Cool, Or Not Cool?

"I don't understand how people got around in the 1960's based on the rate that things are breaking" 

Madness I tell ya....

Don't let Marty see his driving shoes.

I guess there's a very wide spectrum of car guy obsession.

This looks to me more like 'car as fashion accessory' than anything else. Is it all part of the same thing, or is this something different, something apart?

What I'm really wondering is do we Speedster drivers seem as obsessed with a car as a love object to our friends and spouses as this guy seems to me.

Are their degrees of obsession? Can you be part car guy and part functional normal guy? Or do we all look like this to normal people?

Car guys and gals come in all shapes, ages, and sizes.  We don't look alike, act alike (with some exception), or think alike.  If there is a spectrum involving justification of our obsession, this guy and I are on the extreme ends.  I don't care why I like my car, and the furthest thing from my mind is to justify to others why I spend the time, money, effort, etc.  to make it look and drive the way I want it to.

On the other hand, the video guy seems desperate to prove how idiosyncratic, how different, how special, his car is, ergo he is.  A path less traveled . . . ad nauseam.

I like my car.  It's a lot of fun to drive.  If others like it, fine.  If not, that's fine too.

This is called being "married to the bit." He's fully in on the joke. Words like "cosplay" tell you all you need to know. He's probably in his late 30s/early 40s and so grabbing a piece of something he'd never had a chance to experience.

And, yeah, to normal people, most of us look like him, even if we eschew period-correct garb. But why would you? I have the goggles and the Snoopy hat. Like him, I drive around wearing that getup when the weather requires it. 

What else can you do?

Full endorsement. I think I need a helmet like his.

The vid is great, like all of these vids. But they all have the same weakness: by focusing so obsessively on the car and the driver, they omit the social experience. You guys all know that solitude is a very difficult thing to achieve when driving something like this.

And once you park? Forget about it! 

The reality is, these things are a social icebreaker par excellence. Shyness disappears. It's like stepping out with a movie star or a supermodel—except you don't have to worry that some other dude will catch her eye.

Hmmm every picture tells a story…but here the story is there is no story !

A clapped out 190SL with the “Renny-o-Sport” Package …wow

0-60 in 14 seconds…

Virtually any plastic bathtub with a 1600 cc motor and a bug-catcher would put Sir-Stirl Jr. on the trailer

When I was a mere youth SCCA would put these in F or G production along with bug-eye Sprites

He must have done some lobby-job on Petrolicious to get this coverage !

ReV

I was chased down by a young guy driving a Mitsubishi evolution on Monday  morning.   Totally cool polish kid that  had to talk to me.   Took a bunch of pictures of my car and asked me to take a picture of him in front of it.   I was very flattered,  especially because the Asian tuner guys get stereotyped pretty easily .   He's just a car guy too.    The helmet going to the coffee shop is a little much, kind of reminds me of the gazoo from Flintstones.   Other than that it's a decent video.   Bob,  The leopard loafers don't match the helmet, lol.   Mitch, yes the guy himself is a tad creepy. 

Keep an eye on your kids/grandkids when this guy comes to town!

Thanks Ed, I learned a new word today.

Cosplay - a performance art in which participants called cosplayers wear costumes and fashion accessories to represent a specific character.

So, I was pretty close - car as fashion accessory, driven by someone who's dressed up to play a character.

It's not really his fault that he wasn't around in the fifties or sixties and so hasn't gotten the details quite right - I don't think Stirling Moss did much racing in 190 SL's or that the cars were taken too seriously at places like Riverside.

And I don't blame Petrolicious for being the messenger, they're just presenting the evidence and letting us decide. They even wink at us a little if you look close.

Still, I think I've got the same basic disease that this guy does, if the symptoms are maybe less severe. I need to keep reminding myself not to take this car or its needs too seriously.

The car is cool, but he's a tool.

I'm a poet and don't know it... rhyme every time...

Sure not a pleasant exhaust note.  Sounds like a fart in a can.

I think the car is cool. I don't care for the Rat Rod fake rat.

I just returned from a long vacation, a drive out west and trip to Alaska. While in Tacoma Washington at a park I ran into a cool dude with his very cool Rat Rod low ride 67 MB Hardtail Sally. I hope to post some pic's soon on the Tacoma car museum, a C&C at Griot's Garage and an hour with Chris Runge at his Minn. shop.

Here's a video on Steve's Hardtail Sally.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-70AndZEIRI

Pete

mtflyr posted:

I think the car is cool. I don't care for the Rat Rod fake rat.

I just returned from a long vacation, a drive out west and trip to Alaska. While in Tacoma Washington at a park I ran into a cool dude with his very cool Rat Rod low ride 67 MB Hardtail Sally. I hope to post some pic's soon on the Tacoma car museum, a C&C at Griot's Garage and an hour with Chris Runge at his Minn. shop.

Here's a video on Steve's Hardtail Sally.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-70AndZEIRI

Pete

The owner spent three days removing rat nests and rat turds out of the engine bay and the rest of the car before it was sent to the shop for the "restoration". The rat was placed in the photo shoot as a reminder of what it took to get it in shape. Merely a shot at humor since the rat isn't there all the time.

Edsnova wrote:  "Full endorsement. I think I need a helmet like his."

I have two, but haven't worn them yet.  I need to find the right occasion. 

"Cosplay 1960s racing driver"

Crying over that one. Love it. Would totally have beers with that guy.