It's Fine Just The Way It Is

 It was attending a car show recently and I saw this really nice Dodge Dart 2-door pull into it's parking space. The set of cool Cragar wheels that adorned all four corners, offered some nice bling to offset the period-correct teal / aquamarine body color. I didn't even give it a second thought when I saw the bucket seats, console, Sun Tachometer, and the after-market 5-speed shifter, that there was a modified V-8 between the fenders. Nope - it had the stock slant six that the car came with. I chatted with the owner for a bit after the crowd disbursed a short while after he opened the hood showing the slightly rusty 225 cubic inch mil. "Happens every time. People expect either a 340 or maybe a big block. The fact that it's a 2-door adds to that expectation. The tach and shifter really throw them for a loop, but I like it just the way it is." I asked about the 5-speed. He says he installed it for two reasons; gas mileage and gas mileage. Especially since he had a 3.91 gear ratio in the differential. The car has the get-up-and-go he likes, and is able to nail down 25 mpg on the highway. Win-win.

I agreed with him one hundred percent. In my eyes, it's his ride and he pays the bill on it, so he can build it (or keep it) any way he wants. I can remember numerous cars and trucks I've built over the years and all kinds of people offering more advise than I could handle about what I should do with the motor, or the fact that their cousin's uncle has this killer motor I should buy for it, or what color I should use for paint. The last pickup I built over 5 years ago still to this day sprouts opinions and I don't even own the damn thing anymore. Everything from the drive-train, to the paint, to the interior, to the fact that it wasn't a 4-wheel drive rig. The paint still gets the most comments. After about a year of researching, I finally went with a color scheme of Chevy Atomic Orange pearl, Chrysler black pearl, and Mercedes silver striping. The combination sounded odd, but when just about everyone saw the finished job, they loved it. That paint was a mile deep when we were finally done with it. However, it was the the Chevy faithful that threw the penalty flags. They were shocked I didn't paint it Hugger orange. It was also surprising how many GM heads didn't know what vehicle Atomic Orange was sprayed onto. It wasn't a truck or Camaro color - that's all they knew. And what's with the colors from the other manufacturers? That was blasphemy, although if I told them they were GM colors, they wouldn't have known the difference.

This is one reason why I'm thankful for the rat rod movement. It was a blatantly honest middle finger to all those enthusiasts who "thought" vehicles should have a certain look, or be a certain color, or have specific wheels. Some enthusiasts couldn't even get past the rust and patina. When the rat rod phase was at it's zenith, I can remember the cover of the February 2012 issue Hot Rod magazine that stated, "No boring cars". And square in the middle was this hellacious mid '30's International truck rat rod that had a back half off a late '50's Dodge Coronet, with huge slicks sticking out. It was fantastic - and some readers totally lost their shit with it. Then editor, David Frieburger, even warned readers the month before that this issue would contain "... cars built by people who don't care what you think". It was a brief period where beaters ruled. In a sense, it was hot rodding at it's core, whether we care to admit it or not.

So - if you're building a cool ride - doesn't matter if you're almost finished or just getting started, don't listen to the naysayers. Follow your dream, your plan, and your heart. It's your ride... and it's fine just the way it is. Because it's you and your statement.

Until next time, peace out.
Dave