True car people are becoming a thing of the past

[Princess Valiant]

I say that because I used to be able to talk car with quite a few guys at work. These days at my current job there is no one. Although I have had two young guys approach me wanting to learn about cars and I even sold a Valiant to one, but they are young and do not carry meaningful car conversations. There really is no where for them to learn. The old auto school I went to is now closed off and most of the equipment is in urban decay mode, the old race track is now closed. All the old machine shops are closed and most of the old timer machinists have moved on to the salvage yards in the sky. All of the old salvage yards are either shut down and torn down or have been converted to a ten year or newer pick a part. I went to insure my valiant the other day (new daily driver) hardly any of the insurance companies want to insure any car before 1981. Only one classic car company will insure it with no miliage or other restrictions. Hagerty has their nerve to tell how us how many miles we can drive and control when and where we drive. Not trying to get political here, in fact please don't, just pointing out how much the world has changed.

Car shows are a complete waste of time these days, they look like dodge dealership parking lots and the old cars that used to be regulars are gone.
It's been a great 20 year run that I have been into old mopars but it's just not the same anymore even though I won't stop driving the valiant or dart any time soon.

Here's to the "good ol days" (pretty much anytime before covid)

 

[Inertia]

My grandson just got back from getting 2 staples in his head, - he was welding up header-back system , he's 15 .
There IS hope, lol

 

[Dan the man]

I say that because I used to be able to talk car with quite a few guys at work. These days at my current job there is no one. Although I have had two young guys approach me wanting to learn about cars and I even sold a Valiant to one, but they are young and do not carry meaningful car conversations. There really is no where for them to learn. The old auto school I went to is now closed off and most of the equipment is in urban decay mode, the old race track is now closed. All the old machine shops are closed and most of the old timer machinists have moved on to the salvage yards in the sky. All of the old salvage yards are either shut down and torn down or have been converted to a ten year or newer pick a part. I went to insure my valiant the other day (new daily driver) hardly any of the insurance companies want to insure any car before 1981. Only one classic car company will insure it with no miliage or other restrictions. Hagerty has their nerve to tell how us how many miles we can drive and control when and where we drive. Not trying to get political here, in fact please don't, just pointing out how much the world has changed.

Car shows are a complete waste of time these days, they look like dodge dealership parking lots and the old cars that used to be regulars are gone.
It's been a great 20 year run that I have been into old mopars but it's just not the same anymore even though I won't stop driving the valiant or dart any time soon.

Here's to the "good ol days" (pretty much anytime before covid)

Fortunately my auto insurance company will insurance the older cars with no mileage restrictions or deprivation. But, your right today's younger folks don't know or are interested in the older cars, they are more into electronics

 

[MoparMike1974]

Car shows are a joke. It angers me to watch a new challenger off the showroom getting a trophy. I mean, wtf did they do other than buy a new car? But hey, I got a second place for a car I spent 10 years building.

 

[RustyRatRod]

You live in the wrong area. Trust me. It's a location thing. Now, the race tracks and machine shops I can agree with, but there are still good car people around. Just maybe not where you are. We've been going to cruise ins all fall and winter.

 

[RustyRatRod]

Car shows are a joke. It angers me to watch a new challenger off the showroom getting a trophy. I mean, wtf did they do other than buy a new car? But hey, I got a second place for a car I spent 10 years building.

Yeah, without our old Mopars, there'd be no new ones to have evolved.

 

[Bodyperson]

I reckon some of the reasons for the lack of interest is the lack of availability. I think the desire is still there, it's a paradigm shift.

 

[Dan the man]

Car shows are a joke. It angers me to watch a new challenger off the showroom getting a trophy. I mean, wtf did they do other than buy a new car? But hey, I got a second place for a car I spent 10 years building.

10 years, I probably would've lost interest in it before then. Did you do all of the work yourself? I seen a '70 roadrunner that the owner had it in the shop for 15 years and the body work/

 

[Dan the man]

Paint job needed redoing. I hit the post button before I was done. 15 years is ridiculous and money wasn't the problem. If I had been the owner of the roadrunner it would've been done in a year or two or I would've taken it somewhere else. The shop had plenty of man power too. This is the roadrunner that I was talking about awhile back that I found poor body work on the left outer rocker panel and runs in the paint. I talked personally to a guy who had a restoration shop and he said that as long as the shop has the man power and the owner has the money that there's no reason for it to take more than 9 months to restore a car. He said some custom builds around a year and a half to two years.

 

[Car Nut]

Sadly, kids nowadays will only see cars online playing Gran Turismo and Grand Theft Auto through PlayStation.

 

[junkyardhero]

the young guys are out there, it's just that they're few and far between.

also, the cost of doing business is a major hurdle. gone are the days of $500 /6 darts and cheap plentiful parts. everything is a mint these days: machine work, mechanical work, performance goodies.

just look at ebay, c'list, offerup, fakebook and read the listings: rare, vintage, collectable, classic, hard to find. there's a price tag associated with all those words.

i will note that the amount of people who know nothing about their classic car and just say: "i dunno, i bought it like this" is much more prevalent than it used to be.

 

[408 swinger]

It used to be the average person with some mechanical ability could maintain their own vehicle. It also used to be that's how cars were engineered and built, so the average"Joe" could do it. As years have gone by, more and more regulations have been placed on auto makers. More and more "engineering" in the name if "progress" has been placed into vehicles. The government doesn't want you working on your cars anymore. I'm not going down a political rabbit hole either, that's an absolute fact. So the point is, less and less kids spend less and less time out in the driveway on Saturday with the old man changing oil and whatnot. We're still here, just spread pretty thin in places.

 

[abodyjoe]

plenty of young car people out there.. they are just into a differen't scene then the oldheads. infact ythe oldheads many times look down and alienate them far too often.

ofcourse they aren't buying claissic iron.. be stupid as young kid on a small budget to pay 10k for a rusty POS. they are more into whats cheaper and more available like imports.. can't blame them..

hell the last decade or so when atco raceway was still open the biggest crowds were on import weekend. and trust me the young way out numbered the oldheads..

 

[George Jets]

Here in Florida the Mopars of Brevard yearly Car Show/Super Swap is no more.

Most of the Mopars of Brevard members putting it on are 70 years old and just don't want to do it any more.

Always enjoyed the Super Swap and the fact there was a Mopar Show to go to in the middle of the Winter, going to miss that.

☆☆☆☆☆

 

[FISHYPETE]

Post#8,9…… Most car guys and girls around here dont have the funds on hand to have restoration shops do their work. They do what they can when they can. That to me is “ Old Car Hobby” It took me 6yrs to restore my 59 Sweptside pickup and it turned out darn nice

 

[64 AAR Valiant]

I say that because I used to be able to talk car with quite a few guys at work. These days at my current job there is no one. Although I have had two young guys approach me wanting to learn about cars and I even sold a Valiant to one, but they are young and do not carry meaningful car conversations. There really is no where for them to learn. The old auto school I went to is now closed off and most of the equipment is in urban decay mode, the old race track is now closed. All the old machine shops are closed and most of the old timer machinists have moved on to the salvage yards in the sky. All of the old salvage yards are either shut down and torn down or have been converted to a ten year or newer pick a part. I went to insure my valiant the other day (new daily driver) hardly any of the insurance companies want to insure any car before 1981. Only one classic car company will insure it with no miliage or other restrictions. Hagerty has their nerve to tell how us how many miles we can drive and control when and where we drive. Not trying to get political here, in fact please don't, just pointing out how much the world has changed.

Car shows are a complete waste of time these days, they look like dodge dealership parking lots and the old cars that used to be regulars are gone.
It's been a great 20 year run that I have been into old mopars but it's just not the same anymore even though I won't stop driving the valiant or dart any time soon.

Here's to the "good ol days" (pretty much anytime before covid)

I have Hagerty for over 25 years.
No mileage restrictions., and they pay promptly on claims.

 

[junkyardhero]

plenty of young car people out there.. they are just into a differen't scene then the oldheads. infact ythe oldheads many times look down and alienate them far too often.

ofcourse they aren't buying claissic iron.. be stupid as young kid on a small budget to pay 10k for a rusty POS. they are more into whats cheaper and more available like imports.. can't blame them..

hell the last decade or so when atco raceway was still open the biggest crowds were on import weekend. and trust me the young way out numbered the oldheads..

lots of gatekeeping, that's for sure.

also, a lot of the people with the knowledge either aren't here anymore or don't have the ability to pass it on any longer.

a lot of the guys i came up learning from, working in their shops, shooting the **** with at the parts counter or hitting up swapmeets and car shows are either: dead, physically no longer able to, or their priorities shifted and cars are now a very small part of their life.

 

[abodyjoe]

lots of gatekeeping, that's for sure.

also, a lot of the people with the knowledge either aren't here anymore or don't have the ability to pass it on any longer.

a lot of the guys i came up learning from, working in their shops, shooting the **** with at the parts counter or hitting up swapmeets and car shows are either: dead, physically no longer able to, or their priorities shifted and cars are now a very small part of their life.

lots of truth there too. checkbook guys screwed everything up too.. as a kid i had oldheads help me with parts too.. either cheap or they would maybe give stuff to you and help you out.. checkbook guys drove prices through the roof. the mopar hobby was so much more family like before mopars became the latest fad a while back..

 

[junkyardhero]

lots of truth there too. checkbook guys screwed everything up too.. as a kid i had oldheads help me with parts too.. either cheap or they would maybe give stuff to you and help you out.. checkbook guys drove prices through the roof. the mopar hobby was so much more family like before mopars became the latest fad a while back..

eh, the checkbook dicks were always around. back then they were just old cars, now they're investments. now it's just easier for everybody to monetize parts in that there's more outlets to sell thru. but some people will always think their **** is worth gold. whatever, man, you can be buried with it or your kids can throw it all out when you croak.

but really, supply drove the prices up. a lot of those parts are gone, rusted to oblivion or scrapped. NOS or OE parts command the prices because of specific tastes, ideas and wants. knowing this people charge accordingly.

but there's also the fact that so, so, so much more is available now. granted, not all of it is the greatest quality, but at least it's there. if you told me 25 years ago that i'd be able to buy brand new grilles for a 69 cuda i would've laughed in your face. and look at where we are now...

 

[abodyjoe]

eh, the checkbook dicks were always around. back then they were just old cars, now they're investments. now it's just easier for everybody to monetize parts in that there's more outlets to sell thru. but some people will always think their **** is worth gold. whatever, man, you can be buried with it or your kids can throw it all out when you croak.

but really, supply drove the prices up. a lot of those parts are gone, rusted to oblivion or scrapped. NOS or OE parts command the prices because of specific tastes, ideas and wants. knowing this people charge accordingly.

but there's also the fact that so, so, so much more is available now. granted, not all of it is the greatest quality, but at least it's there. if you told me 25 years ago that i'd be able to buy brand new grilles for a 69 cuda i would've laughed in your face. and look at where we are now...

yes they were around but not the numbers as after mopars became a fad.

 

[66fs]

I say that because I used to be able to talk car with quite a few guys at work. These days at my current job there is no one. Although I have had two young guys approach me wanting to learn about cars and I even sold a Valiant to one, but they are young and do not carry meaningful car conversations. There really is no where for them to learn. The old auto school I went to is now closed off and most of the equipment is in urban decay mode, the old race track is now closed. All the old machine shops are closed and most of the old timer machinists have moved on to the salvage yards in the sky. All of the old salvage yards are either shut down and torn down or have been converted to a ten year or newer pick a part. I went to insure my valiant the other day (new daily driver) hardly any of the insurance companies want to insure any car before 1981. Only one classic car company will insure it with no miliage or other restrictions. Hagerty has their nerve to tell how us how many miles we can drive and control when and where we drive. Not trying to get political here, in fact please don't, just pointing out how much the world has changed.

Car shows are a complete waste of time these days, they look like dodge dealership parking lots and the old cars that used to be regulars are gone.
It's been a great 20 year run that I have been into old mopars but it's just not the same anymore even though I won't stop driving the valiant or dart any time soon.

Here's to the "good ol days" (pretty much anytime before covid)

I have never worked where there were real car guys or girls. Call it a special breed. You should have been around when I was growing up. Old timers that knew everything about any make. Ask Jack what problem you had, give him a year and a make and he would nail it, all the way back to a Model A Ford. He had a saying, "We can do anything, the impossible just takes a little longer". Had a machinist next door, that when he retired offered me a valve grinding set that was like new for $500, and I was too stupid to find the money. Worked at small Chrysler dealership and learned how to rebuild everything including starters and alternators. We moved to Marion, South Dakota because dad wanted to buy a General Store. My cousin Kelley and I would work all day, eat dinner, grab a frozen Milky Way and a Dr Pepper, and work in his dad's shop till midnight. We'd swap engines and transmissions in an afternoon. His friend Venice was always buying two Chevys that we would swap the blown motor from one and put the decent motor from a wreck back into it to get him by a little longer. At this point I was rebuilding engines for other people out of my garage with a chainfall, never advertised, always busy. Then we moved to Maryland and had friends interested in cars, but stopped rebuilding engines for people after a couple bad experiences. The people were cheats, liars, or just too stupid. Talked cars with Jim at Racer Brown, became friends with one of the best front end and brake guys in the Baltimore area, found JB's Machine Shop who would do what you wanted, and there were plenty shows and Mopar people.

Anyway, my cars are covered by Hagerty and am not aware of any restrictions. Everything from the 66 and 67 Barracudas, a 96 ACR Neon, a 2001 Cherokee, a 2009 Challenger R/T 6 speed. I have 4 kids. My 2nd oldest daughter will get the 68 fastback 383 Automatic Formula S. Not sure where the other 2 Barracudas will go, let alone all the parts and tools... Oldest daughter lives in Portland and has never shown any interest. Youngest daughter and her husband do not drive, and it looks like my son will never have a garage or be able to maintain a classic car. I'm holding out for one of the grandchildren, time will tell. I feel extremely lucky to have lived when and where I have lived in this life. In the mean time, you have us.

 

[FISHYPETE]

Ranni has also done her part to keep younger people exposed to the hobby. If younger people show an interest in my car when I have it out in public I invite them to look closer. example 59 Fury; tell them open door, flip seat lever and seat swivels out, sit and swivel back in, then ask how do you put it in gear to drive. They always leave with a smile

 

[abodyjoe]

Hagerty has their nerve to tell how us how many miles we can drive and control when and where we drive.

put plain liability on it and drive it all you want.. i can't fault classic car insurance for putting mileage limits on them.. thats how you get full coverage at cheap rates.. if you want full coverage for a daily driver then its going to cost more because of more time out on the road which equals more risk.

 

[B-i-n-g-o]

A lot of things contributing. Regulation for environment (not saying that's bad, just saying it's contributing), expense, and the cars we're working on, we mostly thought they were cool when we were kids. For young adults, that'd be 80s and 90s, I guess? And at that time, cars were already devolving to appliances. All that, having a place and tools to work on them, and somebody to teach them. All getting more rare. And, same, junk yards here are newer cars, and I don't know where a machine shop is, though I'm sure there's one within an hour, if I looked.

 

[abodyjoe]

For young adults, that'd be 80s and 90s, I guess? And at that time, cars were already devolving to appliances.

young adults weren't around for the 80/90's cars.. hell the those cars were out when i was young 18 or so years old. and i'm 54 now. fox bodies and grand nationals were all over the drag strip. they have gone through the roof price wise. not 69 hemi car roof but priced a lot of guys out of wanting one.. those year camaros (Z28 and IROC) are starting to go up too.. young kids today were born in the 2000's. what were cool cars when they were kids say 15-early 20's? s197 mustangs, challengers? both still expensive for a yung kid to own so they got to imports. hell my son when young 15-early 20's he was a motor head but him and his friends were all into the jeep cherokees.. they were cheap and had tons of aftermarket parts out there for them.