Shiny paint causes stress

[Rusty knuckles]

You know what they say about an ugly girl in the dark? Still feels the same.

 

[moparedtn]

I don't see anything "ugly" in that pic - but I do see something fairly shiny.
Failing, therefore, to understand the point of the post?

 

[1STMP]

Posted a like for the car.
But, I'm not afraid of
claiming my wife of 49
years, as beautiful as any
car that was ever built.
In the dark, it's been time
well spent.

 

[Kern Dog]

I'll share a sentiment that I'm sure many of you have felt.
I've had a few cool cars but the red Charger is the best so far. It isn't perfect but it shines, is fast and handles quite well.

When I first drove it after it was painted, I was nervous. I couldn't relax and just enjoy it like I thought that I could. I worried about damage every time I parked and walked away from it.
When I got this car:

It can be driven with zero worry about scratches!
If it were mechanically identical to the red car, it would be a LOT more fun but it is just a 383 automatic.

 

[1STMP]

I'll share a sentiment that I'm sure many of you have felt.
I've had a few cool cars but the red Charger is the best so far. It isn't perfect but it shines, is fast and handles quite well.

View attachment 1677039

When I first drove it after it was painted, I was nervous. I couldn't relax and just enjoy it like I thought that I could. I worried about damage every time I parked and walked away from it.
When I got this car:

View attachment 1677038

It can be driven with zero worry about scratches!
If it were mechanically identical to the red car, it would be a LOT more fun but it is just a 383 automatic.

I understand the
apprehension. It's
difficult wearing
your build out knowing
what it took to get it
there.
Mine never gets driven
in the rain, or on wet roads.
80+ year old sheetmetal
is hard to come by these
days.
Impressed with the charger.
You've done some fine work
there.

 

[1967coronet]

It's like that until the 1st little ding or scratch.
After 15/16 years I am just glad I put the 1st ding in it.

 

[Rusty knuckles]

I understand the
apprehension. It's
difficult wearing
your build out knowing
what it took to get it
there.
Mine never gets driven
in the rain, or on wet roads.
80+ year old sheetmetal
is hard to come by these
days.
Impressed with the charger.
You've done some fine work
there.

I'd never fault anyone for taking care with their hard work. I get it. But it can take a lot of the fun away from having such a car worried about every rock chip and weather forecast.

Meanwhile with some rusts, dents, dry rotted top, and poor quality paint I don't worry about rain, or gravel roads, or snow, or my 2 year old with a ratchet banging on the side before I get to him.

 

[440plus6]

Drive em, fellas and don't worry! It's like saving your girlfriend or wife for the next guy, doesn't make much sense!

 

[HawkRod]

I feel like I try to split the difference. My 70 WAS darn near perfect, on top and underneath, when it was restored in 2015. Then two weeks after it was done, I drove it across country. I have continued to drive it routinely, including 2200 miles for the Power Tour last year. I try to park it carefully and I slow down on gravel roads. I think a big contribution to chips is following trucks on the highway (which I avoid like the plague).

The bottom line is I drive mine and I enjoy the heck out of it because of that. Yes, I get wear because of it, but the car wouldn't be any fun for me sitting in the garage.

 

[1967coronet]

Pretty much the same with my 67, started on it 16 years ago and have been driving it all over for 15.
She has aged well , 2 engines , few dings and scratches, 1 gear set swap.
I used to put near 3,000 a summer on it but now it's aprox 1/2 that.

 

[68BabyBlue]

Reading this kind of makes me wish I had GTX #3 again. When I responded to a print ad in Hemmings back in 1991, the seller told me the car was in amazing original condition, with the exception of a less than perfect 14 year old paint job which was an incorrect shade. I bought the car, and never gave a thought to repainting it.

I drove that GTX nearly every weekend for seven years, often on dirt roads, and never worried about a stone chip. I drove it from Virginia to PA when I bought it, and from State College to Chicago when I moved there. Never had a minute of down time, and never had to recharge the fully operational factory A/C. Had a chance to buy it back in 2016, and passed. Kicked myself later.

The current one was restored to near concours condition, and has only been driven 2000 miles in the last 30 years. I drove half of that since I bought the car in the fall of 2022. If #3 comes on the market again, I'd be tempted.

 

[Rusty knuckles]

Reading this kind of makes me wish I had GTX #3 again. When I responded to a print ad in Hemmings back in 1991, the seller told me the car was in amazing original condition, with the exception of a less than perfect 14 year old paint job which was an incorrect shade. I bought the car, and never gave a thought to repainting it.

I drove that GTX nearly every weekend for seven years, often on dirt roads, and never worried about a stone chip. I drove it from Virginia to PA when I bought it, and from State College to Chicago when I moved there. Never had a minute of down time, and never had to recharge the fully operational factory A/C. Had a chance to buy it back in 2016, and passed. Kicked myself later.

The current one was restored to near concours condition, and has only been driven 2000 miles in the last 30 years. I drove half of that since I bought the car in the fall of 2022. If #3 comes on the market again, I'd be tempted.

I understand why. But less than 100 miles a year would break my spirit.

 

[Budnicks]

Drive em', like they were intended to be & worry about the lil' crap later...

nothing wrong with a trailer queen either,
if that's what blows your skirt up
takes all kinds in this hobby

mine's a 10 footer, certainly not trailer queen, it shines ok
got a couple scrapes here & there, no biggy, it's just a car

this was right after it was painted, Nov. 2017 in my garage, it shows it too

But;
I don't drive mine in the winter, unless it's bright sunny day
(keep it a bit cleaner too, as I age I'm not a testosterone driven douche)
I don't have anything to prove...
Why be stupid ?
Normally it's short winters here, normal years up here Tuolumne Co. Sierras
it's maybe 60 days total of measurable precipitation weather,
with usually normally about 10 months of great driving weather days...
Except the past 3 years, it's been brutal, every 4-7 or so years,
it does that...
Mother Nature is a real B-i-t-c-h, that's my cars name too...

I won't drive 'it' in the snow, unless I had too
spent too much time & $$$, getting it to even where it is
not perfect by any stretch, hell I rarely even, ever drive it in the rain
unless I get caught in it, doesn't mean I can't drive it, I choose not too...

That doesn't make it any less cherished/desirable
or less of a car because of it
or me less on a man either, some wear that nonsense like a badge
not that I can't, but I don't need to
I have 3) 1 car/2 4x4 trucks, I can drive something else, still enjoy it...

I'm not afraid to drive it,
it's every other valley flatlander 'tourists', no driven Ivan/Eve
out there is the issues...
It's like instant as-hole, just add a lil' rain water or snow/ice
& a windshield in front of them... Jeckel & Hyde

Or in a parking lot, away from everyone, shopping carts & dumbasses,
tourists with chains & belt buckles etc. or unruly kids, always gawking at it...
Or some jerk that's jealous of it...

 

[68BabyBlue]

Drive em', like they were intended to be & worry about the lil' crap later...

nothing wrong with a trailer queen either,
if that's what blows your skirt up
takes all kinds in this hobby

mine's a 10 footer, certainly not trailer queen, it shines ok
got a couple scrapes here & there, no biggy, it's just a car

this was right after it was painted, Nov. 2017 in my garage, it shows it too
View attachment 1677337

But;
I don't drive mine in the winter, unless it's bright sunny day
(keep it a bit cleaner too, as I age I'm not a testosterone driven douche)
I don't have anything to prove...
Why be stupid ?
Normally it's short winters here, normal years up here Tuolumne Co. Sierras
it's maybe 60 days total of measurable precipitation weather,
with usually normally about 10 months of great driving weather days...
Except the past 3 years, it's been brutal, every 4-7 or so years,
it does that...
Mother Nature is a real B-i-t-c-h, that's my cars name too...

I won't drive 'it' in the snow, unless I had too
spent too much time & $$$, getting it to even where it is
not perfect by any stretch, hell I rarely even, ever drive it in the rain
unless I get caught in it, doesn't mean I can't drive it, I choose not too...

That doesn't make it any less cherished/desirable
or less of a car because of it
or me less on a man either, some wear that like a badge
not that I can't, but I don't need to
I have 3) 1 car/2 4x4 trucks, I can drive something else, still enjoy it...

I'm not afraid to drive it,
it's every other valley flatlander 'tourists', no driven Ivan/Eve
out there is the issues...
It's like instant as-hole, just add a lil' rain water or snow/ice
& a windshield in front of them...

Or in a parking lot, shopping carts & dumbasses,
tourists with chains & belt buckles etc. or unruly kids, always gawking at it...
Or some jerk that's jealous of it...

You always want what you don’t have. Now that I have the queen, I miss my drivers.

 

[Triplegreen500]

I'll take my driver quality '70 over a concours car any day...it's respectable, and it's ORIGINAL.

It is shiny...but that's not a repaint, just a lot of wet sanding and polishing.

 

[Budnicks]

When mine was Ultra Flat Black for years
I didn't worry about it as much,
but I like it painted the org. color best
I was just putting off painting it...
When I got it all it had was some crappy primer on it
started to have surface rust, so I sanded that off
& from about late Dec. 2005
I scuffed it up & painted it that Ultra Flat Black Paint
(like $250 worth) until Nov 2017, better part of 12 years...

People told me it looked sinister 'sort of'...
I didn't worry much, still got way too much attention,
especially in parking lots, got the thumbs up a lot still...

Not a lot of MoPars up here in Ford country

I like the shinny LL1 Surf Turquoise Met./Poly better, base clear
Over $1,000 in just paint
another $1,500 before actual paint/color, still a cheap deal,
but better than prior

 

[Don Frelier]

This one is really shiny.
And yes it does add some stress.

 

[1STMP]

I'd never fault anyone for taking care with their hard work. I get it. But it can take a lot of the fun away from having such a car worried about every rock chip and weather forecast.

Meanwhile with some rusts, dents, dry rotted top, and poor quality paint I don't worry about rain, or gravel roads, or snow, or my 2 year old with a ratchet banging on the side before I get to him.
View attachment 1677067

I'm not worried at all about
dings and scratches.

It's what is underneath that
took quite some time, effort,
and $$ to build, and there's
still a few minor fixes that
need to be done. Runnig it
in wet weather would create
some problems as there is
no protection from water
in the body. It's basically
just a shell.

The project started out as
something to be run solely
at the strip. When my son
was discharged and started
helping out with workung on
it, he convinced me to go
all out and make it street
legal.

 

[Krooser]

I once drove a Countach in Detroit traffic during rush hour...kinda intimidating.

I can see why those things don't get many miles.

Same with the 300SL Gullwing coupes.

The most expensive deal I drove was a '39 Mercedes 540K Special Roadster worth $3,000,000 in 1990 $$$. Short ride but the massive supercharged straight 8 was plenty powerful for an 8,000lb car!

 

[gtx6970]

I feel like I try to split the difference. My 70 WAS darn near perfect, on top and underneath, when it was restored in 2015. Then two weeks after it was done, I drove it across country. I have continued to drive it routinely, including 2200 miles for the Power Tour last year. I try to park it carefully and I slow down on gravel roads. I think a big contribution to chips is following trucks on the highway (which I avoid like the plague).

The bottom line is I drive mine and I enjoy the heck out of it because of that. Yes, I get wear because of it, but the car wouldn't be any fun for me sitting in the garage.

View attachment 1677082

View attachment 1677083

View attachment 1677084

Nailed it

I Drive it like I stole it

If I cant drive it,,,I have no use for it

I put the 1st nick in it on the trip to Winslow the 1st summer I had it. and haven't looked back since
This was a 6 hour each way trip in all back roads AZ
This one is in Snake River Canyon north of Globe Arizona