HA! Reminds me of being stopped by a (very young) MA State trooper in the 80s in one of my Novas with dual quads and no hood. The Trooper asked me "Where's the hood"?? pointing at the carbs.. I replied "It's home in the basement" (it's true location). He screamed at me "Don't get smart with me shithead"!!!..... Don't know what he expected me to say, it wasn't on the car..... My straight axle Nova attracts quite a bit of attention, but I live in a pretty-non car area if you know what I mean. And the biggest question seems to be..."Is that thing 4WD"????
I was at a station getting gas in my 32 five window when a guy who wanted to impress his girl started telling her about my car "that's a hot rod those things were out lawed years ago but now they can run antique plates and drive them on the street" that made me laugh inside.
l have a plain white looking '63 Nova SS w/ SBC, 4 spd, red interior, and hubcaps. Older folks tell of having owned one and great a car it was. Their smile makes my day especially when I fire it up and they say "but ours never sounded like that." Had a two bubbas argue that Nova MUST have 396 BIGBLOCK because it sounds like one. Made my day since I built the SBC motor in it and it still says "327" on the fender : )
Filling up at the beach with my friend Ralph and his blown Hemi '27 T coupe and some drunk-off-his-ass-wino says, "That sure is a nice '32 Ford!" He was close enough I guess.
At my last job I would drive my '50 Chrysler (the one in my avatar) and park it out front. This fucktard comes in and asks"who's got the old Merc out front?" Me: Oh, thats mine. It's a 1950 Chrysler". FT:" No way man! it's flat black with flames on it that makes it a Merc!" His folks got divorced and asked the judge if they were still brother and sister!
a few years ago some old lady came over to check out my 54 chevy and was all excited, she knew the year of the car so that was cool. She asked to sit in it to 'remember the good old days' she was grinning ear to ear so that made my day. she looks over into the back seat and said 'ya know i lost my virginity in the back of a 54' then got out and walked away.....i was speachless... Still laugh about that one
mid 1980's... I'm driving my '62 Corvette. Guy asks where he can buy one. I tell him look at a classic car dealer. "OH.... I thought it was a new car" He did have an English accent though.
Stepdown Hudson owners used to get a lot of comments about their "cool Mercurys". The "Cars" movies have helped get rid of that, to an extent. Nevermind, the Hudson Stepdown cars came out in October 1947, while the '49 Merc came out in October 1948. When I had my '53 Wasp four door, I got the Mercury comment quite a bit. One guy even asked about why I put the "Wasp" rocket on my "Merc" and why did I get rid of the cool stock Mercury grille! Whatever... My '66 Dodge Coronet has been called a Charger, a RoadRunner, a GTX, a Chevelle, and an Impala. It says "Coronet" and "Dodge" twice each on the exterior. The ones that kill me are "Did you buy that car new?"..."Uh, yeah, I was a pretty talented seven-year-old and my folks let me drive back then!"
Driving my OT HHR Panel when I first got it, I'd get asked if I customized it myself, and how hard was it to remove the side windows and replace with sheet metal. I had the first one in the area and people didn't know about them. What really torques me off is when people call it a PT Cruiser. I can really emphasize with you owners of actual hot rods and customs must feel when people make those kinds of comments. @Patrick66, just be thankful it wasn't called a Marlin.
Most folks are pretty tickled to see a nice old car, so when I get gas which is every time I drive the car usually people come over and chat. I'd say 1 out of 25 folks knows it's a Mercury which is still impressive in my book. I overlook the "my grandpa had one too, I it's a '__ _____ and it used to have a ___" because most of the time they are trying to connect with the car and I think that's cool." I only get annoyed when I've had the hood up and someone says "oh it doesn't have the flathead anymore..." I'm like wtf who asked you.
Where's the radio ?????? Are those double 4 barrels ???? You ain't got no doors man ??? You ain't got no roof eider ???
I've never had anyone come up to me at a gas station, but I've had plenty of people tell me at stores and in traffic that I have a nice galaxy. I guess its close, my Fury has vertical headlights too.
Granted my 59 El Camino does not have the front fender scripts on it but if I had a dollar for every time its called a Rancho, or Ranchero, or my favorite, a Rancherino, I could afford to buy another one--an El Camino. When I was driving my black Nomad, many years ago, was asked over and over: "is that a hearse??"
Fella on a nice old Triumph pulled up next to my '52 Chev at the lights. A little mutual admiration and he asked me if it was an imported Mercury. It's hard to politely tell a guy he has no idea. I get the constant comments about the Offenhauser in my modified. Here's my Offy:
My favorite took place at a local cruise night. One of my OT pickups has a stock 454 and a guy told me he loved my 572 crate motor and wanted to know how hard it was to install. I told him the motor is a stock 454 out of a motor home, not a 572, and not a crate motor. He went on to tell me it is a 572 and I just don't realize what I have. A friend of mine was standing close by trying to keep from falling out laughing. My friend showed up the following Saturday with a small custom made sticker, "572 Clone".
i still get is that a hearse. it dont look like one to me(avatar). i was at a little country store about 2 months ago. i was checkin the oil and i heard this high pitch voice ask me is that a hearse and of coarse i have to be a smartass, i dont look up i just say yeah for midgets and little kids.want to quess what asked that question? hint, it wasnt a little kid.
I still get "nice vette" for my 55 t bird. Always wonder if their really NOT clueless and just messing with me.
That reminds me of another story of something that happened this summer. I volunteer at the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame, and outside, we have a replica of a 1950's gas station, which has a garage door to get cars into the front part of the museum. That day in June, we had just put a car in the museum and the door was left open. While me and two other guys were talking, a english lady with a thick british accent comes through the garage door and asks the older man I was with for help. So he walked up and asked what she needed and she tried in her best attempt to ask for a tire repair, but he could not understand her thick accent. So she said it two more times, loudly, until he finally understood, pointed her in the direction of the garage down the street, and she stormed off. She actually thought that our little display of a gas station was a real service station! I couldn't keep from laughing
Was getting gas a few weeks ago in the roadster. A car full of young kids wanted to know what shop I used for the vinyl flames. Vinyl? These are the real deal & done by one of the masters himself- Dennis Ricklefs. Their comment- does this Dennis guy have a sign shop close to here?
I know a guy who's 53 Ford Wagon was actually a hearse in the past! when people see my 55 wagon, the first I hear is "oh look a hearse" the second is "this must make really bad MPG" . what I like is when guys give a little elbow to their girlfriends and say "wow look at that ride!" with this amazed look on their face (american oldies are not common here in France)
I got this one last week... "What did you make that thing out of?" When I tried to explain that it came from the factory like that, the guy just laughed and told his buddy "This guy has no idea what he's talking about, everybody knows they never made a drop top truck" I just smiled and drove away. Usually people ask "How fast does it go...?"
Driving down the road in my '60 Olds (avatar) and a lady pulls up next to me and says "I love your bat car!" I couldn't tell if she was serious or just yanking my chain.
Had my flatty roadster at a gas station n a kid said to bad i didnt have a v8 in it since it only had av6 in it! He knew cuz it had three exhaust pipes on each side! Told him i dont talk to SPECIALpeople!
our "greatest response to our car so far is "send that POS to the scrapyard!!"....screamed from across an intersection. And the most recent one is " So what year and make is that? a '57 Chevy or somethin?".....referring to our '50 plymouth (??!!!???)
The Jalopy Journal
