Driving A Classic Car Is A Time Machine
Hey folks – I’m going to get off topic a bit here from your normal Lateral-G content. Normally I’d be writing showing an install, covering a show, or whatever else I can find that’s interesting.
A few weeks ago I completed the Hot Rod Power Tour. I long hauled it. I completed 2,617 trouble-free miles in my 1962 Cadillac Limo that’s LS swapped and all that. The event concluded Friday, and Saturday I drove 13 hours from Indianapolis to my house in Texas. Needless to say, I had a lot of time to think about things and solve the worlds problems. In reality, I had lots of time all week free from obligations such as family, house, or computers to think about whatever I wanted.
While I was getting countless thumbs up and people taking pictures of this old boat cruising down the highway, I had a thought. Why is it that myself, and the 6,000 other participants love to cruise these old cars? Even this car with a modern LS, disc brakes, and other modern amenities is still a loud, hot, and uncomfortable ride compared to a modern car. If it still had the stock engine and brakes it’d be even worse.
Time Machines
So what is it that keeps us spending countless hours and dollars on a 50 year old car? It’s a time machine. Not like the famed DeLorean in Back to the Future that actually could travel to a set point in time. Driving a classic is as close as you can get to that though.
When you drive a classic, you drive a car that’s like nothing else on the road. No modern car can compare to it’s style. Classics are when cars were designed for looks, not maximum miles-per-gallon. This ’62 Cadillac has fins sticking off the tops of the rear quarters, and skegs down below. Four fins that serve absolutely zero purpose other than it looks futuristic. Remember this was a time when America was fascinated with the space race.
Stepping in and sitting down behind the wheel of an old vehicle instantly transports you back in time. You get to touch, feel, hear, smell and see history. Instantly you can touch the same steering wheel that was new so many years ago. You can hear the creaks and noises only an old car makes. They even have a distinct smell, especially when they have an original interior in them. Most importantly though, you get the see actual history. Driving a classic is an entirely different experience. They aren’t nearly as refined as new cars. The steering might have more play in it, or the insulation isn’t the best.
Now these classics are a bit before my time, I’ll admit. But for lots of folks these are the cars they drove new, or in high school. I graduated well after 1966, but my 1966 Chevelle that I still have is my high school car. Driving it takes me back mentally to being younger and full of innocence. Recently my Dad and I got his ’55 Bel Air running and driving. He had a ’55 Bel Air in high school. Right now it’s at the interior shop, but once it’s back and he can hit the road with it, I can only imagine the memories that will come flooding back to life for him.
Quite frankly, there’s nothing else like it. Driving a classic is truly taking a step back in time. Until we can actually invent a time machine like ol’ Doc Brown’s DeLorean, a classic car is the next best thing.
