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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I frequently go to car shows to both share my T-Bird convertible and view other people’s autos. However, I am now in my 70s and bring my chair with me so I can get off my feet. Sitting near my auto also lets me observe people which is enjoyable. The car gets photographed frequently, but when I see someone getting their picture taken next to my car, I ask it they want to sit in it. The answer is always yes. I am there to share my auto with others who are younger and may not have every seen a convertible like mine. It gives me pleasure to let others enjoy my car. I spend as much time as others who display their autos keeping mine spotless before a show so people can take some nice pictures, plus my pride in ownership. When I comes to rain, that depends. My car is year 1966, a southern car, underbody clean, restored 20+ years ago and to my knowledge has not be driven in the rain for 30+ years. A few sprinkles at a car show, when the top is up, no problem. But driving in the rain, absolutely not. Any time the car goes into a shop, too frequently, it is never parked outdoors uncovered. Perhaps excessive, but I treat my daily driver the same care.
Here, here, regarding the closed minds. Over the years it has become a bit of a secondary pastime at car shows just listening to the ‘opinions’ of many of the people (mostly the guys) critiquing other people’s rides. Here’s the deal; it’s not your car. It’s not your taste. You do not know the person or why he or she wanted that car in that trim or paint colour. Lastly, most who stand around pointing out to their spouses what is “incorrect” about a particular vehicle are usually incorrect themselves in my observations. I once worked selling vintage and custom auto parts and gained a fair bit of knowledge regarding the cars we provided for. I also learned the phrase ‘to each their own’ and try to live it while attending shows.
ps. I like the Partridge family Volvo at the start of this story. It amuses me and obviously the owner as well. Boring car that made me smile. Mission accomplished. To each their own.
Reply to Aaron Robinson: The Jeep may have been a roughneck in conception and use, but when one is lovingly, painstaking restored, it still demands some respect from onlookers. It means as much to it’s owner as whatever you cherish does to you. I M Humble O !
Coincidentally, about twenty years ago, when our burg still could hold a local air show, our museum (of which I am a docent/restoration volunteer) invited a group of military history restorer/collectors to show their machines with our aircraft. We did specify ‘no unaccompanied children’ though we allowed unescorted viewing. A mom turned four rambunctious kids loose in our compound, and before we could react (getting a bit slow at 65) one of the kids had climbed onto a restored Jeep, and was jumping up and down on the folded windshield! She was asked to leave, but not before some damage had been done to the windshield frame and the hood; how she avoided breaking the glass I don’t know! So: look but don’t touch — without permission — is a good rule!
I usually view cars (even those behind somebody’s barn) with my hands in ‘at ease’ position behind my back. The owners respect that and it might save me from a real ornery confrontation! Just sayin’… Wick
I guess I am guilty even though I currently do not have the car of my dreams… whatever that is. I do love driving my love of the year. The first was a 49 Jeepster I bought for $25. My next love was a 67 2+2 Mustang. Then a 63 Split window Vette, then a 65 Vette convertible, a 6i Convertible, a 72 Mako Shark… the list goes on forever. I often kick myself for selling every one of them. The one thing I have learned (probably from the 83 911 Targa, cars are fun whether I am working on them, driving them, or cleaning them… it does not matter if you have a Yugo or a Mercedes if you enjoy it and your wife doesn’t throw you out cars are worth being a fanatical lunatic and saving parts from cars you have not owned for two or three decades. After all, you never know when the one that got away may return… well maybe except for the Yugo. Hmm, maybe a Merc 560 SL should be next???
I nominate the people who go to car shows and spend the day telling people who own cars at car shows what they did wrong in the restoration of their stock-appearing cars. These folks don’t wait to be ASKED for their comments, they just walk up, look around, then start unloading their bile. I saw one of these people do exactly that to an old guy who had done 100% of the work on his mid-50s Studebaker restoration himself. He did the body work including rust removal and application of stabilizer to the insides of things that are hard to get to… frames, in between inner and outer body panels, etc. His prep was clearly fastidious, the car was smoother and straighter than it probably every was before and the paint looked like brand new 1950s paint. And he was just as thorough on the mechanical bits, cleaning everything, and instead of spraying over remainders of original finishes, he “body worked” things like the voltage regulator, generator (with 12v alternator guts inside). Not to make them better than new, but to make them look original and new. So not too much gloss in the paint, not TOO straight, all those details. But there were some non-stock things he did himself like the diamond stitching on the front and back seats. It looked like it could have been out of a new Bentley it was so well-done and frankly, it lifted the stock Stude interior beyond any Stude I’ve seen since. I even asked him how he managed to do that by himself. He said he found an interior guy who was willing to teach him the basics and he said he used $500 or so worth of a specific type of vinyl that feels just like leather when you stitch it. When he could make two or 3 panels without any mistakes using the vinyl, he got the leather he wanted and did a great job. To him, half the fun/art/point of restoration was learning the skills he didn’t have. There were a few other deviations on his car… dual master cylinder, vintage air with some finish mods to make the components appear to have come from the 1950s. Wider-than stock steel wheels with wide white wall RADIAL tires with a less-rounded shoulder than most radials, but these weren’t egregiously wide tires, maybe 1.5 inches wider than stock where the rubber meets the road. Modern 5-speed manual with floor shifter on original Studebaker 289 (not a Ford engine) V-8 and a modest supercharger of the same type that was optional on Avantis in the early 1960s. He had some internal parts in the engine that were better than stock parts and increased the compression ratio. Even though he had non-stock mods, he made them look like like COULD have been stock in the 1950s. The know-it-all just started blabbing about all that was wrong with his restoration. As soon as there was a pause from K-I-A, the car owner says (paraphrased) “F Off. This is MY car. I made it exactly the way I want it to be. I did 100% of the work myself. Don’t you ever do what you are doing right now to any collector car owner in the future. It’s rude, ignorant, unwanted, and pisses people off. You’ve now ruined my good mood and the good memories I’d made today before you showed up to darken my day. Keep your ignorant comments to yourself or risk somebody less-restrained than I am right now putting you down for a dirt nap.” I had been listening to that exchange surreptitiously, while looking at nearby cars. The Know-It-All guy walked away without saying anything. No apology, no defense. When he thought he was out of ear shot, I heard him say “Sheesh”. So I couldn’t resist. “Hey, I couldn’t help overhearing. That guy really didn’t like what you had to say about his car, did he?” The K-I-A guy says something like “Yeah, he was in a really bad mood today, I guess.” So I can’t help myself “Everything he said was right. You were being a jerk. If you don’t think what you did was jerky, you really need to get a clue.”
And an observation — We live in a world of entitled people who think it is OK to open the door and climb inside of a car at car shows. Entitled people don’t know they are doing “entitled” things. It doesn’t even occur to them that their entitled behavior IS entitled. To THEM, their behavior is proper/correct/unassailable. Entitled people have created an entirely different world inside their heads where THEY are all that matters in the world and there should be no challenges to anything they do. It’s literally a form of delusion. I had a woman tell me that her teenage children were not entitled and that she had not raised them that way. But the kids were obnoxiously and obviously entitled. So I told her that entitled people never believe or accept that they ever do anything entitled. And that entitled people never, not ever, recognize any of their behaviors as entitled behaviors. Entitled people are INCENSED if you suggest that they’ve taught their children to be entitled through their own entitled adult behavior.
We are all so happy you felt entitled enough to share that tough guy fanfiction.
On the car show subject I used to be guilty of some of the comments. Over the years I’ve had muscle cars that I waxed and washed all the time. Do not touch signs etc. I now have a hot rod painted hot rod (matte) black Wipe the dust off once in awhile. Take it to shows when nothing is going on. Show up fashionably late at end of registration. Park it and wander around. Never stick around for awards especially if a club run show is judged by said car club. Amazing how many club members win award’s. First show this year parked in spectator area. Looked at the show cars for 1/2 an hour and went and drove the wheels off my ride on a beautiful day. Who knows I might of got a stone chip on my self applied low buck wax less paint. If I did , didn’t loose any sleep over it that night
(I’m a Norwegian freelancer) I was on a photoshoot of a ’77 Opel Commodore coupe, where the owner had brought his son (11-12 y/o) along, as he too loved cars. I drove my ’70 Ford Torino Brougham to the shoot. After we wrapped up, the owner of the Opel approached me, said his son wanted to hear the Torino fire up before the left. I looked over at the kid and said “why don’t you sit in it while I fire it up”. The look on his face when I fired the car up and revved it a bit, him sitting in it, feeling every vibration and shake (the 351 Clevo runs pretty good and sounds amazing imao). Absolutely invite the kids to sit in these cars, allow them the experience. I let my own kids play in the Torino all the time. The pretend to drive and all that. It’s great.
I still remember seeing a beautiful ’57 Chevy Bel Air as a kid. I must’ve been11-12 or there about.
I ran over to get a closer look as the owner and his wife just parked it. The owner, not even looking at me, sort of stopped me in my tracks and told me to “Look, but don’t you f**king touch it!”. I remember it still to this day (I’m 37 now). I was just going to look at it, but that remark sort of ruined it for me.
If a kid comes over, wanting to look at your car, people, give the kid 5 minutes of your time. It’s all it takes.