Which is worse? Thrashing classics or babying them too much?

[skip68]

Ask my wife about me and dirt roads with my car.    
Even paved roads as well I guess.      I bet you guys would all get in line to slap me for driving it like I do.  The way I see it is like this.  If I don't hit something or end up in a ditch then it's still fun and no harm done. 

[bull]

No matter what any one thinks, if it is your car you can do with it what you want.  I think I will do a ground up resto on the convertible challenger, lock it in the garage for a year.  After that I will pull it out and thrash it until it is falling apart and belching smoke.  As soon as it is on it's last leg, I will take it out in a field, park it and refuse to sell until it rots back into the earth.  That should cover every ones idea of how to treat and not treat a car.  Bottom line is, as long as I own it I will do with it what I want.  Realisticly I would classify my cars as drivers I baby.  I probably put 200-500 miles a year on them.  They stay inside in poor weather and are kept on battery tenders. You did notice I was doing this to the challenger not the Daytona

Of course people can do what they want but the point of this thread is to learn what annoys people most. I'm also very curious about why people do the things they do to these cars and some of the strange psychological processing that goes on inside their heads. What makes certain people decide that smashing a classic or letting one rot is the ideal choice?

[41husk]

Bull, I am still trying to find out what is going on in my wifes head.  As soon as I get that solved I will start working on the Charger owners

[RallyeMike]

Thrashing today is nothing compared to thrashing in the good old days (70s and 80s) when fast cars were cheap and expendable. Today, they are either race cars or they maybe get mildly flogged.

[Budnicks]

I hate trailer queens!

me too, my biggest is letting them rot instead of just giving it away or selling it or what ever...   the next biggest beef is no go show boats, that are never driven...   why even own it, if you don't drive it...  drive it like it was ment to be driven...

[Fred]

Ask my wife about me and dirt roads with my car.    
Even paved roads as well I guess.      I bet you guys would all get in line to slap me for driving it like I do.  The way I see it is like this.  If I don't hit something or end up in a ditch then it's still fun and no harm done. 

[SBBob]

Letting them rot is the worst sin in my book.  We have made these cars something special.  When they were on the line the guys making them were not thing SHOW CAR or COLLECTOR CAR.  The were only think about the game that night or having a beer after work.  It took me 27 years to get my pride and joy to where it is today, but along the way there have been many, many good times.  Like in 1999 driving from Seattle to the reunion in Alabama and back in 2 weeks.  As far as getting wrecked, that is what the insurance is for and rebuilding it the second time will be easier because now I know what to do.  Drive them and have FUN.  If you ever see my car on a trailer it is being STOLEN!

[Mike DC]

I think it all depends on the car.  Super condition survivors with rare VINs deserve to be preserved and not ever driven very much.  But a restored 318 car that's made out of 70% replacement sheetmetal does not do the hobby much justice as a garage ornament.

[Dirtybird]

right wrong or indifferent- I've racked up nearly 5,000 miles on the DirtyBird in the last couple of years. Which equates to about 50 quarts of oil burned- lol.

[aussiemuscle]

You guys are crazy, nobody cares about cars in barns.



If they would, this would have been saved long ago!

Ryan

The trick, ryan, is to get it WITHOUT being shot 

[66chargerkid]

Best memories made with these cars are driving the wheels off of them. My dad has the birdable and the 69 RR. We have made multiple 400+ miles trips and broken stuff on the way. I believe motor #4 in the bird?
But hell, Most of my childhood memories would be gone if the cars were trailer queens.
My first vote is for letting them rot into nothing. I personally would like to own some of those cars or atleast have those cars available to me when I am fiscally able to support my mopar addiction. Letting them rot away makes the mopar god's cry.
But my second vote is a garage queen. Sure there are those survivor exceptions which preserve our mopar history for generations to come and serve a purpose. But a fully restored completely drivable car should be driven, enjoyed and seen on the road for people to enjoy.
A big part about this hobby is sharing what we have. If it's hidden, the rest of the hobby can't enjoy it.
Just my