Todays Youth -American Rods Vs Tuners

Good for him! I was 14 when I bought my Henry J with the money I had saved since 1st grade.

 

I can tell you from personal experience. My first truck I wanted to buy at 16 was a 90% restored 49 chevy panel. I wanted it so fucking bad and saved all of my money from my job and chores and what not. I have always been into cars since I can remember. My pop told me HELL NO your not getting that chevy. So I went with what my friends were building, euro imports. Built many of VWs, slow and street driven 11.2 1/4 mile jetta (should have broken tens but spun slicks 1-3) 480whp in a front wheel drive car is fun. My vw addiction lasted about 10 years. Then for my 31st bday went back to that classic world and bought a 55 1st check pickup. Still workiing on it now.

I can understand now why kids and many others build imports. To get a show quality car (which kids look for) in the Hot Rod world would cost more that slapping some chrome crap on a solid rust free car.

 

My Evo VIII and my turbo 240sx Nissan would spank most of the cars on the HAMB. I grew up around hot rods though and it's always in my blood. I'm 31 and I just finished my '30 Coupe and it's got a cammed 400" Pontiac in it with drag headers. It's awesome and I love the sound of a big v8 but I also appreciate just about ANYTHING with an internal combustion engine. My dad showed my the ropes. Taught me how to handle a wrench and a welder but he also let me form my own opinions about whats cool and what isn't. A lot of the import Jap cars are much better than people give them credit for. My wife and I chose to buy a 350z over a newer gt mustang for just that reason. You could tell when you drove both cars that the Nissan is just better quality. A lot of these younger kids you are talking about aren't stupid. I've spent countless hours on O/T import forums and a lot of those guys know there way around a forced induction engine better than some of the 'real' old hot rodders. The cars like the 240sx, Supra, EVO, STI - they ARE the hot rods of the younger generation. And guess what? They are safer, more efficient, and despite not having a v8 rumble, many of them are faster. You ever been to an import drag race where the guys actually know what they are talking about? It's amazing what some of them know. I'm not trying to turn this into a stupid import/domestic fight, just giving you the perspective of a younger guy who has seen the best of both worlds.

 

My dad bought me a 72 chevy longbed for my first truck when i was 14 and we worked on it till i was old enought to drive. It lasted about 2 months because when your girlfriend live 45 min away you cant affored to put gas in the truck let alone have enought to take her to a movie when you get their.

 

It could be worse. They could be fat, worthless pimple face peckernecks in mom and dad's basement playing video games. I'd rather see 10,000 ricers than 10 of those kids. I'm not associating myself with either, but at least there's some hope for the ricers, other than converting them from playing Halo To Forza Motorsports.

I grew up on Hot Rod magazine from the '60s, stories of my dad's '55 gasser, and every hot rod/kustom car book I could get my hands on. And at 23, I've had had everything from Hondas I've built from nothing but a rolling shell, to lifted trucks, to crotch rockets, to hot rods, to bobbers, and I'm just glad I can have gasoline flowing through my veins instead of cholesterol plugging my arteries and a vidja game controller glued to my hands.

I'm sure my o/t junk I drive every day would make most of you scoff, but it does the same thing to the general public, and frankly, I fuckin' like it that way. I'm happy to be a gearhead, no matter what wheel/handlebars I may be behind.

 

Sorry folks the reality is the today 57 Chevy = 97 Honda (Nissan, VW, Subaru)

And the guys with hondas think the same way about the VW guys as chevy guys think about Ford guys.

Reletively speaking the cars are cheap and available by the millions, the engine swaps are cheap ad easy, speed parts are available any where and it what their peer group is doing. Same way with Hyabusa's vs Harleys. Money will goes where it percieved value is highest withi the group.

 

It's kind of interesting to listen to some of the guys who wrench the ricer cars. Most of the guys I have talked to have a lot of respect for the old muscle, after all that's where it started. But on the HAMB there is little to no respect at all towards any tuners and their efforts. Granted, this is a traditional hot rod forum. But the whole respect thing seems to be a one way door. I'd rather see a tuner than a Rat Rod

 

Well said! I don't care for the "Rice Burners" either but you build what you like. I can't say anything aginst "Imports" I have three Limey cars and a Motor bike, much cooler in my eyes than Jap crap but imports just the same. I can never get away from a big American V8 though, as my wife says "boys just like the noise you can feel".

 

Well a 12 second honda is pretty fast for a 4banger. And really another cookie cutter fox body... Seen one seen them all who cares. Sorry man I'M just sick of them. You go to the dragstrip and that's all you see.
Why didn't you build a mustang II or a fairmont or a t-bird?

The kids are using what they think is cool.
Most of the old cars that are obtainable are owned by dickheads like me who wouldn't sell one to them anyway. Their going to ruin it..lol

Were all getting older now and bitching about the kids loud stereos I do it too.. lol I remember the 80's mine was cranked most of the time. We just didn't have a boom box.

Point is at least their building something.

 

Another thing that makes young people drive small cars is the cost of insurance. Especially if the car is modified for more power.

 

There's a lot of stereotyping here. I still think a lot of you would be shocked if you actually spoke to some of the kids that are working on their own imports. Especially kids that are putting turbos on their cars and understand what it means to balance fuel and timing. I certainly know more about it than my dad does and he's the one who put a wrench in my hand. The whole Fox body mustang thing is kinda outdated too. You can pick a turbo import car that runs 12's for the price of any 12 sec mustang. I could also say that for every 'ricer', their are countless goldchainers who jumped on the hot rod/ muscle car bandwagon, and just pay people to work on their car. Those people are just as despicable. LOL

 

Definitely agree. Coming from a background with imports having owned a civic and two Nissan 240sx's I can definitely attest to this. Of course there are always people that shop at pepboys for their "modifications" but for every few like that there's another that fabricates their own turbo manifold, understands how to tune their ECU for the best A/F mixture etc. Every scene has their share of people that pay for their performance, or just follow the trends and know nothing about their cars. Today's youth is just an easy target, it's easy to pick on the youth because they're stereotyped to be immature and ignorant but that's no different from how most of you older guys were treated 20-60 years ago by the adults of the day.

 

Some of you guys just need to remember that not everyone can afford to buy a classic car. Some have to start out with what they can afford. Some just like the modern cars. I started out with an '89 ranger extended cab long bed. I didn't build it, just drove it till I could afford something I like better.

 

The rice burning import thing has really trailed off around here in the South Jersey area. I think a lot of them moved on to Sport Bikes, which according to Darwin's Laws, isn't a good thing. I think Safety has a lot to do with why they build up Civics or Accords instead of a traditional car. In the eyes of Mom&pop it's a good safe Honda with airbags and an old car is a tetanus shot waiting to happen.

 

OK, I will admit it. I started out as a tuner geek. But when I was 19 (ten years ago) I didn't have 7-8K cash to throw down on some old American muscle. I also needed something I could drive everyday. I was able to finance a turbo Eclipse GSX, and little at a time work on it and add speed parts, upgraded turbo, exaust, ect. I thought it was cool as hell and I really did love that car, but for all the time and money spent on that car it was never really that fast.

In the long run I spent a shit ton of money on that car and lost big time when it was time to sell it. I learned my lesson the hard way.

My neighbor is into tuners and he is building his Civic and has freinds that drive Ricers that come over to his place to hang out. But every time I open my garage him and his friends come over to see the old tin. I think there is still hope for them.

 

#16 SAID IT ALL, AND HOWS A KID SUPPOSE TO LEARN WHEN THE DAD IS CLUELESS and or dont care for hot rods and customs. My boy is 11 and in the fifth grade. I've asked him does any of your friends have Hot Wheels or model cars or any thing like that? He replied no they have Pokie Man cards and crap like that...........the kids arnt open or around hot rods in stead my son said some of their dads want to see how big of wheel can be shoved under one of these throw away car....

 

We have always built hotrods out of what is available at a reasonable cost at the time.

When you could pick up Model A's for under a hundred bucks and drive them home guys built Model A's with Flatheads that they got dirt cheap at the junkyard. Now That same Model A body shell or what's left of it costs more than a running driving ten year old Honda that has just as much or more performance potential as any of our rods from our days.
I don't give a damn what they are building or driving as long as they out there building and not sitting on their fat asses in front of their hi buck gamer computer munching chips and playing Warcraft for 16 hours a day and thinking that is real life.

This same bitch and gripe has been hashed around time and time again. Every time a new generation of kids and cars comes along.

There were probably Model T rodders who lamented the A's B's and holy crap those V8's. Then the flathead guys who knocked the overheads in the 50's because those square body cars with big engines weren't "real hotrods" then the tri-5 crowd with their built small blocks bitching because "those rich kids" with their big block Chevelles, GTO's and what not could blow their doors off with a showroom fresh car. Now the Mini cars are the whipping boys for the past generations. But that doesn't make the kid working out in his garage or driveway any less a rodder than any of the rest of us. They just blow up different engines and transmissions than we did.

And a lot of them slip over to this side when they get tired of that side or feel that they have outgrown that phase.

 

this is the real reason right here. My old man was a stock car driver and it inspired me to get into racing and hot rods. I'm only 26 and have been into rods for about 3 years, before that I built race cars. ALOT of my friends either don't have a father figure, or a mechanically inclined dad. This is a huge problem in my generation, real men are almost gone. Now we have what I like to call "guys" not MEN these turds go and sit on the internet at the coffee shop and talk about who has the biggest muscles and coolest hair. The problem is, its a womans world and we (men) are being molded into what woman want us to be. I am not being sexist, its the truth. Thank you liberal sissy "guys" for ruining hot rodding.

 

Tuners: something to do because your buds are doing it

Hot Rods: a life long obsession

there is really no comparison. how many young people these days are still going to messing with tuners when they are 40? they may end up driving a sporty import but it won't be like us HOT ROD guys. the only exception may be the autocross/roadrace guys.

I spoke with a typical former tuner the other day. bought a honda of some sort. bolted some shit on it, later put nos on it and grenaded the motor. he is no sort of gear head and never really was.

 

We're not all tuners! First car was a 1966 Mustang. Okay, so, it's not a H.A.M.B.er type car, but, a lot closer. Actually managed to talk the parents into buying that one because it was cheaper than anything else we were taking a look at (okay, it being one of my parents first cars when they were young helped, too!). To be honest, I used to like tuners somewhat, then I figured out that if you want to build a real hot import that you'll spend as much as you would on a hot-rod or custom, so, why not go with something that I like the look of more?

The biggest factor I think is not the money, hell, there was a kid who totalled a brand-new Lexus their parents had bought for them when they turned 16, and when this kid totalled that Lexus they turned around and bought them a late-model Corvette. The big factor is kids these days don't know how to work on their cars, at least most don't. It amazed me that if someone had a bad battery or some other basic mechanical problem on their car they would come to me because I worked on my car myself. I hated working on that new shit, no room to move around under the hood! I figure part of it was also people knew I kept tools with me since I drove an older car, and when their car went to hell they came knocking. Should've charged them... Anyway, they just don't know how to work on them, the idea of getting dirty working on an engine, busting knuckles, welding, burns, scrapes, etc. only would appeal to them if the girls/ guys dig it, and most these days don't. They see grease and go, "ewwww!"

 

In my opinion these topics miss the point.And that point is people who build what is called a hot rod are very few and have always been very few.It's not like every other car you see is a rod or every 100th car.And that's not a bad thing....more people build them,the more they are likely to be involved in negative press coverage.

 

I hate it when old guys with hot rods bitch about younger guys with imports. They are doing the exact same thing to 25 year old imports that the old timers were doing to 25 year old hot rods. Sorry that some can't afford or don't want to wait to be driving something. Have you checked on insurance for a 16 year old lately? I'm 26 now, and pay yearly what it would cost for 1 or 2 months of insurance when I was 16. Sorry a tuner isn't as "cool" as your hot rod. But at least tuners don't hate on muscle cars and hot rods as much as hot rodders hate on them. I know a lot of guys with tuners or imports that would love to have a "old car" but are waiting till they can afford it. Frankly if all the little ricer boys were into old tin it would drastically increase the demand for the stuff and probably price it out of most peoples reach. You should be thanking them.

 

you sir "get it"

 

im 18, i hate tuners/ricers, i love my 53 ford and my 04 silverado. I needed something that my mom feels safe with me driving, thats why i have a silverado instead of an old truck as a daily.
Alot of teens are too damn dumb to figureout how to fix an old car. In my opinion, i think its good most teens are into these crappy tuners now, so they can be wrecked and when us kids are older and can appreciate older cars as cruisers and rolling projects, the olders cars will be seen longer. Does that make sence?

 

hey, i am fifteen, and i don't want a tuner. i would get shunned from my dad's shop if i got a tuner. i have to today remove the front axel from my father's car. i am willing to bet that no one at my school is willing to do so. so your not losing us younger generation. even my ex is in to cars.

 

freakin' sheeple

 

I'm 22 years old so a few years ago I was in high school, I went to a small school out in the sticks but evryone in my school wanted to be a tuner. I was lucky enough to get a 91 mustang 5.0 for my first car at 16 and it was so funny how everyone else had civics and they would put a muffler and cold air intake on it and think they were street racers. I think it has a lot to do with parents these days because a lot of kids these days don't work and save up money to buy their first car their parents buy them the first car and the parents want to get their kids a reliable safe car for them to take onto college so the kids just make due with what was given to them.

 

I agree with the folks who said the kids do imports because they are cheap and available. Every generation has it's car, be it the Model A, 50s hot rod, 60s muscle car, etc. It's their turn to be broke and creative. Who knows, in 20 years the tuner kids will be b!tchin about the electric car/hybrid kids.......... I do give em credit, they are spinnin wrenches, and learning the hard way. Also, from the comments, it looks like many do graduate to the classics. Everybody has to start somewhere. For me it was air cooled VWs in the 80s. Now I'm playing with Model As. It just takes time and money, and a love of all things powered by gasoline......... (maybe electric some day) As long as it goes, you know someone is gonna try to make it go faster. Just my 2 cents.

 

there is no such thing as global warming, chuck norris was cold, so he turned the heat up. the one we really need to worry about is the global cooling and i have the perfect answer, we all need to drive our cars and bikes more.
and if you read this and can't tell that it is a joke, then it is a joke.

 

Didn't read any of the replies but I can say this... I started out with VWs, then Jeeps, then onto imports where I learned a ton mechanically, went very fast, spent a LOT of money to go fast and sold them off at big losses. I always wanted a hot rod even when owning all those vehicles but my access to them was limited.

Finally after cleaning house of all my past projects I got what I wanted all that time. I don't see anything wrong with someone learning like I did. What I didn't know is how much more enjoyment I get out of comradery, history, and simplicity...