast my body and frame. I'd never been so tickled in my life to let someone else keep me from doing Tons of dirty work. Now, if I could only afford to pay someone to build engines, weld, grind, paint, and polish. I really would enjoy hot rodding.