Hot Rods Anybody under 30 building?

What are you starting with or looking for?

 

I have a 47 half ton ford. I'm not looking for anything in particular at the current moment, I'm at that point in the project that it's just all the little thing that'll Nickle and Dime you to death.

 

Cool thing about trucks is it all metal except the seat well, that and the cardboard stuff for headliner, etc that can be worked around. I just sent off a shroud and gravel pan for a 42 to a HAMBr. About the only thing I might have left is a radiator support for it somewhere out back.
You going to stick with a FH or?

 

The next generation..

 

The younger guys I know around here are mostly building '60s and '70s stuff or what would be considered Rat Rods on the HAMB.

 

yep, actually when I got the truck it had an FE in it, I bought an 8ba to put back into it not too long ago, just got myself a real ford bed for it about a week ago. hoping (not planning, things never seem to go to plan) I'll have it on the road in the upcoming year or two.

 

Old farts never die; they just waft away.

 

Ya hope they waft away, and not remind you two hours later

 

11 years of shop class teaching.(dang) I have had 2 students with rides that could be posted here.
That doesn’t mean customizing is dying just means I have had 2 students that fit the narrow scope as determined by the bosses. (Not a dig) I think that is probably how it was intended to be.

 

My son started this when he was 19. He just turned twenty last week. Hopefully be running and driving for next summers cruising season.

 

I agree with a lot of what’s been said already in terms of the literal feasibility (or lack of) in building or even owning an old car for a “young” person.
Heck, since the HAMB app was killed, I’m rarely on here anymore myself, and I’m early 50’s. Nothing will steer a young person away faster from a social group than not having an app. @Ryan
That said, here in SoCal I see it all, and what I see clearly is that “traditional” hot rods in the HAMB vein are the minority. Sure there are some clubs of younger guys who have the $$$ to buy and flip these cars, it’s more the flavor of the year to them versus a lifestyle. I see a ton of what I would consider Hot Rods every weekend at various meets and cruises, driven by guys from 50-90, but 7 out of 10 would get moderated out of here for some polished aluminum bits (which I’ve actually seen an uptick in!) Unfortunately, 99% of them don’t have family members interested in their cars once their time comes.

I recall @Ryan posting some questions last year after some manufacturers raised some red flags regarding their diminishing business. This is the business reality of a hobby who’s primary customers are aging out. I checked the Alliance vendor list; 33% are either non-existent or they literally don’t have a functioning website. It’s easy to turn the noses up at the big shows for extending model years, etc, but it’s about survival of the hobby.

At the end of the day, it’s ALL hot rodding to me. You got some billet? Hell yeah, good for you! Flathead? That’s cool too. Radial tires? Whatever, as long as they hold air!
Sorry for the long rant. I’m a guy who’s spent the better part of the past 25yrs traveling the world studying consumer trends, so I tend to take a macro view of this sort of stuff. I just hope we can create a more inclusive environment for those interested in our cars (whatever flavor they may be), otherwise in 10 years the post title will be “where did everyone go?”.

 

Mikes videos of the pine tree jamboree had plenty of young guys



with in the first ten minutes there’s a 15 year old racing his flathead 53 Ford and a 16/14 set of brothers who were racing an av8 pickup they’ve built together. Been watching them and plenty of other young guys on Instagram and YouTube put stuff together.

If you’re only ever going to your one cruise night, your one club meet up, the same threads on the hamb you’re only gonna see the same guys you always see.

 

I was probably one of the young guys you saw there, I wasn't with the ones racing, me and my 2 buddies were the ones in the back corner with the bigass tent and the new silverado and the c1500. Hopefully i'll be bringing at least my 47 there next year, if i don't run out of the luck i seem to be having lately.

 

I am 24, and at the moment I am finishing up an OT 66 C10. I plan on it being my daily driver so it is pretty "updated". I do plan to build a HAMB friendly family cruiser once my truck is done and the bugs are worked out. It's pretty tough to find good connections as a young man trying to find parts and what not. I found this lifestyle on my own, so no family to learn much from when it comes to old cars. I am pretty lucky to have a handful of older buddies that are into this stuff that I have learned from. I'm stuck somewhere in between respecting and enjoying the tradition and taking a new school approach on building old school cars.

 

Well, as far as I can see, there's not a nickel's worth of difference between a '64 (legal), '65 (borderline) and your '66 C10. I ain't no fan of huge billet wheels, but any modern mod for safety and driveability is OK by me. It IS hard for a newcomer to break into the HAMB scene, so you go, @Lakeside65! Just don't brag about a tilt column and power windows etc. I hope I didn't get us both into trouble...

 

I'm 29 and at the moment I own a '28 Model A Phaeton (non-driving project) and a '53 Customline (driving project).

As many of you have pointed out, these things are getting expensive and some parts are getting hard to find, especially if you live outside of USA as I do.


I will sadly put the Model A out for sale soon due to some reasons I won't get into here but it's not because I lost interest. The plan is still to own a flathead powered hot rod some day.

 

I'm 29 and am slowly gathering parts for a '27 roadster build, going to be a late 60's inspired build. I also have a '56 Buick on the back burner.

The reason young guys like me aren't building hot rods is what everyone has been saying in this thread. Its expensive and time have moved on. You can't buy a "real hot rod" or a even a body affordably without searching for years - and when you do find one you can afford its going to take years and thousands more to get it on the road. The math just doesn't add up.

My daily driver I bought and drove home for under a grand - bone stock has a 300hp V8, 6spd manual trans, runs a 14 second 1/4 mile, with heated leather seats and AC. Also get over 20mpg.

I've been gathering parts for my roadster for 2 years, have more invested than my aforementioned car cost, I've got a few grand to go before I even have a roller. Did I mention I only have a 1 car garage and my mortgage is 57% of my take-home pay (and my house was the cheapest I could find/buy).

 

I spy a Stormy Kromer hat....Michigan made.

 

That's kind of what I was thinking as well. It's lowered on smoothies and bullet caps, and definitely still has crank windows. I'll just keep the hood shut and enjoy the party

 

do todays kids into hot rodding know how to work on real iron? seems around me all they know is ricer ,super loud civics or Subaru's. which all one hears is loud 4 banger or flat 6 boxer exhaust and blow off valves popping
had one in my garage one time while i was building a 8ba up ,asked me what it was? thats a stupid looking motor, yah kid it is but it started hot rodding before your dad was born . than he turned his head and asked what this was?

 

I've always said, you don't know something until you learn something. You've got to be willing to pass the tradition on. Trust me, not all kids are into ricers, civics and subarus.

 

Like it, or not, ALL of those kids are modern hot rodders.

 

Agreed

 

We MUST remember that.

When it is time for us to fight for what we believe in, a divided force only benefits those who would take this away from us.

There is no us and them. There are only brothers and sisters from other misters.

I don't need to like your style to fight to the death to defend you, or anyone else.

 

I won’t fight to the death, but I agree with you 100%
I’ve 3 daughters I’ve raised pretty much by my self since the ex left. 20-26 years old The youngest two just want good reliable transportation. My oldest has more in mind, but “gasp” has a Subaru WRX turbo rocket.
She’s always putting something on/in it to look better(in her mind) and go faster.
Hotrodder in my mind, wouldn’t fit in the HAMB for sure.

 

I'm 26, building a banger powered A hot rod on a shoestring budget. It's HARD, even with help. I'm not a good fabricator and I don't want to learn by trial and error on an antique car that will kill me if I fuck it up. Parts can be hard to come by and people who have them can be jerk-asses. If I had not stumbled across the HAMB I would have given up a long time ago. This shit is not easy. Sometimes I have a bit of cash to burn and sometimes I'm deciding between taking the next step on my dream car or buying groceries. But I have never been able to thoughtlessly slap down a thousand bucks on those parts I really need to get done, so I'm trying to scrape by with rehabilitating cast-offs.

Kids into cars have to make do with what they can get their hands on and what they can approach with their skill levels. Schools don't have shop class or automotive anymore - if they do it's an expensive elective. What's a kid with no fab skills and no mechanical skills, who wants a project car, gonna do with the clapped-out rust buckets that are in his (or her!) budget? Nothing - so they pick up later model cars that they can still tinker with...

Consider the kind of "traditional hot rod" starter platform you can get for $1500 - plus how often they come up - then consider you can get running, driving, 80s-90s Japanese import car for less pretty much any day of the week, anywhere you go. That's not a hard choice for the 18 year old enthusiast.

I have a lot more ill will toward the boomers who have the money and resources to do cool stuff and instead choose to unleash more catalog-built 350-350 powered, Mustang II suspension, chrome 5-spokes with rubber band tires, S-10 framed fiberglass hoopties on the world and then talk condescendingly to young people at car shows, than toward guys my age working on what they can afford. And a lot of young people who can afford really old cars have been put off from them by sneering old dudes with bad attitudes.

I haven't been here long enough to tell Ryan how to run his house, and as far as I'm concerned this is a great place to be. But a softer attitude towards circumstantial deviations from the HAMB formula would help a lot with gaining and retaining new members. If you can afford to go flathead but you decide to LS swap it, you're on the wrong forum - I think everyone will agree with that. If you're doing the best you can to build a period piece but your budget, or skillset, or available tools forces you to cheat a little... that's just life.

Maybe an off-topic section for those later model "hot rods" would be fun...

 

I know a guy that knows a 19-year-old guy that is building several cars. Good for him, but when I was his age I was trying to scrape up gas money!

John

 

Jim Sibley, your son has a good build going. Is he picking up welding and bodywork - I can't think of a better teacher.

Don't see a lot of under 30 building traditional stuff. I wasn't interested in anything before 1965 when I was under 30 - it was race, race, race - and street rod era was in full swing.
Lot of under 30 building diesels, 4x4, and turbo LS. I don't understand rolling coal, but figure they're building something and tastes change over time.

 

He is very good at welding and body work for a teen age kid. He is almost finished with an off topic build, then its back to the t roadster.