[Quickshift]

Spent most of the weekend at an annual car show and found myself gravitating more toward those unrestored or "project" cars rather than the spit Polish and shine works of art that are so plentiful. I appreciate the effort and money that is involved with such restorations but after looking at all the chrome and polish for a while they all start to look the same. I like the character and scars of an unrestored car especially an old high horsepower musclecar. I am in the process of redoing my 67 SS right now and when i started the project i did not have a vision of building a show car but it is really easy to get caught up and i have found that one new part leads to another and another and........ well anyway, i hope to be able to get out and drive mine when its done , after all thats where the fun is in owning these things.

 

[mr 4 speed]

Roger,I am the same way...there is something to be said about original type patina..I can appreciate a car at all levels

 

[blm]

If you're not impressed with chrome and polish then leave your 67 in primer and save yourself a bucket of money

 

[jrfan8bud]

I have to agree with you. Of course I enjoy looking at all the cars but when I see an unrestored or survivor car I really check it out more closely. When you see one that is clearly an original car but is in amazing shape that is something special in my book. There was such car at a show I went to yesterday. It was a '66 6 cyl. 32,000 mi. car. All original except for the wheels and tires. The overall condition was so impressive. The original paint had a few flaws like some door dings and slight fading but not a speck of rust anywhere. It was still very presentable. I really enjoyed looking at it and talking with the owner. Here is a picture I took so you can see what I'm talking about.

 

[Quickshift]

If you're not impressed with chrome and polish then leave your 67 in primer and save yourself a bucket of money

You know its funny you should say that.... when i took my car to the body shop it was simply to put it in fresh primer and i planned to drive it that way for a while. My uncle who owns the body shop talked me into going ahead and taking the car apart and painting it since it was already there......thats when the snowball starting rolling downhill gathering money as it went,needless to say it still doesnt have primer on it yet but i do have a lot of new parts to put on it someday

 

[LeoP]

Your uncle was correct, some primers absorb moisture and the car would rust thru the primer. Top coat paint is better all around.

 

[GRN69CHV]

That '66 6-banger is nice. Needs two things done though. Turn the tires to blackwall and get some '66 Vintage full wheel covers on it. He probably has 15's on it, so even something from a 60's vintage Impala would work.

 

[novaderrik]

at car shows, i tend to gravitate towards the cars that have bugs splattered all over the front of the car, with matching rock chips. it also helps if at least part of the car is in some kind of primer and the engine has some grime on it.. a few fast food burger wrappers and pop cans laying on the floor also tell me that car has a story to tell.
that's not to say that i don't appreciate what's done to the really nice cars- but i just prefer cars that look like they get driven.

 

[droptop396]

Original unrestored that is aged is ok, but I am not going to even waste my looking at some joe dirt POS. There are plenty of really nice cars that get driven. Mint original unrestored are great, and restored cars are going to get my attention.

 

[RAMBO]

Original unrestored that is aged is ok, but I am not going to even waste my looking at some joe dirt POS. There are plenty of really nice cars that get driven. Mint original unrestored are great, and restored cars are going to get my attention.

Funny thing is, some of those "Joe Dirt" Pos's may be hiding some really cool Engine, Suspension & interior mods. Of course, a lot aren't... BUt i have to agree with the original poster. I find myself looking at the "in Progress" cars more than a lot of finished ones... Neat to see what people are brewing up.

 

[68bye]

Funny you bring this up. I was at a guys home and he was showing me his perfectly restored 69 RS/SS Camaro with all original running gear, perfectly recreated chaulk marks on the frame and firewall, original or reproduction hardware holding the seats in, yadda, yadda, yadda. He kept it in a climate controlled garage, separate from his daily drivers. When I asked him if he drove it much, he looked at me like I had two heads.

"It only has 40,000 original miles. I don't drive this at all, except into the trailer."

"Hmmm, nice car. My (at the time) 69 Chevelle has a 325 hp, 350 and I drive the crap out of it. Your's may be worth more, but I guarentee I have more fun with mine."

If that's what you're into, more power to you. I plan on DRIVING my automobile. Isn't that the whole reason they were built?

 

[depley]

I know one member of our club thinks every car entered in a show should have to drive through a giant mud puddle before he gets in. Did I mention he hates to see trailer queens?

 

[BlueSS454]

I know one member of our club thinks every car entered in a show should have to drive through a giant mud puddle before he gets in. Did I mention he hates to see trailer queens?

I did a burnout in the dirt with the Charger before I pulled the heads off, does that count???

I can appreciate any car that's still in existence and being driven/enjoyed. The part of how the car is enjoyed is up to the owner, I don't have any problem with that at all. I like seeing the over restored trailer queens just as much as I like seeing driven projects in primer.

 

[novaderrik]

Funny thing is, some of those "Joe Dirt" Pos's may be hiding some really cool Engine, Suspension & interior mods. Of course, a lot aren't... BUt i have to agree with the original poster. I find myself looking at the "in Progress" cars more than a lot of finished ones... Neat to see what people are brewing up.

that's why i like the "Joe Dirt" cars. they have all the neat parts on them.
a few years back- 2004, i think- i entered my Nova in the Car Craft Summer Nats. it was definitely a "Joe Dirt" car. i just popped the hood and flipped out my folding chair and sat there for a while and listened to what people had to say about it. i heard a lot of comments about how cool it was the the engine had some grease and dirt on it, or that the car was 3 different colors and the wheels had faded paint. a few people noticed the C4 Corvette brakes on it. i don't think anyone paid that much attention to the restored trailer queens that were parked 50 feet away- i guess once you've seen one restored big block 67 Chevelle, you've seen them all but a 3 colored Nova with GTA wheels with faded paint on the centers kind of sticks out.
once that day when i was coming back from the pizza stand, i saw a middle aged guy with a Car Craft shirt and a bag full of camera gear giving my car a good look over.. i recognized him as editor Jeff Smith. i was about 30 feet away when he walked away and he kind of disappeared around a corner before i could talk to him. i asked the guy by the car next to mine how long mr Smith was looking at my car- he said he was there for a good 10 minutes looking it over and may have clicked off a few pics- maybe he wanted to have some pics of a low buck ram air setup made out of a stock air cleaner with an extra snorkel riveted on and some dryer duct zip tied to the bottom of the radiator support or something.. i guess he was even on his knees looking under the car- i hope he liked my exhaust setup- i know i was proud of it.

 

[Dave]

Funny thing is, some of those "Joe Dirt" Pos's may be hiding some really cool Engine, Suspension & interior mods. Of course, a lot aren't... BUt i have to agree with the original poster. I find myself looking at the "in Progress" cars more than a lot of finished ones... Neat to see what people are brewing up.

Not too show off, but this is My car, two time "Under Construction" winner.

Needless to say, I'm kinda partial to project Car's.

 

[Sgtpop]

If you're not impressed with chrome and polish then leave your 67 in primer and save yourself a bucket of money

I've heard that a few times.:yes:

 

[Jim Mac]

I'm keeping my 70 in red oxide primer. I had a real nice rear bumper, but a buddy was tossing a original rusty SS bumper. I pulled the nice shiny bumper for this rusty looking bumper, but I think it works with the car. I redid the original bucket seat interior. it looks more like the kind of car that we would drive as a kid in high school. Im definetly not afraid to set parts on it when Im working on it. jim

 

[Bowtie-72]

Anyone who's been to the Car Craft show in St Paul probably has seen me sitting in front of my Chevelle or a friend's red 74 Trans-Am wearing the Joe Dirt wig and hat. I have a pic somewhere. I prefer the patina of my car to perfection since I'm kinda clumsy.

 

[crustyz11]

We finally got the local car show folks to add a "rat-rod/under construction" class.
Bowtie-72, are you going to the CCNats this year? If so, i'll be looking for ya! I'll be in the rustiest 69 Camaro pace car there! I was also there last year. Everyone thought my car was for sale just because it looks the way it does. That show is a blast!

 

[Highway Star]

i want a primered beast, mid-60s gm car or truck, black or gray, cragars and RWL tires, with a clean interior, a muncie, and a big block that thumps like mike tyson when he knocked out mitch green.