What Are Your Reasons For Restoring An Old Car?

[Worden18]

I've owned almost 50 old cars since I was 16 (I'm 46 now).  My first one was a '59 Studebaker Lark VI with a 3 on the tree. Some were more memorable than others.  But one thing I enjoyed no matter the make, model, or year was just sampling each one to see what it was all about.  I'm not restoring my 51 Meadowbrook, but I'm getting it reliable and roadworthy again, and fixing what previous owners have neglected over time.  When I bought the car I felt that it was slowly working its way toward that everlasting "its been sitting for 20+ years" thing, and then the owner dies, leaves the car to his unappreciative children whom call the junkyard to come get it so the eyesore is removed from their property.  At least I'll be driving it again soon (currently working on the brakes).

 

I'll do other things to it like rebuild the carb, remove the radiator and have it boiled or recore it if needed.  Tune-up, new radials, fluids changed, everything greased, etc. is probably the most I will do to it.  The car is basically all original, so I plan to just leave the original paint and interior and all of the scuffs, scrapes and dents that go with it.  As long as its mechanically sound, and not dangerous to drive its ok with me.  Even though I'm no great mechanic (I usually get help from others), I enjoy working on these old pieces of history because their design was fairly simple.  NO COMPUTERS or any extra-complicated BS is what attracts me.  I always wish that the car could speak to me and tell me it's history.  I also like the feeling of accomplishment when I work hard to get something fixed right.

[pflaming]

"As long as its mechanically sound, and not dangerous to drive its ok with me."  You and I are on the same page. Old cars you drive, new cars you steer. Bottom floor is going into my 53 suburban starting next week, be back here in three, then . . .  

[mmcdowel]

Really not much to add here that someone hasn't already said, but my 50 Meadowbrook is the only car that seems glad to see me when I walk out into the garage each morning.  I'm astounded how she survived in such pristine condition since it doesn't appear anyone took special care of her.....just had the good sense not to wreck it and always kept it inside from what I can see.  The smell of the interior is awesome and I like the way the fluid drive is so smooth.  Definitely not fast, smooth.  I run new bias wide whites on her and she certainly sits up higher and looks better than the Sears radials somebody put on there at one point.  Still rides and drives great and I don't mind that the bias tires remind me from time to time that I'm on rutted pavement.  

PS you know you are hooked when you name your car.

 

[oldodge41]

First off I would never restore an old car because then I wouldn't want to drive it and get it mussed up. But do I enjoy fixing them up and driving them. Why? Reminds me of the old saying: "If I have to explain it you wouldn't understand". But I bet many on a site like this would understand.

[Niel Hoback]

I understand perfectly. Like my dad would tell me; "You don't need to know why, just do it."

[librado65]

I was a sophomore in high school when my friend got his first car for his birthday. It was a 1964 Impala. The feeling I got when he would give me ride home after school so I wouldnt have to walk home was the feeling of a brother I never had. It was raining the first time he drove that car to school and I remember him telling me in a jokingly manner that the turning the steering wheel required so much muscle that he would attract girls not because of the car but because of the big arms he'd get. After my rebellious teenage years I decided to start college in pursuit of a "successful" life in order to have a "good" job and a top of the line foreign car. I mean thats what they teach what success is to kids in school and on tv. So after a few month of classes making me feel depressed. I felt more stupid each class and plus I didn't want to spend the rest of my life paying off a debt simply so I could drive a foreign car trying to impress people I grew up or people on the social media. I left school. 

 

Anyways, fastforward to sometime in 2012 I brought a Monte Carlo home from Tennesse. I didnt know nothing about working on cars. So I decided to strip the car to baremetal and learn to do bodywork and paint. It took me several months of trial and error but I learned it. It was during this time my dad and I went around town and he saw a 1948 Dodge sedan for sale. It belonged to a fella who died in an accident. His brother and his mother went to the Midwest to pick up the car before it was repossed by the bank that owned his home. They didn't want the '48 anymore sitting in their driveway because it made the mother cry everytime she saw it. So I bought it. I had never owned a car that was a manual transmission or that had no power steering. But learning to drive it in the back roads by the orange droves here in Florida was a feeling I will never forget. My dad spent the entire evening with me that first drive. We laughed and talked about all the work we would do on it to bring it back to the best possible shape we could. But the feeling of the heavy steering and shifting into gear. No parking brake; it was a feeling that to this day I will forever remember to my death. I remember the first time pulling up to the gas to fill her up and everyone would just give me smiles and ask questions.

 

Sadly the 48 had some problems back in 2014. Everytime I would shift gears the brakes would lock up on me. Shes been parked ever since. Then back in October of 2015 I seen a craigslist ad for a 51 Coronet Diplomat. I drove and picked it up. I called up an old mechanic from town who had retired and he's been helping me to get it back on the road. I am 25 years, single, and purchased my first home back in summer of 2015. Working on the cars have always taken my mind off of the nonsense of this world. I lost contact with my friend sadly but everytime I drove my 48 I wish I could call him up ask him if he needed a ride or if he just wanted to go cruise and meet up with girls. Most of my friends are dads now, some in prison, and some still pursuing the "successful" life.

 

I've started working on the bodywork on the '48 recently and honestly can say I am happy. It gives me a sense of accomplisment. I just pray and hope that whoever I marry will understand the feeling.

[Niel Hoback]

You will not marry until you find someone that understands the feeling without being married.