Not enough younger people in this hobby...

-

Palmetto

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 24, 2012
Messages
228
Reaction score
7
Location
Gibsonville, NC
Being an older guy in my 50s, I grew up with muscle cars and have really enjoyed them. The young people today are priced out of the hobby and forced into imports. Rust-bucket muscle cars bring high prices and no 18 year old with a part-time job can even hope to come close to owning one that runs. I really feel for them.

My nephews are coming up on driving age and I would love to bless them with a Duster or Dart to fool around with. Even slant 6 cars are starting to rise in price, especially ones that run and have decent bodies.

Any ideas guys? Do I run up the white flag and let them fall into the arms of the imports for practical reasons, or do I find some creative way to get them into the arms of Ma Mopar? Any ideas?:coffee2:
 
You could always buy them a car and show them how to work on it. That is till their mother raises the safety flag and higher mpgs and less maintaining and I could go on but you get the idea. Me I'd guide them in picking a modern car and showing the basic they can do themselves. This way they get a feel for cars but more importantly that get to save money for school. College aint cheap and while in college you generally can't afford a project car anyway.
 
Out here on the west coast, you can still find quite a few 60's Mopars, just not any super-desirable ones like 2-door hardtop '68 Darts. I don't know what your cutoff limit is on affordability either (I've noticed the '63~'66 A-bodies are pretty affordable). Might wanna make sure your nephews even WANT an old 60's/70's American car. My sons were a little lukewarm to the idea of owning a car that was the hot ticket in MY generation. There's PLENTY of 80's/90's cheap mustang GT's......I mean, that would at least keep them out of an import.
 
For the most part (with exceptions) people tend to gravitate toward things of their youth, when in a "collectors" hobby. For example people tend to prefer the music that was popular in their teens.

Today's youth (again, with exceptions) tend to lean toward the cars they were introduced to in their late teens and early 20's. It's no secret that cars of the 80's and 90's aren't truly considered to be "collector cars" or "muscle cars". In fact, I've heard them described as "Jelly beans". The all look the same, just in different colors.

Anyway, the proliferation of sports compacts (some call them "ricers") and fwd wirh transverse mounted engines are the vehicles of choice to these young people. The are plentiful, inexpensive, and cheap to operate. After market support for these pieces is extraordinary, and it's what their friends have.

The collector car hobby is largely a baby boomer hobby, that some of the later generations have found appealing. I suppose, as with the older classic cars, of the teens, 20's and 30's etc, collecting, building, and showing 60's and 70's cars will always be a presence in the hobby, but, will eventually take a back seat to those who prefer collect the cars of their youth (of the 80's, 90's and 2000's) even though people like us still have difficulty looking at those cars as anything more than disposable with certain exceptions.

Such is life.
 
Not enough younger people in this hobby...

This is just history repeating itself. The model T guys thought the same thing. The model A guys thought the same thing. ETC.... It all happens and most of the younger generation won't be as interested in our cars. Those that are will fall in love with them and most will have learned that love from one of us old guys so it is up to us to keep things going.
 
Being an older guy in my 50s, I grew up with muscle cars and have really enjoyed them. The young people today are priced out of the hobby and forced into imports. Rust-bucket muscle cars bring high prices and no 18 year old with a part-time job can even hope to come close to owning one that runs. I really feel for them.

My nephews are coming up on driving age and I would love to bless them with a Duster or Dart to fool around with. Even slant 6 cars are starting to rise in price, especially ones that run and have decent bodies.

Any ideas guys? Do I run up the white flag and let them fall into the arms of the imports for practical reasons, or do I find some creative way to get them into the arms of Ma Mopar? Any ideas?:coffee2:


i agree 100%... a young kid would have to be nuts to get into these rust bucket pigs.

the problem with mopars are that they didn't build **** thats rear drive v-8 all through the 80's and 90's worth having...

maybe you should be happy with them getting into american muscle of the 80's and 90's. the fox body mustangs are still around.. can get into them on the cheap like we used to get mopars back in the day. tons of parts out there for them also, camaros also....and all stock they will run circles around a stock muscle car of the 60's and 70's in the performance,turning,stopping,mpg, reliability and comfort areas... its a different time now.. chrysler said screw you to all their fans after the early 70's so getting them into a mopar will be difficult.. the thing you can hope for though is get them in to american muscle of the 80 or 90's and they can learn on that. then when older maybe they can/will get into 60's and 70's mopars... who knows.. worth a try i guess..
 
Yup. I've heard all this before. Same thing in amateur radio.

You also have to remember, on top of other arguments, that kids today have an INCREDIBLE array of distractions that "we" (or at least "I") didn't have when we were young. Hell, we only really got ONE TV channel at my boyhood home!!!!! There was no cable TV, no internet, no skateboards, electronic games, cell/ I-things, on and on and on.

So if you were "interested" you started on a car. And you bought what you could afford. My first was a 57 Chev 4 dr. I sure AS HELL was not interested in flathead Fords!!! As a kid, I sure as heck was not interested in collectibility, or anything approaching that.

I think a lot of kids today are the same way. They may or may not think an old muscle car is "cool" (er rad er whatever) but they sure as hell aren't gonna get one for a DD most of the time.

Rani may be a 1 in a million exception!!!!
 
Most young people can't afford the gas one of these cars take. They go for imports because they get 30+mpg.
 
I'm not sure I want a crowd in this hobby. More people to buy up cars and parts and drive the prices up. That said, I can mention several people right on this forum that are young guns. One I know personally and try to help every chance I can. Although he's in north Georgia and a ways away, he's very hot on MoPars and I for one am glad. It's nice to see young people latch onto to anything besides video games and drive bys.
 
You could get a rear wheel drive import and swap in a v8. You could pick up a shell pretty cheap and even a mild or stock motor will make it fast. I think as long as you have access to a welder and someone who can use it you can do it on a minimum wage budget.
 
I'm not sure I want a crowd in this hobby. More people to buy up cars and parts and drive the prices up...

Good point. The various high end auctions like BJ, drive the prices artificially high, already, while most of us aren't in that high end of the hobby, the "garbage is gold" mentality is created by that sector.

I can't tell you how many decent cars and trucks and parts I've walked away from because the seller was so far off base with his pricing, that it was too high to even negotiate a fair price.

Just 2 weeks ago I was looking at a set of NOS valve covers for a small block. The guy wanted $400.00 for the pair. I really wanted them and offered $200.00. His reply, "The price is $400.00, take it or leave it". I left it.

The might be worth $200.00 each to someone, but I'm not that guy. I can bead blast and paint any of a dozen small block valve covers that I already own and they will look as good, and serve the same purpose.
 
Idea one:

Grab a late 70's MoPar or early 80's Ford or GM and start hot rodding. There cheap in these years.

Idea two:

Get an Import. Start hot rodding.
 
hey now I grew up in the 90s and hate those cars lol but my family has always been about mopar. goes to show what good outside influence will do.
 
Was it Vic Pullen?

Good point. The various high end auctions like BJ, drive the prices artificially high, already, while most of us aren't in that high end of the hobby, the "garbage is gold" mentality is created by that sector.

I can't tell you how many decent cars and trucks and parts I've walked away from because the seller was so far off base with his pricing, that it was too high to even negotiate a fair price.

Just 2 weeks ago I was looking at a set of NOS valve covers for a small block. The guy wanted $400.00 for the pair. I really wanted them and offered $200.00. His reply, "The price is $400.00, take it or leave it". I left it.

The might be worth $200.00 each to someone, but I'm not that guy. I can bead blast and paint any of a dozen small block valve covers that I already own and they will look as good, and serve the same purpose.
 
I have been in Mopars my entire life, a hobby I enjoyed with my dad,
I am 50 now, and have 2 sons that wanted nothing to do with old cars.
they wanted to drive my cuda,but showed no desire to help me work on it.
needless to say, they did'nt get to drive it and they drive rice grinders.
oh well, I tried, their loss.
I think todays youth are lost in modern tech.
 
I guess im a sick puppy....I have three. Bought my dart when i was 15, my chrysler when i was 16, and the powerwagon when i was 19. Still have all three, and fix/improve as far as my budget will allow. Thankfully the powerwagon is pretty much done, after 3 years, and the dart, its a neverending process, the chrysler is currently on the backburner but im not letting her go. As of now, i daily drive the dart and the powerwagon, and I have for 3 years now.
 
Not enough younger people in this hobby...

This is just history repeating itself. The model T guys thought the same thing. The model A guys thought the same thing. ETC.... It all happens and most of the younger generation won't be as interested in our cars. Those that are will fall in love with them and most will have learned that love from one of us old guys so it is up to us to keep things going.

X2 I'm grateful. When Phoenix here's a bad *** engine wind up, she giggles like crazy!
 
I think it more about instant gratification if you gave them a Bad *** mopar they would take it and drive it with pride but about the second time it needed major work it would be sold. life is to easy for most kids it a push button world for them .my son is 28 and I raise him to work and now he has a good job works hard and will have a hot rod someday its in his blood. I wold not have any problem willing the swinger to him he would carry the passion needed to be a true Hotrodder
 
Mopar people are killing mopar and the hobby.I have a son that is 22 years old.I told him that I can get a 68 dart gts from a friend.It has to be put togather.I have a 68 340and trans allready for it.He said with the BS we go through at the mopar fleamarkets and what I am going through with my car ,he would never buy a mopar and put it togather because of the cost. of parts.
 
you guys forget the fact that even tho the young kids like the 4 banger FWD imports, back in the 80s mopar predated the fast n furious scene by making the turbo mopars. thes cars were innovative, and fun to drive. i still have 3 of them. a 1988 dodge daytona shelby Z t top turbo ll car, a shelby Z parts car, and a 1987 lebaron turbo coupe with full digital dash, and EVA talking car feature.

these cars were U.S. made. daytonas were made in ST louis missouri. the transaxle in mine was made by new process gear with a getrag german gearset, it uses a holley throttle body, siemens deka injectors, and a Garrett T3 turbo. there were various other turbo shelbys that are fun and inexpensive to own. the Omni GLHs, and shelby charger GLHs, the Shadow CSX, and CSX-T, and many others.

there were some FWD mopars that were captive imports. the 87 up laser, eclipse, talon were diamond star built in normal illinois, the dodge stealth, mitsubishi 3000 GT were jap made too.

the bottom ends on the shelby turbo models were made for abuse. forged cranks, forged full floating connecting rods, roller tappet cams, add a turbo to a stock honduh and i dont think you can get one to perform as good.

the dodge neon SRT-4 was a natural offshoot of the T-D (turbo dodge ) programs, the 2.0 liter in these are so close that the bores, and headbolt pattern are identical to the older 2.2 and 2.5 mopar 4 bangers. theres guys doing machining to adapt the 16 valve heads on the older 2.2/2.5 common blocks from 89 up. making hybrids. i got to go for a ride in one of these hybrids that was installed in a 1986 omni GLHS. this guy used large minivan 5 bolt big brakes in the front, and daytona shelby rear vented discs, and some other trickery.

made 425 HP at the wheels on the dynojet at the shelby dodge day in las vegas. was a total animal. he stoplight raced a vette Z06 with me riding shotgun. smoked this guy 2 lights in a row before mr vette gave up. and this thing pulled like a freight train up till 120 then he backed out of it.

hell the NEON SRT-4 is pretty killer in its own right. ma mopar even made a dodge spirit R/T in 1991, 1992. this thing was a total sleeper. it had an intercooled 2.2 DOHC turbo lll, with maximum sized 4 wheel disc brakes, and heavy duty suspension, a 5 speed transaxle. rated at 225 HP, it came with a 150 MPH speedometer too.

sorry im getting long winded on this, but if the kids like the FWD 4 cylinder cars, steer em toward turbo boosted mopars its the right number of cylinders, and FWD which is what they are familiar with, and you are at least keeping them with a domestic brand that we all love.

check out turbominivan.com for some crazy sleeper fun. these vans came with turbos in 89/90, some even with 5 speed sticks too. one guy has a wood grained turbo dodge minivan that runs 12s at the track, and is a daily driver.

ok back to old A body stuff im done with my public announcement LOL
 
I think a lot of kids today are the same way. They may or may not think an old muscle car is "cool" (er rad er whatever) but they sure as hell aren't gonna get one for a DD most of the time.

Rani may be a 1 in a million exception!!!!


HAHA ......i am unusual being what most consider a young person and a female into muscle cars.

younger ppl need a mentor .....so best thing the older crowd can do is be mentors and encourage.

my adoptive family ecouraged me otherwise i would have never got into cars ....they gave me Mopar muscle magazines at a very young age and explained to me the significance of historical aspects of the cars.

they took me to car shows very young and explained why these cars are cool and my adoptive Dad told me stories of his youth in a 67 GTX cruising and dragging Main street....it must have been one good time then

it also helped that my adoptive dad used a 69 cuda as a family car from 1972 to 2008. LOL

they also didnt treat me any different as a female ....they told me muscle cars are for everyone and threw me in no different than they would have a male. They sent me to auto school which started the fever....bad LOL
 
I agree, the young need a mentor,but some are just not intrested in mopars.
my boys will camp,hunt,fish,boat or just hang out.
but when it comes to my old mopars, they have no intrest.
 
-
Back
Top