True car people are becoming a thing of the past
- Thread starter Princess Valiant
- Start date
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I've never owned a C-body. Current stable has one A. One B and one E.
I've taken a gander at mid 60s Furys. But never pulled the trigger.
They are going up in value too.
I picked up a 97 Thunderbird LX with a 4.6 and very well equipped for $700.00. Absolutely ZERO rust on it, but a little bit of hail damage and it needed a bit of work and $$. I have maybe $2k in it now and been my daily since August. Sometimes it's just taking a chance, and sometimes it's just luck. Runs and drives excellent, comfortable and even decent fuel economy.
abodyjoe
Well-Known Member
i forgot about those cars. yea, thats perfect.
Princess Valiant
A.K.A. Rainy Day Auto
you are nice to not have lost your cool.
I have a now Ex boyfriend who fit this description. He was a car guy until it came time to put in the wrench time. I felt like he expected me to do the wrenching and I did, so he could brag about his (my work) to his friends. I lost my cool. I even bought him tools for Christmas (2022) which are still in the original seals because every time I asked him if he likes and used them, he'd say "I don't know how to use them" So I would say "bring the tools and your truck this weekend and I will show you how to do a compression test and we will tune up your truck (1982 dodge).
Then he would drop the truck off,(three different occasions) tools on the front seat and make up a ton of excuses why he can't be there and he'd say "but I will love you, if you tune my truck for us"
I did not do it and I still refuse, why, when I can my own cars. I lost my **** and had some colorful words. when I thought he wanted to be a real car guy I prepared one weekend to mic out my 340 in the garage. I ended up doing it all by myself, and yes it needs 30 over. Ridge-much
My adoptive dad always told me and the other kids in the house "if you have time to play video games and horse around, I have some work for you". Video Games were strictly banned in the house I grew up in.
Now I am kinda skeptical when any guy asks me "can you help me with my car" ....I am not sure if that means "come and let me use you" or "I genuinely want to tune a carb"
I found a 3rd car guy at work today, but in his 60s.
Princess Valiant
A.K.A. Rainy Day Auto
where do you work
I work in Quality / QC in a wiring harness manufacturing factory of 350 people in a rural town, Victoria Australia,where do you work
AMC Diplomat
Well-Known Member
We lost our car gal at work. She took job elsewhere for bigger monies. Her and her husband are Mopar people. I didn't get a chance to know them well. She wasn't at our building too long. Talented in her field. With good tastes. Lol. So we are down to one Harley rider and me.
I would say the leading factor is cost.
Inflation .
Who can afford gas, rent, milk eggs, let alone muscle cars.
Everything is crazy expensive.
We were fortunate to have lived in different times.
Now it is like winning the lottery to even fnd a decent old car at an affordable price.
Inflation .
Who can afford gas, rent, milk eggs, let alone muscle cars.
Everything is crazy expensive.
We were fortunate to have lived in different times.
Now it is like winning the lottery to even fnd a decent old car at an affordable price.
You’d have to be a hideous blob to be a car girl that can’t find a decent car guy. I’ve seen pictures of you. That is clearly NOT the case. This is in NO way a suggestion for FABO members to pester you, post shirtless photos or worse. I’ve had women do that to me on a sewing forum I’m on. Not pretty.
(The above scenario is merely a depiction and is not based on fact)
(The above scenario is merely a depiction and is not based on fact)
AMC Diplomat
Well-Known Member
Hey there's nothing wrong with sewing! I'd rather wear homemade/repaired clothes than something from Wal-Mart that's made in China
Princess Valiant
A.K.A. Rainy Day Auto
I somewhat disagree. People say inflation this and that yet most people I know in their late 20s and early 30s still find a way to drive a 35+ thousand dollar ford Bronco or some overpriced Jap SUV. They are still dropping 50+ dollars a dinner and live in quarter million dollar houses. Granted they are in debt but they are getting it done, making 40-80 k a year.
Good deals are still out there but the effort one puts in to the search and hunt equals the amount scored, that plus the good stuff is never going to be cheap.
Not arguing but I don't think the money is the issue, it's the laziness of wanting the finished product but no willingness to put the time and effort in....instant gratification for nothing put in.
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Another thing is the need to modify isnt what it was. For example every late 90s car needed sterio upgrade so every young guy had a sound system. Get a new car; my wifes Arteon r or my Jeep gladiator and the sound sytem better than what we used to upgrade to. My wifes arteon with a tune, open air box and few other mods has near 400hp. But in the early 2000s etc a ls1 didnt make close to this and would get spanked by the arteon.
I think the need to modify etc simply isnt there or has shifted, 4wd scene is now huge in Australia. My canadian and USA family cant beleive how every 4wd looks ready to hit the tracks even if just a work truck.
Chrome bumper scene is too expensive for young players, i have maybe put 30k into the body of the duster alone and another 20 with the hemi swap. Yes you can turn spanners your self but why bother when can get a cheap new car with a few mods that will spank it.
I think the need to modify etc simply isnt there or has shifted, 4wd scene is now huge in Australia. My canadian and USA family cant beleive how every 4wd looks ready to hit the tracks even if just a work truck.
Chrome bumper scene is too expensive for young players, i have maybe put 30k into the body of the duster alone and another 20 with the hemi swap. Yes you can turn spanners your self but why bother when can get a cheap new car with a few mods that will spank it.
Princess Valiant
A.K.A. Rainy Day Auto
Car guys are like parking spaces, all the good ones are taken and all that's left are the handicap ones or the ones out in left field
I allowed it until I saw it was an addiction and was taking over my son's life. At that point, I made him load up his coveted X-Box and all his games in the burn barrel and set it off. That's also why he moved out in 2008. He realized that he was not going to get to live by his rules, so he left.
I had two cars when I was 13 and three when I was sixteen. I bought them with money I earned cutting grass, cleaning roofs and gutters and anything else I could to earn money. I never had anyone buy a car for me.
Princess Valiant
A.K.A. Rainy Day Auto
The first one was a hand me down from a cousin ...six cylinder 72 dart. The parental units funded a 74 duster and then after that Sears Roebuck &Co funded the rest after I went to work for Sears. I started in Jewlery, then baby apparel and finally Tool Territory which was like working in candy land.
They never let me work in the auto center but it wasn't for lack of trying.
Yeah, I remember the Sears tool section way back in the 70s. It was super cool till about the early 90s when China started taking over and Sears started refusing warranty.
Princess Valiant
A.K.A. Rainy Day Auto
China did'nt become a thing until the teens, I was there in the mid 2000's and as far as I know, most was still the USA made. The screwdrivers were still the WF western forge, good quality USA stuff. I still have an unopened craftsman screwdriver set from Christmas 2005 and I know it's still the good stuff.
The lawn tractors were nice then too, always seemed to me like they went junk after they were Husqvarna
No ma'am, they were there about the time I mentioned. They started carrying Chinese tools long before the teens. "MADE IN CHINA" right on the package. Now the actual Craftsman hand tools may not have been Chinese until later, but they carried Chinese tools well before the teens. Keep in mind too, location might have been a factor. I think mall stores like what we had relied more on what the Corporation did than stand alone or franchised stores, like the Sears Hometown Store that remained in Milledgeville, Georgia until about 2018. That guy tried everything to keep it going, it just wasn't in the cards.China did'nt become a thing until the teens, I was there in the mid 2000's and as far as I know, most was still the USA made. The screwdrivers were still the WF western forge, good quality USA stuff. I still have an unopened craftsman screwdriver set from Christmas 2005 and I know it's still the good stuff.
The lawn tractors were nice then too, always seemed to me like they went junk after they were Husqvarna
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Princess Valiant
A.K.A. Rainy Day Auto
Have you compared the Craftsman from Sears.com and lowes?
There is a difference, I was thinking of doing a youtube video about it but I have not had time.
The sears.com stuff is Thai made and the lowes is china.
The first giveaway is the ratchet handles are different, I have both styles because I am still a Diehard Craftsman fan even though they break my heart.
The chrome even has a different tint to it. I think the Thai stuff from sears.com is better but not as available as the lowes red package stuff.
There is a difference, I was thinking of doing a youtube video about it but I have not had time.
The sears.com stuff is Thai made and the lowes is china.
The first giveaway is the ratchet handles are different, I have both styles because I am still a Diehard Craftsman fan even though they break my heart.
The chrome even has a different tint to it. I think the Thai stuff from sears.com is better but not as available as the lowes red package stuff.
I agree. There is a fundamental disinterest from this generation. And it's not limited to classic car appreciation. About 3 years ago I worked for natural resource agency of my state. And there is a sharp decline in hunting and fishing interests. Thus significant reduced license sales.
I think this next generation. Gen Z is just not interested in going outside? I don't have the data to prove, but patterns does suggest?
Muad'Dib15
Well-Known Member
Abodyjoe, after reading that now, I understand a lot more what you meant 10 years ago. I just wasn't ready to hear it then. I still think you're wrong but far less then before. There is a place for young people owning classic cars, but much like model As and T buckets now it's going to become a very small group of extremely dedicated kids who specifically want that challenge. It's quite simply way too expensive. Like a few other people have mentioned the other thing to is that cars are just straight up way better than they used to be. Which is honestly one of my main reasons for getting the G8 3 years ago. It's newer, got better mileage (unless I romped on it), and was just nicer to drive over all than the Cuda. Plus for 5k you can completely rebuild the LS 2.5 that is in it and make 400 whp with just a cam, intake, and header swap and still get 24 mpg on the highway.
I do get what some of you are saying about a lack of gear heads. I'm pretty sure like one of you said it's due to technology becoming "more intuitive" to use at the expense of learning the ins and outs of getting something to work. I have a gaming computer that I'm currently typing this on. I mod literally every game I own on it, and upgrade it when money allows it.
*Today I bought some newer, bigger, faster RAM sticks to install because I was tired of one of my games yelling at me that I'm using up all my ram playing it. So I install the ram sticks, boot up the computer and nothing. I restarted the stupid thing like 10 times, finally got into the motherboard software, set everything to default and make sure that the size of RAM is correct, and now windows needs to repair itself which means I'll lose everything on my boot drive. Actually.... typing this out I know what the issue is now. When I reset the mobo it reset my boot drive and I was trying to boot off a drive that doesn't have the OS installed on it. So once I'm done with this comment I'll go back, reset my boot drive to the correct one and I'll be good to go.
*Ya'll can skip the part in red if you don't understand computers.
Point is, gear heads are people that want to fix stuff or play with things that people have deemed good enough. That's why PC modding is so niche. It's literally car guy attitudes towards their PC. And I see rumblings of the same thing there too, no one knows how to use the file explorer, no one knows how to troubleshoot, no one knows how to file their stuff correctly, no one knows how to search for files/folders etc. It's because everything is "easier to use". It does this by hiding all the hard stuff just like cars. Anyways, the point of all this rambling is that there are car people attitudes out there, it's just more difficult to find because most people rightly assume it's expensive and wrongly that it's a waste of time. And there's so many different things to get into now and cars are just becoming basic transportation that it's not really a cool hobby anymore. True gearheads will always be around, there'll just be less of them. And to send off that depressing thought, here's my brother and me putting my engine back into the G8 after it wiped out a cam lobe and I had it and the trans rebuilt (trans was an additional 3k on top of the 5 from before, so that was a fun expense to show the wife for a supposed DD). It snowed like 4 times on and off that day. Just absolute ridiculous weather lol.
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