Today I was treated to a phenomenon I haven’t experienced in a couple of years: as I was shooting pictures of the Camaro that I test drove, I had people walking up and checking out the car. If I had stopped at a gas station and somebody had a quick question, I wouldn’t have been bothered. Instead, I had driven out to a medical campus well out of the way and thought I would be left alone. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Ah, well…at least people knew what kind of car it was. It’s all in the fun of owning the cars we do. While I was driving a Dodge Challenger in Tacoma, Washington, I had a guy walking down the street try running after me, screaming questions as loudly as he could. When my Dodge Mirada was running, I would often have to field questions that all sounded like, “What is it?” And I actually got into an argument with a gentleman over the fact that my gray car is an Imperial, not a Lincoln Continental. I had to actually show him the Pentastar crystal in the original steering wheel to shut him up.
But the strangest thing I’ve ever dealt with, bar none, involved a 1973 Chevrolet Chevelle I owned several years ago. At the time, I was stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington and often roamed the area. After giving a friend a ride back to their apartment in nearby Tillicum, I stopped to fuel up the car. As I was coming out of the gas station, I watched a woman get out of a car, walk up towards mine and within ten feet of the car, brandish a can of spray paint and take aim. I went off like a cannon and proceeded to put a long day’s worth of anger and frustration into a rage that had her scurrying back to her stickered-up station wagon in a hurry. I later learned that there were a few hyper-environmentalists that would spray-paint slogans on cars they didn’t approve of. Hmm…wonder why a barely-muffled tank like the Chevelle got targeted?
My stuff is junk, has been junk, and barely escapes into “decent car” territory. But some of you readers have some gorgeous rides, and surely there has to be one or two really strange encounters with randoms in public that are worth sharing here, so let’s hear them!
Had it happen once where some Oriental guys started taking pictures of my Monte Carlo while I was gassing up. The flashes from the 2 cameras made me jump up,they waved smiled and took off into the store.
I was messing around under the hood in a parts store parking lot one time and had some guy walk up checking out my malibu. Of course, he had one just like it years ago, as most looky lous seem to. He asked me what engine was in it. I told him it was a 383 small block. He took a minute and stepped back and looked at the car, then looked at the engine a little closer… I could tell he was very puzzled about something. Then he reached in to touch the cast iron cylinder heads and said, “Hell! this thing ain’t a 383. It ain’t got aluminum heads! Heck, it ain’t even got double hump heads!” I just shook my head in disbelief and acted like I was just as surprised as he was. (kind of crazy, considering I vividly remember clearancing the 350 block for a 400 crank, but hey… what do I know?!
I was once on the way back from a cruise in my 72 Dart with my buddy in his Camaro when we pulled off to mess with the tuning on my Dart. As soon as we pull the hood off the car, a homeless man with a shopping cart and a dog come up and stare. The man says he used to work for a Plymouth dealership in the 60’s and 70’s, identified the car as a 72 Dart, and even knew it was a 318 and not a 340 like everyone assumes. He suggested I pull more timing out of it, and out of ideas I gave it a shot. Car ran better the whole way home!
Rolling start raced a freight train in my Cobra kit car. Of course I let them win! Got buried in the black smoke of about eight locomotives exhaust that would put an Aussie burnout contest to shame. Lots of laughing on both sides… (no speed limits broken)
I was shut down with a too hot starter in my 47 REO 2ton at a Walmart gas station the day I bought it when a pack of guys returning from a car show all got out of their nice rides and came over to my junk like moths to a flame. It was really cool they thought my old farm truck was worth a look and even better, a push start. I didn’t turn the ignition off for the next six hour drive home.
I had four Japanize sailors come up to me as I was wrenching on my ’69 Barracuda in the forces afloat parking lot at Pearl Harbor, HI.
We had a language barrier, but we all understood American muscle.
I once had a guy approach the window of my Hyundai and ask me if I liked “pressed ham”. When I said yes, he put his butt cheeks against the glass.
Worst part was, I was out of Windex wipes.
At a car show at XXX Drive in (it’s a rootbeer perv). Guy hoped into my car (while I’m sitting behind it) and asked me to take a picture of him in my car. Mind you, he didn’t ask to rest his junk in my car…. just to take a picture.
Yep, I did…. I took a picture and walked away with his camera. Made him chase me for several blocks…. finally I had to stop because he was getting too far behind.
you’ve seen my car, ridden in my car. you know exactly what kind of steaming pile of crap it is….And yet anywhere I go at least one person makes some sort of comment. I get questions, comments, thumbs up, pictures take and all manner of attention. It’s weird…but kinda cool that owning a beater is okay now…not like years ago where driving your bomber around was cause for shame…an embarrassment to the hobby…
I get lots of weird stuff with my car… 1973 Falcon coupe (Australian). Because its black people yell out ` Mad Max’ all the timebut the one the other night was good….drove it to the local supermarket and as I’m parking I was checking out this very hot looking lady in a tank top and shorts walking across the carpark ( this is in Australia, its stinking hot at the moment so the ladies dress down appropriately) – anyway, go in the shops, as I walk around an aisle the hot girl comes around the corner, walkes up to me and says ` fuckin tough car you got there’ and walks off. I managed a thanks as she walked away…spent the drive home rehearsing all the things I should have said back to her, like want a ride etc
Next thing you know you’re trying to explain to the wife why she found a pair of panties in your car….
We had this 1979 GMC 1 Ton Dually, it was by no means a show truck but every time I took it out I’d get stopped. I remember one time driving through my small town and a guy stopping in the middle of a 4 way intersection just so I’d see him give me the thumbs up. Another encounter I had was at the gas station where a guy stopped me as I was leaving so he could geek out over the “Camper Special” emblems. It was a cool truck, but the last vehicle that I’d expect to be stopped in.
I show a 65 Barracuda in ivory with a black vinyl top. I had had a guy come up to me and said: I used to have one of those when I was in high school, only it was red, and a convertible, and it was a ford.
Say what?!
Came out of the grocery store once to see the hood of my Charger up and someone I didn’t know poking around the engine compartment. Circled around to come up behind him at a run and was just about to brain him when he turned around smiling. He just wanted to check out the engine. Dumb son of a bitch came very close to getting beat into a coma – I thought he was trying to mess with it or steal something.
I have a 73′ Vega with a 406SBC. It seems everyone over the age of 45 has a story about a Vega. Always get a thumbs up or questions. What i really enjoyed (before i added the 406ci graphics) was walking up to my car at a car show when a few people are pontificating on what size the motor might be. I’ll hear..”think it’s a 350..no it’s a 400″ then i say “looks like a 406 to me”. Get a puzzled look from them..walk around the back..turn on battery..fire it up and drive away. I also will do the same thing but say something like “who would drive a purple car..that’s lame!” Then get in and drive away. http://i.imgur.com/BtgtElO.jpg