Every car has a story: the roads it has traveled, the people it has held and the personality it embodies. While some cars are just beginning these adventures, others were born long ago and are still writing their story.
Classic cars not only radiate style, but they are rich in history and experiences. Although upkeep is difficult, they provide memories that last forever.
On the Pepperdine University campus, classic cars are little treasures found between the many modern cars that fill up the parking lots.
A classic car is generally around 20 years or older. However, there is no set definition so opinions differ between what is and is not “classic.”
One thing for sure is that classic car owners are filled with pride for their vehicles. Many owners have restored their car to pristine condition, making it look exactly as it did when it appeared on the showroom floor.
Dr. Michael Jordan, a journalism professor at Pepperdine, restored his 1951 Buick Super to “exactly the way it looked when it pulled off of the assembly line.” He searched for engine decals on a classic car site just to be sure that his car was authentic and made of exactly the same parts it had when originally created.
Along with all of these detailed parts for the car, classic cars are, of course, old. The age causes them to need replacements regularly.
Jordan explains that, “My car is 61 years old, so it can be somewhat expensive at times. You need to have a little classic car budget because somewhere in the next couple years you know [your car] is going to need [new parts].”
Cecily Breeding agreed that upkeep of her 1985 Porsche 911 Targa is tough. “The one difficulty of having a collector’s car is that…the mechanic that we take our other car to won’t work on a Porsche,” the Pepperdine resident director assistant explained. “I have to take it to a Porsche mechanic instead.”
Pepperdine’s classic car owners describe a feeling of attachment to their cars because of how the car represents them. Some felt that it reflected their personalities, while others noted the historical value of the cars.
“If you own a classic car, it says something about your ability to see value in something that not everyone sees value in,” Breeding explained. She bought her Targa Porsche off of Craigslist her senior year here on campus.
After purchasing the car, she took it on a road trip from California to Colorado the summer before she got married in Africa. “None of it felt like a road trip,” she said with a smile. “It was so much fun. I love driving it.”
Amy Massey, a second-year law student at Pepperdine, recalls how she often travels down Pacific Coast Highway i
n her 1965 Nova wagon with many other Nova owners in “car cruises.”
The car owners would all drive along the beach and finally stop for lunch. “The community that comes with my classic car is neat because I don’t think there is a day that goes by where I don’t get a thumbs up or hang loose,” Massey explained. “You have that instant community.”
Massey also described her enjoyment of changing the gender stereotypes people have. “Guys don’t believe that a girl owns a [classic car], let alone knows anything about it,” she said. “They are always really shocked. I kind of like shocking people like that.”
Jessi Sims, a freshman at Pepperdine, told about how she and her dad decided to restore a 1965 Ranchero Ford together. It was the first classic car that they had ever restored, and now they are hooked.
“Before we even finished this one [my dad] had already started looking at more [classic cars to fix up],” she explained.
They loved restoring their car as a “Daddy-daughter type of event.”
The duo signed up for an auto body repair class to help them fix up their Ranchero since they were both beginners. “[The teacher] was so impressed that a man would come in with his daughter and want to take this class together,” Jessi’s father, Dave Sims explained. “He was jazzed and so were we.
“One of the coolest parts was sitting there watching Jessi figure out how to use all of the tools and stuff,” Dave Sims added. “If you can imagine Jessi with a welder in her hand, sparks flying everywhere and a big old welding mask…it was neat to see.”
Also, while restoring the car, Jessi Sims and her dad made an interesting discovery. “We found a secret compartment in the bed of the Ranchero,” she said. “It w
as big enough to shove [a person] in it and it was full of dirt.”
Jessi Sims said that her favorite feature of their Ranchero is the ghost flames that they added. “[They are] invisible until the sun hits [them] a certain way,” she explained.
“The ghost flames are flames, but not gaudy looking,” Dave Sims described. “They are black pearl on a dark cherry pearl.”
Although it was quite an endeavor, it was worth it in the end. “There are a lot of advantages to putting your heart and soul into an old classic and restoring it,” Dave Sims proudly stated.
Classic cars can also be used to commemorate special events. Jordan described how he used his classic car to chauffeur his five daughters after their weddings to the reception or to the airport for their honeymoon flight.
“We got in the car and everyone was waving goodbye, taking pictures and blowing bubbles,” Melissa Testerman, one of Jordan’s daughters, reminisced. “It was a very romantic moment because it’s a car from a romantic time.”
Jordan’s car is especially important because he wanted to restore a car that was made on or near the week that he was born. He researched and finally found a Buick that came off the assembly line in the summer of 1950.
These classic cars have had experiences that current cars do not have. However, sometimes they are a burden due to how far behind they are with the times.
“Classic cars have a laundry list of little idiosyncrasies… little things that newer cars will do, this car just won’t do,” Breeding described. “The lights don’t turn off automatically when you get out at night. It doesn’t have power steering. And then…I always have this little fear, that it won’t start.”
Rae Murphy, a Pepperdine freshman and owner of a 1965 Ford Fairlane, explained that her car does not have some of the commonalities of cars today as well. It has no air conditioning, power breaks or radio.
However, Murphy explained that she likes no air conditioning. “Then I always have to have the windows rolled down,” she described. “It’s really nice to drive with your arm out the window and the breeze in your hair. It’s like a romance movie.”
The majority of classic cars also do not have air bags. Although, with the sturdy metal they are made with, most car owners agreed that they feel safe.
Even though classic cars do not have many common “necessities” of new cars, they hold an air about them with distinction. The cars are historic, loved, and still chic.
They provide the owner with something that no regular car can. “My car specifically brings back memories for people all the time,” Breeding explained. “People always tell me it was their first car, and then go on to share some ridiculous narrative about it.”
The cars are inspiring and different, allowing the owners to experience something historic just by sitting in the front seat.
As Jordan explained, “The memories with classic cars will last a lifetime.”
