I rent a townhome in complex with an HOA, and keep my race car in the garage. I do all my work there too (including completely dismantling a parts car). Lots of opportunity to get hassled, so I make sure I'm on good terms with all my neighbors. If any of them need help with their car or anything else, I'm always happy to oblige. Seems to work well, as everyone enjoys seeing the car and never gives me any grief at all.
Irvine PD on the other hand, can eat a bowl of dicks. A few months ago I took The Homer to Cars and Coffee. It's not registered or insured (although it's still under non-op status with the DMV, so at least they have record of it) so I towed it there. I parked my truck and trailer in the back lot and then had to drive on the street for literally 200 feet to enter the main "show" lot. No problems there, but on the way out, I had to drive that same 200 feet back to where my truck was parked. There's always an Irvine PD officer on a bike parked at the exist to keep people from doing burnouts or acting like idiots. I actually appreciate that. So I figured I'd have no problem driving back to my truck as long as the cop saw I wasn't driving away down the road. I figured wrong. As I was literally 3 feet from the ramps of my trailer, he pulls me over (well, technically I was already stopped).
He was your stereotypical power tripping cop who grilled me for about 15 minutes. He asked why the car wasn't registered and insured, and I responded that it's an off highway race car. "Oh, this is a race car?" Granted, it doesn't look like your typical race car, but wouldn't the lack of interior or lights, added roll cage, racing seat, harnesses, and numbers on the side give you a clue? "So what would you do if someone ran into the car?" I dunno, bash out the dent with a hammer and hit it with another coat of house paint? "What were you thinking" about driving the car on "his street?" I was "thinking" you'd have some basic discretion and not be a douchebag when you saw I was clearly driving right to my friggin' trailer.
I apologized profusely (I literally said that, and he sarcastically responded "Well, if you're apologizing profusely, I guess you really mean it") and begged forgiveness while promising not to do it again. All the while, a crowd had gathered and was watching the whole thing. I was simultaneously annoyed and amused by the whole thing, so I kinda turned it into a spectacle. He finally let me go. Thankfully, a good friend of mine was there and snapped this photo. After the officer was clearly done harassing me, my friend walked over to me and the car, and the officer said to him in an aggressive tone, "Sir, please step back!" I responded that I thought we were done, and that the guy who walked over was my friend who was with me, so he could do what he pleases.
If you can't tell, this left a bad taste in my mouth. I had been told that Irvine cops like to harass people because they have nothing better to do, and this confirmed it.
The Homer: Powerful like a gorilla, yet soft and yielding like a Nerf ball.