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Is old age creeping up on us???

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Redbows35panel, Jul 10, 2011.

  1. Redbows35panel
    Joined: Dec 29, 2009
    Posts: 165

    Redbows35panel
    Member

    Went to one of our local annual Car Shows yesterday. Was really warm, just over 100, Friday it was 105, now that's almost hot. Some really nice stuff there. About 95/100 cars in 20 different classes with a first and second trophy in each class.
    As I was watching the awards presentation, I notices one thing that is a little bit of a concern. Of all the recipients there were only two who I would say where less than 50 years old.
    Does this mean we only have a few more years of Shows as we know them before the Hobby is gone along with the majority of us?
    I also notice that the quality of the participating vehicles was much better this year. Used to be only the High High dollar car had nice paint. Now with Clear Coat even the drivers look good. Lots more newer cars, 50s up, even a Volt and a new Mustang. The trucks were still the older verity, had four 29/31 Pickups, two closed cabs, two RPUs. a 36 International, a Chevy Cameo, and some nice newer ones.
    Just found that age thing interesting and wondered if anyone had noticed that at their local Shows?:eek:
     
    Last edited: Jul 10, 2011
  2. Whats this "creeping" shit, you will notice that the cars cars get better each year as more guys n gals get older and have enough money to do things better, now that said get your grandkids out to a show and take them on long rides in your hot rods to "keep it alive"............humm? grandkids now that's a novel idea
     
  3. Engine man
    Joined: Jan 30, 2011
    Posts: 3,480

    Engine man
    Member
    from Wisconsin

    Old age may be creeping up on you but it has made a full frontal assault on me for the last 10 years.:(
     
  4. slammed
    Joined: Jun 10, 2004
    Posts: 8,150

    slammed
    Member

    NSRA, GG's are two groups opening up the cut-off dates. Just for Men will become a sponsor, and Viagra/chubbie pills too!
     

  5. Ford blue blood
    Joined: Jan 4, 2009
    Posts: 757

    Ford blue blood
    Member

    Yup, the group around here is of the "gray school" as well. At 64 I am the second youngest of the group I hang with. The shows and cruise-ins are pretty gray as well. Thought has crossed my mind that the young kids are doing what we did back in the day. They are actually doing more then we did. They are just using different bases to start with. $4000 will get a decent used rice burner, add another $4000 and they have a "killer" car (their standards), you can't even say "street rod or custom" for that kind of money......
     
  6. Harms Way
    Joined: Nov 27, 2005
    Posts: 6,894

    Harms Way
    Member

    Watch it,... or I'll smack ya' with my cane !,... Or get out my pea shooter and fire a few cholesterol pills at ya' !.

    Yep !,... The walker brigade is taking over,.... I figure with all the Oxygen tanks I see,..I'll be different and bring a Acetylene bottle to a few shows.
     
  7. retromotors
    Joined: Dec 10, 2008
    Posts: 1,045

    retromotors
    Member

    Eh ......??
    What did you say .....????

    Damn whippersnappers! (Grumble, grumble, grumble)
    Where's m'damn teeth ....???
     
    Last edited: Jul 10, 2011
  8. squirrel
    Joined: Sep 23, 2004
    Posts: 55,945

    squirrel
    Member

    Yeah, things are getting bad. I've noticed.

    Last weekend a few of us slightly-over-50-types took our cars out around 9 or so (at night!), just to see what it's like to stay up late.
     
  9. Deuce Daddy Don
    Joined: Apr 27, 2008
    Posts: 5,544

    Deuce Daddy Don
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    At 78,----Took the roadster out yesterday----Buzzed it up to a quick 100+---Came back & covered it up again----Got back on the HAMB for further instructions!!!----Don
     
  10. Larry T
    Joined: Nov 24, 2004
    Posts: 7,875

    Larry T
    Member

    GET OFF MY LAWN!!!!!
    Larry T
     
  11. Johnny Gee
    Joined: Dec 3, 2009
    Posts: 12,604

    Johnny Gee
    Member
    from Downey, Ca

    Thats to funny. At 49 I know exactly what you mean. I'm thankful for the Broiler being rebuilt and hang out there, but I tell you the cars roll out early so they can watch there favorite tv show before bed time. Come On, what happen to hang'n around all hours of the nite bs'n and waiting for action to happen.
     
  12. F&J
    Joined: Apr 5, 2007
    Posts: 13,222

    F&J
    Member

    Yes, only a matter of time for the old stuff. It will be replaced by tuners, 4x4, later trucks, etc. The young people can't identify with the old cars, the passion won't be there.

    Add in the current and future economy and it does not look good.

    Sure seems like a glut of 32's and other old rods are hitting the market in the last couple of years, and I'd bet it will continue.

    Stock CCCA full classics are taking a hit as well. Try to unload a 4dr sedan even if it is a early 30s V12 Cad....
     
  13. Silhouettes 57
    Joined: Dec 9, 2006
    Posts: 2,791

    Silhouettes 57
    Member

    At 66 I like talking to the younger folks and telling them all about how things were back in the old days, you know? talking about myself!!!!LOL
     
  14. lippy
    Joined: Sep 27, 2006
    Posts: 6,825

    lippy
    Member
    from Ks

  15. modified
    Joined: Sep 21, 2006
    Posts: 326

    modified
    Member

    Creeping up on us? .....It ran over me!
     
  16. duke182
    Joined: Nov 27, 2005
    Posts: 562

    duke182
    Member

    at 44 i feell like im somewhere in between young and old.
    to my younger friends im just another old guy and to my older friends im still"kid".

    thing is , i've been hearing this same ol song and dance ever since i was a kid.
    my dad was one of the first people to join nsra, was a long standing member of nhra and the scca.
    every year people around him would complain of a lack of interest in what they did,from the younger generation. he would be 73 this year if he was alive.
    well all those groups are filled with guys my age and younger. as well as thousands of indepentant hot rodders who are building, buying and enjoying the auto hobbies.
    this may change a little and the hot car of the moment may change but it is the passion for things automotive that will keep it giong is still out there.
    there used to be a lot more restorers in my area and a lot more drag racers. now there are more guys (aged 30-50)interested in customs , street rods and traditional cars.
    the younger crowd gravitates to what they know or can afford.
    the cool thing is many of them just like many on this board will start of in a vw, minitruck, drag car, donk, 4x4 or whatever and end up with many different types of vehicles over the years, including traditional cars.
    its just a matter of exposure and expenditure.
    if you are worried about what the next generation drives, expose them to what you do.
    just dont expect an immediate response. give em time to make some money so that your influence might be able to become apparent.
     
  17. tommy
    Joined: Mar 3, 2001
    Posts: 14,757

    tommy
    Member Emeritus

    I'm surprised that the old farts would come out in that weather. I am one and each year it gets harder to sit out in the heat and tell the same old lies to the same old people.:D

    I should be out there wire brushing the trunk floor pan for undercoating but I'm an old fart. It just seemed like a year or two ago when we would walk all day at Carlisle and Hershey.

    32 Roadsters will be back down to 5000 once we all die off and there is no real demand anymore. A buyers market.
     
  18. "Times..they are a changin"
    We have a passion for our cars, not just as rolling art, something to admire and appreciate..but, more importantly a strong reminder of our youthful glory years, which we strive to recapture. Todays youth can and in many cases do appreciate, and admire our cars, but what is lacking for the most part is the first hand memories they represent. Hot Rodding will live on, although it will have evolved into a higher standard of electronics, audio, handling, etc., youth of today will try to emulate, what they grow up with, see in the movies, in the media, and progress accordingly. When I was a teenager, it was rare to see what we deemed an "old man" (alias gray beard), driving a Hot Rod, now, we are that guy.
     
  19. Yup.
     
  20. Johnny, for a lot of us older fellas, action happening is a good bowel movement.
     
  21. SlamCouver
    Joined: Jun 26, 2006
    Posts: 2,002

    SlamCouver
    Member
    from Brazil, IL

    "youth of today will try to emulate, what they grow up with, see in the movies, in the media, and progress accordingly. When I was a teenager, it was rare to see what we deemed an "old man" (alias gray beard), driving a Hot Rod, now, we are that guy."

    Don't know how old you are but.... take for example its 2011, If you're 55 now you were born in 1956. so in 1972 when you turned 16 you would be out cruising, idolizing the newest muscle car and listening to disco. Lots of people think they know how it was simply for the fact that they might have been born in the 50's. when all along I'm sure the vast majority of you grew up emulating what you saw in the movies, in the media, and progressed accordingly. Hell maybe you're 80 and this doesnt apply. But a gear head is a gear head, the calender date doesn't handicap a true hot rodder. It's time to put aside the smug I was there attitude buck up and accept the fact that the hot rodding hobby is ageless.
     
  22. Deuce Daddy Don
    Joined: Apr 27, 2008
    Posts: 5,544

    Deuce Daddy Don
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    "Ain't that the truth"---Exactly why LAR show keeps the "idea" alive about the early open cars from yesteryear!!
     

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  23. lippy
    Joined: Sep 27, 2006
    Posts: 6,825

    lippy
    Member
    from Ks

    Try sitting in a dragster in 100 deg heat with a -20 five layer firesuit on, helmet, gloves, fireboots ect. That will make you feel old quick!! It's worse every time I do it. Plus I start getting leg cramps if I have to wait too long. It's hell getting older. I notice getting on a step to get up on the tire and gently sliding in a car. When I was younger, you jumped up on the tire and hopped right in there. Plus if I don't have a step, I almost rip the ass out of my bottoms. Sheesh. Lippy
     
  24. AnimalAin
    Joined: Jul 20, 2002
    Posts: 3,416

    AnimalAin
    Member

    One of the good reasons to drive an old car every day. I'll be sixty later this year; I want to have that feeling on the way to school, the grocery store, or wherever I happen to be going that day. My cars and truck look pretty used up compared to a lot of others, but I'll be damned if I'll leave pristine unused hot rods to my kids.
     
  25. Lippy IS old. Age done crept up and won, too.
     
  26. Engine man
    Joined: Jan 30, 2011
    Posts: 3,480

    Engine man
    Member
    from Wisconsin

    I agree with this. The cars mean more because of the memories that they evoke. At family gatherings, everybody had to check out the new cars and go for a ride in them. Pictures always included the cars. Sunday drives were common and on car trips we kept track of the cars we saw. After the mid 70s, nobody seemed to notice new cars.

    Many collectors don't have any children interested in the cars. They just want the money they can get for them. I think this is the reason so many classic cars are sold at the auctions these days.
     
  27. SLCK64
    Joined: Oct 4, 2009
    Posts: 493

    SLCK64
    Member

    As a younger fellow, 29, I can say the newer crowd is just building what they grew up around, well except me. I was born in 82 and the whole 'ricer' scene was starting to take a hold of the world when I was 16. Im full blooded American and love some old steel. The import cars were cheap and plentiful and "quick" for what they are. Everyone started putting nitrous on everything, even the Camaro and Mustang guys. I got my '64 for 3200 in Aug of 1999 when I was 17, my first car. Theres no way I could of had something I truly desired on an odd job income. Car prices for old iron was through the roof at that time, so everyone started getting into imports cause there were soooo many around, they were cheap new and then that made their used prices that much cheaper for a good daily school/haul friends around car. And not to mention they killed just about every American cars in gas milage, kids dont have money so they dont wanna throw all their money at the pump. So I think what you are seeing is the younger crowd just building what they have grown up with. And you will see A LOT more of modern drivetrains being put in older models.
     
  28. luckyuhaul
    Joined: Jul 11, 2005
    Posts: 182

    luckyuhaul
    Member

    So "American Graffitti" will morph into "The Fast and Furious".
    Where will Eleanor go?
    Dear Lord, more things to worry about.
    Pass the Geritol, would ya?
     
  29. crxgames
    Joined: Oct 25, 2009
    Posts: 2

    crxgames
    Member
    from Walton, KY

    This is one of my first posts around here, but I've lurked here for a while.

    I'm 21 and have been modifying cars since before I had my license. I have had this conversation with many of the local "old guys" and rod owners at cruise ins and big shows around Cincinnati (I have many friends that help organize these events). I think the big problem with the younger crowd lies across two main areas. The first one being that building rods now days is no where near affordable for anyone who didn't inherit the car or already have some connections to get a good base cheaply. On top of that, everyone is pretty brainwashed into going to college for a white collar job instead of learning any technical skills that may suite them better. Due to this, a large group of people from high school to their mid twenties have already racked up quite a bit of debt before even fully moving out.

    The second issue I see is that there is a lack of interest for doing anything by hand for yourself when you can just pay someone to do it. Very few guys my age can change their oil or even care to know how to, let alone build a car. I have very few friends (outside of car buddies) that understand why I taught myself to weld or even bother putting as much money into cars as I do. My biggest fear is that my generation will lose much of the machining and fabrication skills that the older generations currently have. I have yet to meet anyone my age that can do sheet metal fabrication at all (though they do exist).

    On that note though, I will say that over the past two years, there has been a trend moving toward fabricating your own parts again in some of the import groups. Drifting has really brought about a lot more fab in modern cars that you'll see on the street than I've seen since I got involved with cars. Different cars, different purposes, but still the same purpose at the core: improving performance. This is a great example: http://zilvia.net/f/chat/371477-austins-240-build.html

    Sorry if that was long winded or ranty. Just figured I'd weigh in from the other end of the spectrum :).
     
  30. SlamCouver
    Joined: Jun 26, 2006
    Posts: 2,002

    SlamCouver
    Member
    from Brazil, IL

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