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"Your car really needs a boot cover; and Chevrolet did not offer red until 1951… Even then it was a maroon red, not a bright red". Someone said that to me some 20 years ago, the very first time I attended a Vintage Chevrolet Club of America (VCCA) function. I wanted to explain I really wished I had a boot for my 1950 convertible, but I had two young daughters, and had recently bought a home, and could not afford to purchase a cover for the boot of the convertible. I had always wanted a vintage Chevrolet and had purchased the car two years prior, and had only recently got it in running order. I also wanted to say I loved "fire engine red" 50's convertibles and that was one of the things that attracted me to the car in the first place.

It's surprising how passionate people are about automobiles. Can you imagine inviting someone to your home for dinner and as they stepped from their car they remarked, "Nice house but you should have painted it the original color".

Several years ago I attended the Northwest Car Meet, and as a couple unloaded an absolutely gorgeous 1956 Nomad in Turquoise Blue and White, folks gathered around to take a closer look. The couple was obviously new to a Chevrolet Meet and was grinning from ear to ear. People began to ask questions and the couple said they had only just got the car back from the restoration shop, and had done little of the work themselves. Then the comments started, particularly about the engine. A number of items were pointed out that were not correct for a 265 V8 with "Power Pack". As the comments continued the wide grins faded. That Saturday night at the Awards Banquet the freshly done Nomad received an award and trophy for "Best New Restoration". But the couple nor the car where around, they had left and went home earlier that afternoon. I have not seen the couple or car at an event since then.

Today I am building a 1954 Belair Hardtop; I have been working on the car for three years. If I mention it to someone in the car club they may ask me, "Does the car have Powerglide"? I kind of murmur, "Well, it use to. I have put a V8 with 350 Turboglide in the car". "YOU WHAT?" might be the loud response. I look at them and I want to explain I am building the car I wished I had had in High School. But I don't. I can tell by the wild glazed look in their eye they could never understand.

I am not certain what the future of our hobby is. But I am certain we all need to learn to be more tolerate of what turns on others particularly when that is THEIR car. In our club and I think in most others there are fewer members than there was years ago. People have different explanations for this. But the truth of it is: we are all getting older. And current members are leaving or dying at a rate faster than younger people join us.

I love Chevrolets and other vintage cars as well. But I am not fanatical about them being "original". I love them for the beauty of their lines and the sounds of the older engines, particularly with the rumble of dual exhausts. I love the flash of all the chrome and I admit I like the admiring glances as I drive one down the street. But I think all of us need to work at looking at others cars for the workmanship, and love the owner put in them and be more accepting of others taste. Support others in their love of the hobby, so they will not only join us, but also return and stay with us.

Steve Grissom
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