Of this and that...........story time.......
The thread on “Ford in a Ford” got me to thinking about a set of different experiences from a cruise in the other night. Not wanting to hijack that thread I figured I’d start this one. Back when we were first trying to get this site off the ground we used to do a fair bit of “editorializing”, but not so much lately.
One of the local car clubs hosts a cruise in each Friday evening from May through September. A couple weeks ago it only pulled in about 40ish cars, but this past Friday it looked to be north of 150. A couple weeks ago it had been a cloudy, dark day plus it was the setup day for the last big swap meet of spring, so both those probably dampened participation. Last Friday was a beautiful sunny day that brought ‘em out in force.
As is typical for this sort of thing you see and meet all kinds. And as you might expect there’s some good and bad…………both in cars and people. It was the inaugural event for the ’36 roadster which I figured would lead to some interesting interactions.
The first was brought to mind by the engine thread. A youngish guy was looking the car over fairly thoroughly when he looked up and asked, “What’s it got for an engine?” My response, being a provocative sort and anticipating where this was going, was “The Universal Hot Rod Motor.” Based on the look on his face as he turned and walked away someone must have pooped in his mess kit……………..Debating why whichever engine choice is made, and all the rationale that goes with it pretty much bores me to tears nowadays,………………been there, done that, don’t want the tee shirt…………….Yawn…………………But really, why let something as trivial as that ruin a car for you that might otherwise hold some appeal? Yeah……..that’s just a rhetorical question. The other side of that coin happened the other Friday night mentioned. I had the ’32 roadster that is still hoodless. I’ve polished up the Vette valve covers and put factory 283 stickers on them. Some older guy (about my age) walks up, looks it over for a while, says “perfect engine for this car”, and walks away with a big grin on his face.
On the plus side, an old hot rod buddy, Bill, was sitting talking to my bride when I got back from doing a walk-a –bout (more talk-a-bout to be truthful). He had walked up to the car while both of us were gone and had no idea who owned it. He spotted the unusual dash almost immediately and got pumped about it. He has a very good eye for detail and recognized it, sort of, right away. Another friend of his owns a ’32 sedan with the same dash modification/gauge arrangement, and they had no idea what it was originally from. So there he stands, waiting patiently for “the guy” to show up so he can ask. Well, instead the bride shows up and she doesn’t know, so he gets to wait some more (but with good company now). When I get there he makes some complimentary remarks and then gets to “the question”. He starts to explain about the other car, but I cut him a bit short by describing it as a finish to his sentence. “You know the car?” he says. Yep. His pal Dennis bought it from my late buddy Bubba as a near done project some years back. Years ago Bubba and I were rootin’ through a wrecking yard looking for “stuff”; latches, lights, switches, just general parts that could be adapted for use on rods. We happened across a couple old trucks, and Bubba saw these panels, gave out a yell, and we both had the “vision”. We took a couple home that day not sure what they’d end up in, but ya just gotta buy stuff like that sometimes. A short while later Bubba bought a titled ’32 frame from me, and I found a sedan body that a ’32 hoarder was willing to part with, and a project was born. Bubba chopped the top, and welded the junk yard panel into the dash. He got the car to roller stage and then decided to sell it. Dennis, another accomplished rodder, finished the car in Orange with a built hemi and then moved to Phoenix. Apparently Bubba never did tell him what the dash was from……he, he, he. Well, I took pity on Bill and disclosed to him what vehicle donated the piece, so by now, Dennis may know as well………..almost 20 years later!
While Bill and I are standing next to the roadster chatting away folks keep walking up, looking, mostly saying kind things when one guy asks if it’s steel or glass. I tell him steel and he seems happy. But that prompts the bride to tell me that while I was away earlier some guy came up and asked her the same question. She answered “steel” at which point he reaches down under the fender edge and says to her “it’s glass.” And walks away. My response wasn’t family friendly enough for here, but that kind of jerk almost always seems to show up. I generally like to humiliate that kind of guy, but wasn’t there. Probably better that I wasn’t. Thankfully that type are a distinct minority with most being friendly, and if they see something they don’t care for they have the courtesy to either keep it to themselves or wait til they get a respectable distance away before commentary.
All in all it was a regular car gathering……………..same-o same-o………….but if any readers here are newer to the experience don’t fret…………people are people.
