Our Two Cents: Signs You’re Taking The Car Hobby Too Seriously
Passion is a double-edged sword. It lets us create things that others can appreciate, but sometimes it takes us so far down a wormhole that we no longer know what direction is up. Perhaps you have been lucky enough to fall in said wormhole, climb your way out, and live to tell the tale. Or perhaps you never fell down in the first place?
No matter what corner of this hobby you find yourself in, odds are you have a thought or two about taking this scene too seriously for your own good. That’s what I figured, anyway, when asking this question to members of Hagerty Media, and the team did not disappoint. Here are their replies:
Hoarding
“Parts hoarding. Bonus points if you have parts lying around for cars you don’t own. I recently found a set of polyurethane diff bushings meant for a Miata I sold years ago. I haven’t got rid of them yet because I might want another Miata someday.” – Chris Stark
The Forest vs. The Trees
“I know I am getting too serious when I lose sight of the bigger picture and get caught up in what I am doing in the moment. Whether it’s old cars, amateur racing, or any other facet of the car hobby, attitude can be almost everything.
I just had a really frustrating weekend at Mid-Ohio, chasing my go kart’s engine issues. I was miles off my pace from last year. My initial anger told me that having fun shouldn’t be such work. Then I took stock: I am at the track, doing what I love. Yes, there was no way I’d set a PR with a hobbled engine, but the thrill of correcting oversteer in a kart at 80 mph and wrenching under a tent on a beautiful day are a lot better than the alternative.” – Eddy Eckart
Look But Don’t Touch
“Signs that say ‘Don’t touch me, I’m not that kind of car’ and the like. It’s a car. You might as well put a sign on it that says ‘Go away,’ or ‘I hate people.’ If you’re that worried about it, don’t take it out of the garage. Kids experience the world in part by touching, and fingerprints are just that, fingerprints. They wipe off. Accidents happen at car shows, prams and bikes sometimes touch metal, a sign won’t stop that.
I saw a ‘don’t touch’ sign on a WW2 Jeep in Normandy last month. Really? It’s a military vehicle with a renowned reputation for toughness and being filthy, and you’re worried about some kid fondling the bumper? As far as I’m concerned, a ‘don’t touch’ sign is quite literally a sign that you are taking it all much too seriously.” – Aaron Robinson
“I’ll have to agree with Aaron’s response. I’d like to add one thing: When you talk to the guy (usually a guy) who owns a classic car and they nonchalantly mention in conversation how the car is their baby. Their wife or kids aren’t allowed to touch the car (I suspect these are the same folks who wonder why younger people don’t seem interested in cars). When you’re prioritizing the car over your spouse or family, then something has gone seriously wrong with your priorities.” – Greg Ingold
All Work And No Play?
“For me is when you spend more time working on them than actually driving them. Unless you’re restoring a low mile museum piece, they need to be enjoyed and driven, even if they may break down 2 miles from the garage.” – Sajeev Mehta
Closed Minds
“I get annoyed any time I hear somebody say something like, ‘I don’t understand why anyone would like that car.’ Maybe it irks me because I like so many weird vehicles that most people don’t care for. But thinking your opinion on cars is the be-all, end-all for what is ‘cool’ or ‘collectible’ or ‘interesting’ is peak taking it too seriously.
People like what they like, who cares what you think? Enjoy the fact that they’re into cars and move on with your life.” – Ben Woodworth
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In the modified words of Oscar Wilde _ [ Life is too important to take seriously ] _ Who could improve on that?
“Niagara Falls would be more spectacular if they fell UP”.
I’ve got my eye on you Sajeev…
Some of us just enjoy the work. Driving is great and all, but I’d bet I have just as much fun working on my projects as I do driving them–if not more.
Kyle, if he gets too big for his britches, ask him how many hours he’s spent driving Project Valentino vs. hours spent sourcing parts and that’ve been spent working on it in, oh say, the last 24 months!
Very few on both…because I have been working on 3 other cars instead. Sometimes it feels like it never ends, and that’s a problem when you start collecting too many cars!
Kyle, I have to say after looking at your pic…..the placement of those jack stands, hmmm, it looks like if you lean on the car…….🥵
Jack stands are in the rookie position. That’s really dumb!!
I really relax when driving as much as tinkering underneath.
I can totally relate to that. Somehow when the car is done I am already moving on.
Regarding the Look But Don’t Touch claim, like a lot of things, there are limits. I like to let people “respectfully” touch, inspect, and sit in my car, but one time I looked up to see some dude sitting on the right front fender, having a conversation with his friend. I had to remind him that I was sitting in a chair, but a classic car in a car show is NOT a chair (and that there are some people who would probably punch him in the nose if he sat on their cars). Another time at a drive-in movie cruise-in, the guy parked next to us came over and leaned on my door, wearing jeans with copper rivets on the back pocket corners. I shooed him off before he did any damage, but he kept giving me dirty looks all night. Letting people touch your car is fine, but I have to draw the line at touching that can potentially cause damage!
Agree… I have a ‘67 VW Camper bus, had it set up at a show looking like it was camping… tent out, dining table set, Coke cooler, vintage charcoal grill, folding wooden chair… am standing out front chatting with folks and turn around to find two people inside sitting at the dinner table… when confronted they were like “oh, we are thinking of buying one of these wanted to see what’s it like”… reminded them it was at a show, judges could be around any minute and they are not part of my display… while I don’t have actual do not touch signs, unfortunately there are enough clueless people in this world that I don’t begrudge someone who does.
So true. I was at a home car show (Charles Gould’s Microcar Weekend), with dozens of rare microcars lining the street and lawn, and a couple of young women just walked up, opened the door of one nice example and got in. I recognized that they weren’t the owners (who were getting some food at the other side of the house), and as gently as possible suggested that it wasn’t polite to just get in a car uninvited. It took a fair amount of talking to move them on, I hope without diminishing their interest in looking at the cars. The owners would have likely invited them to sit in the car if they’d asked.
I agree. I’ve put blood, sweat, tears and many, many dollars in my 66 Mustang and I’m not going to let someone who has probably never owned a great car destroy my paint job just because he’s inconsiderate. I have no problem with “look but don’t touch”. Apparently, a lot of people’s mother’s never taught them any manners or to respect the property of others.
Paint isn’t that delicate.
Amen!
I was at an event with my Allard when a nice young lady sat on the front wing. I said “you can sit on my face but not my car”. Yes, I did have a few beers at the time.
Dan Lowery: I’ll bet that got a response! LOL!!!
I agree with you, there is no need to “touch” a classic car. I am MORE than happy to talk to anyone about my 1957 Chevy 3100 restomod truck, but when an owner spends $25K (or more) on a paint job, it’s hand off.
I agree. I like your term “respectfully” touch.
Very true. It’s the flagrant disrespect that gets under my skin. I’m happy to let a kid touch my car or even sit in the drivers seat if I’m standing there, and I’m sensitive to that fact that it’s still a car and things are bound to happen, but I draw the line at people walking by and opening the hood or doors without asking. I treat the “Sniff but don’t scratch” Hagerty stickers I have on my car as more of an implied warning or reminder to please be careful and respectful rather than a demand, but I also can see Sajeev’s point that the perception may be different than the intent. Perhaps we need different signs that say “I’m sitting behind the car, if you’ve got a kid of any age from 5-95 who wants to see something, just ask”
Agree w Andrew W. The rules for touching someone’s car are the same as for petting their dog. Simply ask first. Cars don’t bite but their owners might!
Years ago, a student at the high school where I was teaching plopped down on the front fender of my Fiat 850 convertible. He was a 200lb+ pounder on the wrestling team. The fender flexed under his massive avoirdupois. But it popped back up, no damage. He was mightily apologetic afterwards. Most of the vehicles in that rural area were pickup trucks, just a tad sturdier….
Lean and look but don’t touch seems like common sense to me. But, as we know, common sense isn’t all that common. I was working at a school that held a spring tea for the seniors in the area. One year the theme was the ‘Fabulous ’50s’. I arranged for a small display of classic vehicles on site. The tea ran until dismissal time so the kids got to see the cars as well. One mom allowed her preschooler to use the front fender of a 1930 Ford hot rod as a slide. No damage but the owner was not amused, to say the least. Most owners would probably let you have a closer look. Just ask permission first. Makes sense, right?
I don’t have a sign so I watch to keep the idiot with the big dog that is barely under control away from my car. I’ll just leave it at that.
With the universal acceptance of cell phones, we no longer have to contend with the guy with the camera on a neck strap leaning in the window to get a better look at the interior.
At a local show last summer, a kid was making the rounds, sitting on the driver’s seats of various cars while his mother followed him around taking his picture. At no time did I see them asking permission.
Does that fall under “hoarding”, or is it an entirely new category?
Sorry, this post was supposed to fall under Sajeev’s last comment!
Well the answer to your question is: are you collecting stuff most folks can stop and appreciate, or are you collecting “junk” in the opinion of most folks? Cars can be junk, but unknown parts usually are (to most folks).
Hoarding is having more of a thing than you can ever use.
An electronic part with a 10 year of use lifespan… it’s not hoarding to have a bunch if you expect to own the vehicle they are used on for more than 11 years. Holding 20+ of them…
Project vehicles are easier to hoard. If you get 1 project done every 5 years it doesn’t make sense to have 20 “next projects” out back.
*having the income to properly indoor stored said projects and/or parts without negatively impacting your lifestyle or family changes the equation. Doesn’t make it more logical… when finances are a main factor in “not getting to” the ten projects in the grass out back you probably have a problem you aren’t choosing to face.
Your third point hit too close to home. So much more fun to find and acquire the next project than it is to slog through actually getting one done!
…Especially if the ‘10 year life span’ part is one I can find cheap, store easily, and KNOW that (1) others arw likely to need it in the future, and if I don’t grab it from that car it likely will be scrapped and gone forever.
You use the word “collecting” here, but I kind of feel like collecting and hoarding (although related) aren’t really the same thing – are they?
Hoarding is when the items you have are going downhill in your possession and negatively impacting your life and you have irrational reasons for keeping them. You also are probably in denial of those things. Collecting is having proper storage and a semi rational reason for keeping them. I am of the belief that if you aren’t a good steward, you don’t deserve it.
Can there possibly be a bigger waste of a summer Saturday than being in a car show?
For some people, attending a car show is more a social outing to see new and old friends than a “look at what I have” thing. I think this is why the Cars & Coffee scene exploded… to quote the Porsche Club of America, “IT’S NOT JUST THE CARS, IT’S THE PEOPLE.”.
I think a bigger waste of a day is being in a car show, but spending the entire time sitting behind *your* car in a folding chair. It’s one thing to want to share/show your car to the public, it’s entirely another to have absolutely no interest in any of the other cars in attendance. I have seen people do this at Cars and Coffee, FFS. If you have so little interest in anything other than your car that you don’t even want to walk around and look at them or talk to the owners…I don’t even know what to say.
You go to C and C in Sioux Falls?
I suppose that’s a good reason why the car show near me is held on Thursdays! 🙂
Yes, the list is too long and will sound too negative etc.
Oh Paul, that’s so sad to think being at a car show is a waste of time. If you think that, you are in the wrong hobby. It is a social event and a place to see things you’ve never seen, discuss issues and modifications, and a whole lot more. I remember the very first car show I went to when I was ten years old. A man with a ’56 Packard Carribbean convertible noticed that I was admiring his car. He asked if I wanted to see inside and let me sit in the driver’s seat, with my dad’s approval. It was a big contributor for me getting into this hobby. Please, people, if kids seem interested in your vehicle, take a few minutes to help them look at it and answer questions. You may just turn some average kid into a true car nut.
I’ve made it a habit to do just what that ’56 Packard owner did when I show my not-very-memorable and randomly restored Mustang locally. It gives me something to do — beside crossword puzzles — and it’s fun when kids (and most often, but not always) their young mothers show an interest. And I do try to visit other show participants too. Really.
You’re right.
I was at a show admiring a Enzo-era lower end Ferrari.
The owner asked what I brought…. A freshly restored Avanti.
He was impressed and gave me a Ferrari ride.
So what do you do? Drink case of beer I expect.
I recently sold my old Land Rover and made a point to put anything and everything Land Rover related in it before it left. I kept telling myself I was hooking up the new owner with all these extra parts. I went through my garage multiple time because I knew if I found any spare parts after it was gone I’d be holding onto them for the next Rover…
Years ago I needed a new frame for the driver’s seat on my 2011 NC Miata, but the only way to get one at a halfway reasonable price was to buy a pair of used OEM seats. I’ve replaced the NC with an ND, but I still have an NC passenger seat sitting in a box in my garage.
I still have a clutch for a Porsche that gave up the ghost a month after I bought the clutch. I have a file cabinet drawer full of quadrajets and a few more stashed around here and there. Random pulleys and brackets… HEI distributors… Hoarding parts is part of the game
A lot of the other stuff doesn’t apply to me. I’m a driver collector, not an investment collector or car show guy. As long as they run good and look good from 5 feet away… I’m riding. My riding to wrenching ratio is probably 90/10. Touch it, no problem, but don’t set things on it… that drives me up the wall
I knew I had a problem last week when I suspected that my coil was dying on my 66 Healey. I went through my parts bin and found 6 vintage coils, Bosch and Magnetti Morelli, etc. I want to sell or give them away. Found out one of the MM coils is selling for$400 because it fits a 60s Ferrari. I smiled
I need a Quadra Jet # 7029215. Whole or body. Thanks
Sad that I know it’s a Camaro/Corvette Q-Jet. I have one on the shelf (My OE one for the C3 that’s now LS7 powered.)
That’s a commonly available casting, I’d bet if you part with a few benjamins, you can get one on eBay right now.
The quality of the rebuild/casting after fifty years? Ehhhhh…
Hence why I’m hording mine (and more HEIs/Carbs/engines/transmissions than my wife would like to discuss.)
I’ll check my stash
I appreciated the points made in the Closed Minds section. For many of us (me, especially), vehicles are bought for our happiness, not others. It’s OK for you to not like my car, but get ready for me to tell you all the reasons I do!
Exactly!
And for the section where “we are horrible people if we don’t let everyone touch our car”, UMMMM NO, I’ve had grown men lean on with greasy chicken fingers and knock on the fenders, etc. DO NOT TOUCH ANYONES CAR! There is no need to, didn’t your parent ever tell you, “you can look, but don’t touch”?? Look, I won’t fondle your wife, so don’t touch my car! I have a lot of money into the paint job and ceramic and a few times people actually scratched my car with rings, belt buckles, back packs, A kid ran his arm cast down the side of it… I had to pay to get it fixed, not the viewer!
Touching scar at a car show is ok as long as owner knowing but going overboard is another. I saw one dad reaching into my friends Superbird to honk the beeps beeps horn to impress his 7 or 8 year old son. I asked him if he knew the owner and he said “no” and I asked him “dont touch it again”. He looked at me like I was crazy.
I always invite kids or teenagers to sit in my cars and even if they are old to drive to start it up. The look on their faces is priceless.
I have a T hotrod with many miles and I let kids sit in it and get as much enjoyment out of their smiles as I do driving it. Pictures taken by their parents will last a lifetime!
this kind of goes with the don’t touch deal.
I was at a car show with both my wagons(1987 Pontiac Safari with original documents, 1994 Buick Roadmaster Estate wagon) and this guy shows up with a jacked up truck and an enclosed trailer he pulls a road grinding ratrod out of, then he comes over and in a derogatory fashion starts bragging about how he helped turn wagons into collectors by using them in demo derbies, but what really riled me was wen later on he went behind my cars and lit up a cigarette and started smoking behind my cars, which both had all the windows open and the wind was blowing his smoke into my cars, when I asked him to go smoke his smelly s**t somewhere else he looked at me like I was offending him by not wanting my cars to smell like cigarettes.
Also a bit funnier at the same show a couple kids showed up with a couple late 90’s Pontiac grandprix’s and where revving up the 6 cylinder engines trying to show off. I got in my Buick(94 being the first year for the iron head LT1 and dual exhaust) which I had just recently replaced the mufflers on to get a bit more aggressive sound, and revved up my car once, both kids stopped revving their engines and left.
“but what really riled me was wen later on he went behind my cars and lit up a cigarette and started smoking behind my cars, which both had all the windows open and the wind was blowing his smoke into my cars, when I asked him to go smoke his smelly s**t somewhere else he looked at me like I was offending him by not wanting my cars to smell like cigarettes.”
Definitely a sign you’re taking it too seriously.
SMH…. FFS.
Post as performance art? Well played.
“1987 Pontiac Safari with original documents…”
how often do you find a family car let alone a station wagon that still has the original window slip from the factory, thats already been through over five different owners? I’m proud that the documents are still with the car. Though my 94 Buick is actually more rare as according to production records there were only 582 1994 Buick Roadmaster estate wagons that came with blue interior.
I told the guy smoking to move though cause I can’t stand the smell of cigarette smoke especially as at the time I had just finally managed to get the musty smell out of the Pontiacs interior, I didn’t want it replaced with cigarette smoke.
though one thing I enjoy doing at the shows I go to with both wagons, is offering to let kids and even adult sit in the rear facing third row, and I’ve heard alot of stories from people that grew up riding in them or had owned a wagons, and that’s one thing I love about my wagons, the memories they bring back to people.
I couldn’t agree with you more About enjoying cars and sharing them. What thought though is that at the museum where I’ve volunteer if we let people touch the cars there are so many people touching that it really does do damage overtime. We have some cars that people cannot only touch but they can sit in And once a month We get cars out and only let people sit in and touch them, but we take them for rides.
I have a couple of old jeeps – 1950 M38 (Korean War) and a 1962 CJ3B, I am always amazed when the owners of the jeeps sitting next to mine will not let people near them. I invite the Kids to jump in and let Mom and Dad take pictures. Only one way to get the kids to have a interest is to let them explore.
I wish I had a dime for every time I heard a show spectator—who wasn’t given permission to get in my vehicle—say, “It’s just an old jeep.”
With all due respect to Aaron Robinson (whose writing I truly enjoy), perhaps he didn’t fully understand why the jeep owner didn’t want people touching the vehicle. Flat paint (as in olive drab paint used on historic military vehicles) grabs the oils (or greasy burger and fries residue) on your hands like a magnet. At the end of a show one finds the vehicle spotted all over with shiny spots, including those in the perfect shape of a hand print because someone just HAD to lean on the hood for 10 minutes while they talked to their buddy.
Okay, so just wash it off after getting home. Here’s the rub (no pun intended): Flat paint is supposed to be flat, i.e. not shiny. Any rubbing, scrubbing, brushing, etc. (even repeated washing) runs the risk of creating shiny spots. Further, flat paint is easily susceptible—more so than conventional automotive paint—to showing scratches. And that happens when someone brushes up against the vehicle, casually draws a fingernail across the paint, or when frequent washing isn’t done delicately. Will the vehicle survive? Certainly. But does the factory-level restoration, and all that it historically represents, suffer? Absolutely.
Beyond the paint, at shows I’ve had people, uninvited, lift up their kids and place them into my fully restored, historically accurate WWII jeep. Kids who have ice cream drippings on their hands and mud on their shoes. Or, I’ve given people permission to get in and had them damage the paint because they didn’t lift their leg high enough to clear the body tub door cutout. Relenting upon a parent’s request to let their young child sit in his restored WWII jeep, a friend watched as the kid grabbed and ripped off the two dashboard mounted instrument panel lights.
It’s my hobby and I truly have a lot of fun with it. I enjoy the camaraderie and sharing with people the historical particulars of original components versus what they might see in current production pieces. And, if I simply viewed it as “just an old jeep”—or it reflected a combat/motorpool vehicle rather than factory level restoration—then I’d be more likely to let random people crawl all over it (which I do with other vintage vehicles that are not at the same level).
But, to me this vehicle is an historic artifact. I’m the current caretaker. Along with the fun, I have a responsibility toward it. Someday I hope to pass it along to someone who will view it the same way and maintain its high level presentation and accuracy. The restoration took five years. The costs ran far into the five figures. Hundreds of hours were spent doing research, insuring which components were historically accurate, and then trying to find, if possible, original/NOS parts. Do I take it seriously? Yes. Do I take it too seriously? No.
I don’t have a “don’t fondle my body” displayed, but the total lack of respect shown by a few people is mind blowing. I even had a fellow with a nice 69 Impala come over and lean on with forearms on the top of my old Tbird door. He was all sweaty and left very visible greasy, sweaty marks on the door. I wiped them off the minute he walked away, but I’m thinking, that ain’t good for my enamel paint. Yuck…..