6 of the most rewarding moments in vintage car ownership
Owning and maintaining a hobby car is full of ups and downs. With any luck the highs appear more often than the lows, but there is no way to guarantee their appearance. What we can do is focus on the moments that make the thin wallets and late nights and headaches worth it.
To bring some light into what may be a dark tunnel, we pulled out six of the moments in car ownership that we’ve found most rewarding. Whether you own a classic now or are thinking about jumping in with both feet, here is what you have to look forward to.
First show/event
Getting your new purchase home is a big moment; taking it out for its first show or event is even bigger. A car can be an extension of your personality and going out to your first car show with this new form of expression is a powerful moment.
Sharing your car and its story can be as easy as joining a gathering of likeminded individuals in a parking lot—or, if you thrive on more challenging goals, as complicated as earning a spot on a concours lawn. You don’t have to walk away with an award, but we’ll bet you’ll carry a memory when you go.
First startup
We aren’t going to equate hearing the engine you built run for the first time to hearing your child cry for the first time, but we have to admit it can be powerful.
The mental and physical investment in doing a major repair to the heart of your car culminates in turning the key and hearing the noise through the tailpipes as it stumbles to life. The mechanical symphony of lifters pumping while the cooling fan whirrs and the fuel pump comes up to pressure is a delight in itself, but when the sound is the long-awaited result of your own labor? It’s truly worth savoring.
Catching a problem before it’s a problem
Classic vehicles require a certain understanding. Once you learn your car’s language, you will know when something is not right.
Whether you do your own diagnosis or call in the professionals, having your hunch justified is an awesome feeling. It’s more than just keeping up on maintenance. This is knowing your car well enough that, when you detect a disturbance in the force, you act on it with confidence.
First difficult DIY repair
Not everyone is cut out for DIY repair. We recognize that. However, there is something about breaking out the tools and successfully tackling a job yourself that is just so rewarding—and the first time is just that much more special.
The task could be anything from swapping out a headlight and properly adjusting it to overhauling an automatic transmission—or anything in between. Never feel bad about taking pride in knocking out even the smallest jobs yourself.
First time you chauffeur an (appreciative) friend
While a solo drive can be restorative, there is really nothing quite like sharing the experience of your beloved car with an appreciative friend.
Putting someone in the passenger seat—or, better yet, behind the wheel—can be a wonderful experience that will give them an inside look at your passion. Explaining the joys of driving a classic is tough; seeing the look on someone’s face as they experience it for the first time is will recharge the enthusiast batteries inside you rapidly. Who doesn’t want to be a disciple of the old-car hobby?
Road trip or cruise
A long trip with your vintage car can be just short of a spiritual. The sounds, smells, and feeling of taking your beloved car on an adventure is intoxicating—if all goes according to plan, that is.
It can be stressful, but with proper preparation, you’ll be out enjoying the open road in the closest thing to a time machine most of us can afford. One day on the blue highways in a vintage car can change your outlook on cars—and life. Don’t deny yourself.
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First trophy was a proud papa moment for me. I got the feeling that all of my blood, sweat, tears, and finances spent were finally appreciated by someone other than myself and my close friends. To share that trophy experience with my family was a proud and happy moment.
AWESOME
Stopped at a red light. Teenagers in the car next to me asking to roll the window down. “Nice car! Can you rev it up for me?” My response “Of course!”.
My top 6 [in no specific order]:
Having a car I restored receive an AACA Hershey Junior award, and seeing the look of happiness on the car owner’s face.
Getting a phone call from a great friend telling me to grab my camera and show up ASAP where he worked, only to be shown the Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost, then sitting in it, and while he took photos, having my friend tell me to drive it a couple of feet so I could say I had driven the world’s most valuable car.
20+ years after helping an elderly lady with her 1955 Cadillac Fleetwood 60s, loaded with all options including A/C and Eldorado 2X4 engine [she bought it new], when an attorney tracked me down to tell me she had left the Caddy to me in her will, and she kept it running and in beautiful condition, always garaged.
In 1972 my former boss closed his restoration shop to get married. He sold me his 1946[?] Alfa Romeo 6C2500 alloy coupe for the total sum of $300. Back then few people wanted a post war 6C2500 closed car, but I did. Sadly, less than a year later, the barn where I had several cars stored including the Alfa, was struck by lightning, and everything was destroyed.
For many years I had heard of a very unusual Chrysler Imperial in the Washington DC area, but after spending years searching for it I sort of gave up. One day in the early 1990s another attorney calls me and says he is settling the estate of a wealthy businessman and the last item to dispose of is his 1965 Imperial. He needed to have it appraised so he could get rid of the car.
On opening up a garage door at the bottom level of the parking garage, in an office building the car owner owned, in a 1-car garage space, sat the car I had searched for; a near mint 1965 Imperial Ghia limousine, 1 of 10 built. It had a genuine 5700 miles on it, and was all original down to the General M78-15 tires. I explained it was a conflict of interest for me to appraise a car I wanted to buy. We quickly reached a deal and I drove it home.
And finally;
In 1957 when I was a young gearhead of 5, I saw in Time Magazine a line drawing of the new streamlined Tatra T-603 with that air-cooled V8 in the rear. I was so taken with that car I told my dad someday I would own one. He laughed, knowing it would be impossible because those cars were behind the iron curtain. But I had the last laugh when the curtain fell, and I was able to find a privately owned low mileage Tatra T2-603 in what had been east Germany. Because American Dollars were so valuable at the time, I bought it for less than it cost me to ship it back to the US. I still have that car today.
So those are my “top 6” most rewarding moments.