Muscle cars are complicated pieces of machinery. Why would anybody want to take a time-ravaged car apart, using shop tools to replace all the worn and rusted pieces, rebuild the mechanicals, apply new paint and trim, and create a like-new vehicle? The investment in time and money isn't likely to yeild big dividends. And even in like-new condition, we're probably talking about a vehicle that may be mechanically obsolete. So what's the motivation?
In simplist terms, restoring muscle cars or trucks--an old vehicle of any sort--is about fulfillment. Maybe it's fulfillment of a dream, finally possessing that sports car, luxury car, or performance car that was out of reachwhen it was new. Maybe it's the fulfillment of a creative urge, to take something derelict and discarded and transform it into the classic car it once was. Or maybe the fulfillment comes from recapturing a slice of the past, giving memories a tangible see-and-touch expression. Fulfillment also comes by slowing life's pace, which is bound to happen both in the restoration process and in driving and enjoying an older hot rod. Physically as well as metaphysically, an old car puts us in the slow lane, where we see sights we otherwise would have rushed past and meet people we never would have passed by without noticing. Restoring muscle cars offers the opportunity to experience life at a little deeper, more rewarding level --- which really is what fulfillment is all about.
Restoring muscle cars is also about challenges, learning new skills, following not-so-pleasant jobs through to completion, and achieving the satisfactionb of a finished product. The restoration process is about people, those who lend advise and give instruction, those who encourage, those who become new friends. And inevitably, the process of restoring an old car offers the opportunity for serendipity, the unexpected surprises that are one of life's mysteries---finding that searched-for missing part, a friend offering help at just the right moment, the answer to an obstacle suddenly appearing out of nowhere. There are easier ways to spend your time, but most asren't nearly as much fun or rewarding.
For many, restoring an old car ushers in an entire change of lifestyle, not just more time spent "smelling the roses" and traveling in the "slow lane" or even making new friends, but a whole set of new activities revolving around owning and enjoying an old car. Typically, these activities arise from joining a club and include tours---sort of mini-vacations spent with others of like-minded interest---and other car-related events that inevitably have a social focus. As one example, a restoration shop in my area sponsors annual "birthday parties" marking the business' anniversaries. Held in mid-January, not a very social month in the ice-frozen Upper Midwest where I live, several hundred customers, well wishers, and local old-car club memberscan be counted to show up, including families. The party is really a car show held out on the shop's service floor, giving everyone an opportunity to walk around and look over cars in various stages of their restoration makeovers---a reminder that our own cars will soon be emerging from their winter cocoons. An album of photos displayed by a local old-car club reminds us of the events and outings we've enjoyed, while slices of birthday cake munched on as we chat make for the relaxation in which new friendships are born.
Just as the car itself expands our world, with the right shop tools and equipment an old car expands and enriches us. It's our transport to new experiences, fulfillment, and pleasures.
Restoring muscle cars is also about challenges, learning new skills, following not-so-pleasant jobs through to completion, and achieving the satisfactionb of a finished product. The restoration process is about people, those who lend advise and give instruction, those who encourage, those who become new friends. And inevitably, the process of restoring an old car offers the opportunity for serendipity, the unexpected surprises that are one of life's mysteries---finding that searched-for missing part, a friend offering help at just the right moment, the answer to an obstacle suddenly appearing out of nowhere. There are easier ways to spend your time, but most asren't nearly as much fun or rewarding.
For many, restoring an old car ushers in an entire change of lifestyle, not just more time spent "smelling the roses" and traveling in the "slow lane" or even making new friends, but a whole set of new activities revolving around owning and enjoying an old car. Typically, these activities arise from joining a club and include tours---sort of mini-vacations spent with others of like-minded interest---and other car-related events that inevitably have a social focus. As one example, a restoration shop in my area sponsors annual "birthday parties" marking the business' anniversaries. Held in mid-January, not a very social month in the ice-frozen Upper Midwest where I live, several hundred customers, well wishers, and local old-car club memberscan be counted to show up, including families. The party is really a car show held out on the shop's service floor, giving everyone an opportunity to walk around and look over cars in various stages of their restoration makeovers---a reminder that our own cars will soon be emerging from their winter cocoons. An album of photos displayed by a local old-car club reminds us of the events and outings we've enjoyed, while slices of birthday cake munched on as we chat make for the relaxation in which new friendships are born.
Just as the car itself expands our world, with the right shop tools and equipment an old car expands and enriches us. It's our transport to new experiences, fulfillment, and pleasures.
No comments:
Post a Comment