Compliments.....what happens when you drive your car?

People walk up to me with parts in their hands and ask, " did this fall off YOUR car"?

 

Nice

 

I sit in the garage and make vroom vroom noises while my wife rolls her eyes.

 

I really love it when people stop and tell me about thier memories of an Amphicar they had or thier parents had. I have had people follow me on the hiway for miles (when it's loaded on a trailer) and miles taking pictures and waving. They often follow me into the gas station and slowly wander around and around it silently "remembering when" and then more smiles.

There was a lady here in town who was a middle school teacher that had an Amphicar/Mobile home dealership here in Loveland, Co (Gracie Clinger.) I had never met her, but I feel like I know her. There has not been a single time that I had my Amphi in Loveland that somebody didn't ask "is that one of Gracie's cars?" or they were a student of hers. I hear both that she was a very nice teacher and a few have other words for her teaching style.

Here is a couple postcards from her dealership...

 

Not as many grown ups notice my ride, but every kid does.

 

Guess I like building more than driving. My first car was a nice little metalflake red model A coupe. First time I drove to school about 3 miles away I was stopped 4 times by the popo. Think it was an "we have our eyes on you thing". Anyway after a life time of working on these everyday and driving them so much its just not new or really exciting to me. I do enjoy them but I find the attention a bit annoying. There is no ego attached to the metal any more, It's just what I do... Enjoy and dont loose the the appreciation that the non exposed shower on ya. Guess its the same reason I dont go to shows?

 

Can't tell you how many people learned how to drive in or got laid in the back seat of a car just like mine . Only it was a 4 door or a wagon or a convertible.

 

I like the stories. "I had a car just like that in high school and we use to (fill in the blank)." These cars are meant to be enjoyed by everyone and kept on the road!

 

best reaction my car ever got is when some idiot reached down and touched the headers right after I turned the car off.......he screamed about my car for a minute or so

 

I was sitting at a stop light a couple of weeks ago and a hugh black guy in a new bentley pulled up next to me in the turn lane, turned down his blasting stereo and yelled over, hey man thats a cool car! cracked me up!

 

The other day in the buick I got a, "man, you like a gangsta, you sho'be wit a hat all brim to da side," from a 40-holding white kid while I was in the Buick. Sigh.

Most of the time though, its just smiles, waves and thumbs-up. I'm okay with that.

 

Women pull their tops down and make indecent offers.

 

My favorite thing that happened was when I had a '55 first series GMC 5 window truck that a friend and I fixed up in graduate school. We had it a local show and an old professor came up and very excitedly said, "That was my dad's truck." He was very excited to see it on the road again. However, the best part was when he told us how the bullet hole got in the interior kick panel. He and a friend were out in his dad's truck hunting rabbits and somehow fired their rifle inside the cab. "We covered up the hole with some mud so we wouldn't get in trouble", he told us between the laughing.

Meeting people is probably my favorite part of having old cars.

 

I used to drive an OT 1969 Pontiac Firebird convertible. People would always look at the car and then say "69" to ask me what year it was. They wouldn't say anything more than 69. After about the second time I started answering "no thanks". Got a lot of laughs.

 

Cool thread. I live in a neighborhood full of pricks and bitches. Like what was stated before most of them look at me in disgust. Most of these asshole don’t even wave when you drive by so I give them the “your #1 sign”.

Having an old car you know it’s going to break down, one day it just died on the road going into the hood. I’m standing outside the car with the hood up looking at the engine and these two ladies drive up, stop and give me a “thumbs up” and drive off. I said to myself “thanks for the fucking help”. They probably thought I was lost.

One time it died at a stop sign, I get out and start pushing the car to the side of the road. A young guys stops, never getting out of his truck and says “hey cool car I would help push but my arms are skinnier than yours and I don’t think I could be any help” then he sped off. “Thanks again”

Now I did have a guy in a 54’ Chevy truck wave at me once, but I was in a different part of our small town. I get those every now and again, kinda makes you feel good; more specially when you know you took something that didn’t run and what most people would just let sit and rot into a running and driving machine.

 

I tell the chicks be ready to be a star because EVERYONE will be looking at you! It works every time.

 

i am now being asked what year and make it is ever since I shaved the emblems, i left the "portholes" so they should know but they still ask....

 

Everybody knows what my car is, including women so I don't have to hear any of that "what is it?" bullshit. The bullshit that I do hear is that EVERYBODY used to have a '57 Chevy and that they were "ALL" fuelies. EVERYONE else's '57 was worth $60,000 and mine is a piece of shit because it doesn't have shiny paint and 22 inch wheels. Driving an old car is a constant reminder that 99.99% of people out there are total morons and don't deserve your time of day.

 

How about MY reaction when I walk out after work and see my car parked in a sea of plastic? Perma-grin. Priceless!

 

I always drive REALLY low and it deems to baffle most people. I've seen swerving and cameras and the regular neck-breakers. It does make me feel warm and fuzzy. Once when my brother was with me he watched a bicyclist smash into a parked car because he was watching me.

One of my all time favorites came when I brought out my bike for the first time after finishing it. I overheard an older gentleman telling his pal that it "looks like a speeding ticket just standing still".

 

What happen when i drive my car?
it broke down.
To much engine i supose.

 

The mrs and I were driving the 50 down south 99 to Jeff's Fun Run, when some guy passed me, slowed down, got behind me, moved to next lane, sped up, slowed down, turned his interior lights on and gave me a thumbs up. Thought that was pretty cool.

BigMike

 

I get lots of stares and smiles while driving my car.... a few thumbs up... a few of the crazys hanging out the window while driving asking what year it is... I think its great though when I'm at a light and the people behind me are enjoying my car, pointing at it and such.... then when we take of and I have to shift the straight 6 3 on the tree into second and everyone beside my is way past me and the guy behind me is now pissed and looking for a way to go around because I'm way too slow for his zippy camry. They don't understand that i'm not driving slow like that on purpose and that I have less than 100 HP at the wheel... and second gear is slow to shift into... but I don't expect them to know that..... I know more than half the ppl pass me too cause they don't like the smell of classic exhaust!

 

when I drive thru a show in my Model A, everyone turns Canadian....

"check out that A"

"nice a"

"see that A"

"cool A"

 

I went to a mom & pop grocers today and met a very cool old guy. He gave me a compliment, but blew me away when he talked about the rod he used to have.

He told me about a car he had before he went to fight in Korea. A '32 coupe, flathead, 2 carbs. Told me about all the fun he used to have in it before he went to war. Then, when he got home from Korea, he sold it to start a family. Almost looked like a tear welled up.

It was cool that my car got me a compliment and a very cool story. It's always nice to get compliments, but getting them from people who "get it" is the best ever.

 

As I drove into the Home Depot parking lot in Oklahoma City, there was about 10 people coming out of the store and headed for their cars. They all saw my 39 Ford traditional hotrod at the same time and they all smiled

 

Besides the ocassional thumbs up from people in cars on the road, I thought it was really cool when I got a thumbs up from a guy on a riding lawn mower cutting his yard.

 

I dig the on coming bikers that give you the point when they pass. To me that says it all.

 

I like it when guys tell me what they did with their girlfriends in the front seat of their Dads mercurys, when they were in high school. I'm thinking "what a bunch of bull crap" they didn't get anymore than the rest of us .... mostly NONE!!!

Still like my big ole Mercury though. Does have a big front and rear seat. Hmmm where's the wife?

 

They always say "Nice '55!" or "Nice '57!"


I drive a '56 Chevy. ¬_¬