Is old age creeping up on us???

No such thing as OLDER, I define it as BETTER, you know, like a fine wine, after 45yrs building and at 60 I plan to build for another 45. Cliff

 

Why should I leave, I got no kids!!!!!!!

 

I remember those tunes when they first came out in the early '70's.. Those are still some of my favorites.. I used to hate disco music... Now whenever a Wild Cherry or K.C. and the band song comes on the radio, I crank it up!

 

I think we can put the blame on the "tv remote control" and cable tv for us getting fat.. It's true when you think about it... Maybe the corner pizza joint had something to do with it also..

 

........ Sounds like the truth hurts, don't it??

 

Nah, thingis , us younger guys don't give a shit about trophies.

 

I'm 67 and still building hot rods and loving it. That little girl, my daughter in my rumble seat holding a wrench so I can tighten a bolt on my exhaust system is 33 years old. Jim.T.

 

I've always wondered if there was a way to look at people's avatars as a full size picture. I guess that's not an option. Very cool picture though.

 

SEX, DRUGS, ROCK and ROLL, now pass the Geritol. You know why they took Lawrence Welk off the air? His show had too much sax and violins. I'm "almost" 60, but got carded at Red Robin 2 weeks ago; asked the waitress how old she thought I really was, "32"! My wife's still laughin'; I think she was just trying to push for a bigger tip. Butch/56sedandelivery.

 

You can still watch Lawrance Welk re-runs on PBS..

 

a wunnerfull,a wunnerfull...................pop

 

No, it's here. Lippy

 

I think that a lot of the reason for the decline of this hobby is ourselves. When you were raising your family and building cars did you take your kids into the shop with you and let them help/watch you work or did you leave them in the house and work alone for a little piece and quiet. I think a lot of us wanted a better life for our kids then we had ourselves so we tended to isolate them from the car hobby and encouraged them to lean more to white collar interests so they never really aquired the interest that we aquired while growing up. I know my dad instilled it in me and i have treid to instill it in my son and his sons and i think i may have succeded just a little. Another thing is the cost involved in building a first class ride most people dont have the time or money it takes until the house is paid off and the kids are raised.in this area there are a lot of the younger people building so called rat rods. These tend to be pretty crappy looking and not my cup of tea but id do think encouraging them instead of berating is a good way to propigate our hobby. These vehicle show they have the interest just not the means or resources to build a show car yet but with a little encouragement there next attempt may turn out better.

 

When you spend more time on here then in the garage and still get tired, your getting old. WHOO, I gotta take a nap that was a lot of typing.

 

Somewhat old thread but still a relevant topic. I attended SYMCO this summer, the average age there versus BTT50s and Iola I'd say was at least a 20 year difference. Symco seemed to draw in a lot more 20 and 30 year olds versus the other two shows (especially IOLA).

I'm a young guy compared to most on this forum, 27. I never grew up with older cars, not exactly sure why I got into them. I just remember when I was 5 years old staring at my Grandpa's 38 Ford coupe rusting away behind his garage thinking it looked awesome. By the time I was 8 my interest in old stuff really picked up. I read a book which was already old when I looked at it as an 8 year old kid titled "Dinosaur Cars". It introduced me to the bullet nosed Studebaker which was my dream car for a long time.

I'd ride my bicycle around the neighborhood for hours to look for all the old cars, thankfully at that time scrappers didn't even exist and there was a wealth of old tin to explore. I talked to a lot of old people on my bike rides who were more than happy to have someone to talk to even if it was just a kid. I really wanted an old car for my first car but my Dad was not into old cars (he's warmed up to them now) and he hated a cluttered place.

I think the value of old cars will go down as more and more old folks kick the bucket, I'm just hoping that it won't get to the point of seeing a lot of good project material going to the crusher. There are definitely less young folk into older vehicles versus older people, but I don't think the scene will ever completely be gone.

 

lets not be talking about "OLD people" kicking the bucket

I waited 50 years to get into rods and customs and am not ready to quit quite yet

 

Hot rodding is in good hands...

Yea, I worry about gas... as in, there not being any some day.

But hot rodders are a resourceful lot, and will come up with some corn-mash concoction that they can not only drink, but run as fuel.

That, and EV hot rods... hmmmm... now THAT would be cool.

Sam

 

My mom still watches those Lawrance Welk re-runs on Sunday evenings... Whatever makes her happy I guess..

 

lol you know,ya got to wonder how did lawernce welk end up on a hamb thread. go figure

 

I think the time will come when this old iron is not sought after anymore, but I don't agree with most people's assessment of when that will happen.

I'm 42 and I know that the guys my age going back to the guys in their early to mid 30's still identify with the old iron.

We weren't around when the old iron was new, but we most definitely were raised around it if our dad's or grandads were into it, and it's this association that will keep it going for another 30 - 40 years or so.

After that, I do think that all this old metal will start to gain the same sort of identity that the horseless carriage cars have today....they're a novelty and all, but it's just a small group of people who're into them.

 

Im 32... been doing this stuff for a while... Been showing cars and bikes since I was 14 yrs old... I still frequent local car shows along with national events... I build em and drive em how I want em.. Old is the only way for me to go... yeah some of these older guys are fading away and their kids grandkids etc are more in things for $... when they die they will sell the car etc and buy a new house or computers or more private school... This generation sucks and I can say it cause I have lived it... People in general society dont understand why I do what I do... And I know that I am the bridge between the older guys and the up and comming younger generation.. I have my part to do in all this... Keeping thigns alive is what I want and I like seeing all kinds of cars and trucks.. But taking a new car off the lot throwing some wheels on it and showing it and winning trophies is BS... Yall have the time and $ to throw at it, I have a little of both... SO for the older guys at a show being a douche out there in this world in your bagged chair not talking to anyone and saying yeah I know its nice. Screw you... To the guys who have their child seats in the back seat, kids polishing wheels, and are walkign around or talking to others about their ride 2 thumbs up guys... TO the up and commniing guys out there. Keep on building and remember were all doing this for the passion of the cars and the life we lead not being another prius driving fag. Doing things different cause we can. Its not about the trophies or awards its about driving your trophy down the road that you built....

 

This is a great post.....and there's a lot of truth to it.

There is a big movement in the Houston area composed of pretty young dudes in their 20s and 30s who drive the crap out of this stuff. They'd no more sit around in lawn chairs than they would kiss their sister.

To be truthful, I'm starting to relate to them more than I am the older guys in the lawn chairs. I'm 42 and drive my stuff to work every day, don't care too much if it gets scratched up and could care less about a stupid $10 plastic trophy.

 

Seeing a lot of "rascals" at car shows. In ten years there will be more guys on those than walking. Might have to put in traffic lights at the bigger shows...

 

Well I say we do what we do for the passion of it... some are just fad trend kind of people but some of us live it... hell have a 1956 mustang motorcycle on my back porch, vintage gas pump cause it was cool and various other things like vintage coolers etc everywhere.... Its who I am and will never change... vintage iron runs in my veins, and couple pieces inbedded in my skin etc... haha.

Rustyfords... you can cruise or hang any day with me and my friends.

 

I think you'll find that in a few years, more 30-somethings will be attending as they'll be coming into more money and their kids will be growing up and not require all their time. I'm 31 and finally getting to the point where I can focus more on my hotrods. I just know that it can be a bit much to balance both worlds at times at least until you can trust that the kids won't get hurt while you're in the garage tinkering or they don't need hours of attention. Don't worry about it too much. I have tons of friends my age that are very much into hotrods and classics in general. They're just trying to get their families through it all first.

 

and they wonder why we spend so much time in the garage!


http://s1028.photobucket.com/albums/y342/goofuslives/shed/

 

good point!

 

A lot of it has to do with the economy. If you don't have a "toy" or two right now, then this is not the time to be starting a new expensive hobby. And for the most part us guys that are older and have some financial stability are the only ones that can afford it.
My2sense

 

Well,I'm 55 and think I've done my part. My son who is 33 grew up fully immersed in the car thing. He always drove fixer-uppers when he was young and had to wrench on them to drive them. He now has built two cars of his own and one is a family friendly type because he is married and has a 3 year old son who is well on his way to being a hot rodder. Start them young and be involved in their projects. His friends became my friends and my friends became his. We have got a real muti-generational thing going.

 

If the Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly shows are any indication of what the next generation of hot rodders is up to, us "gray beards" should be jumping up and down for joy. The young builders of traditional rods and customs seem to be alive and well and injecting a huge amount of creativity into our hobby.

And the H.A.M.B. proves it.