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Hot Rods Do you still have that same enthusiasm you use to have -

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by HOTRODPRIMER, Apr 22, 2019.

  1. Or have you become jaded - ( tired or bored after having had too much of something) i.e. Hot Rods and Customs.

    Driving the old beater yesterday it occurred to me just how long I have been fooling around with car's and hot rods in general and at this stage of my life at 69 I can never remember a time when I wasn't excited about driving around in a hot rod that I had built or modified.

    I know Brenda loves old cars as much or more than me and has always supported my desires to build cars, that has always been a plus.

    I just might be more obsessed today than when I bought my first car at 12 years old! :) HRP
     
    Last edited: Apr 28, 2019
  2. It is difficult to be as enthusiastic as I was when I was 14 years old. I guess it is like taking a pee. When you are young you can take down a fence. As you get older you just want it to stop drippling.:rolleyes:
    The mind is still enthusiastic, but the body is having a hard time keeping up.:eek:
    F&#$ it! Show me a chopped Deuce.:cool: Go Man Go!
    :p
     
  3. Heck yeah! ;)
     
    Deuces and HOTRODPRIMER like this.
  4. Mark, I've been around you enough to know you are still enthusiastic although like me a little slower but you still get that possum eatin' briers grin every time you get in your roadster or the Coleman coupe.

    BTW, I don't know anything about taking down a fence but I use to be able to knock the bark of a pine tree!, :D can't do that anymore but I still enjoy the thrill of driving a hot rod. HRP
     

  5. fastcar1953
    Joined: Oct 23, 2009
    Posts: 3,567

    fastcar1953
    Member

    more than ever. more fun as i get older and can afford to finish them. plus i only do one at a time now and dont buy every one that comes along. older, wiser and younger at heart.
     
    redoxide, OLSKOOL57, deucemac and 2 others like this.
  6. 41rodderz
    Joined: Sep 27, 2010
    Posts: 6,540

    41rodderz
    Member
    from Oregon

    :D
     
  7. DDDenny
    Joined: Feb 6, 2015
    Posts: 19,143

    DDDenny
    Member
    from oregon

    Danny
    I'm gonna step out on a limb and guess you will be getting a lot of answers that sound PAINFULLY alike, it sure is nice to know we have such a large support group though.
    I'm still very enthusiastic, I just wish my body shared these same feelings, seems I can't get one ailment behind me and another one comes along.
    Decided it was time to get back in the shop after my shoulder surgery, about half way through a small project my thumbs didn't even want to start a quarter inch nut on a bolt, man, arthritis is a real bitch.
    The writing on the wall is telling me I better sell off one of the three long term projects that I hold the least enthusiasm for.
     
  8. Petejoe
    Joined: Nov 27, 2002
    Posts: 12,264

    Petejoe
    Member
    from Zoar, Ohio

    The enthusiasm is still there. But I’ve slimmed down on my type of projects.
    Love taking care of and working on smaller changes but not really interested in starting one from scratch anymore.
    Tomorrow I’m picking up a banjo to install that had higher gears installed for my pickup.
    At 66 and retired, I have the time, but money even during my working years has been slim. Now I just have too many other hobbies that I want and need to pursue.
    A lot of ground to cover in my waning years.
     
    Last edited: Apr 22, 2019
  9. Jethro
    Joined: Mar 5, 2001
    Posts: 1,908

    Jethro
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    I felt like I was getting into a "rut" , same cars showing up to the same events , price of gas , less hotrods and more muscle cars and imports.....then I went to Speedweek for the first time last August. I felt like I was seeing hotrods for the first time again. The cool cars driving around on the salt , talking to the people.....well it reenergized me! I've got a focus now. I want to get the ModelA done to take there to drive around.....gotta have goals!
     
  10. Still enthusiastic, motivated and passionate about HotRods (I'm 63).
    I'm at my peak in enthusiasm when in the process of building, rather then when they are completed.
     
    chryslerfan55 and HOTRODPRIMER like this.
  11. KFC
    Joined: Jul 17, 2008
    Posts: 445

    KFC
    Member
    from UK

    I’m about to turn 40, my business is classic cars and so is my hobby. Hobby since I learnt to drive, business for 20 years this year. I’m definitely jaded.
    I find my self actively avoiding people interested in talking about my cars, I only ever really enjoy small local shows and even then couple of hours and I’m done. Not sure what else I’d do though
     
    RidingMechanic, Mahty, Silva and 3 others like this.
  12. okiedokie
    Joined: Jul 5, 2005
    Posts: 4,778

    okiedokie
    Member
    from Ok

    Fortunate to be 74 and have no limiting health problems, sure not as nimble as 40 but still gettin it done. Had my 40 coupe sitting outside the other day and when I walked out of the shop and looked at it from a distance it still excites me just as they did when I was 14. I am getting my 55 out of upholstery jail this week and cant wait to finish the few little details left to make it driveable and get behind the wheel. My 40 sedan project that I put on hold to do the 55 sets waiting for me to finish. Yep, still as enthusiastic about the hobby, both building and driving.
     
  13. 34Larry
    Joined: Apr 25, 2011
    Posts: 1,701

    34Larry
    Member


    Excellent question HRP.
    As many of you know, from my recent post on my magazine post, I turned 80 years old last Friday the 19th of April.
    So maybe I can relate my experience and educate you of what you can expect as you grow older, perhaps.
    The answer is, It comes and goes, but never leaves. For me it depends on the ever present aches and pains I happen to have on a given day, and the level of that on a scale from 1 to 10. (I have consistent back pain each and every day). Some days it is a level one and I'm as enthusiastic as I've ever been. I can work 10 hours on the car or on the house/yard if need be..……….and then there are the pain level days that would make me not care if the Ala Cart and Stucky's Lil Coffin showed up in drive. Not to belay the health issues, but I also have issues from Diabetes, have had a heart valve replaced and 3 way bypass,...……….. oh...…… and still suffer some from shingles from (four years ago)
    So a more precise answer would be...……… enthusiastic about 80% of the time and not so much the other 20% of the time because of issues. Still and all I just finished up installing brand new Edelebrock dual quads on Saturday. It took me longer than when I was youngster at 65 but is done, looks great, and they work at 75 mph just fine. And today I'd attend a car show and ogle all the great rides as much as ever. So as I said: It comes and goes, but I'm, still on this side of the grass.
    Remember, this is my golden years, but the only thing golden about me is my urine, LOL
     
  14. I've found that my enthusiasm is the same. But my want too's have changed some. I now enjoy driving them more. Like visiting with old friends. Also taking the grandkids for ice cream and, short road trips. I do need to start selling off some of the projects and just maintaining the keeper's. They will eventually be passed on to my kids and grandkids. The great thing is, my family loves the Hot Rods as much as I do.:)
     
  15. BuckeyeBuicks
    Joined: Jan 4, 2010
    Posts: 2,705

    BuckeyeBuicks
    Member
    from ohio

    I still have the "want to", its just a matter of getting my tired and worn out old body to let me get thinks done. I get there, just at a slower pace. I am going to the Spring Carlisle meet this week, that always gets me fired up!:D
     
  16. I look in the HAMB classifieds weekly and pick out projects or cars I'd like to pick up. Then I start considering the hassle of driving for hours to look at the stuff, hassle of getting it home, hassle of California DMV, not to mention the potential of paying literally thousands to register it, place to store it, cost of gas (getting close to 4.00 in CA) insurance, rules, regulations, serious lack of good old parts, cost of new inferior repro parts, etc. etc. Then I think of all the FUN I had 50 years ago when I could build an early Ford into a hot rod for near nothing and remember the thrill of the first drive. I lived the good life and as the saying goes, "you can't go back home". I still love looking at rusty junk yard stuff. Finished mega buck show quality rods, no excitement there. At 78, I accept that I lived the life, now I can live the memories.
     
  17. catdad49
    Joined: Sep 25, 2005
    Posts: 6,401

    catdad49
    Member

    I used enjoy writing in the snow when I was younger, but we don't get much of that in the Tidewater area of Va! The enthusiasm is still there, but it's tends to be a little more realistic than in my youth. I still get excited when I see a hot rod, whether it's a Model A, a Deuce, a Tri-5, or an old style digger or gasser. In Short I guess the answer is ...........Yes!
     
    HOTRODPRIMER and Montana1 like this.
  18. Kinda makes a guy wanna make a mass Exodus... :)
     
  19. Rickybop
    Joined: May 23, 2008
    Posts: 9,606

    Rickybop
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Jaded? I aspire to be jaded. I haven't accomplished enough to be jaded.
    Trying to change that.

    Getting a little excited about this...

    0421191725a.jpeg

    0421191726.jpeg

    Going into this...

    Chrysler%20(2).jpeg

    Sent from my VS835 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
     
    Last edited: Apr 25, 2019
  20. Rickybop
    Joined: May 23, 2008
    Posts: 9,606

    Rickybop
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

  21. HOLLYWOOD GRAHAM
    Joined: Apr 11, 2007
    Posts: 1,437

    HOLLYWOOD GRAHAM
    Member
    from Ojai,Ca

    I am 75, my enthusiasm admittingly is slowing down for many reasons:
    Aches and pains, friends dying because they got old, car shows are fewer for same reasons, Ca. DMV, cost of cars, cost of parts, WIFE. But it is still there but not as much.....
     
    JFK Killer and HOTRODPRIMER like this.
  22. GordonC
    Joined: Mar 6, 2006
    Posts: 3,141

    GordonC
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    I like to think I still have the same enthusiasm as I always have had for old cars but tempered with the reality of what time has done to me. I love roadsters, buckets, and smaller cars with big motors, but realize I will never be able to fit into most of those cars. One thing I do is try not do any construction/work for anybody else on their cars so as not to burn out on doing my own. I was recently asked to help judge cars at a show and politely declined. I want it to stay my hobby and pastime and keep the joy in doing it because I love it.
     
    catdad49 and HOTRODPRIMER like this.
  23. deucemac
    Joined: Aug 31, 2008
    Posts: 1,483

    deucemac
    Member

    At 71, with 5 knee surgeries, both rotator cuffs overhauled, COPD, and other problems, I have to admit to slowing down and adapting to allow me to stay with it. But enthusiasm, it has never left or even waned. I was born with an insatiable passion for things mechanical and it has never left. I have three projects going right now, and yes physical things make it harder but also offers a new challenge of how to succeed. My life has revolved around this all my life and brings me great joy and satisfaction, so why stop now. I read 9 publications a month to keep abreast of happenings going on in the field. As long as I can think and function, I will remain active. I was sitting in my easy chair not long ago and my wife asked me what I was thinking about. She said "I hope it isn't about cars!". I replied " what else is there?" Then she got a little peeved and said, "Do think there will be cars in Heaven?". I looked her right in the eye and said " If there aren't, I ain't going!". I'very recovered well enough to keep on working on my hot rods. I still get great satisfaction driving my roadster especially on a moonless night full of stars, going to Bonneville, sprint cars, and everything else except dull grateful 4 door sedans. So yes, it's still fun and yes I still have as much enthusiasm as ever. It's this crummy body I now have, and when I find the guy that gave it to me, I am going to be at the snot out of him! I have to go now, I am re-engineering the wiring harness on the tpi unit that is going on my O/T El Camino shortly .
     
  24. DANNY,,,,
    The desires are the same as when I was younger...Now at 86 its harder to keep the Viagra in stock
    you will learn this too,,LOL
     
  25. Bob, you are a sick man, I wanna grow up and be just like you! :D HRP
     
    GordonC, WB69 and wbrw32 like this.
  26. sololobo
    Joined: Aug 23, 2006
    Posts: 8,378

    sololobo
    Member

    A lot of us senior dudes speaking out here, I agree with most, it still occupies 95% of my mind. But with some health issues and unfortunate financial boo boos it is not as easy. But I will NEVER give up!
     
  27. The37Kid
    Joined: Apr 30, 2004
    Posts: 30,629

    The37Kid
    Member


    I'm 68 and haven't had the desire to do anything on my projects, actually thinking of parting with the '12 T that I've had since 1983. Back then it was a big deal to finally own the very first "Old Car" I was given a ride in. Yard work is somehow enjoyable and I plan to restain the house this summer. Finished cars belong to other people, it is fun to see them drive by, or walk around them at events. This year will be 50 Hershey Swap Meets in a row, still enjoy them but Pebble Beach has got me hooked, this August will be my third with my oldest daughter, fun week, with the best looking cars in the world. Bob
     
    Last edited: Apr 22, 2019
    HOTRODPRIMER likes this.
  28. Roger O'Dell
    Joined: Jan 21, 2008
    Posts: 1,150

    Roger O'Dell
    Member

    YEP liven the dream. Haven’t worked for 6years, VA fixed my back. Started with 3 cars at GNRS , Rhythm Collision (Dick Dale), then Hippy Killer , last weekend ViVa Las Vegas. Had planned on the LoneStar, but worried about driving that far with rain and crazy drivers. Next year
     
    RDR, tractorguy and HOTRODPRIMER like this.
  29. Danny....the trick for me to stay enthused was to start with a car at the very top of my "list". I wanted a 33-34 ford coupe BAD! I stayed jazzed for 10 years of building [money came slow] and I'm still deeply in love! I'm still buying parts for it weekly. Last week a pair of 15X8.5" Americans came for it on the brown truck. Today my new small AFB air cleaners for my dual quad setup came in the mail. I'm still like a teenage kid with this car. 34lake1.jpg
     

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