How has the ressesion affected our hobby

I was looking forward to retiring at 62 but got laid off 4 years ago, I was 60 and had 26 years with the company. Didn't take unemployment benefits, used 401K and bought a house to fix up and sell.... Housing market went in the crap-per, anyway 401K gone and I owe the Feds and the State.......

Haven't been to one show this year, I would sell my Vette to get out of debt but nobody will pay what it is worth... and that sucks....

 

The reason tires have gone to the moon is because most tires are made in New Zealand because thats were the rubber trees are, the New Zealand dollar has gone from 56 cents to an even par with our dollar, shows you how weak our dollar is now, on the flip side , New Zealanders are buying projects and parts right now as well as the Aussies. Alot of them are going to Hot Rod Renunion, so if you guys have stuff to sell, I suggest you get it advertised. The European market has slid away, due to they are facing their own financial problems and they are having a hard time registering old cars , due to goverment regulations.

 

Put together a nice chrome front end for my T last year, but don't see a car going over it anytime soon. Is that what you mean?

 

If you cant sell your car, try trading it for a bunch of parts you can sell, most hoarders would rather have a car they can drive and enjoy than a bunch of parts, on the other side , yes you are buying your self a job trying to sell those parts, but it will at least put food on the table.

 

It's killing me. I'm training to be a teacher and in the last 2 years my hours at the college have been cut 3 times. I am now going to work for 10 hours a week! No support or benefits so i'm searching hard for some part-time work to help out. I've sold my stash of parts, only been to a few shows this year and any plans i had for my car are out the window. If it gets any worse the car will have to be sold. There's weeks i've eaten cheap noodles just so i can buy some car parts and keep my car rolling. I really don't want to sell my car, it's the only thing that keeps me sane.

 

No joke, this problem is world wide, another thing we can do is , if you have skills at welding, body work or paint, try trading work for some of the parts you need for your car. Just like the farmers in the thirtys, they used to trade produce for things they needed on their farm, in small rural comunities, this move ment has started again. Trade is good because nobody gets beat up on their prices, If you are a construction worker, tell your land lord you will trade work towards repairs on his place.

 

I'm not concerned for myself. I'll make it but my concerns are for my two kids and grand children. My daughter has gone through the divorce from Hell and its hard for me to be a Dad to an eight year old. My son's house was wiped out by Hurricane Irene in the Vermont flooding. It used to be that each generation did better then the previous one. It looks like that will no longer be the case. It's getting increasingly harder for young family's to survive in this piss poor economy. The sad part is it doesn't look like it will get any better any time soon. Unemployment is at an all time high and keeps rising and housing prices keep going lower. Don't know about you but my taxes and expenses keep rising. I hate to be pessimistic but when was the last time we've heard any good news on our economy? The current administration is now talking about unlimited unemployment payments. What an incentive for someone to get a job.

 

I was the one Who stated that what we have now may be as good as it gets. That what we have now may be the new normal. I told my employer that the other day! It wasnt what he wanted to hear Last week a friend stopped by to tell me that I would soon be reading about him in the paper. In the forclousure section! He inherited 160 acres of paid for land. He now owes $160,000 on 96 acres ( he sold 64 acres) that will only sell for $600 per acre. He cant make his $14,800 yearly payment. Why in the heck does a 60 year old have a 30 year morgage? He proceeded to tell me how the bank did him wrong. I could have been courtious and agreed with him. But I decided to try and give a honest opinion. So I told him when you owe money for anything it dont matter what it is it not really yours. Until you make the very last payment you are nothing more than a glorified renter. All he lost was the gamble. He gambled that the economy wouldnt collapse. He gambled his health wouldnt fail. He sold his land to the bank when he borrowed the money. He gambled and lost He is the one where the blame rest. I believe Getting out of debt and staying out of debt is a goal that most should have. I sold my collection of 56 fords so we could pay cash for the house we now live in. Im glad I did and we dont have a house payment. OldWolf

 

The best thing a parent can do for their childern is give them a good start. Be it a education, land, equiptment ect. Even being a good example can be helpful. If my children needed it they could have everything I have, When my sons turned 21 we deeded them paid for land that had no strings attached,. They still own it and its not morgaged. Thankfully they are still working and out of debt & saving a little. You are correct the future is likely to not be better for the younger generation. We boomers lived in a one time analomaly. We came up in the post war boom in a industrial nation who wasnt touched by the ravages of war on our soil. We where the main producers and the whole world was our market. Never before has this type of event happened and it day has faded into oblivion. Times have changed and we must learn to know how to change also. OldWolf

 

My daughter has a college education as does my son who also has two degrees and his Master's. Still pretty hard to withstand a divorce and a total wipe out from a flood. Like Old Wolf I help them every way I can. Doesn't leave too much to play with.

 

What's this "new normal" crap??? Do NOT let the government, your job, your boss, or your personal situation dictate your circumstances! The great thing about this country is that we are not forced into careers/jobs based upon a score on a test when you are in middle school, like many other countries. You have the freedom, and the free will, to do what your abilities allow you to do. If your job sucks, find something else...or better yet, go to work for yourself! Everyone has a LEGAL interest(s) that, when cultivated and sparked, can make them a decent living.

Sometimes, taking a second or even third job is required to bail one's self out of financial circumstances that are, in most cases, self-inflicted! Yes, I know, there are catastrophic disasters, illnesses, and such that one has zero control of, and that is indeed rough. But, too many have taken the government's example of spending waaaaaaay beyond their means and dug the Grand Canyon for themselves and their families. The government prints money to keep going into more and more impossible debt. We do not have that luxury.

Keep a roof over your head. Feed the family. Keep power and water coming. Save your money (pay yourself first). Pay your bills. SAVE whatever you can...THEN it's time to talk about "building hot rods and keeping one's social life", as the OP said.

 

Obviously you've not taken a peek at the price per barrel of brent crude trading on the International petroleum exchange lately with USDollars.
A pack of pimple faced kids with some kind of dime store degree in business mgmt changing decimal places on the mercantile markets is shittin' ridiculous and used to be federally regulated, but now anything goes just to keep those precious 401's with a + return when quarterly statements are mailed out.
My position on stock & commodity traders is much like view of real estate brokers & developers........... They deserve absolutely every damn thing they got coming their way, and in my opinion, it just couldn't happen to a more deserving bunch of folk.
Anytime there is public internet discussion of present day economy, it's survivors you see with commentary. Strange we never get to hear from the ones who don't have computers,........... or the electricity to run it.

Hope this gets read by the public at large before censorship: Tom S. in Tn.

 

Rant removed...

 

OK, after the public rant, I saw Patrick 66 post just above mine, and I'm cut to my knees. Anyone can get caught up in present day state of economy, but the smart ones know self sufficiency apart from those controlling the carrot in front of us.

BTW Patrick: My grandfather, who was born in 1901 that raised me used to quote the exact verse from Alice in Wonderland you use in signature line.
I saw it in red I was slapped directly back into reality.
Tom S. in Tn. (again)

 

well ,all the debt free stuff sounds real good.i dont have any credit cards ,i do have a car payment.i save for everything i buy,except my family car and home.our country was founded on credit.we invented credit.the world followed us into credit hell.fact is my grandfather saved for three years to buy a new oldsmobile.he did this all his life until 1981 when he was retired and couldnt save that much anymore .try to save up to buy a new car today,ha yeah.we have overpaid ourselves into this mess,i agree the overseas parts suck,but why do people buy them?because a tv produced in the us would be 3 times as high.our min wage here is considered high pay in china.anyy body here wanna tig weld for 10 hours for 1.25 an hour?i didnt think so.every body wants to make as much as they can (usually more than they are worth ) but not pay alot for goods.it doesnt work ,why do you think the little beer can commuter cars cost 18k?well you have to have credit in order for most people to afford to purchase large ticket items.that doesnt mean refi your over assesed home to build your hot rod or go on a vacation.it means if you need to fix your roof and you need to stretch 5k i out you can.crawling in a hole and not spending money does nothing for our economy.wanna squash the import flux into the us for hotrod parts?stop charging 400.00 for a sand cast finned air cleaner or 800.00 for some wishbones.or better yet how about getting realistic with original parts,rememeber when mustang 2 frontends gave us complete original front ends for 50.00?a set of crusty bones will cost you that today,or even better how about the 3000.00 32 ford hood in the classifieds.all the x street rodder guys will just have to have that.its better than a one off set of billet wheels.too bad "traditional cars" are the cool thing right now.its killin me ,because ive liked being able to build a nice car for a reasonable amount of money.not anymore.i need a friggin black amex card to beable to buy a set of front drum brakes.all you guys that try to gouge everybody with your hard to get parts,suck ,real tradition isnt like that at all.its just money injected street rod mentality.

 

I'll trade you one for a model 40 coupe, 3 or 5 window.

Food has become outragious. As well as about everything else. I just spent 900 bucks (give or take) putting tires on the wife's dailey pickup truck. Nothing special just everyday tires.

My grandaughter wants to buy graduation announcements because the school said she needs them. Minumum deposit 60 bucks I am afraid to know that the damned things are going to cost, and not much scares me.

 

Money is debt and debt is money and it is all just paper bonds set out by the treasury dep . Our countries were built on debt . If there was no debt there would be no money.

 

You know, I think it has helped me with my project.
I am working on my 29 A and am trying to stay true to the "If it wasn't around in 1940, its not going on the car" theme.

It means using more of the old parts, fabricating more, and not going crazy buying crap out of catalogs.

I guess you could say it is keeping me true to my theme. Guys back in the day did a lot with a little.

Bryan

 

Our biggest problems are government and having most everything made in China. I remember when all our tvs were made right here in the U.S and now its none. Its supposed to be by the people for the people not by the politicians for the corporations.

 

That has been what I've been seeing. It would seem like Nash/Rambler/AMC stuff has been hit the hardest. Those old upside down bathtubs aren't worth much and neither are the goofy designs from the late 50s. I've sold a few cars since the recession began, been breaking even. Some I make money on, some I loose. I like messing with different stuff, I don't really have a project car (well maybe my OT 1980 AMX counts). Everything is for sale for the right price.

The car I lost the most money on was my 53 Willys. Even a smooth running six wasn't enough to make people want it even at $350 bucks. It was just to darned rusted. I let it go for $275 after trying to sell it for two years. I didn't loose much though, maybe $400 bucks if I include transporting it to my house. I did get a few years of back road fun out of it.

Most of the other cars I've sold never sat on Craigslist for more than a week. I usually try and get only certain types of cars, they have to be extremely cheap and the motor has to turn over. I'll do some tinkering, rig or make some parts to get it going for nearly free, drive it a while on the back roads and then put it up on Craigslist. When people can look at a car and hear it run and even get to drive around in it that sort of stuff really makes it easy to seal the deal.

I did buy a couple of 57 Chevies that didn't run. The one sold within two days and I doubled my money. The low end of the market I'd say is pretty strong for dirt cheap (under 1000) running 50s and earlier cars. The square stuff from the 60s though is about worthless.

I did loose my job a few years ago. Been through a string of them since, some temp jobs, some where the boss decided paychecks were optional Wages have fallen a lot in my area, jobs pay less than they did 10 years ago. I was making 10 dollars an hour in a factory as a high school kid 7-8 years ago. That same factory now starts regular full-time workers at $9.50/hr. I used to be able to pick up jobs paying $12-$15 bucks an hour. Now I'm making near minimum wage at Wal-Mart. I have no kids and no wife, if I did there would be no old car hobby for me.

I find ways to save money fixing up old cars. I rebuild parts instead of replacing them, and when parts are too far gone try to find cheaper substitutes from other makes of cars that will work. I tear off good brake lines off of OT junkers before I send to the scrap yard, also scavenge every part that I might think will come in handy from bolts to hose clamps and brake parts. I keep an eye out for junk TVs and vacuum cleaners on the side of the curb and cut cords. Those cords will find their way onto my cars to replace bad wiring. I have floor boards made out of computer cases. Bed angle steel gets cut up to use for various repairs. Some people think doing things that way is stupid but at least I get my stuff out on the road moving under it's own power versus sitting in the garage collecting dust because new floor pans cost hundreds of dollars or a painless wiring harness is too pricey.

 

Though we are broke, we can still have a social life, go to your weekly car cruizes, they are useally free, and help the local business in your comunity. If there is'nt one , start one with your friends, pinch in and do a weekly bar-b-que. Network with your car buddies , and help each other out selling your spare parts. A lot of younger kids have been moving back with their parents, there is a positive side to this as long as they help with some of the expenses, as some of us get older, our kids will hopefuly return the favor and take care of us, instead of us ending up in a retirement home.

 

I went to a show in Ventura around June (forget the name) and there weren't that many cars to see...it was kind of sad. I also found a guy at The Long Beach swap meet that was willing to sell me only one rim (from a complete set of four) he was selling.

 

I'm working, which is more than I can say for alot of tradesmen but the job is 1-1/2 hrs from my house which means i'm burning dead dino's like crazy and with gas prices like they are it has put a crimp in my style. I've put off buying a new mig welder like I had planed and am putting off the new axles I need so I can get my AMX off the rotissery and on the floor so I can continue working my plan. I have been doing a few no or low buck things to my wifes Metro to keep busy but have definetly lost the momentum I had last winter

 

I've found several old trucks that were good for only parts, and the owners wanted the scrap metal value for them, which has been about twice what I was willing to pay (passed on both of them). I've been selling scrap iron from cleaning up farm land for years, but the past two years I have seen complete old cars, trucks, tractors, antique plows being hauled in and stacked up...somebody even found an old Dodge I had stashed in a barn in the country and dragged off what they could, which was too bad cuz that old truck had excellent doors and a straight bed.

And I now understand what consumer confidence means after what happened this summer: work was really busy, and it looked like I was about to get a raise & a promotion, so I took out a lien on my Dodge CTD 4x4 to pay off a credit card bill...2 weeks later, I was let go for cost-cutting reasons. WTF Luckily I found another job just down the road, but the bottom line is that as an engineer, my pay rate has been declining since I got out of college when ya figger in inflation. I would have more $$$ in hand now if I became a truck driver out of high school instead of going to college, and that's a durn shame, cuz if white collar middle class jobs are going in the toilet, we're all getting screwed. Poor folks cain't afford to buy anything of substance, and rich folks don't want to pay for half the stuff they got and find ways to get away with it, so that leaves the middle to keep things going in this great land of ours. But that's kinda hard to do with flat wages, banks not doing their jobs, and politicians playing games to get themselves through the next election.

My old truck projects have been on hold because of house remodeling (my place & my parents', simultaneously). But it looks like I'll be back on them in the coming months; luckily, I paid cash for most of the expensive stuff years ago, so whut's left to do is mainly elbow grease related. If anything, the car garage full of parts I've collected will be installed, essentially cleaning out the garage & fixing up my old clunkers...two birds with one stone

 

Guys all I can say is ; if you do have to spend money, spend it at your local comunity and small busineses, at least your money will wind up in your comunity and not some off shore account. corporations are not going to pull us out of this mess, they are having record profits selling goods to China and India, and the money is not comming back here or being taxed. Small bussines is what made America and deserves our loyalty. I am trying to keep the thread positive and see how we can help each other.

 

For years I would spend one or two thousand each winter on my Fairlane. Lost my job, took another one at five bucks less an hour. My wife was laid off after 21 yrs on her job.....so yeah, a lot of things are on the back burner for now. Hey, no compaints here though. I still am better off then a lot guys and I may not have what I want but, I do have what I need. More side work in the garage at night so that has helped out and this won't last forever. Things are gonna change I can feel it! Beck...loser baby.

 

Great Thread. It has reinforced my belief that there are a lot of quality people on this site. I like your avatar. It reminds me of where our country is going if we don't get a handle on the national debt.

B

 

thank you

 

It's not very good here in the U.K. All the shows have been down this summer. The price of gas has alot to do with that. Must be nearly $9 a gallon about 70% of that is tax. Skilled people who want to work can usually find a job, but wages are not so good. Although the bankers and city traders are still living like kings. Just heard about an 18 year old city trader who bought an 05 Mustang he is paying $18000 a year insurance, that is more than many people earn

 

My wife and I came out of college right into this mess. We both make decent money, but with student loans, and a cheap house that needs lots of work there isnt much left to play with. My hot rod has been sitting as a pile of parts for 6 years now, and it looks like its going to be just a pile of parts for the foreseeable future. All of my play money came from odd jobs like custom shelving units, built-ins, flooring.. well, odds and ends that took muscle and tools that others just thought that they were above. now I dont get much of that work, its either being put on the back burner, or done by the owners. bummer for the hot rod project, but it could always be worse! I still have my crummy little house and my wonderful wife!