Touchy

Fonzie

Active Member
God... some guys in this hobby really need to chill out. I stop for my morning coffee and see a rather interesting rod parked off to the side. So I thought I'd walk over and have a look and complement his ride. Car looked like a Ratrod with a nice paint job. I was expecting some old guy but turns out it was a young guy who owned it. He gets all up tight and gives me a lecture on how his car is a "hot rod" and not a POS rat rod. So then I thought I'd change the subject and ask if he was checking out the big show that was happening locally. Again, another big lecture about how he doesn't attend shows and that he isn't into that crap , yadda yadda yadda. You could really tell he wanted to chat.

Next time I'll just turn my head and forget about checking out your car. Some people really need to get a life. :eek:
 
You have to smile don't you when something like this happens, perhaps the poor bugger has been got at by someone who either doesn't know what it used to be like years ago when you built everything yourself on a very low budget or was just one of the Johnny come lately rodders who really does not know that this is how they were done years ago, man if I think back on what my first rod looked like 46 years ago and then saw it today I would most likely think that not a lot had gone into building that, but when I was 15 it was as good as I could do at the time, so maybe think that some rich kid or someone who has forgotten what it was like to either have manners or when they built their first car has forgotten how it was back then.

Some time ago my old Roadster Pickup was flat black for a few years until I could afford to paint it and some one would ask if it was a rat rod and my answer became no but the prick who owns it is a Rat, people would just look at me in wonderment. So being a young guy I would say he has had his fair share of people give him a hard time at a show or whatever and he really doesn't know how to handle that either. By the way my car was built before the Magazines made it trendy or started refering to them as Rat Rods.

I have to tell quite a few new guys who come along and might be building a new car which will cost them quite some money that there is an opinion and way for everyone to do something so don't go speaking out too load until you have been in the same situation. I get really pissed off wit hsome of my mates when they start sprooking forth and saying things out load about how bad someone elses car looks or hangs shit on a part of someone elses car.

I think that perhaps he could have handled it better and maybe letting the guy know you were also a rodder might have helped the whole situation. What I usually do when I am looking at something is just say to the guy I like the way you have done ???? there is always something neat or different you can pick out and straight away you will have him on side. But to often you hear dickheads who really don't understand making load opinions and the guy starts to get a bit funny about who he talks to as well, now don't get me wrong I am definiately not refering to yourself here so please don't take it that way. But I get sick of hearing guys bag other people who have made their best effort and in reality it puts me off even wanting to be assocciated with the guy I might be with who is bagging someone elses ride because in fact all they are doing is trying to build their own egos up because they think they are doing better when in fact we can all find fault in anyone eles's car and I don't care if you are talking about the best show car in the world we can all find something that doesn't apeal to our taste but the builder likes it.

You never know the young guy might think he could have done better himself but because he is used to people hanging shit on his car we will loose him from the sport. Mind you there is no reason for him to jump down others throat either but just think he might have been bagged out by others in the past so he is as a young guy just on the defence from the minute go.

There are a lot of guys out there today who are guys with Hot Rods and not really Hot Rodders as I see it, just because they have money and a nice car doesn't make them a Hot Rodder. But some of the other people who have a not so good car could be a true Hot Rodder in every way.

But don't be put off by 1 bad experience because you never know the next joker could be your next life long friend, just put it down as a guy who might not have been having a very good day for some reason.
 
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Seems to me that some members on this very forum have , in the past, been bitching about people who ask stupid questions and make stupid comments about their rides. Guess the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree. Now back to lurk land.
 
Seems to me that some members on this very forum have , in the past, been bitching about people who ask stupid questions and make stupid comments about their rides. Guess the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree. Now back to lurk land.

Anybody in particular :confused:
 
You have to smile don't you when something like this happens, perhaps the poor bugger has been got at by someone who either doesn't know what it used to be like years ago when you built everything yourself on a very low budget or was just one of the Johnny come lately rodders who really does not know that this is how they were done years ago, man if I think back on what my first rod looked like 46 years ago and then saw it today I would most likely think that not a lot had gone into building that, but when I was 15 it was as good as I could do at the time, so maybe think that some rich kid or someone who has forgotten what it was like to either have manners or when they built their first car has forgotten how it was back then.

Some time ago my old Roadster Pickup was flat black for a few years until I could afford to paint it and some one would ask if it was a rat rod and my answer became no but the prick who owns it is a Rat, people would just look at me in wonderment. So being a young guy I would say he has had his fair share of people give him a hard time at a show or whatever and he really doesn't know how to handle that either. By the way my car was built before the Magazines made it trendy or started refering to them as Rat Rods.

I have to tell quite a few new guys who come along and might be building a new car which will cost them quite some money that there is an opinion and way for everyone to do something so don't go speaking out too load until you have been in the same situation. I get really pissed off wit hsome of my mates when they start sprooking forth and saying things out load about how bad someone elses car looks or hangs shit on a part of someone elses car.

I think that perhaps he could have handled it better and maybe letting the guy know you were also a rodder might have helped the whole situation. What I usually do when I am looking at something is just say to the guy I like the way you have done ???? there is always something neat or different you can pick out and straight away you will have him on side. But to often you hear dickheads who really don't understand making load opinions and the guy starts to get a bit funny about who he talks to as well, now don't get me wrong I am definiately not refering to yourself here so please don't take it that way. But I get sick of hearing guys bag other people who have made their best effort and in reality it puts me off even wanting to be assocciated with the guy I might be with who is bagging someone elses ride because in fact all they are doing is trying to build their own egos up because they think they are doing better when in fact we can all find fault in anyone eles's car and I don't care if you are talking about the best show car in the world we can all find something that doesn't apeal to our taste but the builder likes it.

You never know the young guy might think he could have done better himself but because he is used to people hanging shit on his car we will loose him from the sport. Mind you there is no reason for him to jump down others throat either but just think he might have been bagged out by others in the past so he is as a young guy just on the defence from the minute go.

There are a lot of guys out there today who are guys with Hot Rods and not really Hot Rodders as I see it, just because they have money and a nice car doesn't make them a Hot Rodder. But some of the other people who have a not so good car could be a true Hot Rodder in every way.

But don't be put off by 1 bad experience because you never know the next joker could be your next life long friend, just put it down as a guy who might not have been having a very good day for some reason.

You've made some good points John. :) I sometimes have to wonder if good old political correctness has found it's way into our hobby. Either that or some people are overly sensitive. Some people aren't necessarily fluent in the lingo. I guess when a person isn't able to tell whether the car they're drooling over is a Hot rod, Street Rod, or Rat Rod. It's best to just say "nice Rod". But god help us... if the car's owner takes that for meaning something else :D

The majority of the guys I've met in this hobby have been decent people. This other guy I met a few days ago came off like a prick with a chip on his shoulder. Maybe he was trying to impress his girlfriend. :cool:
 
It's my experience that a lot of the "rodding" that goes on today are people who've bought cars, cause they think they'll somehow rise to a new level of coolness. You have to admit, poor as some of the reality car shows are, they bring rodding to a new audience, much wider than ever before. So....these people want in on the action, sometimes get a head bigger than their neck will support, think they're someone unique, and because they drive their wrecks once in awhile to the cool place to be seen become ambassadors to the hobby.
On the other hand, guys like me have been building a long time, all my cars have been flat black, because flat paint hides a lot of sins, never being one for tedious bodywork I take the easy route and always have. For twenty years or more I had the only flat black pinstriped car at the local meet if I went at all, now I find myself surrounded by young folks with goatees and sixties hats, eager to include me in their good times, have had the honour of having some young beautiful thing draped all over my newly cool sixteen year old build 36 ford pickup, guys track me down wanting to know more about my old girl. Seems my truck now has "patina", but to me its just my old hot rod, same old truck it always has been, I don't care what anyone else calls it, I know what it is.
Don't get upset when someone like this pops his head up from time to time, you know the difference between a street rod, a hot rod, and a rat, maybe he doesn't. Seems to me, if he built it, he'd just be impressed that you asked about it, I always am, I'll take the time to brag about my handiwork, I don't care what they think it is.
 
God... some guys in this hobby really need to chill out. I stop for my morning coffee and see a rather interesting rod parked off to the side. So I thought I'd walk over and have a look and complement his ride. Car looked like a Ratrod with a nice paint job. I was expecting some old guy but turns out it was a young guy who owned it. He gets all up tight and gives me a lecture on how his car is a "hot rod" and not a POS rat rod. So then I thought I'd change the subject and ask if he was checking out the big show that was happening locally. Again, another big lecture about how he doesn't attend shows and that he isn't into that crap , yadda yadda yadda. You could really tell he wanted to chat.

Next time I'll just turn my head and forget about checking out your car. Some people really need to get a life. :eek:

Yet, here you are, complaining about him on an internet forum? :confused:


That aside, I can't speak for either part in the situation. I don't know the tone of voice in your rat rod comment. I don't know the quality of the build (it could very well look like a rat rod with paint).

I do know that when someone asks about my 'rat rod', I take the time to explain the difference between a hot rod and a rat rod. A rat rod isn't a complimentary term in my book (though I know others who set out to have a rat rod).
Maybe my explanations come off as a lecture sometimes, but usually the people I'm talking to didn't know there was a difference to begin with...