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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When we have our Viper entered in a car show, my wife and I welcome anyone (as long as they’re clean and friendly) to sit behind the wheel, especially teens and kids. All we ask is that they empty their back pockets. With less than 32,000 Vipers made, all years/models, (and half of those are wrecked by now) only a relatively few people have ever seen a Viper close-up or at all. People love taking pics of their kid (or their spouse) behind the wheel. What better way to get more people, especially our youth, interested in collector cars?
Commenting on a earlier comment, I’ve owned and shown a wide variety of collector cars over the past 40 years. One thing that hasn’t changed over that time is owners sitting behind their cars all day and not talking to spectators who are viewing their car. Either my wife or I are usually standing and say “Hello” to anyone who gets near our car and seems interested. We’ve have had some great conversations, including with other collector owners, that would never have happened without that first “Hello.”
Just my two cents…
I have read here that what it ACTUALLY means is someone is posting simultaneously.
It’s an internet equivalent of a busy signal. Wait 10 seconds and try again
U people are on another planet
I have a pair of NOS convex mirrors for that classic old UNIMOG that I will never own …. hope burns eternal, haha.
I’ve been in the Automotive Aftermarket my entire adult life. Love it, but it can be volatile. I have found myself unemployed twice when the company I worked at was bought out by another who thought they could do it better with their people. One of those occasions lasted a few months, and I had mouths to feed as well as a mortgage to pay. So – I started digging thru my garage and attic for all those “hoarded” parts.
Let’s see… Here’s some brake parts that we painted PMS 301 Blue for that ad campaign way back when… Oh, and here’s N.O.S. tune-up parts for a car I sold years ago… Over there is some stuff that I couldn’t remember why I had, etc… But between those, the filing cabinets full of 20+ years’ worth of car brochures I had saved from the dumpster when they were cleaning out some old offices, the stacks of Haynes manuals (many long out of print) the company was tossing after we quit selling them, and the tons of LBC parts that my warehouse returns manager used to sit aside for me back when Beck/Arnley was getting out of the British car parts business (they would have otherwise ended up in a dumpster, so I saved actually them)… I ended up making more than a few mortgage payments out of my garage shelving by way of eBay that year.
Did I mention that I love being in the aftermarket??? Ha-ha. Life is good when you make a living doing stuff you do in your spare time anyway!
yea i like do not touch and do not get to close i have been a body man for nearly 60 yrs those are the same people that come to us tell you how much they have into every thing and want us to make the first thing everybody sees look like a millon bucks for next to zero And the other ones are the ones worred how much every thing is worth i have a 66 gto factory auto swaped to 4speed when i bought it changed it back all org cons shifter everybody telling me it was worth more as 4speed i am 70 i want to drive it had same car at 16 with 4speed but my back and legs were 55yrs younger to
It seems that I have somewhat fallen into all 5 categories. I don’t hoard, I save parts that I might need someday. At least it’s all Corvair parts. I prefer that nobody touches my car if I am not around, but if they ask, I’ll let them go for it. As a mechanic, I enjoy working on my cars. It is even more fun to drive them. With Corvairs, it’s usually a bit of each. And closed mind? Yeah, there are Corvairs, and then other cars. I actually like most cars, and I enjoy talking to people about them. To paraphrase a comment above, It’s the Cars AND the People!
Read the first part and broke out laughing….anyone need a set of stainless steel pistons for a ’65 to ’82 Corvette Sold my ’68 in ’75… BEFORE I got the chance to put them in. Found them in a box in the basement six months ago!!! ( along with parts for six other cars that are now history LOL)
7. You Read All the Articles on Haggerty’s Site.
Watch it… !!
If you refer to your car’s build date as the day it was “born,” you take this way too seriously.
Great article which stirred up some interesting comments. All good stuff!
I enjoy cruise nights, car shows and talking shop with friends. I drive my classic 1948 Chevy Aerosedan everyday except when snowing, salt on the roads or raining before I head out! I believe in owning one classic vehicle at a time because I don’t want to have one sitting around and not being enjoyed. I enjoy driving standard shift vehicles only! I see a vehicle with an automatic, I keep walking, just not my thing. Anyone, no matter what their age, who comes by my car, I ask them if they have a cellphone and everybody has one. Then I ask them to sit in the driver’s seat and I’ll take their picture. Most are shocked and can’t believe I would do this but I explain that it may be something they may never have a chance to do! I love to put kids in the car and take or have their parents take their pictures. My purpose is to maybe some day when they grow up they will want to have one of old 2010 cars their parents drove and keep the hobby going! You will never see a do not touch sign a vehicle of mine. Thanks for letting me add my two cents!
Hoarding? Like the original 1965 corvette valve covers from a car I owned 12 years ago? Or The dual 2bbl Buick 215 V8 intake & carbs for a engine I don’t own or ever owned, or the hurst overdrive lightening rods shifter for 700-R4, of which I don’t own a project for or really don’t like automatics.
That’s not hoarding… that’s strategic planning.
years ago, I took my family to a local Packard gathering in Richmond Illinois, our youngest son was seven or eight at the time and recognized a Packard that was just like dads, he strolled up to it to get a better look, the owner jumped up from his lawn chair and pleaded with me to keep my son away from his holy grail Packard, I told the owner to relax, we have one just like this in our garage, but this one was built for the president of the Union Pacific Railroad, I told him no sweat, mine was built for a prominent lawyer in river forest, when we used go out in it our kids ate ice cream in the back seat, no big deal.
I have to disagree with the, “Do not Touch,” signs. I used to use them a lot in the ’80s, but the signs made the car look silly. I don’t use them these days. The main point of the sign is not so much to keep touchy-feely fingers off–it’s a blanket, umbrella coverage thing. Rather than allowing fingers, but not the jean rivets, I disallow all kinds of touching which includes, but not limited to, touching with screwdrivers, knives, hammers, lawn chairs, belt buckles, baseball bats, rocks… One time, a little boy (1.5yr?) was trying to climb the front spoiler to bumper while pulling up from the plastic grill on my ’69 Mustang, while the old man intently studied the engine compartment. I had to intervene, but the man wasn’t happy that I had said anything and gave me a dirty look. Unlike some people I didn’t chew him out, or hit him, or anything. I think I said something like, “don’t touch please!” in an urgent tone.