Seemingly every time I drive the Power Wagon somewhere, someone comes out of the woodwork to talk to me. So far, it's been pretty fun; it always starts with "Where the hell did you find THAT?". Since it's most frequent stop is the gas station (8mpg, RIP wallet), I get a lot of comments there.
On Friday, a guy from the town water department's eyes nearly bugged out of his head when he saw it, and asked if he could buy it (I said "not yet, it hasn't pissed me off enough yet"). He had to sell off his project F250 to buy his house, but now he's looking for a new project. Last week, another guy in a newer one told me how his front driveshaft let go in his '76 and took the transmission tail shaft with it. Wonder what it will be next week?
The Trans Am, when it was still on the road, was like driving a celebrity, even as ratty and trashy as it is. People LOVE those things. 9 out of 10 times, it's a comment about Burt Reynolds and why my car isn't black and gold, but once in a while, I get some good ones. Two non-Smokey and the Bandit-related incidents stand out:
-A guy in a minivan did a U-turn in the middle of an intersection while screaming "TRANS AM!!!!!" and pulled up to me at a light, nearly causing a pile-up. Guy was restoring a 1980 Pace Car and was excited to see another 1979-81 owner. Kids in the back of the van were calling dad a dork for nerding out. I was calling him nuts for pulling that maneuver in the middle of the intersection!
-A bunch of kids were crossing the road in the downtown area of my hometown. It's a snooty, affluent town with lots of old money, and I loved driving the car there because it offended the locals. Kids there could usually care less about old, ratty pony cars. I had stopped to let them go, and one kid just stopped dead in his tracks, staring at the car, and said "That's so cool!!!" and his friend had to go back and drag him across the street. I think a car guy was born that day. Score one for the good guys.
