"We drive hotrods for the attention" Kinda long.

i think you laid that out pretty well. i do enjoy the personal satisfaction of knowing something i built up is enjoyed by others. personal attention isn't something i care about.

 

You obviously struck a chord with a lot of us. I drive my old for the fun-it sure isn't for the smooth ride, the A/C, the killer radio, the cup holders, DVD, GPS, plush interior, gas milage, ect., cause my cars don't have ANY of those.

 

The thing is that there's that intangible feeling or a voice, something calls out to us and to everyone who cares to look. Frankly, I'm surprised when some don't look, but then again that's a testament to our individuality. I like to share. I don't like any of that "damn dude, you're the man!" shit. I do much of this stuff we're fond of for a lviing, so in a way attention is important to me, but not to me personally. I have one craft I brag about just a bit but it's not really bragging, just expressing confidence (some of you know what it is). With my friends and peers I want them to know what's possible, how to get it, how to make that vision get outta yer head. I'll tell ya what though, a project car seems to get my attn more than a finished car. It's a clean sheet of paper and a catalyst for creative thinking.


And hey, 49'fink, don't take it as a slam or a flame

 

I disagree. the HAMB is a great place for miserable hermits.

 

If I cared about attention I wouldn't take a perfectly good car apart and hide in my garage.

 

Not sure why the HAMB gets a bad rep, 'cuz everyone on here "gets it"! Great comments and it's nice to know we're all not alone!

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=3516434#post3516434

 

I love driving my 57 and 66 chevys, but if anything, the attention really gets on my nerves..people flying up on my blind side on the highway , hitting their horns and then trying to ask dumb questions ( sorry pal, I can't roll the window down on the passenger side without stopping the car!) the constant "why don't you put a big block in that" or "why don't you have antique tags" ? I'd love to live in a rural area where I could just drive the car and not be questioned constantly about the cars. I really do drive em' because I like them, allways have, 40plus years now.

 

Me, I've always liked old cars. Mostly because it was all I could afford when I was growing up. My buddies got new camaros and chevelles but I was always satisfied with what ever I had. Around '98, I started on a '32 3 window show car. I sunk all of my overtime money into that car and it took 3 years. I never thought I would ever sell that car, but after a year of cleaning it all the time, it worn off and I sold it. Now, the cars I have aren't so perfect but infinitely more satisfying since I not afraid to drive them anywhere.

Funny, in '88, I took my wife on our first date. I was driving a shaved VW Bug. I had known my wife in college back in '69. Back then I had a '56 Chevy. After a year of dating, I asked her if she thought I was poor because I drove an old Bug. She laughed and said, "You've always liked old cars so I wasn't surprised!".

 

My daily is an 07 BMW 328, bright red and lowered 1 inch. I drive it because it is dead realiable and the most fun thing I can do in a car with my clothes on. I look forward to the commute to and from work because I get an hour alone with the car. I picked up a set of 40 Ford wheels this week from a HAMBer and he commented on how pretty the car is. I would love the BMW if it looked like a Pontiac Aztec because of how it makes me feel, the appreciation by fellow car guys is just the cherry on top. I feel the same about the lakes mod. Model T I am building right now. I hope when the car is done no one looks at it and says WTF was he thinking but my biggest concern is that when I get in and go for a drive it puts a smile on my face and when I park it I can't help but turn around and look at it one more time as I walk away.

 

I grew up driving a 56 Chevy because it was the old family car that got handed down to me in 1986. I daily drove it all through high school and my first ten years in the Navy. In high school in Nebraska, it was just an old car, even in the 90's, people are different there. When I moved to Norfolk VA, I couldn't get gas without a 20 minute conversation, and this was a pretty rough survivor on rusty cragar's then. And always the same questions over and over. Quite frankly it was annoying. However when I parked it in 2000 and started driving an SUV (wife, kids happened) I missed the attention suprisingly. I think it's a part of the reason I'm putting together another 56. I love the look and feel of an old car with character. But a little bit of me misses the "celebrity" status that an old car gives you.

 

I don't do it for attention. I very seldom stay around the truck at shows to collect any attention. This may sound funny but I think of myself as a frustrated artist. I'm painting a picture in metal that I have in my mind. I know from the gitgo that lots of folks won't like my vision. I don't look for it or expect it. If someone speaks up and compliments me then I feel like I've found a brother but that is not the goal. The goal is the car.

When you start to desire trophies which is the attention, then the envy and hard feeling start to come into play. That's the part of this game that I hate the most.

I like cruise Sunday mornings better than a "Custom Car Show" I go to look at the other cars and BS with my buddies. That's why I pass on the 25 dollar shows just so I can park in their lot with the other hotrods.

 

I get why people build cars to win trophies, but I really couldn't care less about those types of cars. I can appreciate and respect the time, skill and craftsmanship that goes into those things, but unless you drive it, it's not a car, it's a trophy itself. Cars can be art, no doubt about it, but the art of the car should be a functional art, not just a static, lifeless, soulless lump. I know there are guys that get all up in arms when you tell them what they built isn't a car if you don't or cant drive it, and that's fine with me, but it doesn't make it any less true. Your show car that gets pushed on and off a trailer is no different than the Mona Lisa or Michelangelo's David, it's pretty to look at, but it just sits there and collects dust. Again, I can appreciate art, but to really be a hotrod, it has to work in the real world. Art is created for the distinct purpose of being looked at, or, attracting attention. To me, that's the furthest thing in my mind when I'm out cruising around.

 

I am sure they are getting it was about that age that I would not let my parents pass a car show without out throwing a fit until they had to turn around and go back to let me go look. I have loved cars every since I can remember and not just old cars I love all the different styles. I have had lowriders, ricers, hotrod/customs, minitrucks. Like was said earlier "If its cool Its cool"

 

I simply can't afford a new car and too dumb to fix one anyway, hence I drive old shit........

 

I agree, I'm into cars because I like it not because of what other people think. I drive my cars to work and around town more than I go to car shows during the season for sure, and I don't go for trophys or anything. In fact sometimes I feel weird running errands in one of my old cars, I don't expect anyone to make a big deal I just expect them to not tailgate me and let me enjoy my drive. The only exception for attention for me comes from other die hard car guys and older generations. It makes me really happy when someone who knows what thier looking at gives you a complement or shares a story with you. That stuff is worth more than any trophy I think.

 

I drive my car all the time and get tons of waves and stuff. It kind of gets out hand driving to the store to get my tea . I cant wait for fridays most of the time for our car hangout. On the way home i allways look for a race so far im 2-0 lol.

 

I do it for the attention.

Just kiddin'. Count me in with the guys who hot rod for their own satisfaction...not other's. These old cars are like time-machines to me, and out here in the rural area where I live, an evening drive in an old car on a 2-lane blacktop or gravel road with little to no traffic and a few old houses and barns allong the way, can make me feel like it's decades earlier. The corn swaying in the breeze, some oldies playin' soft, the pipes purring, the dash-lights glowing softly on my wife's smiling face as she whispers, "You're the utmost, Rickybop" Huh? Oh, sorry...kinda drifted there.

 

That's me to a Tee, my preference is for 1930's Fords so I really enjoy driving them. I do mean 'driving' in the sense that driving an old car is a completely different experiance than driving a newer one. It's more intense and more of a thrill because you don't have the modern systems available that make driving a new car more of a process than a pleasure.
BTW my cars are stock standard.

Another part of the old car experience is the tinkering, the best book I ever read on the tinkering subject was by Robert Persig ? (spelling) 'Zen And The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance'.

I'm fortunate that my wife 'gets it' with the cars, now if only she could 'get it with my old clothes'. Just when they've worn well and are really comfy with maybe one or two holes and a scrape here or there, I hear 'that' voice, "that's got a hole in it, what are you wearing that for".

One more thing I smiled when I saw your 'Mondegreen'. quote "to all intensive purposes" the phrase I think you meant is 'to all intents and purposes'. Not that there's anything wrong with intensive purposeLOL.

 

Not to drift the thread, but if you enjoyed Persig, check out Shop Class as Soulcraft by Matthew B. Crawford. I started a thread about it here, but it attracted little attention.

And don't let the cover fool you, although he's an old bike guy, the principles and premise of his book is at the heart of all "head and hands" skilled crafts, including building and fixing hot rods, customs, and classics.

 

Sometimes the extra attention while driving a classic sucks, like when you need to pick your nose.

Seriously though, I drive what I like regardless of attention. I don't own anything I dislike driving.