The health of the hobby

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cosgig

cosgig

MoBro Inc.
FABO Gold Member
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howdy all, cosgig here! I would like to post my personal assessment as to the health of the Mopar hobby!! After swapping at the big WPC show yesterday, I can attest to you that the Mopar hobby is alive and well! That place was mobbed, parts were flying off the tables so fast I had trouble keeping track of who was buying what! I saw a ton of old friends, some I haven't seen for a couple years, I talked to so many people my throat hurts today!! Every vendor I talked to said the same thing, people were buying, and buying with enthusiasm! I took the 66 Cuda to sell, it was sold before 8am!! Seems that everybody was in great spirits and full of a newfound spirit for their cars!! Not to sound political, but everybody was crediting Trump!! I didn't know he was even a car guy!!!

So, I said goodbye to the little Cuda, hope if found a good home, and look forward to everybodies continued enthusiasm as spring approaches!! Time to get busy on my many projects, and hope you all do too!!!

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Congratulations :thumbsup: I am happy to hear the trip went well for you and sounds like everyone :) Seeing this has put a new spark in my day brother G :thankyou:
 
memike said:
Congratulations :thumbsup: I am happy to hear the trip went well for you and sounds like everyone :) Seeing this has put a new spark in my day brother G :thankyou:
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Well Mike, I was so busy, I didn't even get a chance to do a little shopping myself, you know, to give back to the hobby!!! I needed to get some Rallye wheel paint for a certain set of Rallye wheels that are going on Sunfish!!! :)
 
cosgig said:
Well Mike, I was so busy, I didn't even get a chance to do a little shopping myself, you know, to give back to the hobby!!! I needed to get some Rallye wheel paint for a certain set of Rallye wheels that are going on Sunfish!!! :)
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Being busy is a good thing :thumbsup: and when you find time lets get together on the white ones with tracks that will work for my girl one day
A big hello this morning to Sunfish'es owner/operator :thankyou:

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Cos, nice to hear that the activity has picked up. I wonder if our West Coast Spring Fling will be more active this year.
 
chryslerfat said:
Glad to hear things went well. Did it appear money is coming back to the early Cudas ?
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Well Mark, I didn't take hardly any parts for early A bodies because they usually don't sell there, but the parts I did take all sold!! The car was generating a lot of interest, and even after I got a deposit and took the sign down and laid it upside down in the backseat I was still getting calls! I talked to a bunch of people who know I'm early A friendly and have orders to fill for parts I didn't take!! I would say that interest in early A bodies is high, I'm on the 64-66 Cuda forum on FB and have sold parts to a very spirited bunch there!!!
 
Good to hear the sunshine in your report Geof. A friend from north east Iowa got togeter with the Glen Ray Radiator crew and came over to the show although I havent recieved a report yet. I think places like FABO and the groups on Facebook help the excitement. Tmm
 
toolmanmike said:
Good to hear the sunshine in your report Geof. A friend from north east Iowa got togeter with the Glen Ray Radiator crew and came over to the show although I havent recieved a report yet. I think places like FABO and the groups on Facebook help the excitement. Tmm
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As usual, I wore my FABO t-shirt and talked to a lot of members, and steered a lot of people to the site! On the downside, I didn't sell the 65 Dart front bumper I have, so I can't attest to the early Darts!!!
 
cosgig said:
howdy all, cosgig here! I would like to post my personal assessment as to the health of the Mopar hobby!! After swapping at the big WPC show yesterday, I can attest to you that the Mopar hobby is alive and well! That place was mobbed, parts were flying off the tables so fast I had trouble keeping track of who was buying what! I saw a ton of old friends, some I haven't seen for a couple years, I talked to so many people my throat hurts today!! Every vendor I talked to said the same thing, people were buying, and buying with enthusiasm! I took the 66 Cuda to sell, it was sold before 8am!! Seems that everybody was in great spirits and full of a newfound spirit for their cars!! Not to sound political, but everybody was crediting Trump!! I didn't know he was even a car guy!!!

So, I said goodbye to the little Cuda, hope if found a good home, and look forward to everybodies continued enthusiasm as spring approaches!! Time to get busy on my many projects, and hope you all do too!!!

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I have to agree with you cosgig, that's was a good swap meet , lots of people and good deals to be had . Enjoyed it !
 
Awesome news!! I've been hearing gloom and doom as Babyboomers start to quit or already have what they want, leaving not much of an active hobby for those of us who came a generation later. I probably have a few decades of driving ahead of me and I'll be damned if I can't keep a classic Mopar on the road for all of them.

But spending because of Trump? Uhh...this is silly. Like him or not, with all of the instability and turmoil out an about these days, the economy is in jeopardy. Uncertainty is dangerous, foreign investors may start to pull out, etc. While you might be feeling good about things and the stock market has been looking good too, it has only been a week. Nobody knows how these changes are going to affect the United States' standing in the world.
 
MRGTX said:
Awesome news!! I've been hearing gloom and doom as Babyboomers start to quit or already have what they want, leaving not much of an active hobby for those of us who came a generation later. I probably have a few decades of driving ahead of me and I'll be damned if I can't keep a classic Mopar on the road for all of them.

But spending because of Trump? Uhh...this is silly. Like him or not, with all of the instability and turmoil out an about these days, the economy is in jeopardy. Uncertainty is dangerous, foreign investors may start to pull out, etc. While you might be feeling good about things and the stock market has been looking good too, it has only been a week. Nobody knows how these changes are going to affect the United States' standing in the world.
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The Trump reference is not my opinion, and I don't opine on things political, just overheard it a couple times that people now had hope that things were/are going to get better and therefore people were more willing to spend!!
 
WPC. Walter P. Chrysler Club.
Was that indoors?

Sounds like it was a "high as a Georgia pine" time.
Well, this deserves Foghat.
 
chryslerfat said:
Glad to hear things went well. Did it appear money is coming back to the early Cudas ?
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I'll tell you how crazy it was....a guy called that I talked to last year and asked if I could bring him a rear window from an early Cuda!!!!!
 
Seems strange to me. I was at a swap meet yesterday. Same one I have been going to since 1983.

Attendance was good. BUT, used to be that a 50 year old was an old man and we made fun of them. They are all dead. Now, 50 is the new 20 and there ain't any 20 somethings showing up.

Hell, I was in the younger age group.

This deal is dead and done. In 10-15 years motor sports and drag racing in particular will be like rail reading is today.

2 generations have failed to promote the business of motors ports. I'm sure it will be a long slow death. Sort of like Pro Stock.
 
yellow rose said:
Seems strange to me. I was at a swap meet yesterday. Same one I have been going to since 1983.

Attendance was good. BUT, used to be that a 50 year old was an old man and we made fun of them. They are all dead. Now, 50 is the new 20 and there ain't any 20 somethings showing up.

Hell, I was in the younger age group.

This deal is dead and done. In 10-15 years motor sports and drag racing in particular will be like rail reading is today.

2 generations have failed to promote the business of motors ports. I'm sure it will be a long slow death. Sort of like Pro Stock.
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I have been selling parts and offering tech support to young guns all over the place like crazy lately! One of my favorite young guns was at the show yesterday, buying parts with his own money for a car he and his dad and grandpa are doing for him! He is 12, and knows that car inside and out!! And the ladies....I was talking to a gentleman yesterday and he commented about how many ladies are in the hobby, and how many were there!! Another of my favorite customers there is a young lady doing her families car handed down to her!! It's a 64 Cuda, and yes, she knows her stuff too!!

Is it like it was when we were young?? No, but these young guns didn't grow up when these cars were everywhere, but they sure like them now!! They have good ideas about blending the old and the new, and I learn a lot from them!! They've opened this old dogs eyes to what can be done and still pay homage to the classic aspect of the car!!!
 
cosgig said:
I'll tell you how crazy it was....a guy called that I talked to last year and asked if I could bring him a rear window from an early Cuda!!!!!
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I can't recall the name of the "reality show". It's been some years since I had cable and watched that sort of thing.
The show featured a man with grey hair who bought cars, fixed them up and sold them at auction for profit.
He had people working in the shop for him. I don't think he actually worked on the cars himself.
So they get this first gen Barracuda and make a BIG deal about not breaking the back glass. They pull it out and take it to a pair of saw horses.
Guess what? It fall and breaks.
So the guys are panicked the boss will find out and have to find a replacement.
They go to a junk yard. If I recall correctly it was across the street. Maybe not.
Anyway, they "happen" to locate a donor car there.
But they have to buy the whole car to get the glass. They are OK with the price though.
They say they came out OK.
The only thing they don't mention is that they were converting their car to a small block. It was a slant car originally.
Isn't 'it a nice "coincidence" that the car they have to buy in the junk yard is a V8 car? (Sarcasm)
And they NEVER mention the K member.
Manufactured drama.
 
cosgig said:
I have been selling parts and offering tech support to young guns all over the place like crazy lately! One of my favorite young guns was at the show yesterday, buying parts with his own money for a car he and his dad and grandpa are doing for him! He is 12, and knows that car inside and out!! And the ladies....I was talking to a gentleman yesterday and he commented about how many ladies are in the hobby, and how many were there!! Another of my favorite customers there is a young lady doing her families car handed down to her!! It's a 64 Cuda, and yes, she knows her stuff too!!

Is it like it was when we were young?? No, but these young guns didn't grow up when these cars were everywhere, but they sure like them now!! They have good ideas about blending the old and the new, and I learn a lot from them!! They've opened this old dogs eyes to what can be done and still pay homage to the classic aspect of the car!!!
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such seems true with A-bodies. I am also back into C-bodies and I have found the crowd there is typically.....(typically) older gentlemen. The B-body crowd seems to be the bigger money crowd.

The A-body crowd seems to be most diverse and the cars are as diverse as the people....and in bigger numbers.

Gotta love the A-body car, they are awesomely built.
 
adriver said:
I can't recall the name of the "reality show". It's been some years since I had cable and watched that sort of thing.
The show featured a man with grey hair who bought cars, fixed them up and sold them at auction for profit.
He had people working in the shop for him. I don't think he actually worked on the cars himself.
So they get this first gen Barracuda and make a BIG deal about not breaking the back glass. They pull it out and take it to a pair of saw horses.
Guess what? It fall and breaks.
So the guys are panicked the boss will find out and have to find a replacement.
They go to a junk yard. If I recall correctly it was across the street. Maybe not.
Anyway, they "happen" to locate a donor car there.
But they have to buy the whole car to get the glass. They are OK with the price though.
They say they came out OK.
The only thing they don't mention is that they were converting their car to a small block. It was a slant car originally.
Isn't 'it a nice "coincidence" that the car they have to buy in the junk yard is a V8 car? (Sarcasm)
And they NEVER mention the K member.
Manufactured drama.
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Desert Car Kings, and they paid $1200 for the parts car just to get the window! Claimed they were $2500 and rare as hens teeth! Never bothered to call me, of course the $50 I charge for them wouldn't have been dramatic enough for TV!!

I also saw a car about 10 years ago, 65 I believe, that was a clapped out mess! Asked the owner how much...$4500!!! I asked him "why so much"?? He informed me that the rear window alone was worth $1500, so I offered him 3 windows in exchange for the car...full price!!! Funny how people react when you call their BS, and no I didn't get the car!!!
 
cosgig said:
I have been selling parts and offering tech support to young guns all over the place like crazy lately! One of my favorite young guns was at the show yesterday, buying parts with his own money for a car he and his dad and grandpa are doing for him! He is 12, and knows that car inside and out!! And the ladies....I was talking to a gentleman yesterday and he commented about how many ladies are in the hobby, and how many were there!! Another of my favorite customers there is a young lady doing her families car handed down to her!! It's a 64 Cuda, and yes, she knows her stuff too!!

Is it like it was when we were young?? No, but these young guns didn't grow up when these cars were everywhere, but they sure like them now!! They have good ideas about blending the old and the new, and I learn a lot from them!! They've opened this old dogs eyes to what can be done and still pay homage to the classic aspect of the car!!!
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Any chance this young man's dad runs an LS1 in his early A body?
 
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Yep. 3rd generation car guy in the making here. Lol. He was 12 when we started, he will be 15 in march. Time flies Geoff. Lol

At the end of the day, all you can do is guide them in the right direction and hope that it sticks.

Kids nowadays have a lot of really cool distractions we didn't have years ago. Video games with wicked awesome realistic graphics, cell phones, internet, and school. I mention school, because at least at our school, the work load and course of study these kids have blows my mind! Jason often has hours of homework per night. Add into that, he's also lead percussionist in the high school band, and plays guitar on the side.

When I was a kid all I thought about and did was cars. I still LOVE cars to this day, and enjoy immersing myself in the "car culture".

Jason is a lot more diverse than I was as a kid. And we tried to raise him that way. He may or may not be as much into cars as I am at age 41, but he will also be a lot more diverse person than his father. Lol.

I guess my point is, you don't have to be obsessed and immersed in the "car culture" to enjoy it. That's why it's a hobby and not a job. Lol.

If only I could convince myself of that and make my brain stop thinking about cars constantly. Lol. The struggle is real. Lol.

Eric L
 
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