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hotrodders in the future???

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by 1939STREETROD, Jan 2, 2008.

  1. 1939STREETROD
    Joined: Mar 5, 2006
    Posts: 256

    1939STREETROD
    Member

    I have often wondered, as many of my compadres have, about the future of our hotrodding hobby...as we get older, and see the younger people looking at newer cars and tuners, what will happen to our 'old cars'?....my grandson is a motor head at age 6...he loves my hotrods and today wanted to draw one he saw...this is the response...check it out...not bad for the interst and skill of a 6 year old, eh?!!!?......hopefully he will take good care of my A roadster when i move to the junkyard in the sky...johnnyB
     

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  2. Bort62
    Joined: Jan 11, 2007
    Posts: 594

    Bort62
    BANNED

    Well, being 26 I can't really be sure but - in the 60's and 70's people probably held the same concerns that you do now. New trends will come and go in the automotive hobby, and thats ok. Some of those will stick and be around forever. Naturally, as the attrition of time kicks in - there will be less and less "traditional" hot rods - if for no other reason than virgin tin will be almost impossible to find. But they won't disappear. 30 years ago, it was probably a lot easier to find a model A for a project than it is today - but that doesn't mean that there are appreciably less people into the hobby today.

    As the young people of today grow, some of them will like newer cars, and some will like older cars. I personally like both. It's always been this way, and probably always will be - I don't think the hotrodding hobby is in any danger.

    At least from this angle. The legislative side is another story...
     
  3. CHOPSHOP
    Joined: Jun 26, 2005
    Posts: 1,919

    CHOPSHOP
    Member
    from Malden,MA

    when I was in high school I had 46 Mustangs andeverypone though it was stupid and not a classic.

    Now look 30 years later....
     
  4. ***Area-51***
    Joined: Mar 25, 2005
    Posts: 791

    ***Area-51***
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Ohio

    remember the cars in the original Mad Max movie....
     

  5. notebooms
    Joined: Dec 14, 2005
    Posts: 2,077

    notebooms
    Alliance Member

    there will always be folks there to take care of the old iron in the future. being an influential parent who instills respect for tradition always helps in the long run...

    my dad was a hot rodder. i rebelled by getting into VWs as a teen. Guess where i ended up.... things come around when they deserve to come around.

    -scott noteboom
     
  6. 1950ChevySuburban
    Joined: Dec 20, 2006
    Posts: 6,187

    1950ChevySuburban
    Member Emeritus
    from Tucson AZ

    This has been discussed lots on here before.
    I think hot rodding is a frame of mind, like racing. If the government were to mandate that only electric 3 wheel vehicles could be registered, we'd find a way to hop them up.
     
  7. rustrustler
    Joined: Mar 18, 2005
    Posts: 281

    rustrustler
    Member

    I think one of the big problems of rodding in the future will be the availability of body's and parts. When you look at the little pages and see 60 chrysler taillights grafted to a merc body it looks good. Now look for donor parts from modern auto's to put on anything. It's just sad.
     
  8. I like it. You could post that on the H.A.M.B. Friday art thread.

    Thanks,
    Kurt
     
  9. 54chevy4door
    Joined: Oct 9, 2006
    Posts: 26

    54chevy4door
    Member

    As long as there is classic tin to be worked on thats what i will be doin. I'm 16
     
  10. tfeverfred
    Joined: Nov 11, 2006
    Posts: 15,791

    tfeverfred
    Member Emeritus

    The next time a younger guy ask you that stupid question about your car... answer it with good information. That's a start. I can remember when I was 17 and trying to get info. Most of the time, all I got was bullshit and grief. Luckily there were magazines to read and save, but they also hurt because they gave me the impression you needed to be a millionaire to build a rod. I see and hear this at shows and events to this day. There's a few people who act like building a hot rod should be some ancient secret passed on to whom they deem. If someone shows a genuine interest, set 'em straight. If the seed is planted in good soil, the tree will grow.
     
  11. sammyg
    Joined: Dec 30, 2007
    Posts: 183

    sammyg
    Member

    I'm only 16 and love vintage iron, anything. have a 47CJ2A that I rescued right now, but I was planted with the hot rod seed a while back, and since then the thought's dormant in my mind, until I realized once my Willys is done, what then? Buggy? No, hot rod. A lot of the old folks have helped me out with the Jeep and all, and I have enough from that to carry over, and one day, I hop to pass on all of my information that I've gathered over the years to another new comer and help them out. I sometimes wonder why I'm asked "you have so much money why don't I just buy a new car" from every kid in school, yet then I get it they just don't understand.
     
  12. TimDavis
    Joined: Sep 4, 2005
    Posts: 718

    TimDavis
    Member

    I'm 29. I like old cars. I have a couple traditional '32's. But I also love my '07 2.0T Passat daily. I really like the '08 CTS. And my GF's M3 'vert.

    Cars are cars. As far as I'm concerned, all of the above are hot rods also.
     
  13. J Man
    Joined: Dec 11, 2003
    Posts: 4,131

    J Man
    Member
    from Angola, IN

    I think a lot of it has to do with where you live and what kind of job you can get. Some places, where they get a lot of snow it is not prascticle to drive a hot rod all the time. Especially when you can get 2 ft of snow in a day. And with the way the economy is it is getting harder to get good jobs so it is not as easy to afford multiple cars. Before I got my current job I could only afford vehicle and that was with living at home. At the time I was into minitrucks. Now that I have a better paying job I can afford multiple vehiles but I still need the newer car for driving in the winter. In my opinion that is one of the biggest factors.
     
  14. tfeverfred
    Joined: Nov 11, 2006
    Posts: 15,791

    tfeverfred
    Member Emeritus

    Dude, it's not written anywhere that you HAVE to drive your hot rod every day to be in the club. Drive it when you can. It's only smart to have a "regular car" or beater for the alternate ride.
     
  15. HotRodPaint.com
    Joined: Nov 24, 2007
    Posts: 422

    HotRodPaint.com
    Member

    You probably don't want to know what the hot rods of the future may be like, since it will be based on what young builders have avilable to them, and come to love. It is happening right now in drag racing with the swing toward Imports, FWD, "hairdryers" & nitrous........ but you can be sure the rodders of the future will build with the same passion as the guys who went before them! :)
     
  16. jbon64
    Joined: Jul 26, 2006
    Posts: 511

    jbon64
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    my brother and i had this very discussion a few months ago . what will the tri-five chevy of the future be ?? if only we knew , we could hoard a shit load of em' and retire
     
  17. J Man
    Joined: Dec 11, 2003
    Posts: 4,131

    J Man
    Member
    from Angola, IN

    I am not saying you have to drive it everyday either, but it is not the easiest to afford multiple cars on minimum wage
     
  18. if your working for minimum wage and worrying about a hot rod your prioritys are fucked up , this shit aint cheap , sure you can collect stuff and do all or most of the work yourself but the bottom line is you better have a little on the ball because eventually your gonna have to spend some dough..
    just my 2cents in for a penny out for a pound..
     
  19. flathead48
    Joined: Sep 23, 2006
    Posts: 252

    flathead48
    Member

    I'm 20, and was brought up on hotrods. I actually LIKE that all the people in my age group are into all import ricers because thats just more old tin for me.
     
  20. dbradley
    Joined: Jan 6, 2007
    Posts: 1,036

    dbradley
    Member

    I know that when I'm out, either in my '33 or Vette and a kid says something about it. I respond with "You want to sit in it?" They light up........ There will always be hotrodders.................
     

  21. i'm taking mine with me..
     
  22. I have been foolin' around with old cars ever since I was a teenager,,,that is a long time ago,,,,

    Back in the 60's we talked about hot rods as we knew them were diying out because of the cars that were being introduced to the public were factory hot rods,,,

    Then in the mid 70's with the gas problems we knew it the party was over,,,but it didn't stop the guys building ol cars,,

    along came the 80's and the aftermarket had grown greatly from what it was just a few years earlier,,,,

    It continues to this very day,,,,prime example of this is the HAMB,,,where in the world would you find so many young guys building hot rods alongside us ol graybeards?,,,,

    The passion for an older set of wheels is as strong today than ever before,,,maybe more so.

    There will always be guys that can't afford a ,,,(inset your dream car here) but they will be able to get their feet wet with a ,,,(Whatever)

    The point is as long as someone want's to have a hot rod they will be around,,,the power might come from a big Ardon head nuclear powered rubberband,,,but if thats what it takes somebody will lead the way,,,,,others will follow,,,,

    I am not concerned about the future of hot roddin',,,I just want to be a part of it! HRP
     
  23. tfeverfred
    Joined: Nov 11, 2006
    Posts: 15,791

    tfeverfred
    Member Emeritus

    Well said.
     
  24. pacman
    Joined: Feb 10, 2007
    Posts: 98

    pacman
    Member

    21 years here, and i'll be keepin the traditional fire alive. one would be suprised what tin the rolling hills of Montana hide.

    as soon as summer rolls around, i'll have that piece of paper in my hand sayin that i took enough shit from the college that they'll let me go. then its Califas or bust. pay my dues at Blue Collar; only lookin for repsect.

    PaX
     
  25. Fortyfordguy
    Joined: Sep 16, 2002
    Posts: 643

    Fortyfordguy
    Member

    One issue we were talking about the other day was the fuel question. I expect the price of gasolene to continue to rise. We can deal with that. But the other question will be the availability of traditional gasolene fuel for our gas powered engines. The government and environmental groups continue to push for lower fuel use, better mileage, etc. At some point, the alternative fuels will begin to become available (at reasonable cost) and mainstream. Then we might find ourselves in today's situation with the end of analog TV broadcast and the forced changeover to all digital. How do the older TV sets get the signal....thru a purchased conversion box. OK, that's just new technologies happening, which is a good thing. But what do we (in the future) do when/if our traditional gasolene fuel goes the way of the dodo bird, and all the new power plants operate on something entirely new. Will the old gas engines be able to function on the new fuel? Will "old fashioned gasolene" be available for our old cars? ....at every corner gas station? Will government regulations allow us to operate them with gasolene? It's just one of those "scratch your head" kinda thoughts.
     
  26. tfeverfred
    Joined: Nov 11, 2006
    Posts: 15,791

    tfeverfred
    Member Emeritus

    I don't think that that is a good comparison. Think about it, how many people do you know that don't use cable? By numbers, very few. In comparison, there are a LOT of gasoline engines out there. If anything, the full conversion to an alternate fuel will be slow and gradual. In other words, probably not in our lifetime. I think the oil companies are going to bleed the gold mine that is gasoline for a long time.

    The oil companies play the game very well. The next big bump will probably be to $5. After everyone crys for a few months, they'll drop it to $4 and you'll think you're getting a deal. It's all a game.
     
  27. Our fellow HAMBers in the UK have been paying thru the nose for petrol for years.

    As long as there is a demand,,,gas WILL be at the pumps. HRP
     
  28. saeger
    Joined: Feb 16, 2007
    Posts: 115

    saeger
    Member

    Gasoline engines should be able to run on ethanol by re-jetting the carb a few sizes bigger. Also you will be able to run higher compression ratios like 12:1 or 13:1 because ethanol has an octane of 126. So it might actually be better for hot rodders as long as the old equation of more compression = more horsepower, more horsepower = more speed, more speed = more fun, still applies.
     
  29. rbohm
    Joined: Dec 16, 2006
    Posts: 36

    rbohm
    Member
    from tucson,az

    :cool:with a little thought you can come up with cars that will be the "55 chevy" or the "fox body mustang" of the future. what is the most popular car right now? thats right, the honda accord. this is the first car people think about when wanting to buy a car that has decent room, fuel economy, handling, etc. that was what the 55 chevy was in 1955. you can also consider the pontiac G series cars as well.
     
  30. ChopperMark
    Joined: Mar 5, 2007
    Posts: 55

    ChopperMark
    Member
    from Aloha, OR

    I can't imagine two people sitting around 30 years from now saying, "The '02 Accord was cool, but man the '03 is where it's at." Like how someone can be really into tri-5 Chevies but not think much of a '54 or a '58.

    The cars being built now are thought of as disposable, or only cool til the next generation of that car comes out. Some newer cars have inspired a following, but almost every year and model American car up to about 1973 has a following. Some people are very specific like the only dig 32 Fords, some only like pre-war stuff, and other like 50's - 60's. I can't imagine anyone being totally stoked on American cars of the 80's for instance. Man, those Chevy Citations were sooo cool.

    I think there will always be people devoted to the preservation of old cars (1973 or earlier), whether modified or stock.
     

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