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We've all been there. Ridiculed by a friend, neighbor, spouse, relative, or co-worker about your preoccupation with "old cars". Of course you might give them plenty of reason to do so by your spending huge amounts of money and time on your "baby". Add in all the related tools, parts, garages, trailers, magazines, memorabilia, etc., and any semi-conscious human that knows you couldn't help but notice. Then there's your blood, sweat, and tears left in the garage and driveway, parts that don't fit, parts you can't get, and problems with vendors, body shops, restoration shops, and shipping companies. Sometimes we "car guys" and "car gals" question our preoccupation ourselves.
So why ARE we so fascinated with this masochistic hobby? It's sometimes hard to explain to folks that "don't get it" what exactly our motivation is. Probably a combination of several different reasons for each of us. For some it's ego, wanting to have something others don't have and/or something better, different, or more noticeable than others. Then there are the competitive types that want something faster, more rare, more perfect, or more desirable than others. There are people that get satisfaction from working on and fixing mechanical things (and the old cars CAN be worked on by the average car guy). Some of us identify with cars of our youth and maybe couldn't have what we wanted back then or a vehicle similar to one we did have. Maybe a certain make/model/year holds your adoration. Others want an investment that will appreciate in value while enjoying it. Some get satisfaction from restoring a vehicle to its former luster. Maybe you have a still different reason than those above or a combination of certain ones. At any rate, we probably play with the old iron because it makes us happy (well most of the time anyway).
So next time your brother-in-law asks why you spend so much time and money on an old car when you could buy a much newer one for less money, ask him why he spends so much time and money on a bass boat, fishing gear, and fishing when he could go to the grocery and buy fish.
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