...about Us old men and these old cars... While I was walking through Hershey a few weeks ago with my brother and nephew, I noticed the prices were high and most of the vendors, as were many of the shoppers were were around my age, 57, some older... some younger..., I think I represented the average for the most part. What struck me was, in ten years what is going to happen to all this stuff? ... the high prices have kept the younger crowd from entering the hobby. A lot of us old duffahs can now afford the hobby and I think that is keeping prices relatively high (along with scarcity of course)... so as my nephew talked about the expense of joining his dad and me in the hobby, I told him to wait ten years, the prices will come down as us old guys die off or liquidate cars and parts. ( I'm still trying to get over the $125 poor repro and pitted model A Quail rad caps)... Every event I go to you see the same gray haired guys in their lawnchairs, they drive in, sitdown, and leave in an hour or two. And when clubs take their cars to nursing homes so the patients can reflect on the past, it's easy to see that some of the car guys are just a few years away from being a patient. Younger guys have been effectively shut out, but maybe they will get in it as the "stuff" becomes more available... ..I just hope that when this tide turns that some young guys will once again be interested in hot rods, and not just Supras and Civics.. Hot Rods are a part of America, like applepie, baseball and the Beach Boys.
younger HOT ROD guys are alive and well here in sunny California. this hobby ain't going nowhere until we run out of gas.
If prices are too high, they will drop until its sold. Or sit in a collection like much of this stuff likely has for the past 30-50 years. I don't have any doubt this hobby is going anywhere for a long time. Most in our club are late twenties to early forties and are just coming to a point in our lives where we can afford some of these things. It'll come around, its all cyclical. Don't worry!
Thanks for being one of the cool old guys!! I see it all to often around here, old guys bitching about the kids, and their gay little pocket rockets, "back in my day.... thats not a real car... 66 GTO now that was a car.... no respect for the hobby...." I've actually personally bitched out one of those old guys... you dont say that around me. when i entered this hobby, no one was there to teach me, except for what my old man could. instead of bitching about them, maybe offer a hand and teach them. too many kids lose interest because when they think classic or muscle car, they think old bitchy guy that put them down in front of friends, or old bitchy guy with too much money, but still wants to take your $300 dollar paycheque to enter the hobby. its as simple as being kind and helpful. instead of chastising, maybe think about what your doing to the culture. prices are too high, people are too wasteful. and i dont care what anyone says, hot rodding is better for the environment than owning a prius.
Exactly. My daughter is 20, building her own 33 Ford PU, and knows value and rare parts pretty dam well. I'm posative my stuff wont end up at a thrift store or a land fill. Maybe Ebay or on here, and she buys a few houses with the cash, but I'm ok with that.
I'm a fairly young guy (30) I'm waiting on the days when the "cool" stuff becomes more readliy available and resonabily priced. I hope it happens sooner than later!!
prices have always been too high for the the guy with low or no budget. but, by shopping for deals, doing some trades, etc it can be done. as for the old guys, 57 is old and you will get older. so, enjoy today. also, do a search here for thread: Any HAMB Members Younger Than 30?
It's good to hear....!! Because I can't recall seeing a young guy behind a 30's, 40's, 50's or even 60's rod up here... (trying to remember otherwise, but that could be just my memory)
The hobby doesn't have to be expensive. It gets expensive when you want rare and desireable items, but this is really about the challenges and the fun. Want a Deuce coupe? Who wouldn't? So get ready to pay for it. You want expensive? Go buy a $30K family sedan that will be worth $10K in three years.
young guys are everywhere with hot rods. They pay as much for a decent hot rod as they would for a late model WRX STI.....We dont know what it was like to buy this stuff cheep, so its not a problem to us...we grew up with this stuff expensive, it has been accepted by the younger guys that if you want a hot rod, you need 15-20 K.
My cynical view (because I've seen it happen a number of times) is the rodder will end up sitting on a lot of stuff until he passes. The family will haul in a dumpster to get rid of all that "old junk" so they can sell the house, and all those cool parts will come back from Asia as Kias...
I don't see that the prices are going to keep the young away from hot rodding. A young professional at least here in KC makes in the 60-150K range. What I see happening is that it is going to keep us older fellas away from rodding in ten years. Some of us do OK and have a good stockpile of old stuff to work with but the average american on a fixed income, which does represent a good majority of "us" does not have a lot of money comming in. My older sis for example has a damned good portfolio and lives well and she would like to own a '46 Ford pickup that she could toodle around in. But she doesn't have the liquid assets for me to just build her one, I will have to pull in favors and dig deep to make it happen. I don't find it depressing but that is because I am ignorant, ignorance is bliss they say.
If you are talking about me there won't be any duece bodies and no estate sale. I have a will hidden, the whole enchilada goes to the finder if they fulfill the obligatons of the will, which would be the proper disposal of our ashes. That is all properties both real and personal. Good luck.
Is this a cut and paste thread? I could swear I read this same opening statement word for word recently. I for one am not going to spoil the now by crying about what will happen to the hobby. Of course it will end some day but I intend to enjoy it for as long as it or I last
Tell me about it! I'm a young guy that put together a hot rod a few years ago. Took me 2 years of collecting parts, many are 2nds or 3rds from old guys collections. A lot of people call my car a rat rod since its rusty and crusty but hey, its all I could afford. I'd love some day to get a smoking deal on a mint green 90's styled 36 Ford and make a cool traditional car out of it.....but I don't see the prices falling anytime soon.
hershey is a bad indicator of the hobby, yes parts are getting more scarce, yes parts are being sold over the internet, yes the crowd is getting older, hershey's problem is it is an AACA show that does not allow hot rods. lot's of attendance at street rod/hot rod nationals.
My other hobby is model railroading and the exact same problems of "young people not interested " are there for all to see . Same shit , different pile . They have a gazzilion choices compared to what we grew up with , so things are fragmented . I'm close to 70 and have tried to get involved with clinics and open houses to attract the younger crowd....the fathers are interested , but not so with the sons and daughters . They don't mind looking but don't seem to want to get involved . This has been happening for years and I don't have an answer . Once the old timers ( baby boomers ) are gone the rod market will change forever I think . I just don't see the same enthusiasm with cars and young people like it was when I was a teen . I sold cars for 25 years and two things are clear ....most young people don't want a stick shift and don't want 2 doors ( unless it's a sports car but insurance is too high ) . They view cars as a tool to get around town and don't have the passion we had . That's the way it is . T
No not a repost, just another old guys lament/observation/hope for the future/crusty rant. And another pet peeve! I see us old guys hoarding these things for years with some fantasy of building them all... well I now realize that I'm never going to build them all. Time to scale back, sellin the Stude Coupe in the pic, it's list on craigslist. I'm going to enjoy my A and will get just as much of a kick as seeing some kid behind the wheel of that Stude... AND...!! ....every day on my way to work I see a rusting A roadster behind this guys house... been there for years, and you know the rest of THAT story
I'm into trains too (N scale) but am waiting until i'm "old" with grandkids! Not ready yet to put away rods, softball, basketball or women yet!
The common "show 'n shine" car shows are intimidating and boring to the younger crowd. You arent going to have a $40,000 car when you're in your 20s or 30s. Plus, sitting in a lawn chair by your car gets real old real fast. Events like the Iron Invasion or Symco is where the action is.
You old farts need to stop worrying, the future is fine. Look at the availability of INFORMATION, PARTS and TECHNOLOGY now. INFORMATION: Was the INTERWEB available to answer ALL your QUESTIONS when you were young? We can now figure out whatever rusty obscure hunk of crap you drug out of the forest or cow pasture.... PARTs: You buy BRAND NEW Tri-five Chevy, 1932, and Model A bodies bodies. Companies are making MORE and BETTER parts for obsolete engine families, Transmission adaptors to hook anything to anything. TECHNOLOGY: Good welders are now in the price range of your dedicated enthuiast. Plasma cutters make cutting things easy. CNC machines to cut replicate EVERYTHING. The good ol' Oxy Axe hasn't gone away. Cool cars will always be cool and people will always love Nostalgia, because some asshole in your/their family "had one just like it, except it was a whatever". The future is looking good, my friends.... PS.... I'm 32 and my 2 year old LOVES my Model A roadster... He knows which car I'm talking about when I say "HOT ROD" and it's his favorite of my old cars to ride in...
BOO-WHO ... You are already defeated with a poor outlook on the hobby. Yes ... prices are higher now than in the past. I have bought decent running, driving, looking 55 Chevy 2 door cars for less than 250 dollars. I paid 300 dollars for the 25 vent hood on my 32 Ford. I paid 4 hundred and change for a new from Chevrolet 327/350 hp long block. But I also worked when the minimum wage was 65 cents a hour. Those who want/ work for what they want. I have 2 all steel 32 Fords ... and I worked for the county government for 29 years. I never made " big " money. I also worked a second job ... for over 20 years. I saved, horse traded and done " side work " on others cars ... to buy and build my DEUCES ... If you want " the good stuff " ......... get off your butt and go to work, save and horse trade and BUY the pieces you say you want. Remember ... you NEVER pay too much for 32 Ford stuff ... you just buy it a little early. I will be 65 years old my next birthday
A lot of young people my age (18) are into this stuff, I got into it on my own. No family owns these cars, I bought a 55' Ford for $850. My only problem is lack of money, and mechanical experience. Most kids my age would rather buy a import tuner or a newer mustang. They feel its easier to deal with and in some ways it is. But not as cool
The hobby has never been cheap that is why some fellas ran flatheads when they could have been running valve in head engines. Some cars were beaters and others were show quality. Anyway I don't think I would stress about it if everyone quites paying stupid money for parts the price will go down.
This is the same problem expressed in exactly the same way by everyone our age about their favorite hobbies like hot rods, private airplanes, racing in any form, horses, golf, sailing etc. All of these hobbies are expensive and they always have been. But in spite of all of this I am optimistic. New guys will come into the hobby. Owning a hot rod has never been easy regardless of when you were born. Hot rods have always been expensive (relative to the income most of us have to spend). Still, we "kept at it" and the the new guys will too. We can help, of course, just like we were helped when we were younger. Most /all of us had someone who took the time to show us how things were done and answered our endless questions. A guy who taught us "the ropes" and traditions. A guy that was there when we needed him. Now is the time for you to be "that guy".
The skyhigh prices that everybody moans about is what makes it worthwhile for those who invest in our hobby - tooling up to make 32 rails in the 70's and Brookville tooling up to make new steel bodies. These people don't do it because they're philanthropists, they do it because there's a buck in it for them, plus they get to make a living out of the hobby they love. Same thing with all the shops that make a living building cars for others - if everything was dirt cheap, and you could build a car for $2K, how would they survive? They all have to earn enough to feed their family, put fuel in the car, etc. I'm not saying it's a bad things, it's just the way it is. I understand the OP's logic, he is eager for our sport to carry on when we're all dithering and blubbering away in old folks homes, or pushing up daisies. If it does, then we were right, rods are the best cars ever. If not, so be it. Just my $0.02. Cheers.
I just turned 36 and I've owned vehicular projects (usually several at a time) from the 50s, 60s and 70s since I was in high school. The trend today from what I've noticed is that a lot of the guys in the higher end of import scene are now making real money and are beginning to move on to antique imports as well as domestic stuff. Publications like Stanceworks, Rust Is Not A Crime, StanceNation, etc, are starting to reflect this. Their articles are, at this point, about 50/50 late model vs vintage/antique. As long as there is style and/or nostalgia attached to an object or genera, people will pay to have it.
The Jalopy Journal
