What Constitutes "Cool"?

As I type this, I'm sitting at a small round table in my very small breakfast nook, that sort of doubles as a mini-office at times. The goal is to be close to the kitchen. Not so I can grab a snack later on, but so I can either grab the editorial can opener or blogging crowbar. In the past, and especially in the hot rod / nostalgic racing genre, the concept of "what is cool" can open a can of worms or the proverbial Pandora's box.

 In my humble opinion, there are two main factors that, fortunately or unfortunately depending on your own personal experience and/or opinion, that drive this concept: perspective and age - both of which change. For example, 30 years ago, (or even 15 years ago for that matter), I was all about muscle cars and quarter mile machines from the 60's, mostly because that was what I grew up with. It was literally in my blood because I had relatives that worked at some of the assembly plants. I really didn't care about street rods from the 30's and 40's - that's what my co-worker who was 20 years my senior was for. But even back during that period of tunnel vision, change was already occurring. For example 30 years ago, I was solely Mopars... nothing else. However, 15 years later by the end of the 90's, I was eagerly embracing all makes and models of muscle cars. Fast forward another 15 years, and I have an open door policy of all American hot rods from the late 20's on up. In fact, a 50's era Gasser as well as an early 30's Model A have been added to my "cars to own" bucket list. I kind of consider this current mindset an epiphany of sorts.

Is it because I'm getting older? Maybe. Am I re-welcoming some forgotten memories from my past? Most definitely. But the bottom line is when I see a 1940 Willy's with Hilborn injection, or a 1956 shoe box Chevy with a snarling big block, or a 1970 Plymouth GTX with American Racing torque thrust wheels and a west-coast rake, my first thought is - "Man... this rig is cool!" The same goes for vintage drag and NASCAR racing machines, whether completely restored or in barn-find condition. I'm even gaining a soft spot for Bonneville and salt flat racers.

One thing I have also noticed, whether at car shows or racing meets, is there seems to be way less brand and model bashing than there was in the 80's and 90's. I can remember when nobody wanted a 4-door or a wagon - it wasn't cool enough. Today, the opposite is true. I have a certain take on this as I believe all this original coveted iron is still disappearing, despite the preservation efforts of enthusiasts or the fact that the after-market has really stepped things up in the past 10-15 years with parts galore. Face it - the days when one could stroll into almost any junkyard and find some early to mid 70's automobiles at minimum, are gone forever. If you're old enough, you'll remember the big push that salvage yards faced to crush all this "obsolete junk" - which many of them did - in some cases because they had to, not because they wanted to. Prices have also played a factor in appreciating more Americana. I can remember a time not so long ago, when you could purchase a decent restorable early to mid 70's Plymouth Duster, or a late 60's 4-door Chevy Nova for under a grand. Today? Forget about it. You have to pony up three to four times that amount in most cases.

On the flip side of this coin however, I still have some character defects. I will always gravitate towards a cool ride that's been worked on by its owner, is driven as often as possible - even if it's a work in progress and has primer for paint - over a 110% restored vehicle that was purchased that way, the owner trailers it in a climate-controlled rig to every show and it's never driven. I don't care what make and model it is or what it rates on the rarity scale. I know it's easy for me to say that because I don't own the car. I know it also takes nerves of steel to stroke a check for twenty or thirty-five grand

or more - I've done it.
This mindset has raised some eyebrows by people regarding cars and trucks that I have owned. I remember restoring / modifying an old Chevy C-10 truck. Nine months time and labor as well as over four grand on materials was spent for the custom paint job. Once it was all said and finished, what did I do? I drove the truck home - hard! It went into heated storage about two days later for the winter, but come next May, I drove the truck all summer - rain or shine. If a rock chipped the paint - no problem. That's what touch-up paint was for.

In the end though, it is your ride. You own it - so you have the final say as to how much you drive it, how to build it if you're restoring and/or modifying it, and ultimately what you do with it. I can remember a huge buzz-phrase back in the late 80's; "...it's only original once." While that's true, a vehicle was meant to be driven. There are more hot rods, street rods, and muscle cars, that have enough money invested in them where you could take those funds and purchase a house. But they are still driven regularly. Why? Because the coolness factor never goes away. And that "cool" is meant to be inspired upon, shared, and enjoyed. The road is calling... heed the call.

Until next time, peace out.
Dave