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Relationship Strained by a Classic Mustang

By David Johns

Can you have a relationship with a car? Any car guy will certainly say yes. Can a car interfere with your other relationships? That's a resounding YES!

One of my friends in particular can attest to this since his wife basically kicked him out of the house because of a car. Whether this eviction is temporary or permanent isn't yet clear. He's an older guy and you would thing he'd been married long enough to understand how it works... but clearly not.

How his problems started

His troubles had actually been brewing for a while. He's always been a bit of a pack rat, but his collection graduated from small stuff to cars; Classic Mustangs to be precise. He had managed to amass 6 in the last couple of years. His wife apparently had been accommodating, even excited about the first, which was a nice 1966 Mustang fastback that needed a bit of work. She was less enthused but still tolerant of the second, which was really just a shell; a parts car he had dragged home on a trailer to become a donor for his fastback project. It was a complete eye sore but at least he could put a cover over it and it could be hidden behind their side gate.

The third car he brought home resulted in a heated argument between the couple in their driveway. The wife stood with her arms crossed, blocking the garage door while the husband tried to explain what a great deal he had gotten. Meanwhile a mutual friend of ours sheepishly stood in the street trying to decide if he should unhook the latest purchase from the tow dolly and get the heck out of there!

After that my friend let his wallet cool off a bit as his wife's temper did the same. He waited a whole 6 months before making his next Mustang purchase. But this time it was actually two cars. They were being sold as a package, so he had to buy them both, right?

Clearly this wasn't going to go over with the wife (that at least was finally sinking into his thick head) so he arranged to store them on a buddy's property. Now, I don't know the buddy, but my guess is he isn't married. That's also where he decided to store his sixth car a few months later. This one was a haggard 1973 plain-jane coupe with a 6 cylinder engine. It was clearly the least desirable of all his previous purchases, but he had been bitten by the Mustang bug, and hard!

The last straw

Things went OK for almost a year. He was actually making progress on his initial Mustang and the wife was starting to see light at the end of the tunnel. The body work was nearing completion and the car was almost ready for paint. She was scheduled for a business trip for a few days and he promised that when she returned they would go cruising in the freshly painted Mustang.

What she didn't know was that her husband was going to paint the car himself rather than take it to a shop. The same buddy that was storing his "unmentioned" Mustangs had talked him into tackling the paint job himself in his garage. And of course as most of these projects go he underestimated the time needed and fell way behind schedule.

The first thing the wife noticed as she returned home were the fumes. They probably hit her even before she got out of the car. Opening the garage door she was greeted by a totally stripped and half painted Mustang. The garage smelled so bad that she had to go around to the front door instead. Inside the house was the real surprise and certainly the last straw. The husband had run out of room to store all the body panels in the garage, so of course he used what space he could find inside the house.

In the living room sat a freshly painted Candy Apple red hood (with newspaper under it of course!). Two fenders were stacked on the dining room table. One door was leaning up against the guest bedroom wall and the other in the master bedroom. And I can only imagine how much that house reeked of chemicals. Automotive paint is about 20 times stronger than spray paint out of a can. It would take a month to air it out!

The wife just stared at the husband. Finally she told him she was going to a hotel and he better not be there the next day when she got back. I'm actually surprised he got off that easy!

As my friend was telling me this story, wondering how he was going to make it up to his wife, he mentioned one final wrinkle. The buddy who let him store his three Mustangs (the ones the wife doesn't yet know about) just called. He sold his house and needs my friend to come get his cars!

Do you enjoy classic Mustangs and other muscle cars? You can find hundreds of Mustangs for sale at AllStangs.com. You'll also find my blog dhelpful articles like How to Transport a Corvette, How to bid on eBay, and other tips on buying used Corvettes.

A wife can tolerate a husband's hobby if she is sufficiently aware of the importance of the hobby to the husband.

There is only one thing about a relationship that everybody needs to remember - IT GOES BOTH WAYS!

I appreciate the comment OldCoot. You're right that communication is key. I think that sometimes in long time relationships there's a tendency to assume the other person knows your thoughts because you've been together for so long. But that's not always the case and it never hurts to have more communication.

Thanks for sharing a great story, it was fun to read. (Aren't other people's miseries our most entertaining entertainment?) But... that was it? A car part in the house? So this guy wasn't cheating, fathering love children, taking drugs, gambling, etc? Some people need to be more understanding. Why I have friends whose perfume reeks a hundred times worse than paint. You need to shower after going anywhere near them otherwise people think it's you wearing that stuff.

Having painted cars myself I disagree that perfume can be as bad... but I take your point. :)

I think there's been a history of similar issues leading up to this particular blowup. The car parts in the house wasn't an isolated incident I think. I'll have to bug him to see if he has more miserable stories I can share. ;)

Thanks for commenting.

Great story. Never got the urge to restore cars myself, but several friends have done so, and in every case, it led to strained relationships. It might be that women don't have the same feelings for cars that some guys do. I've never become overly attached to any vehicle I've owned as I just consider them as a means to get me from point A to point B.

gilbertg Aug 4, 2010 02:49

Thank you for sharing this interesting story, David. It is a definite 5 in my book.
I was in the automobile business for some 20 years and always wanted to redo and own an antique. Never got to it!!
They have a classic car show every friday evening at the local Walmart parking lot. Must be 100 "works of love" on display.
Keep up the good work.
Best wishes.
Frederick

Thanks Fredrick. You know, it's never too late to get started on that restoration project!

I love mustangs! Who is this guy? Just kidding. I do love mustangs though. I had one when I was a single gal .. man could that thing go. Really rad! Top marks for this story, David.

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