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Journal: How Have You Left Your Personal Mark on Your Car?

How Have You Left Your Personal Mark on Your Car?

By Sean Lorentzen
August 13, 2013
21 comments

Classic car ownership is, in many ways, a relationship. Once you’ve owned a car long enough, it starts to become a part of you. Everything starts to fit perfectly. You know all its quirks, its idiosyncrasies, its strengths and weaknesses, and it can begin, in a way, to define who you are.

In the same way, you become a part of the car. There’s a personal mark that gets left, whether it’s major customization, fastidious restoration, or something as simple as your favorite air freshener.

I’ve definitely left my touch over the years on my 1972 Pontiac Le Mans, ranging from custom-designed paint, 15” American Racing Torq-Thrust O wheels, a minor front drop, and a brand-new exhaust system. It’s all my unmistakable mark on the car, and sets it apart from any other.

Now we’re turning it over to you: How have you left your personal mark on your car?

Tags Classic Car/ Personal Mark on Your Car/ Question
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Emily Lopez
Emily Lopez
7 years ago

Nice article, well there are different ways to leave a personal touch to you vehicle. And the most important way is to decorate your vehicle if you want to look stylish and lavish and most probably selecting the right wrap that shows your professionalism towards your car. But yes [url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ck00JQnMuKE”]classic luxury cars [/url]don’t need any wraps to show they are precious.

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Joseph Fitzhugh
Joseph Fitzhugh
9 years ago

Probably the most unique modifications I’ve made to 2006 Mustang is a one-piece aluminum drive shaft and a little aluminum nobby that replaces the rather horrendous stock cover for a 9 volt plug in the center of the dash
Aside from that, GT500 lower control arms, sequential taillights, blacked out trunk deck lid panel, hidden foglights behind aluminum bar grill, 17” bullitt wheels with 275’s and a 1.5” Eibach rear wheel spacer. Along with a custom tune and aftermarket polished aluminum intake, everything I’ve done is mainly to customize the appearance of an already beautiful car. I’ve just tried to clean the lines up and fill up the wheel wells. Everything else is either an appearance mod or functional. I don’t want a firebreathing demon. Just one that I never get tired of walking up to in a parking lot.

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Andrew Adamides
Andrew Adamides
9 years ago

Have I left a personal mark on my car? Why yes – they day before yesterday I left a personal mark on the left corner of the back bumper using the garage wall >:(

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J RO
J RO
9 years ago

I just recently made some die cut stickers for my gas cap on the Boss 302.

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Elvis Tomljenovic
Elvis Tomljenovic
9 years ago

Custom made leather details in my ’95 Alfa Spider

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Ib Erik Soderblom
Ib Erik Soderblom
9 years ago
Reply to  Elvis Tomljenovic

Wauw!
Show more, please !!!

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Matthew Klein
Matthew Klein
9 years ago

I’d say I already have, but I’m far from done!

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Sid Widmer
Sid Widmer
9 years ago
Reply to  Matthew Klein

Awesome. 1st gen firebirds getting some love.

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Matthew Klein
Matthew Klein
9 years ago
Reply to  Sid Widmer

They’re like GM’s forgotten stepchild! No one seems to realize they made Firebirds before the 80’s. Or they think it’s a Camaro…

1
Kuroneko
Kuroneko
9 years ago

My S800 has had just a few mods; a period set of RS Watanabe, a Chris Amon Motolita-style handle, and a clock from a 1970s jetliner. Apart from a mild drop with some adjustables pending, its about where I want it… Neko.

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Rabookie
Rabookie
9 years ago
Reply to  Kuroneko

Do you like Japanese Anime?cause “Kuroneko” spell as “黒猫” in Japanese,means “Black cat”,also a character in the anime”Ore no imouto” blablabla

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Craig Zeni
Craig Zeni
9 years ago

On my MG Midget, I’ve fitted a Datsun 210’s 5 speed transmission, replaced the lever shocks with tube shocks, and swapped out all the rubber suspension bushings for polyurethane. It’s still slow in a straight line but it corners like a go kart now…

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Meliambro001
Meliambro001
3 years ago
Reply to  Craig Zeni

And yet, somehow, less fun…..

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Nik Conant
Nik Conant
9 years ago

I’ve made custom pistol grip shifters for both my cars. Used a set of grips from a Colt 1911 for my toyota, because I had them laying around. When I installed the manual transmission into my Mercedes, I decided to get cute. I used a set of grip for a Mauser broom handle. Figured German grips for the German car. Actually the wood grain on the Mauser grips matched the wood trim in the car perfectly. It looks almost factory.

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Sid Widmer
Sid Widmer
9 years ago

My ’87 911 Carrera (which I just sold and replaced with a ’04 C4S) I wanted it to look different than all the other guards red 911s out there but stick within past and present Porsche design queues. I wanted an aggressive look so I powder-coated the Fuchs black, cut my own PORSCHE stripes, used a fiberglass wing off a 911 race-car that was campaigned in the UK and placed Mobile one pegasus on the fenders but made them black to stick with the theme. It sat about as low as it could get away with on the street on Elephant racing ST2 suspension package. The interior got the usual RS door panel + seat and stereo delete. It was a fun car.

My current project which is in the paint shop is a ’68 Firebird 400. Simple, clean and brutish is my vision. Minimalist chrome, removing front “firebird script emblems, no wing on the rear, stereo delete, (can’t hear it over the rumble anyway) Missile switches on the center dash panel for aux, Torque Thrust Ds shod with white letter BFGs of course. I going to let it be what it is and not go with the pro street build. Simple, fun, reliable, and understated…in appearance anyway.

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Kuroneko
Kuroneko
9 years ago
Reply to  Sid Widmer

Damn! Them be two damn nice rides…

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Zak
Zak
9 years ago

Id love to add something personal to my 70 Dodge Dart but I can’t afford the crazy prices to have body work done these days. I needs to be stripped and have some small repairs done but it just costs so much. I’d like to respray it in Panther Pink.

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Vintage Son
Vintage Son
9 years ago
Reply to  Zak

Don’t give up hope on your Dart Zak, those cars are tough as nails and you may not have the money right now, but some day you might. Body work isn’t all that bad if you go to the right person, and learning to do some of your own repairs can save a lot of money too. I never though I’d be able to do what I did for sure with my 70 GTX I had (which someone bought for really good money off of me and took it to Sweden) but it didn’t cost as much as I thought and was a great car. Don’t give up, there is always hope.

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Brett Evans
Brett Evans
9 years ago

Most of the marks I leave on my ’94 Passport are unintentional. Last winter I spun into a parked 1968 Chevelle (no damage to it, thank goodness), and ever since then, I’ve stopped caring so much about how it looks.

Most recently, a buddy and I went off-roading near Rexburg, Idaho, he in his lifted Jeep and I in my stocker. Around a particularly tight bend in the trail, I heard a gut-wrenching scrape as I dragged both doors on the driver’s side along a rock that was hidden by some tall grass. No shame!

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Daniel Kelly
Daniel Kelly
9 years ago

I’m working on it. I haven’t done much to my Mustang (’68 fastback) since I bought it a couple years ago other than get it running somewhat reliably. I plan to keep it pretty stock looking on the outside (other the torque thrust Ds that came on it and some debadging), but I’ve definitely got some plans for the interior. I want to keep the basic look of the original, but black out a lot of the chrome trim pieces and just give it an overall meaner and more utilitarian look, probably update the seats with ones that hug a little better while I’m at it, and add a means to easily (and stealthily) connect the stereo to an iPod/MP3 player. The ultimate performance goal is to drop a modern fuel injected engine in it mated with a 5 speed, but at the rate it tends to take me to even get minor projects done, that’s looking like a bit of a pipe dream at the moment 🙂

Cool site by the way. I started poking around it the other day and it’s done wonders to rekindle my desire to get my car back on the road where it belongs.

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stevethecurse
stevethecurse
9 years ago
Reply to  Daniel Kelly

Hey man, you got it running. The way I see it, you brought it back to life, and that’s part of your mark right there. Cheers to that! I daily drive my 1998 M3 (not really a classic, but whatever). It gets crappy mpg, it’s loud, and it does not like the many potholes here in NYC but I live with it because every time I get in it I get this big stupid grin on my face because I know I’m about to have fun, whether I’m going for a nice late night cruise or driving my 5 minute commute to work. As for my mark? Nothing crazy really, just a little drop, some wheel spacers, and a Nardi Classic wood steering wheel 🙂

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