Rant! The current state of our car hobby

[90LX5spd]

Okay, for many of us, its more like a way of life than a hobby. Is anybody else aggravated by the way the classic/muscle car hobby is headed? In my youth I played around with ALOT of cars. They were not in the best of shape when purchased but left my hands looking and running good. I bought 'em reasonable or cheap, hopped 'em up, drove 'em hard, sold 'em and went looking for a fresh project. Now suddenly EVERYBODY is into old cars. This of course, has driven the price of them through the roof.
Here's what I find infuriating: I used to work on high-dollar muscle cars at a resto shop for rich guys who never got grease under their nails. No problem. That kept me fed. No one cared about the beat-up old Novas, Vegas, Dusters etc. I played around with so they were still reasonable. Now it seems EVERY old car is gold. Vegas even are starting to bring money! Its one of the crappiest cars ever made and people are starting to pay coin for Vegas! It seems every slob with any old car with rust holes big enough to put your fist through wants a mint for it. I know, I know its supply and demand. The true classic muscle cars have been swept out of the hands of the working man for some time now and I accept that. Now the trend is taking everything away from the working man. Hot Rodding started with the working man and wealthier people are taking it away because its the "in" thing.
One more thing while I'm bitching. Has anyone noticed (thanks in no small part to Jesse James and the ilk) that even wearing the blue collar working man's clothes is popular? I took pride in the work I did. I put Dickies on everyday (still do). It was my uniform. A small testament to who I was and what I did. I worked hard, not for the money (trust me, I wasn't getting rich), but for honor of it in a way. It seems kind of like a mockery to see Dickies in designer clothing stores now, sold to those who haven't "earned" it, but wear it to be trendy. Sorry for the long post. I had to get it out somewhere. Any thoughts?

 

[RacEoHolic330]

I blame a lot of it on the Barrett-Jackson auctions.

 

[Tonys96Cobra]

Yep, the current crop of TV shows that we watch doesnt help either, but we still watch them A vicious cycle.....

 

[BaXTeR3221]

Agreed. I also blame it on baby boomers who now have money to blow and want whatever car they dreamed of when they were younger. Can't blame them tho, when i'm like 40, i'll spend whatever it takes to get a 87-88 fox t-top.

 

[timewarped1972]

i can totally understand that rant. it's hard to complain about it being so popular because that in turn has driven the aftermarket which is awesome for cars now, i guess it's a double edged sword.

i understand the concept of going and buying and old car for 1500, 2000 bucks, for something drivable but needing work. you did what ever with it, kept it, or sold it, on to another car.

probably one of the reasons the 5.0's are so popular now is they were the next affordable project cars....although some of them are going up too.

those barett jackson auctions i think have played a large roll in car prices. i used to go to them all the time, started going in the early 90's. everyone would cheer an old car on that brought some bucks, shelby's, yenko chevelle's, hemi's, etc. now i see these car auctions and i'm not rooting for the price anymore because i know that just inflates the cost over all.......i think it's safe to say at one point in time they were under valued, now their over valued. kinda reminds me of housing costs....

hot rodding/ car hobby's are just different now, as long as theres the die hards around to remind the next group in line that it once was more a way of life than some cool hobby.......maybe we'll be ok....

i have to laugh at the comments i see in here regarding certain things on 87 to 93 stangs that are out dated or old school.......seems like a new car compared to the stuff i used to drive.......

you wanna talk old school......my 65 stang didn't come with hazrd lights or back up lights from the factory!!!!!! the turn signals?? no left and right arrow, just one indicator to tell you their on.......lol....and i'm sure the guys older than me can top those stories times 10....

 

[Teeto's5.0]

The thing that bugs me is every dip wad and his brother own the very same harley and wear the same bandana and the same leather harley coat. What ever happend to "real" bikers and not wanna be yuppies. What happened to "individuality"?

 

[Teeto's5.0]

i have to laugh at the comments i see in here regarding certain things on 87 to 93 stangs that are out dated or old school.......seems like a new car compared to the stuff i used to drive.......

you wanna talk old school......my 65 stang didn't come with hazrd lights or back up lights from the factory!!!!!! the turn signals?? no left and right arrow, just one indicator to tell you their on.......lol....and i'm sure the guys older than me can top those stories times 10....

My 66 belvedere didn't come with a passenger head rest it was an option. My 70 dart you had a "foot pump" to squirt washer fluid on the windsheild.

 

[90mustangGT]

Be glad, be very glad. Don't forget the alternative, the tree-huggin, greenpeace, liberal, hippie whacko's that are trying to get old cars banned (crusher laws) and make even cars from the 60's and 50's pass emmisions.

Motorsports are rising in popularity thanks to Nascar. Nascar has become so popular because people are tired of the BS from Baseball, Football, and Basketball. Especially baseball. Overpaid whiners. The statiums are usually paid for by the local goverments with taxpayers dallars, but yet it cost a fortune to get in. If a Nascar team wins, you know it's a whole army of people getting paid, not just one ego mainiac. I am sure in time, the drivers will start getting greedy, but until then, lets enjoy it.

A lot of blue collar jobs pay better than white collar jobs. I work in automotive, it's definatly true there.

 

[Hissing Cobra]

I hear ya. Back in '85-'86, I had a '69 Dodge Charger. It was a beat up piece of crap, but I was able to go down to the junkyard and buy a rust/dent free door AND hood for $100.00. These days, you can't buy a door for $100.00. Everybody thinks their car is worth more than it really is. I've seen 4 cylinder '87 Mustangs going for $1,500-$2,000. It's mind boggling. I've also seen rusted out parts cars going for $1,500.

The only thing that we can take great solace in, is the ability to buy BRAND NEW parts for our older Mustangs. Back when I had my Charger, you couldn't buy exact replicas of the upholstery, door panels, steering wheels, or dash pads, and exterior body panels were non-existant. These days, you can virtually rebuild almost any musclecar, pony car or even a foreign car (Volkswagons) straight from a catalog. Of course it's going to be pricey.

While the used parts are no longer cheap, they're still out there. It was only a matter of time before they moved more in line with the cost of the rest of the hobby.

Oh, my Charger didn't even have an FM radio and it had 4 wheel DRUM brakes! Yikes!

 

[90LX5spd]

Its true that parts availibilty for old cars is up and that's a great thing. My buddy swears this old car trend is temperary (like 5 yrs) because the current crop of youngsters show little interest in them (prefering there "sport compact" scene). I believe the average muscle car scene will mirror that of the "street rod" set. Street rods (what I refer to as traditional Hot Rods) were dead till the late 70's and took off at an amazing rate after that. They finally peaked only a few years ago (now the market is slowly shrinking as street rodders are literally dying off). It will take a long time for muscle cars to settle down. When street rod raw material dried up, the market made its own fiberglass "kit-car" clones to fill the need. Now look, low and behold, a person can assemble a Camaro from 100% aftermarket parts (yep they're making body shells now too).
What's fortunate is 5.0s and 3rd gen Camaros are now still cheap enough for average people and kids to use as projects. In time they'll go up too. But my fear is what then? There were alot of different muscle cars, but now only two affordable ones are left, Mustang and Camaro. Will the traditional V8 rear drive Hot Rod scene die someday?

 

[Lyncher]

From a different standpoint...im only 16, nd i dont even have a mustang yet/anymore...why because they are so damn expensive! Even since I was 8 I have literally been in love with them! When I was in 8th grade my dad called me one day and said that he got me a '68mustang, it wasnt in bad shape, only 64k on the clock and it had a straight six 200ci..he bought the car for about 3grand. Eventually I sold it, it was a hideous green inside and out, and I didnt want a 6 cyl but now everyday I think about what I couldve done and I watch the prices on the calssics go up and up each day. You cant even find a pos wrecked fastback for under 8k anymore! How is this hobby supposed to attract new people when you need to be rich just to buy a car. I have always loved foxes and i will be getting one since ive saved every penny since i was 8 to get one...but its really getting crazy! I hope this doesnt last forever...think about 20 years from now, when terminators and mach1s are the cars to have...hell terminators prices are already starting to go back up! eventually its gonna be a rich mans hobby..


like this for example!! http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Ford...iewItemQQcategoryZ6236QQitemZ4623612558QQrdZ1 there is nothing special about it...its just a regular black notch, not even low milage, with common rims and the only thing nice about it is the interior and its getting almost 10k!

 

[TheUser]

like this for example!! http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Ford-... 612558QQrdZ1 there is nothing special about it...its just a regular black notch, not even low milage, with common rims and the only thing nice about it is the interior and its getting almost 10k!

It didn't even sell; the reserve wasn't met.

 

[40th 2004Stang]

Agreed. I also blame it on baby boomers who now have money to blow and want whatever car they dreamed of when they were younger. Can't blame them tho, when i'm like 40, i'll spend whatever it takes to get a 87-88 fox t-top.

I think this has a lot of merit. I'm one of those baby boomers, now 50. At this point, I can afford some of the cars I wanted when I was younger. That and my oldest son got me into Mustangs. Now we have 2, one stock and one race/street driven. I think for me though, it's more trying to connect more with my sons, getting back into the hobby with them, we have a chance to talk, to bond, and just plain have a good time. Someone asked me once, "How old are you?" I always answer this question like this, "I'm old enough to know better, and young enough to go ahead and do it anyway." lol