What Do You Tend To Look At First?

[blk7gxn]

Spring is ALMOST here!! ( I hope) and car show season as well!! I'm excited as most of you are TOO! I was just thinking, am I alone here or are there others like me. I tend to look underneath cars at shows out of curiosity how good the underside is as well, often first. You would be surprised to see how good, AND how bad some truly are. I'm not a judge or anything, just looking outta curiosity, so I look. Anyone else have this habit lol. I suppose I get this habit from looking at cars to purchase over the years. I always look underneath FIRST before anything else, because if the car is all rusted or crap underneath, i'm not interested in the rest of it, if you live in the northeastern part of the salt ridden country, you already understand what i'm talking about here.

 

[fleming442]

I stopped polishing my exhaust tips because they just get rubber all over them.

 

[Gonzo1970]

Her b**bs...

The engine compartment.

-Gonz

 

[blk7gxn]

Her b**bs...

The engine compartment.

-Gonz

That wasn't a lady Gonz, but a 95 year old man in need of a bra 🤣

 

[GP403]

Not so much interested about underneath, but the engine compartment should at least look like an attempt was made to clean it up. Ditto the interior. Underneath, unless its a total trailer queen its going to be kinda dirty and maybe surfacy rusty.

I see what looks like an ad for the JC Whitney "chrome dress up" section under the hood I'm out though.

 

[blk7gxn]

Not so much interested about underneath, but the engine compartment should at least look like an attempt was made to clean it up. Ditto the interior. Underneath, unless its a total trailer queen its going to be kinda dirty and maybe surfacy rusty.

I see what looks like an ad for the JC Whitney "chrome dress up" section under the hood I'm out though.

I agree on the engine compartment. I always tend to look at how the spark plug wires are run, don't ask me why, I guess its my OCD, but if they are all nasty and crossed, its a big turn off. It doesn't take that much extra time to nicely align them and put them in their proper holders. ATTENTION to detail wins everytime!!

 

[mikester]

I look at every car knowing not everyone has the same skillset or budget. Ive done the best I can on both of my cars but neither one is perfect. Theres always someone with deeper pockets that will have better parts, nicer paint, better details. One thing that I think I look at the most is who did the work. If its a young kid that did all of it himself with money he worked for and saved, I give that kid more credit even if its a little rough over some guy that didnt do a bit of work on his own car and just paid a shop to build it.

 

[69hurstolds]

Underhood is the FIRST indication if the car is worthy.

We've all seen it. Nice looking paint, body is pretty straight. Looks like about an 8 out of 10 or better on the outside. Look under the hood.... WT HOLY F???

Dirt everywhere, decals peeling, rust on crap that shouldn't have rust on it, corrosion, oil/sludge buildup on the engine...it's one thing to be a survivor and have some patina, but some of the cars just seem to have dirt clods for an engine block... c'mon people!

 

[Injectedcutty]

I agree on the engine compartment. I always tend to look at how the spark plug wires are run, don't ask me why, I guess its my OCD, but if they are all nasty and crossed, its a big turn off. It doesn't take that much extra time to nicely align them and put them in their proper holders. ATTENTION to detail wins everytime!!

Yep, agreed completely. I'll admit, my 1st engine swap was less than neat and tidy, but I was 19 and did it in my buddies gravel driveway with very little knowledge.
As I've aged and my skillset has developed, I've tried to make engine bays look as if the engine can't run. It's hard to do with EFI stuff, but not impossible.
Speaking of plug wires, this was my 355 before it died, then 2nd pic is the LS obviously. All the plug wires are the same orientation, just as all the CF trim is too.

 

[1983calais]

I tend to look at the interior first. I look for cigarette burns, rips in any cloth, dirt, and most of all, any wires hanging from under the dash. Zip ties are cheap and doesn’t take that long to get them up and hidden. To me the interior Tells a story. If it is all ragged out, it has had a hard life. If it looks good on the outside and it is filthy on the inside, you don’t care about your car. You just want something to go fast and beat the crap out of. There are a few exceptions to these observations. If an interior is nice and clean or redone, the owner takes pride in his car. He puts many hours in making it the best it can be for his preference and budget. You can tell a difference between bought, built, cared for, pride, and neglect. Just my thoughts.