quasimoto
Part of things
I started out with nothing and i have still got most of it left
Posts: 238
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I work on my cars on my drive way because its safer than the street and to a degree a bit of privacy from inquisitive neighbours who drive the lease beemers etc and cannot work out why i tinker, curse and jump for joy at retro cars in general. Often people have knocked at the door saying < oh your the bloke who messes with cars do you know why my widget master as stopped working > well I'm flattered they think I'm an expert but the passing pedestrian who as owned a Ford Cambridge or Austin Cortina do my head in. don't get me wrong I'm not a moaner but sometimes when time is tight you want to get a certain job over and done with. One chap asked could his son spray my front wing after hours of prep and he had never done any spraying !!!! Whistle Dixie my friend. Ocassionally out of the masses an old chap will stop and have worked in places of interest , one at Park Ward upmarket body works and one knew about Raymond Mays exhaust manifolds and Speedwell parts which was interesting. Miss an old guy who passed away but used to ask every time < is it finished yet > he was a true gent who thought my 4x4 snorkel was the exhaust and spare wheel carrier was for an outboard / assume he thought i had a boat not a vitara 4x4. Am i the only one plaqued by pedestrian passing and commenting i wonder ? Am i the only one who prefers just to be allowed to get on with what I'm doing ? I am not anti social nor a grumpy old git before you ask !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Last Edit: Apr 9, 2016 14:41:12 GMT by quasimoto
Mad As A Box Of Frogs
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VIP
South East
Posts: 8,293
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Heaven forbid people should be friendly and want to talk to other folks anymore.
We should all have our blinkers on and not look at or speak to anyone else.
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This is yet another reason why I am thankful that I live in a sparsely populated rural area. I can do pretty much whatever and no-one gives a rat's hole or even notices most of the time.
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Haha, no you're not alone. I also work on my car in the street and get absolutely plagued by passing interest.
99% of it starts with the exclamation "That's an old car" which I will hear 20 times any day I spend working on it. I am at a loss how I'm supposed to respond. I've toyed with acting surprised... "What? Is it? I'VE BEEN SWINDLED. THEY TOLD ME ITS A 2009 HYUNDAI ELANTRA!".
Then there's all the anecdotes and reminiscences about their cars which have to be politely entertained. Most of which are boring/curse word because they're not motor heads and have no idea what they're talking about.
There is one old boy round the corner who clearly knows his stuff and I always like chatting to him. He's about 80 and he's always genuinely interested in how it's going and what I'm tackling. He's the only one I actually like passing a few words with though.
There's also an old bloke a few doors down who's not interested in Cars at all, but like to be sociable. Only trouble is he has dementia and so every time he sees me he remarks "Oh! You've got yourself a new car have you?" And I have to remind him "No John. It's the same car I've had for the last two years". He sometimes walks passed on his way to the shop, makes that comment, then passes again on his way back ten minutes later and says it again.
The absolute worst ones are the ones who fail to recognise you're in a tricky/crisis situation and desperate to get it resolved ASAP, and you might be contorted Painfully and wrenching on an awkward to reach bolt, grunting cursing and sweating, and they stand there asking you inane questions and telling you about their old Triumph Acclaim the had in the 80's. I had that a lot when I was trying to retrieve dropped springs out of my gear box. I'd see a glimpse through the endoscope and at exactly moment someone would loom in through the door and say "THIS IS AN OLD CAR!".
I find it incredibly difficult to remain polite and neighbourly when they seem to be oblivious to the struggle being undertaken by struggling amateurs buried upside down in engine bays.
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Paul
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,946
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Rather all of the above than bricks through my window or tyres slashed though eh?
I live next to an old guy who used to work in car detailing. That's detailing, not washing...ie. £1,000 to wash your DeLorean with a brillo pad? Why yes I'll take that in cash...
Knows nothing about actually working on cars but lo and behold the other night I'm battering a brake disc that is well and truly stuck on a hub...light's going...and he appears with a massive industrial light. I think I got a free x-ray.
He also gave me a creme egg the other day.
Moral of the story is, keep these folk sweet and you never know how one kindness may repay another later down the line...
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I get this too, it definitely helped us settle into the new house (when it was new, been here years now) and it's never even got close to annoying.
People stop for a chat, ask about the cars and bikes, ask for advice, tell you stuff about their old motors and in some cases come back with photos of said old motors.
I think it's funny that people will take advice from, and double check advice given by a garage, with some geezer cluttering up the street with old motors.
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rustywagon
Part of things
Just joined; long time lurker!
Posts: 31
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I get it a lot on my street - we're the youngest household on a street of mainly retired folk. Last night I was up to 2 things at once, I had the bonnet open on the MX5 for some tuning issues, and was also in the process of swapping a brake caliper on my truck. an older gent, just back from getting his paper, asked whether I competed in the MX5, and struck up a conversation. He asked a lot of questions for a few minutes, and I was getting a bit suspicious, but it turned out he was getting the measure of me. He let on that He's been restoring cars for years, has an S2000, and a fully kitted out workshop. I guess we ended up talking for 20 mins, during which he insisted that I give him a tour of our hillman superminx. He's had a bunch of rootes cars in the past and pointed out things I'd never realised! He made his excuses, and said he was late for dinner, but offered his workshop (lathe, mill etc!) whenever I wanted! Awesome bloke, and loads of knowledge. My neighbour opposite has an MGB in pieces in his garage, and has been for the last 25 years. I'll always chat to people if they're willing to say hi.
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Rather all of the above than bricks through my window or tyres slashed though eh? Moral of the story is, keep these folk sweet and you never know how one kindness may repay another later down the line... I totally agree. I'm always polite and respond and tell them the info they seem to want to know (a bloke ran up to my car when I was outside my mate's house a few weeks ago and excitedly shouted "J5.5?... J5.5?" whilst pointing somewhere in the region of the passenger side doors. I smiled and nodded and said "You have a good eye!" And he Said "Ah, I knew it. I KNEW it!" then he gave me the double Thumbs up and ran back into his house. No idea what he was referring to. He wasn't looking at my wheels") and even when wrenching painfully with no time for pleasantries I think "If I'm rude to this person who is showing some interest in my interest what does that say about me?". So I chat with everyone, and only very rarely I have said "Feel free to have a look around the car but I'm at a critical point so I really need to focus on what I'm doing, but any other time I'd be happy to chat". Personally I think that's fair enough. I'm not an actor in an open museum display, I'm just trying to fix my ball joints.
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Rob M
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,915
Club RR Member Number: 41
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Drive Way Do - GoodersRob M
@zeb
Club Retro Rides Member 41
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I actually thought the OP was having a semi Troll of the forum..... There have been plenty of threads on here about the grief people have had from neighbours, the council and everybody else for daring to work on their cars on their property let alone the street. There is a very delicate balance, don't let the front of your home look like somesort of scrap yard and respect the fact that, because YOU like the sound of revving engines all afternoon and stacked doors up against the wall of your house, it does tend to make the road you live in seem a bit, well, sh*t. The OP has none of this to worry about, his neighbours are taking a keen interest, they are not whinging, the council hasn't sent a suit around to slap some sort of prohibition order on him and he can, apparently, spanner away without concern. So why bloody moan about it!!!
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My neighbours have so far shown some interest, asking about the car. No one who has spoken to me seems to recognise or even know of a Trabant, although the look of concern and mockery from my Romanian neighbours was priceless. The only one that's annoyed me is a guy who came and asked me about the car for a while before trying to recruit me for his Jehova's Witness group nearby. The answer to that was obviously a no and trolling questions about alternative religions, i.e Paganism, seemed to send him away quite quickly.
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Project - 1990 Trabant 601 Daily - 2006 Saab 93
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JoshO
Part of things
Posts: 337
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I get it a lot on my street - we're the youngest household on a street of mainly retired folk. Last night I was up to 2 things at once, I had the bonnet open on the MX5 for some tuning issues, and was also in the process of swapping a brake caliper on my truck. an older gent, just back from getting his paper, asked whether I competed in the MX5, and struck up a conversation. He asked a lot of questions for a few minutes, and I was getting a bit suspicious, but it turned out he was getting the measure of me. He let on that He's been restoring cars for years, has an S2000, and a fully kitted out workshop. I guess we ended up talking for 20 mins, during which he insisted that I give him a tour of our hillman superminx. He's had a bunch of rootes cars in the past and pointed out things I'd never realised! He made his excuses, and said he was late for dinner, but offered his workshop (lathe, mill etc!) whenever I wanted! Awesome bloke, and loads of knowledge. My neighbour opposite has an MGB in pieces in his garage, and has been for the last 25 years. I'll always chat to people if they're willing to say hi. I have a similar situation, young household in a fairly old area, its quite peaceful, apart from when I'm out working on the cars! None of them bat an eyelid though, and often pop over when I'm working to see what I'm up to and whether I want a cuppa usually. Havent had any offers of workshop use yet though!!
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BT
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,772
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I was quite lucky. When I was young my neighbour had a lad my age and I grew up with him, anyway misses did a runner with the kids, or they're under the patio one of the two but I kept talking to his dad. I knew he had a lot of toys, he actually taught me to ride a motorbike at a very young age. Anyway I moved away and lost touch with him.
Fast forward about ten years and I was looking through the window of Mick Gould's Chevy thing at Santa pod in awe at the amazingness of it all and I'm a good 200 miles from home, I then got a tap on the shoulder expecting a "slug your hook chap" but sure enough it was my old neighbour! Since then we regularly cross paths, have a good chat and all in all he is a great chap.
When I liked at the same address another neighbour had a 105E with a pinto and webbers, another chap had a near on spotless MGB, another neighbour had a lot of bikes which I always liked and another neighbour used to always off load his old mini spares onto me.
Where I am currently it's a bit of a flop, I have a neighbour with a lot of cool cars but he just seems a bit of a boob. He was welding some parts up the other day, I offered him my murex with a bottle of gas but he'd rather stick with his gasless thing, fair enough. Best was when I was going out for dinner and saw him on his driveway with a head torch trying to fit some trim in the winter. Seemed only courteous for me to offer him one of the site lights in the back of my truck and it was as if I had spat in his face. I don't want to be that persistent dude over the road that always gets in the way, but if someone's struggling I'd like to make it a bit easier for them as much as possible, but oh well.
Some people are sound, I like friendly people, it's the ones that moan they're phoning the council because it's illegal to change your own number plates or some such bull honkey.
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I'm not to bad here,my neighbours are so used to me doing stuff in my garage or fixing the whatever mode of transport i own,that they comment if i'm NOT doing anything!
I have 2 immediate neighbours who will fix their modern dailys,one bloke down the street who plays with motorbikes,and one bloke who has a racing catamarang thingy that he fettles a lot.
A few times i've had a knock on the door asking if i've got a spanner that will fit 'this' ..... . But mostly when i'm tinkering i get ' what have you broken this time!' .......
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I think I struck lucky when we moved house last year. Got chatting to the old guy next door and he says the standard 'if you ever need any tools etc just ask'. One day when doing some jobs on my old car I needed a 24mm spanner. I knocked on his door and he took me down to his garage to get me one. Couldn't believe when he opened the door to see hes got a collection of old motorbikes, most of which he has had from new. I spent the next hour talking to him about all the tours of europe, australia and america he has done on them.
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I always try to be polite, you do meet some interesting people
Once though I arrived home in my very poorly XJ40 with smoke and noise coming from under the bonnet because it had a holed piston (didn't know that until the head was off) and a neighbour asked if it was broken, then said that's what you get if you have those fancy cars, laughing!
How I kept any hint of politeness that day I don't know.
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v8ian
Posted a lot
Posts: 3,825
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I'm fortunate that I have good neighbours, not many know whats tucked up in the back of my garage, the last place I lived I was lucky to have a decent double garage and a large well equipped machine shop/workshop. never failed to amaze me how people I had never spoken to before had a story to tell, There was an old fella over the road who loved to come over and chat, he walked with a Zimmer, had emphysema and traveled with an oxygen bottle, BUT would struggle across the road to pass the time of day, he was GREAT, turned out he worked as an apprentice engineer in 1932 in Fords Dagenham, that was a year after the plant opened, Ended up as a senior manager, What he did not know about any Ford you could write on a postage stamp, he was great.... loved anything with an engine, unfortunately, he is no longer with us... All of the other walkby experts were just that compared to him, but saying that I have met some really nice people due to my tinkering with things, and still keep in contact with some of them to this day.
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Atmo V8 Power . No slicks , No gas + No bits missing . Doing it in style. Austin A35van, very different------- but still doing it in style, going to be a funmoble
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I don't get a lot of passing traffic as I live at the end of a cul-de-sac but if people make conversation I really don't mind. We hadn't lived here long when I bought a Mini with a really loud exhaust. The old guy from two doors down, who is usually a right miserable sod, came to see me one day. I was expecting a bit of grief about noise but he took my hand and put a pair of 1960s Mini cufflinks in it.
I always think that if I offer a bit of advice, break out the jump leads, or just indulge their conversations, they'll not make a fuss if on occasion I make a bit of racket with the angle grinder.
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Jaguar S-Type 3.0 SE
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v8ian
Posted a lot
Posts: 3,825
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Just thought of a incident that must have happened 30 years ago, I was outside on my drive wet sanding my primered Mk1 Zodiac, when a fella walked down the drive, with a "Good Morning Sir, Can I interest you in a Set of Britannica Encyclopedias" ---- Nope was the answer. "Do you mind If I talk while you work"..... Nope, but I'm not interested in what you are selling.... SO for the next 10 mins i was given the full spiel, "How am I doing" .... OK i replied not wanting to be confrontational off he went again, same question after 15 mins he got the same answer, NOPE. this went on for about an eternity, well it seemed like it, I had switched off by now, Ears fully in off mode, ..... then I got...WELL do you want to buy these Encyclopedias, ..... NOPE was my reply, I told you I was not interested 90 minutes ago, now fec off and leave me alone, The look on his face was PRICELESS, I think that look will stay with me forever. Am I bad person?
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Atmo V8 Power . No slicks , No gas + No bits missing . Doing it in style. Austin A35van, very different------- but still doing it in style, going to be a funmoble
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I get this but I quite enjoy the different people's positive comments, I have met a few real gents and had some great chats with really knowledgeable people whilst working on my cars, generally nice people who have an interest, one of them a chap called Connie who lives just around the corner thought I was struggling when he came past so he drove back around and stopped to ask if I needed any tools or an extra pair of hands to get the job finished which I thought was great of him, i am the type of person who doesn't have a break when I am working so a few minutes chatting with a person who have taken the time to strike up a conversation is no hardship for me, it just means I get time away
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