Old Cars Are Talking - Are We Listening?

It's been a very busy month here at Full Throttle and Vintage V8 Photography. The summer is drawing to a close, and there's the deluge of car shows and events that seem to be crammed into every weekend now through Labor Day and even a little bit beyond. It's gotten to the point that it's becoming difficult to write a post every weekend - as was the case last weekend. As I'm writing this, it's just after 5am and I'm on my second large cup of java. So - enough bitching; what have we been up to?

Part of it was some much needed vacation days. However, even while on vacation, my wife still knows that A). I'm a vintage car guy and B). That I'm a photographer. I've come to the conclusion that you don't need a car show to actually engage in a car show.  Case in point - while on one said vacation day last weekend, my wife and I took a day trip to the central part of Maine to visit a beautiful lake and beach we hadn't been to in about three years. It takes a while to get there, as you have to take rural state routes and back roads to complete the journey. That right there, is half the fun. It can also lead to cool cars, regardless of condition, and photo opportunities. We stumbled across a small town repair shop not far from the lake that had six old rusty vehicles ranging from the mid 30's up to the mid 60's. All these vehicles were in really hard shape. Some were so rusty, I was ready to give my camera a tetanus shot.

After getting home and looking at the photos, I can just imagine the stories these heaps could tell. But then I realized - they were already talking... was I listening? Some car enthusiasts would've seen these vehicles and driven right on by without a second look, merely due to the fact that they weren't in good condition or better. One guy actually stopped and was curious as to what I was doing. After chatting him for a few minutes, (and him realizing that I had already taken 50+ pictures), he thought I was nuts. He asked me why I was wasting my time on this junk and told me about his brothers mint early 70's Chevelle he had fixed up and I should take pictures of his vehicle instead. He even showed me pictures of the Chevelle that were on his phone. I tried to explain to him that these rusty forgotten vehicles as well as his brothers Chevelle were all equally important. Needless to say, the other guys deer-in-headlights look got even worse. I took his name, his brothers name and cell number and told him I would try to give him a call.

I was reading something similar in the latest issue of Car Craft about a 1970 Chevelle SS found in a storage lot as well as an unrestored as-driven Boss 429 Mustang. While both these cars are far from mint (the Chevelle needs way more work than the Mustang which is still in remarkable shape considering what it's been through for almost 50 years). The bottom line regarding both these cars as stated by their owners; "... these cars are part of our heritage and culture. They need to be preserved and not written off as too far gone or as parts cars." The Mustang in question, will need much less work to

bring it back to very nice condition, but even then, steps are being taken to preserve as much of its originality as possible. For example, the company handling the restoration, will clean, re-dye, and reuse the original carpet. Could they spend about $150 bucks and just install a new one? Sure. But there are subtle differences between the original and the reproduction. Ditto with the spark plug wire set. While not the originals, they are period correct. Chances are, the originals were changed for these later date-coded Ford wires that were installed during a dealership tune-up service in the early 70's. Both these cars are offering clues into their past - are we listening?

The next time you go to a car show, or a nostalgic drag meet, just don't look at the cars, engage in them and their owners. Chances are, you'll come away with some interesting stories, facts, and folk-lore. While not all of it may be true, it is interesting to hear about bench-racing and local legends. I was photographing an original 1951 Chevy recently. It was pretty much a bread and butter vehicle from that era, but the old man who owned it was full of history and fun facts about his car. He told of how he had owned it for years and modified it (or hot-rodded it as he put it). This classic ride had all the cues from a history book - from the vintage speed parts, to the old tacky dice hanging from the rear view mirror that were purchased from the J.C. Whitney catalog about 60 years ago for $1.95. The owner of that car was talking, as what the car - was I listening?

Until next time, peace out.
Dave