Mooser

"one of the "legends" you always hear old muscle car guys talk about goes something like "so my buddy had a SS454 Chevelle Camaro, Nova, Corvette, Road Runner, Cuda, Mustang etc , bored and stroked injected, blown, nitro'd, etc running Sunoco 110/120/130 octane av-gas, 4.10 / 4.11 / 4.56 gears, and he taped a $50 / $100 bill / bag of grass / ownership to the dash and told me I could keep it if I could lean forward out of the passenger seat and grab it while he was nailing it, no way I could do it, the car kept me pinned in the seat the entire time"

M

The13Bats

I am missing what that has to do with bragging about coming off as a dick to people,

I dont believe everyone here is full of bs, some brag or are attention junkies about their build to the point if nauseating but like you said stolen valor is no big deal,

I do not believe its any epic show of personal character to finish a car project,
I see more character from guys working hard to have a home and food for their families, guys serving in the military,
Real life stuff, building a car for most is a hobby not a job a person is paying them to do and then its not their car anyway...

The13Bats

We were about 15 first time i heard a version of that, same guy told it that one about how his uncle, dad, brother bought a xxxx for 500.00 from the guys mom when he died in the war,

vettebuyer6369

Hopefully you meant stolen valor not in the military sense is no big deal.

The13Bats

my reply was in context with carjunkies reply using the term "valor " or lack thereof,

i personally did NOT mean it in any military sense i have a great respect for our service men and women,

I assumed carjunkies orginal use of it describing people who lie about car repair and restoration projects they dont really do didnt have anything to do with the military either, but i am not speaking for him, just saying how i took it.

He says both its both " stolen valor " and then down plays it,
For all i know i missed his entire point....

I do not hold restoring a car in the same regards as people giving their life fighting for our country, hopefully no one does.

Bikespace

Yup. I'm assuming the person the OP ran into was just having a bad day. Or, like me sometimes, was very focused on what he was doing, and didn't have time for small talk. I'll go to cars and coffee, and hang out with like-minded car individuals, and can talk at length on things I know about (or am learning about). I love telling, and hearing, car stories, sea stories, travel stories, whatever. But if I'm interrupted when I'm not in that mode, I may come across as a dick. I'm not bragging about this, it's the way it is. I try to be polite, and the guy the OP met could have handled it better (I try to), but imagine the following scenario:

There you are, running to the Home Depot in your L88 C3. This was your third trip today to finish a plumbing project, and you have other things to do on top of that. A guy comes up and tells you he's almost done putting his 1985 C4 back on the road. How do you react? Later, you see the guy again, and pay him the courtesy of slowly rolling by him to hear your lopey idle. He asks about your engine. You're thinking about nothing but getting home and finally getting the water turned back on so your kids can have lunch. Do you stop your car to show him your engine, or give him a blow-off reply and keep rolling?

Anyway, better a dick than an ***.

CA_WxMan

Maybe there's another thread going in the C2 forum that says "My metallic gray C2 was stolen the day outside a big box store and some guy just watched it happen. He even talked to the thief as he drove off. What kind of ***** does that?"
Of course, the replies will be something along the lines of "Some people don't care, as long as it's not their car" or "He must have been an accomplice".

Who knows what the actual situation was or why the driver gave the response and attitude that he did.
My advice to the OP is to not let it bother you, and if it does, just view it as an example of how not to act when you're out with your car.

71 Vert LS1

So maybe he was having a bad day. Who knows.
I like car yapping. Car shows or parking lots. Some guys have a clue some don't.
My 68 C10 LS isn't ready for prime time yet. A few more weeks to complete.
My 98 Wrangler LS6 swap has drawn a fair amount of positive compliments. And then there was the local "Mopar" meat head that walked up to me and said yeah the Jeep is cool but it should have a hemi. That's coming from a guy that hasn't built any type of custom type car. He buys done cars or almost done cars. If he can't bolt on a part he's lost.
So my response was have a nice day. My wife was sitting next to me said wow what a jerk. She is a good judge of people.

Priya

I do stop people in parking lots to talk about their cars if its something unusual. Today I was at a light behind a Subaru with the driver's side black and the passenger side hot pink. I followed him into the Mcdonalds parking lot to ask if he had a paint code for the hot pink colour I liked a great deal. He didn't seem to mind. I've had people follow me home in my Eagle to ask about it and take pictures. I'm on the shy side in public but I'll answer their questions until they're done. I'll have someone come up to me to talk about my car and they'll tell me about their four door 70 Nova they're going to fix up one day and put a hot motor in. I just tell them "That's going to be a real nice car!".

The13Bats

Okay good place for this story which is true btw,

The 69 is running good tina and i go to old town cruise,
We get there and im directed to park next to a very nice, high end driver 73 coupe,

Our 69 is silver, 73 to 79 modded front clip convertible loud side pipes, rst fink wheels and tires,

The owner of the 73 springs from his lawn chair and starts in about how im not gonna part "that" next to him am i?

Tina asks me whats his issue, i say dont know,
We get parked and wanna go grab pizza and this guy is in full tizzy his poor wife is so embarrassed,

Hes ranting about my car parked next to his real 73 blah blah blah, snort rant @#%^&*...etc,
Im more than half way ignoring him which is making him madder,

He says what im i supposed to tell people when they come look at my car,

I said just be sure to tell them mine isnt a real 73,
He just about blew a headgasket and we saw them leave early,

Not sure where that fits in but i still laugh about it...

Greg

Bats, you are right brother! They are out there.
Not to hijack, but several years ago I had a nice '70 350/350 4 spd coupe. I'm driving down the highway on a sunny afternoon, lids off, when an import pickup truck comes up on me pretty fast from behind, driver is waving his arms, flashes his headlights a couple of times then frantically starts pointing to the side of the road. It looks pretty bad so all I can think is "Holy Sh*t, I must have hooked a child on my rear bumper when I passed that elementary school 3 or 4 miles back and apparently I've been dragging him all this time without realizing it" so I pull over. The guy runs up to my car and says "Hey, nice Corvette, I have one just like it at home!"

I just grin at him realizing my tire iron is buried under the 3 compartment storage leaving me with no immediate means to cleave his skull for his atrocious road manners, so I opt for the alternative and engage the guy on friendly terms. So there on the side of the highway he tells me the car's whole story starting with where the original ore was mined to forge the steel used to build the frame.
I can see pretty quickly it's going to become one of those "Long ago, far, far away, in a distant galaxy...." sort of stories. Then I start to think, gee, my daughter only has 3 more years of high school so I've got to get going before she graduates. I finally interrupt his staccato-like recital and compliment him on his great car. Then I say "I only drive this car when it needs some attention, oil change, etc. because my wife usually drives it.
Then, same as your cruise night guy, this dude almost blows a gasket. "WHAT! You let your wife drive this car?!?! Are you crazy, I'd NEVER let my girlfriend touch mine!"
Clutch out, little tire chirp, back on the highway, see ya.
They are out there

The13Bats

Greg, thanks for sharing and while i dont think our tales are off subject of the thread, vettes and how people act, you gave me an for a new thread, and im off....

Torqued Off

I have to disagree. Working and completing a long term project is absolutely a statement of character. There are those that can do it , and those that don't. I have done it, and proud of it. And loved almost every minute of it, because I do it for the right reason. This downplaying of the meaning of what cars and other material things is to us humans is nothing more the pyscho babble, normally spewed by philosophers and psychologists who like to define and put boxes around human life and how it should be. And the either / or scenario against the family, house or whatever is also unnecessary, and implies that you can't do both. You can. I did.

oldgto

That`s a statement that`s been posted on these boards more than a few times, and I just don`t get it. My kids are well fed, well educated, and were raised in a nice home. What makes people think that somebody who builds & restores old cars is "sacrificing" food & clothing off their wife & kids backs? That`s absurd. Our car hobby is a family affair, and I have tons of pictures showing my wife & kids working on cars for decades.
Sorry for the sidebar.... back on topic. I have no problem chatting with dreamers & admirers in parking lots or car shows. I`m like Priya as far as complementing those tell you stories. What`s the harm? Who cares if everything they tell you is true or not. If it seems to make them happy, so be it. If it brings back memories for them.... even if a bit distorted...that`s fine. And for the occasional jerk who wants to rant, or bash my car, it doesn`t phase me. I just wait till he`s done, then laugh as he walks away.

PainfullySlow

Honestly this thread has me a little apprehensive about finishing my project car. I am not antisocial but I find 'mindless chatter' boring and tiresome. I love having conversations with fellow c3 restorers...we can compare notes, see who did what and how, and just share general camaraderie over a shared passion. The passerby that just see's a cool car and wants to spin yarns about their dads old whatever or how they have an ultra-rare 7000hp 1967.5 c3 that GM only made 3 of is what I have no patience for. My tolerance for bullshit is extremely low.

I am generally a respectful person and will have a conversation with someone who starts one but you can be sure that I will be finishing a conversation quickly with someone like that.

Since we are telling stories here: I have always been a tinkerer/builder. I enjoy the act of creation and get great satisfaction over doing something myself. I took a run of the mill HD Sportster (remember I am a motorcycle guy?) and turned it into something that I could be proud of.

Started with this





Finished with this




I did all the work myself and was very proud of that bike and enjoyed it very much.

I rode it for one season and sold it. The bike was not the problem, people were. Every single time I went somewhere, someone would stop me and want to talk about it. A quick trip to the store turned into an hour long endeavor because when I would come out there would be three people gathered around it. I once made the mistake of taking it to a HD dealership (I was picking up parts) and the entire damn dealership was standing around it when I came out. Three hours later (and one job offer from the dealership owner) I was able to get out of there.

I stopped taking it out because I did not want to have yet another mindless conversation about it and so I just sold it rather than have it sit there and rot. I build these things for me and while I appreciate that other people enjoy my projects I do not build them for accolades, or even to share them with others and having to constantly have the same, repetitive conversation about them greatly diminishes the enjoyment I get out of them.

Does this make me a dick? I would like to think not as I try not to be completely dismissive but I am certain that some people will see it as such.

C3's are common enough that hopefully that will not happen every time I take it to a gas station.

car junkie

Of course it is, that same character that gets you through a difficult car restoration is the same character that made you a reliable human being on so many issues that life deals out. The measure of a man is not based on how well you do on what you want to do but how well you do on what you don't want to do. A car restoration no matter how much you love cars, gives you plenty of jobs that you don't want to do but you have to do them and do them well if your ever going to finish with no excuses needed. Professional results from amateurs never comes easy or without plenty of stress and sometimes with very expensive and time consuming do-overs. This is what separates the men from the boys.

As a former apartment manager you get to know people in ways you would prefer not to, lots of boys out there. Complete failure on what needed to be done but wasn't because of a lack of character. Unfinished projects are merely indicators of that same lack of character or integrity.

71 Vert LS1

With a couple of exceptions my car projects have LS swaps. Most people like them some don't. The ones that don't seem to be the most vocal some times in a not so nice way. The people that like them always have good questions on the swap, how hard is it, what parts are needed and so on. I've helped a number of guys sort out what they might need for their particular swap. I don't charge anything so my advice is worth what you pay for it. I sold packaging equipment for 25 years so I have pretty thick skin when it comes to folks that have no clue what they are talking about. When I run into someone like that I smile say thanks and walk away. What amazes me is that the more clueless they are the more they want to talk!

Torqued Off

Totally agree.....but, its a shame that you had to get rid of something you loved because of other people. I would not let that happen again. I have had people talk to me about my car at gas stations, but once I am done putting gas in,.....I am leaving. The conversation is over. If that makes me a dick by some of these forum members, then I am a dick. I have better things to do, like ride by Harley and drive the Vette. My obligation in life is NOT to provide an audience for some guy who wants to make up stories, bullshit , or whatever...including if the guy actually is telling the truth. Again though, there is a time and place for anything, and I can have a respectful conversation, as we do here online. It is not my responsibility however, to be an audience from some loudmouth wannabee. It become obvious pretty quickly when you know what your are talking about and the guy doesn't.

And for some reason, when I have a choice of driving my car on the roads of PA, or sitting in a parking lot with a bunch old guys, with stuffed animals in their trunks or on back seat, with big books with all the pictures of the work they did.......I choose the drive.

This forum has provided me a great deal of education, and has provides some fellowship with others, like you, who actually produce work on the car. Then, there are the others on here we tolerate.

Torqued Off

Totally agree. We as humans are greatly measured and defined by our accomplishments. I am not sure what the alternative is, and not really interested in finding out. The funny thing about my 4.5 year restoration....it seemed to fly by, and when I look back on it, its almost as if someone else did it, because I am constantly in awe now that the car is back on the road. I paid for my paint job, so I don't deserve full credit for the car, but the rest of it, I did it, by my standards. And for every hour spent physically working on the car, there was like five hours of thinking about it, researching options and plans, etc. I was a great project, and I wish I could afford to do another one. I sure know what I would spend the rest of my life doing if I won the lottery.

Faster Rat

Evidently people really stay the same. I remember reading a Mark Twain quote on the back of somebody's business card that goes something like this: "There are two kinds of people in the world, those who accomplish things and those who claim to accomplish things. The first group is less crowded." Let's face it, there are many people these days who pay somebody to do everything for them. The ONLY reason I have anything now is because my dad was Mr. Fixit and made sure the apple didn't fall far from the tree.

The great thing about this forum is the ignore button. Kinda hard thing to do at a cruise night or car show when the boastful know-it-all is trying his best to out-do everybody that will listen to him. I gave up on those waste of time events. At the classic car shop where I work part-time, there is a sign on the office door asking people to please refrain from telling stories about all the cars that they, or somebody else for crying out loud, used to own. Don't have the time to stand around listening to it and really don't care. I am surrounded by the most fantastic cars (classic vettes, muscle cars, $250k resto-mods, hot rods, antiques) that one could imagine. It doesn't bother me at all that wealthy people can afford them, nor that they pay somebody else to work on them. Keeps the doors open and gives some really good people a paycheck. I admire the cars, ignore the owners and envy nobody. I learn something new every time I go there.