Brain in gear before mouth in motion!

[Guest]

I didn't want to be number ninty something in the posts about hot rods but I think we have done it to ourselves. I have driven a 1930 Pontiac Custom Sedan as a daily driver since June 1959. I have put over 380,000 miles on this car. It is stock except for turnsignals and a 6 volt alternator. I always tell people about the pleasure I get out of driving a car as it was built. Ii talk about how I used to beat Corvettes in WSCC skill tests in the early 60's. I tell how I have driven rallies in it and always finished in the top half. I brag of having driven from Winnipeg to Calgary in one day (900 miles). I tell about getting 60,000 miles out of a set of nylon belted tires. I tell about having three rebuilt fuel pumps in three consecutive years and then having the last one last 47 years. I tell people how good the brakes are. I drive my car. I drive it in rain and sleet and snow. I drive it with chains if need be. I have never belittled my car. I have never added coolant or oil to my car in 30 years. I change the antifreeze every second year and the oil every 3000 miles. I usually have to adjust my mechanical brakes once a year. My front wheel bearings are original and my transmission has never been opened. I am on my second clutch disc. I can shift up or down with or without the clutch or by double declutching whatever you like.

And yet...every time there is a gathering of car people I hear owners of real great old cars bemoaning the poor mechanics of their car, how it overheats, how mechanical brakes are no good, how 6 volt is no good, how belted tires are unsafe and on and on and on.

I believe that you and I have instilled this need to change and modify in our childrens and their friends minds. If GM offers us 14 different trans and diff opitions every backyard mechanic in Canada and the USA knows beter than the engineers.

Maybe if we used and built up the reputations of our old cars more we could change this trend. If owning and driving an old car is so much fun why don't more of you do like few of us do and use your cars. : Or else we just have to spend our money and buy all the restorable cars up so the hot rodders can't find them.

Happy hobbying

[rocketraider]

Hear! Hear! Very well put!

I think you've hit on something about why people consider vintage cars unreliable. If they aren't driven regularly, things deteriorate. They were used daily in their time and got people where they wanted to go with little if any aggravation.

[poci1957]

Tinindian, you are absolutely right and I am guilty of that myself. Thanks for the point, we need to do better with the word of mouth. Todd C

[Guest]

I'm beginning to think that some of you are regarding this issue as a battle between good and evil, the good guys with the innocent original cars, and the bad guys with the chopped up, evil street rods. Luke, I am your father. How d*mn ridiculous. Until you whiners want to shell out some money to restore all of these old cars back to original condition, stay away from my garage, because we still live in America and we can chop up all the old iron that we want too. There will still be plenty of these old cars left for you whiners to flush your money down the toilet on trying to restore them back to mint condition.

[Guest c.johnson]

I disagree..

Sure if you are talking a model T, there are still pleanty around. But remember that Ford just isn't making them any longer.

The other day on ebay I saw an Oakland Landau for sale, the seller encouraging prospective buyers to imagine what it would look like chopped and channeled. That car may be the last survivor for the year, model and make. How many Oaklands have you seen for sale <span style="font-weight: bold">today</span> I have an Oakland, parts are hard - if not impossible - to find. There are many other cars that are rare. Although an endanger list has not been published (ok it would be impossible) it would be a loss if the only survivor was modified because no one would ever see one again.

Don't get me wrong, I know if you own a car you have every right to do whatever you want with it, and that it takes an extreme amount of talent, imagination, and money to modify a car. I've done it my self But do not assume that there will always be a '57 Chev available to create into whatever you can imagine.

But by the same token, it takes a lot of talen, imagination and money to convert a rusty piece of junk back into a part of history.

cj

[Ron Green]

I saw in car magizine (Old Car's Weekly I think?) a guy who street rods the orginial antiques and uses the stock parts such as the pistons and crank to make coffee tables with a glass top. He was advertising 1937 Buick tables but many other makes were available upon request.

I know everyone has the right to do what they want but some things just don't seem right.

[Steve Moskowitz]

Interesting title to this discussion but I sure wish Anonymous would have read it carefully! I agree with him that this should not be a discussion between good and evil and I have long supported both sides of this issue. We should be able to co-exist and enjoy the skill, craftmanship, etc of those on both sides of this issue.

However, the concern many of us have is HISTORY! After you destroy the last "endangered specie" there are none left! While every citizen has the right to spend their money and do what they want with their cars...serious concern should be taken into account on what history of the automobile MAY be lost as a result. There are many ways to build a hot rod with component parts, replica bodies but they same can not be said for certain cars remodeled for the street.

I LOVE hot rods, modifieds, low-riders etc.....but never would want to see a rare and irreplaceable car turned needlessly into one of these. Our automotive heritage is just too important,

As far as us "flushing our money down the toilet goes"...just plain ignorant! Most of us do not see it as an investment but an investment in enjoying our hobby. There is great satisfaction in restoring something from the "grave" and great satisfaction from hearing an old car run again. Sometimes we get "lucky" and one of our cars are worth more than we have in them...that is not the prime motivator. Someday Mr. Anonymous you might open your mind, as well, and not see this as good vs. evil. Maybe you will get a ride or chance to drive a brass-era car, meet some of the guys that have busted their butts to restore a rare car and listen to their tales...I think the majority of us have our brain in gear although it may not be synchronized!

[Guest]

Remember those dreadful sofas and dinettes made from the ass ends of '57-'59 Chevies, Caddies et al? I have even seen the front half of late '30's cars sticking out of the wall,masquerading as taxis in some tastelessly revolting retro eateries, I hope this trend,like all others of it's ilk will be of mercifully short duration.

[Dave@Moon]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> If owning and driving an old car is so much fun why don't more of you do like few of us do and use your cars. </div></div>

[color:\\"red\\"] AMEN! [color:\\"blue\\"] AMEN! [color:\\"blue\\"] AMEN!

Finally some people are getting it! I don't know if you've read any of the past threads on this subject, but my point from the beginning is that we're turning into invisible trailer queen servants while the (yes, evil) hot-rodders do everyting legal to raise their visibility in the community. Without a doubt this has been the root cause of the decline of interest in authentic restorations.

That's it for me! Tommorrow I'm off to Hershey to see what the hot-rodders have left behind for me to shop through. And to peruse the show field before they buy it all up to rebody Chevelles.

[ex98thdrill]

Excuse me... Anonymous, please don't come into this forum to talk trash unless you are brave enough and adult enough to register. Everyone has an opinion and not everyone is right, but regardless of the feelings, we are a group that are here for a reason and the reason is not to bash others. If you wish to continue to post stuff like that I would like to politely ask you to go to another forum. Thank you for your time.

[DizzyDale]

WE restored our 37 Ford Phaeton over a three year period,put 2,000 miles on it to work out any bugs before tearing it apart.We ended up with a car too nice to drive,junior first at Hershey and nominated for a national award last year.Sold it to someone, for all the money who saw it at Hershey last fall.I bought a 39 Lincoln Zephyr coupe that i DRIVE as often as i can.There are many aspects of this hobby i mean obession that i truly enjoy.Searching for that next project,researching it,restoring it better than new,showing it off to people that know what it took and i am sure my favorite DRIVING it.No not everyday,the nice days are often enough ,not much is more enjoyable,It is truly something special,take a neighbor for a ride they will love you for it.Just a thought Diz

[Guest]

Many antique motorcycles that were "customized" in the 1960s and 1970s are being authentically restored. I'll bet more older Harleys and Indians are now being restored than are being customized/rodded/bobbed. I wonder if the same shift will happen with antique cars?

[Guest]

For the very good reason that antique motorcycles have climbed dramatically in price,on parity or exceeding the values of similar era autos thus creating a strong demand for restorable examples, in one way this is a good thing as they are being either sympathetically restored or preserved in original condition of which there are more than you would believe but are beyond the reach of many who would otherwise enjoy them while early car prices have taken a nosedive.

[ex98thdrill]

You're right. I'm not bashing trailer queens (we've got them), and I'm not against daily drivers. You hate to not be able to drive the cars, but when you put thousands of dollars and hours of work in to something, you also hate to risk messing them up. I actually don't mind driving them as much as it bothers me to park them in a praking lot.

I think it is wrong for someone to scutinize someone customizing a car or restoring a car. It all goes back to it's their car and they're entitled to do as they choose with it, but they're wrong for condemning someone for their choice. My father and I still have several unrestored cars, but what we've found is that either the cars we've found were wither too good to customize (we couldn't bring ourselves to do it) or too bad to mess with. There has been more tha one time when we had the body in primer where we've both said "boy would this make a nice rod" but couldn't do it.

A '37 Ford Phaeton? That's a rare car! A nice rare car!! There was an older gentleman that used to live in Victor, New York that had a black one that was bought brand new by his grandfather? (or father) that aside from a paint job, was all original and nice. When he died, that car disappeared and we haven't seen it since (1988). I know at a time if the opportunity had come up to buy that car, my father would've grabbed it, but it never did, and the car hasn't been seen.

[Amphicar BUYER]

I spent 1500+hours in restoring my Amphicar. 450 of those are paint/body work alone. However, this car is driven often and used in the water as well. It was designed to be used and I believe that it is useless if hidden in a garage and never appreciated by the masses. I love to give rides too. That is part of the fun!

I would think it a waste to turn this (or any) car into a piece of jewelry that is only seen by a handful. I fully understand that some cars are soooo very nice and you don't want to get damage. But all you need to do is be careful where and when they are driven. What good it the Mona Lisa if it is were to never be seen and appreciated?

Point being, drive em, show em, love em!

[Guest brh]

Everyone has a right to an opinion. No one person is right or wrong thats what makes the world go round. I have been a part of this forum for a little while and there are some people who insist on being sarcastic, and or offensive. Hey folks thats the world we live in. It in no way discourges me. If someone wants to chop and channel a car well I'll admit I hate to see it but its their right. If I want to preserve my car and enjoy it thats my right. Either way you meet some good people all of which work hard on their cars. Lets respect that and move on.

[Guest]

Dear Ex98thdrill,My guess is it is the same Ford,spent most of its life in Corning,and in later years Hornell.Max Wilkens of Hornell owned it for many years sold it to a dealer in Horseheads and thats where we found it.It was black when we bought it.It sure is a small world.diz

[ex98thdrill]

Black car, brown leather seats with a white top? The guy that owned the car I believe his last name was Ludwig and I had believed that the car had stayed around Victor New York all that time (at least until Mr Ludwig died back in 1988). Corning is about 60 miles away, but where that car ended up, it might be the one. The car was a very clean and original car.