A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words... and Motivations

July and August are two of the busiest months of the year for me - not only with my regular job at the garage, but also for photographing vintage Detroit iron and the occasional classic VW. My boss is very cool about me leaving work early on some days, so I can get certain things done in preparation for the weekends, where car shows around the state are literally back to back to back.

So, in that same spirit, the blog is taking this week off... kinda. A Chinese proverb is given credit for the famous line, "A picture is worth a thousand words."  The following pictures are proof positive that some vehicle owners are living certain mantras -

1). Rarity Be Damned; One of the featured vehicles at a car show I was at yesterday was the famous 1964 Falcon factory built A/FX "Wild Child" drag car still with it's dual-quad 427 cubic inch SOHC motor. Nobody pushed this rig out into it's space. Show staff volunteers fired the motor up and drove it out of a building. It shook the walls and was loud as hell! I literally only had a few seconds to snap a general pic of the vehicle when it was being driven out, so I shot it with my i-Phone. I was able to get some more detailed shots later on, but it was truly an awesome moment.

2). My Car Is Not Finished Yet; This can be one of the most damaging thought processes the car hobby as a whole can have. An owner of a classic automobile "waiting" until the entire restoration (or whichever process) has been completed. No! No! No! Who cares if your vehicle is finished? If it's drivable, then drive it! Case in point this 1954 Studebaker Champion. It is in the process of getting fixed up, but the brakes, suspension, wheels / tires, and drive-train have all been gone through. Sure the paint is really faded, and the interior still needs help. Even one of the windows is damaged (see pic). The owner, bless his heart, brought it to a local car show anyways. Why? So people could groove on a piece of American history.

3). My Ride Is Not Nice Enough; This is an extension of number two. I saw a cool early 60's F-100 pickup at a car show recently. It was the true meaning of the word "driver". No restoration of any kind, had yet to commence. It was a fairly solid truck with zero safety issues. However, it did not have updated suspension, or brakes, and/or tires. The paint was a weathered shade of green with plenty of surface rust. The engine ran great, but was grimy as all get out. I talked with the owner of the truck for a few minutes and expressed my gratitude that he brought it to the car show as it currently is. He mentioned that eventually it will be a work in progress. His bottom line was, "I purchased it to enjoy - and I ain't gonna enjoy it if it's sitting in my garage just because it's kind of a heap right now." Amen brother!

4). People Just Don't Understand Me; This one floored me the first time I heard it. Welcome to the club... we have jackets. People don't call us gear-heads for nothing. I have been asked countless times as to why I would want to fix up (read: put a good deal of money into) an old car. At times, we can eat, drink, and sleep automotive. However, I'm finding the same type of thinking regardless if you're an artist, a photographer, a musician, whatever. Everyone has gifts and talents. Everyone has a passion about something. The person who owns this 1935 Anglia Gasser was one of the nicest and coolest people I've ever had the chance to talk with, never mind that it's a beautiful car. What made the conversation even better was that a woman named Debbie owns it... and drives it... a lot! Her husband Jerry mentioned that while he purchased it, she did most of the work and made all the decisions as to its appearance, although he does drive it as well. Debbie mentioned being a "closet" female gear-head held her back for quite a few years from owning, wrenching, and participating in numerous car events. "I was afraid that people wouldn't accept me for who I am. I've loved these cars since I was a kid, and I'm not exactly young anymore. But hey - at least all that psycho-shit is out the window now!" My hat is off to you, ma'am... and to you as well Jerry.

Be sure to check out the website www.VintageV8Photography.wix.com/photography for more pics from recent photo shoots as well as car shows.
Until next time, peace out.
Dave