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Hot Rods Lost interest

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by HOTRODPRIMER, Oct 12, 2018.

  1. We had our monthly club meeting last night at a fellow club members shop and got to see his progress on the '56 Parklane wagon and as the meeting was wrapping up one member announced he had sold his car recently and because of some health issues he has lost interest in cars, he is unable to drive and that's got him down.

    Than another member spoke up and said he and his long time girl friend are parting ways and he to has lost interest.

    I spoke up and said I'm still a hot rodder and don't plan on quitting my hobby, everyone else agreed so even though our youngest member is 55 our oldest charter member and still very active has no plans to slow down at 80 and is stuffing a 351 in his comet.

    Being the oldest active car club in the state does give you some bragging rights but it also comes with the reality that the members are getting older but we still have 10 to 15 active members and that's pretty good for a club that has been around for 46 years. HRP
     
    wicarnut, kiwijeff, fauj and 8 others like this.
  2. need some new blood
    invite some newer cars in
    learn to talk tuner
    I work with young folks, many like older cars they just are not exposed to them
    most old cars sit inside until show day
    Im learning to speak tuner, I have a student Im helping install a 2jz (thats tuner for a twin turbo supra engine)
    Students attend shows with our bus and are exposed to more and more older cars. Their biggest question for people is usually "why do you not drive this all the time"
     
    Last edited: Oct 13, 2018
    AldeanFan, wicarnut, slim38 and 6 others like this.
  3. One of the key symptoms of depression is losing interest in hobbies, along with inability to sleep (or wake up), and feelings of hopelessness. People are stubborn, so we need to watch for these symptoms in our friends and give them a heads up.


    Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
     
  4. We are a rod & custom club with no specific cut of date and actually we do have a few members that own 70's and later cars.

    There is a lot of tuner guys here in our area and have a couple of clubs dedicated to their favorite cars, most of those guys don't want to hang out with a bunch of old farts! :D
     
    wicarnut, Blue One, 47ragtop and 2 others like this.

  5. squirrel
    Joined: Sep 23, 2004
    Posts: 55,942

    squirrel
    Member

    Two of our club members died last month...

    I guess there's worse things than losing interest in cars.
     
  6. hmmmmmm
    any local trade schools?
    how about meeting there
    sponsor any shows/cruise in?
     
    wicarnut and HOTRODPRIMER like this.
  7. LAROKE
    Joined: Sep 5, 2007
    Posts: 2,079

    LAROKE
    Member

    Our Sunday morning coffee cruise-in group is much the same and, at sixty-nine, I'm in the upper middle of membership age. There is one guy in the group who puts us all to shame. His name is Hank Langsenkamp and he has put over fifteen thousand miles on his cars this year, driving to cross-country events, alone. About three weeks ago, he was home in South Florida between runs and we congratulated him on his eighty-eighth birthday. Then, a couple of weeks ago, he was off again to the Crusin' the Coast event and on his way after that to a show in California. I can't keep up with a guy who graduated from high school the year before I was born.
     
  8. DDDenny
    Joined: Feb 6, 2015
    Posts: 19,144

    DDDenny
    Member
    from oregon

    Yes, but the question must be asked "which comes first".
    Losing interest is ALMOST always tied in with a diminished quality of health and/or finances, which many times leads to depression.
    I'm the happiest when I'm being creative, now this is where people will say just try to do a little something everyday, you don't always need money to stay involved with a project.
    Sounds good on paper!
     
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  9. ol-nobull
    Joined: Oct 16, 2013
    Posts: 1,655

    ol-nobull
    Member

    Hi. My local club is not really a hot rod club but there are some hot rods in it & they are welcome. It is chartered AACA as an antique car club. No problem talking hot rod with members though. I joined late in 2013 and for a while club was suffering a down turn in membership as we were about all getting on in age. I am now 80 and there are a few older than me in the club. But in 2015 we hosted the AACA regional Texas Tour in Victoria and got tons of publicity and had lots of walk in visitors with around 100 + old cars in Hotel parking lot from brass era Model T's to Indy pace cars to 70's Luxury cars. The public also got to see them driving around not only Victoria but several nearby towns on daily tours to different historical locations. My little stock bodied 46 Chevy coupe with the hot rod 235 six cylinder engine was a hit as always as the public is just not used to seeing or thinking about hot rod sixes. they think everything should be big V 8's. Those two big Webers & the thick Clifford intake manifold are eye poppers for those not used to hot rod sixes. Too bad my coupe got rear ended in May & is now on the back burner & will be replaced by my 50 Plymouth Deluxe for a while. We have quite a few hot rod Model A's, mostly restored stock bodies with the exception of one Speedster. Our club membership has steadily risen since that tour by about 40% but nearly all new members are coming up with lots of 70's luxury cars such as Lincoln's & Caddies so we are not getting much increase in the 50's & older models. But we ARE getting much younger members & we sure needed that.
    If your club is going stagnant and membership low or dwindling you need to get both your members AND vehicles in front of the public in a big way. It sure was a lifesaver for our club and membership is now still on the rise & interest is much higher. People are not going to seek you out & find you & about your club unless you & your club stay in the news.
    Jimmie
     
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  10. Sky Six
    Joined: Mar 15, 2018
    Posts: 9,480

    Sky Six
    Member
    from Arizona

    We have a Saturday morning meeting once a month in a meeting room at a coffee house and a cruise in once a month at a local hamburger joint. Our attendees range in age from very early 20's to very late 70's. We do not limit the type of cars so we have at least one of everything from '23 Fords, newer Corvettes, '54 Chryslers, '40 Chevrolets, etc.. We have no tuners because they don't show up.
    The young guys learn from the old guys and the old guys stay young because of the youngsters. Everyone is interested in everyone else's car and any progress that is made.
    This may not work for all people, and different regions but it serves us well.
     
  11. Maverick Daddy
    Joined: Nov 26, 2008
    Posts: 3,130

    Maverick Daddy
    Member

    now's the time to reach out to that kid in the 4 door galaxie, or the rough and rusty '54 sedan. If givin the chance, that's going to be the future of the hobby. if continually shut out, then the hobby will die with their interest. The tuner crowd accepts just about anything......
     
    Last edited: Oct 12, 2018
    Ranchero59 and wicarnut like this.
  12. There are several car clubs in this town, one boast of having over 100 members and another hot rod & motor cycle club that is very active and comprised of young guys & gals and they have a lot of members.

    We sponsored the only car shows,both indoors & out for more than 30 years but that is enough to burn a whole club out, soliciting door prizes,promoting the shows, insurance and finding the right venue, we finally agreed lets just let the younger guys do it and they picked up and ran with it.

    BTW, we have seen the rise and fall of several clubs in the last 20 years, the local Model A club was huge at one time but they went belly up as did the local Classic Chevy Club and a few lesser ones.

    I feel confident that we still have a core group that will remain active as long as possible and I am one of them.

    BTW, We had a 30th & 40th Anniversary get together and invited every current and past member and their family that we could get in touch with and it was catered at the beautiful downtown farmers market.

    We had over 200 people show up at the 30th and about 130 for the 40th, many bhad moved away and sadly a lot of past members are no longer alive, we are already talking about or 50th anniversary in 2022. HRP

    We have a member that is now in assisted living it is 90 years of age and we include him in most of our outings and have had the entire club show up at the facility and have a inopportune car show for the residents and our elderly member. HRP
     
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  13. F&J
    Joined: Apr 5, 2007
    Posts: 13,222

    F&J
    Member

    A persons life in these days, is only depressing if you allow it to be so. Many are weary of the barrage of bad news that is pushed on TV news, and many are now tossing the TV out. That is a great first step. Then get out in your local area with your rod or kustom to stop at recreation areas, lakes, walking trails, etc. You WON"T meet downer people there, as they are also knowing, and seeing that "life" is what you do with it.

    Post one has two depressed guys. If they said it out loud?, that IS a plea for help....even if their conscious does not realize it. Surround them with "you". The suicide rate is increasing, along with drug & substance abuse, likely due to the depression of what they believe is a hopeless world....It's not.

    .
     
  14. redoxide
    Joined: Jul 7, 2002
    Posts: 756

    redoxide
    Member

    There is nothing so rejuvenating and good for the mind and the soul as a ride in a hot rod.. :)

    Get out there..

    This thread has actually gave me the kick up the ass Ive been needing for the past couple of weeks :) will finnish the stuff I have on for other folk then resume the build on my own project ... Really REALLY need to get back on the road... :)
     
  15. jazz1
    Joined: Apr 30, 2011
    Posts: 1,534

    jazz1
    Member

    I found interest in the hobby wanes if you are not physically working on a project. The passion is in the build, once built the novelty of driving the vehicle wears off. Mine attracts plenty of attention still.
    Girlfriend I had not seen in 30 years found me and stopped by on way across country, we went for coffee and a woman in parking lot stated how much she loved the colour of the old truck. I whispered to my old flame" Its Passion Purple, the colour makes 'em moist"
     
  16. KevKo
    Joined: Jun 25, 2009
    Posts: 926

    KevKo
    Member
    from Motown

    I used to be quite active with model cars but haven't built in several years now. I would often lose interest in a project. I'd just pack it all up in the box and put it back on the shelf. A few months later I'd get back into it. That's a lot harder to do with a real car. They take up a LOT more room. And $$
     
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  17. Los_Control
    Joined: Oct 7, 2016
    Posts: 1,125

    Los_Control
    Member
    from TX

    I have to agree that this is a symptom that as we get older it can be a issue.
    Sometimes we might just get bored and need a new hobby.
    Myself, my past career is a carpenter, my hobby was building computers and running/coding linux operating systems for these computers I built.
    I belonged to clubs, we would meet and we donated our time and computers to half way houses and other community non profits.

    Today I am disabled, I can still do everything, just takes me 3 times longer. I have little interest in computers .... I just spend all my time working on my old truck and keeps me happy.
    While my computer buddies are worried about me, my interest have simply changed.
    Working on a 40 something pickup is the best mental therapy evah!
     
  18. We hadn't had a club meeting for about 15 years so I began calling members to arrange a club meeting. We always met upstairs at a Chilies restaurant in the past. They graciously reserved the upstairs for our new meeting and about 15 guys showed up. The president was pretty ill with cancer but we had our meeting...it was weird! Instead of talking about our cars, the guys all discussed their new artificial hips, chemo treatments, various surgeries. Only about 4 of us still had hotrods or customs. I think our club is about dead. The president and 2 others passed away a few weeks later. customclassicsplaque.jpg
     
  19. wicarnut
    Joined: Oct 29, 2009
    Posts: 9,052

    wicarnut
    Member

    I'm personally going through some changes relative to health/age/ family/friends passing away as I am one one the younger guys in my circle of friends/associates/etc. This age thing catches up to everyone, a real PIA, but that's the cycle of life. I personally have not lost interest in cars, just going to go about it differently. To all here, keep an eye on your friends, call them, message them as depression apparently is a big time problem with us senior citizens, just had my yearly/good to go for me (I'm lucky) on forms you fill out, the nurse and DR asking about depression several times in different manners I finally asked why the intense interrogation on depression, I was told it's a huge problem with today's seniors and of course they can give you happy pills if needed/wanted. I talked with some friends on this subject and was surprised that some were on meds for depression, I had no idea they were struggling, I never noticed the difference one way or the other. It's kinda funny, how/what I thought about Old Timers and damn it, getting to be one, the other shoe has dropped.
     
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  20. Well, maybe, but you left out young ladies. Interaction with the younger fairer sex makes me feel 20 years younger. Now a ride in a hot rod with a young lady, thats the bomb..
     
  21. tractorguy
    Joined: Jan 5, 2008
    Posts: 894

    tractorguy
    Member

    I always have similar thoughts when I see these kinds of threads. I am 72yrs. old and enjoy a fairly wide variety of internal combustion activities. I am also very introverted.....by birth and many times by choice. The real joys of this hobby for me revolve around......auctions/picks where I can enjoy fresh air, the great outdoors and maybe finding that really cool piece, engine or vehicle for a great price......working on my stuff and accomplishing small tasks ie.....new 00 battery cables that fit perfectly and greatly increase the cranking speed on my 6v vehicle......doing a valve job on a pair of smallblock heads and getting the seats and valves "just right" etc.......sanding and painting a set of wheels and getting them really nice with my best rattle can skills......rebuilding a carb and getting it perfect on start-up......none of this involves 15-20 people having a beer and telling stories.

    I have several friends that belong to Corvette clubs (I know.....easy targets), but I see similiar behavior.......regular meeting, nice set of minutes, wives normally included, bake sales, fundraisers, lots of talk about grand kids, weekend road trips and trophies, etc. etc. Most, if not all of it is about cars.....except admiring somebodies new exhaust tips or rear spoiler.......nothing about the real love of internal combustion or even awesome heritage of the very nameplate that is in the title of their club !

    As to the regularly repeated suggestion that we need to embrace the tuners for our hobby to survive......I'm sorry.....if you are so worried about guaranteeing the future re-sale value of your ride, that you live and work in hopes of "converting" someone, I personally don't find that good use of my limited, dwindling time. It's like the Crips trying to convert the Bloods......the R's trying to recruit the D's ......etc. etc.

    Again......I enjoy the peace, quiet (OK....most of the time) and solitude of me and my internal combustion stuff in my own space......I enjoy quality time with my family and extended family......and I enjoy infrequent wine/dine get togethers with a dwindling, very small circle of close lifelong friends.

    I'm heading out to the garage.
     
  22. F&J
    Joined: Apr 5, 2007
    Posts: 13,222

    F&J
    Member

    You don't have to tell me! It's my only %$&#'ing running car. After I posted above your post here 2 hours ago, I took it to Autozone, and then went grocery shopping too.

    I hope I'm not depressed though, ...I didn't smoke the tires even once.. :confused:

    .
     
  23. For a while I thought our hobby would go the way of the brass crowd. What makes our hobby different, though, is the individual beauty and driveability of our cars Lets face it the brass era cars are rarely driven and enjoyed. Like tuners they also look a lot alike. If you see a Lambo and a High Boy at a light guess which gets the most looks? That's right - That guy built it and cash alone didn't create it! Thank God for Ryan's billet proof leadership out of the Easter egg era and help in keeping our hobby pure American Hot Rods and Customs. The interest in our hobby thrives very well Down Under and in European/Scandinavian areas - all highly restrictive to our cars. Look at the vintage motorcycle hobby and realize that ours is much the same. If it takes seat belts and discs up front so I can stop as fast as the car ahead of me I'll do that too so I can keep my 2 legged and 4 legged passengers safe. Also, just some anti-sway bars and good shocks go a long way toward making my cars more enjoyable to drive without loosing their original feel. Like Neil Young says "I just love driving old cars".
     
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  24. BamaMav
    Joined: Jun 19, 2011
    Posts: 6,714

    BamaMav
    Member
    from Berry, AL

    I was in a club once, it disbanded because of human nature and greed. 'Nuff said on that.
    I go to another clubs events when I can because they put on good events. They are mostly older guys, they lose one or two a year, but I never see them adding any new members. I've volunteered helping them out putting up rope lines and such a few times, but nobody asked me if I'd like to join. Would I? I might, you never know until you ask.

    The last couple of years, this year especially, I haven't been able to go to much of anything. Events I wouldn't miss in years past, I missed. It hurt, but finances and having the Grandson all the time have limited my going. My car has been down for over two years now, we still have the wife's OT 88 F bird, but it's not the same. My off time has been severely limited too, and that also plays in. When I'm off work, I don't want to work on the car or go anywhere. I just want to rest. But it WILL get better, it will just take time.
     
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  25. I finally got my OT 66 Galaxie done and took it to the salt flats, The club that puts on the events invites local high school auto tech students to come out for the races. I was surprised at the interest from these young people in an old Ford that was built before they were born, "I could build something like this" was what a lot of them said. I enjoyed talking with them. Most didn't know what it was and the engine was a total mystery to them but they liked it. With a little exposure to our cars I'm sure it wouldn't be that hard to recruit these kids in to the hobby. After all a gear head is a gear head no matter what their age.

    DSCN2880 (1).JPG
     
  26. Mr48chev
    Joined: Dec 28, 2007
    Posts: 33,861

    Mr48chev
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    I'd say a lot of older guys loose interest for a variety of reasons.
    All of the ones that were posted above are pretty honest ones.
    Just physically unable to work on a car or drive for any distance or for a lot of folks to drive at night.
    Depression, the list to causes for that is a long one.
    Loss of companion that got one up and going to go to events That can be wife, girlfriend, side kick or ____ .
    New companion who just flat does not like the car thing.
    Change of interest all together. My father in law was never into cars but he could only handle having one interest/hobby at a time, When he fished he fished every free moment, when he played golf he played golf every free minute but never took time from one to do the other. When he got into refinishing furniture that was all he did for a couple of years. As for myself if it wasn't for some crazy BC Canada hard core traditional rod guys who led me to the HAMB I'd probably be clear out of cars as a hobby. I bailed for several years because I got flat assed tired of always having to spend a bunch of money on the latest parts, wheels or what not to keep up with the Smiths and Jones. The Hamb reiterated the simple fact that having a car built the way they were when I was in my early teens was great and they didn't have to continually be changed and upgraded. Still I have more interests and hobbies than 90% of the guys on here and some folks in the world know me as a sailboat guy, others know me for my interest in photography or my interest in guns. Admittedly I'm spread a bit thin.
    It could be worse, one of my best friends and one of the guys/couples we had planned on making some car related road trips with got stuck in the nursing home with dementia a couple of weeks ago and it has been hard for me to deal with as he is like one of my big brothers. I was talking to his wife yesterday and I need to help her sell off a bunch of his model Car collection to give her some cash in the pocket. They have been two of my closest friends for almost 40 years and it's pretty rough.
    I've still got my list though and that includes finishing the 48 and making it to Roundup with my great nephew in tow. He will be the cool looking kid with the old fart.
    I won't disrespect clubs or those that belong to them but prefer to go at my own pace, stop where I want to stop, eat where and what I want to and stay where I want to. When I was in a club road trips always met leaving from a certain place at a certain time, stopping for gas where the lead driver wanted to stop, stopping to eat where the lead driver's wife wanted to stop, spending the night were the majority picked.
     
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  27. That's the attitude! Once a car guy...always a car guy.

    Sent from my Pixel XL using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
     
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  28. Car guy for life here.
    Sometimes I get busy in other arenas, such as now.
    I don't stop in here everyday at present, and a couple of car sites have not seen me for sometime.
    I gotter pay to live and enjoy my Hot Rod passion, so works my big focus at present.
    This car thing has been with me from around the time i reached double figures.
     
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  29. traffic61
    Joined: Jun 15, 2009
    Posts: 1,545

    traffic61
    Member
    from Owasso, OK

    Last Saturday I ventured over to Claremore to the annual swap meet. Right off the bat, I hear someone call my name and was surprised to run into a younger fellow from my old hometown. He's in his early 40's and was selling out of the hobby. He had sold his car to a coworker last month and was clearing everything out of his garage. With three teenagers, and their college years not too far off, he had a lot on his plate and was bailing. I've been there, so I can understand his losing interest.

    While talking to him, another old car buddy, that I've known for nearly forty years wandered up and told me that he was out of cars completely and had turned his shop into a music studio. He was looking for stuff to hang on the walls. This caught me off guard as he was pretty much second generation hot rodder, at the minimum. I have ran into a few old car friends over the last few years and have noticed their interest in cars has waned or been extinguished by many things, often life in general.

    I realize that we go in and out of interests, that's just part of this whole life thing. The Lord knows that I have been through some phases, but I have loved old cars since sitting in a lot of Grandpa's old cars back in the 60's. Both of my grandfathers and two uncles were car guys to varying degrees. so perhaps I come by it naturally.

    I am an empty nester, both son and ex-wife long gone from the house and now I can begin to look at getting back into the hobby a bit more. My son, a car guy geared more towards later muscle cars, keeps me engaged with the hobby and is constantly sending me links to cars for sale and whatnot. God bless him for that. When my enthusiasm ebbs, he is there to get me pumped up again. We are plotting a couple of father/son projects that will involve my grandson, which brings me a lot of joy to contemplate. I will always be a car guy, even though I don't own anything HAMB friendly at present, I will haunt this place as long as it is around and I am able to get here.
     
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  30. alanp561
    Joined: Oct 1, 2017
    Posts: 4,612

    alanp561
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Do you still have your original "Lone Wolf" jacket? I can't remember where I got mine, seems like it was J.C Whitney.
     

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