Why are you in this ????

[Guest 1941 CADDY]

Why are you in this? Is it for the money?{comeing in the pocket or going out ] Are you in this for the fun [HA HA HA] Are you in this for all the hard work? [10 to 18 houres a daywith no lunch] Are you in this for the smell?{Gas,oil } I my self am doing this for all the above so my grand kid's can see first hand [with a file of all the bills ]AN up close look at a car of the pass. My title said this car is not for sale. It should be passed on to my grand kid's and then there's. SO when I pass on NO ONE could take all my hard work and make money.

[Guest Gary Hearn]

Most people are kidding themselves if they think their kids and grandkids will have the same values and retain the car(s) you have toiled over. Many will view your "treasures" as simply another burden that they have to deal with. A quick glance at the Buy/Sell forum on this site will show many people in this situation that have no idea of how to deal with items they have been bestowed with.

In reality, people will want it to be gone as soon as possible with the least amount of hassle, which often means items sell far short of their value. My wife has no interest in my items and her solution will probably be to bring in a roll off container and send it to the landfill without any regard to its value.

It may help to make advance plans and have people in the wings to assist when the time comes. My wife has a document with my major items listed (along with their values) along with contacts to assist in their dispersal.

To believe your items will be kept in the family is probably wishful thinking. Circumstances change, people need money, lose storage or interest and want to move on with their lives.

[R W Burgess]

Gary makes a good point. We had a dear friend and local AACA member pass away a few years ago. Since his wife was also active in our region, she knew who to turn to when he suddenly passed on. A small group of antique lovers helped her move the items she did not want to keep, including all four of his antique cars. She ended up selling their home and moving back north near her daughter.

On another note, we still send her our local region's newsletter, just so she can keep in touch. This sort of thing means a lot to those who have lost a loved one, especially, if they didn't have children.

Wayne

[TexRiv_63]

I am in the hobby for the fun and self-satisfaction that comes from preserving and improving old cars, the hard work and smell are necessary by-products. If I was in it for the money I would have got the hell out long ago. My family understands what my hobby means to me and is very supportive but they all think I'm crazy. Not sure how my grandson feels yet, he's only 4. I do not expect them to keep any of my car stuff and hope that it can be sold for a decent price that will keep my wife in good financial shape if I am not around. I have also left instructions and explanations, mostly so they will not just dump stuff that might look like junk but actually has value. I joke about being buried in my Pierce Arrow but the old saw about us only being temporary caretakers of our cars is very true and they need to move on.

[Tom M]

the hard work and smell are necessary by-products. If I was in it for the money

Funny you state that. My lovely better half walk out to the garage the other day and said will that old car smell ever go away even after you have replace almost all the pieces. I said no that is the nature of an old charm like this.

For me I am in this because Old Bessie (the '31 Packard) was left to me after my father passed away back in 1996 (he was only 54 at the time). I could have sold this car back then and bought my dream car a 1969 or 70 GTO Judge but I didn't because I know how much my father loved Packard. If he was still alive today he and I would have been restoring it together.

Hopefully by this spring I will have her up an running once again.

[Guest windjamer]

One word ans. Friendship.

[Guest 1941 CADDY]

Tom very nice work. I am in addison IL.Would like to see you car.

[R Walling]

I like to work on cars to keep my self-busy and in good physical condition. I retired a while ago from working behind a desk and I am in better condition now, doing all the sit ups, bend-over’s and lifting associated with the job.

A big factor is that I work alone, and overcoming the problems of not having a helper stimulates the mind and gives a big satisfaction for doing the imposable, like holding the wrench inside the car, while taking off the nut from underside the floor.

Last week I spent hours rebuilding an exhaust heat riser that was frozen. I could have bought one if I wanted to, but what fun is that.

[Dandy Dave]

I am in it because I like it. And because I got a bad case of "Gearhead Disease", which by the way is incurable and can only be passified by wrenching on something. Dandy Dave!

[Bhigdog]

I'm in this for a number of reasons. I'm retired, and though I have a lot of property, I need something to keep busy, especially during the winter months. I very much like almost anything mechanical, especially "old" things. I enjoy the friendship of the hobby and my ego likes the compliments I get on my work. Some days I really enjoy working on the latest project and others I need to take a break and maybe cut firewood or play with the pond and dogs.

Like Roger, I will spend an entire day rebuilding a part that I can easily buy new. That's the luxury of being a "not for profit" type restorer.

When I'm gone I have no illusions of my hobby being part of my "legacy". That a few old pieces of metal were saved is fine but I really don't care what happens to them when I'm gone.............Bob

[trimacar]

Just love old cars. Enjoy looking at them, driving them, sharing them, chasing after them, working on them, going on tours, and mostly meeting new, and being in contact with old, friends.

My family will have the "big sale" I'm sure when I'm gone. They know enough to know what isjunk and what has some value. My favorite car is the 31 Pierce phaeton, wife has said she may have my ashes placed in door pocket so I can be iwth the car when gone, so, anyone getting it years from now, leave those door pockets alone!

[Tom M]

Tom very nice work. I am in addison IL.Would like to see you car.

I am off next week for another cost reduction here. If you like to stop by sometime next week PM me and I will give you my number and we can set up a time. Edited October 20, 2009 by Packin31 (see edit history)

[poci1957]

A very good question that I often ask myself. It is certainly not for the money, I rarely buy and sell and any modest gain on a car sale is more than offset by the cost of maintaining the cars and their storage, etc.

In my case it is just in the blood, I guess. When I was a youth my dad bought a few 1950s Fords of his liking and thought working on the cars would be a positive influence for our teenage years (he was right) and maybe lead to making a living restoring cars (did not work out that way). For better or worse that made the old cars a sort of lifestyle choice that became so ingrained that I guess I cannot imagine life without them. It would be easier without them, I would not have to live in the country to have the large shop building and such. I would not need to go to Hershey, Iola and other meets, club memberships, magazine subscriptions, tools, etc. And it is certainly not for the benefit of anyone else, as we have no children to pass anything down to and my wife is only casually interested beyond the sociality of taking an open air Sunday drive.

Also, later I found weekend restoration activity soothing after a week at the office job--a respite from the phone, fax, computer, etc. Just go to my quiet shop to work with my own hands on the cars. I may also have developed a sort of compulsion about the restoration process, a need to take a deteriorated car and restore it to originality. Look at this, I am like Dr Phil over here......sorry, Todd C

[Shop Rat]

I got into this because of Bill. I always liked the look of older cars but where I lived growing up in a suburb neighborhood with room for only one car, and with the level of pay that my dad made as a newspaperman, we just admired them but there was no way to get an older car.

Bill started working on cars with his dad when he was nine years old. So he has lots of mechanical knowledge gained from that. We got our first antique car, a 1958 Chevy Biscayne two-door, when we had been married about six years. We had to rent garage space from a widow with no car to keep it inside. Then when she moved out we had to put the car in a rental space.

I am the automotive/project helper. I don't mind greasy, grimy hands hence the screen name Shop Rat. I walk every field of Hershey with Bill. I help look for parts. I have never been to the Ladies Luncheons or on their bus trips, but I bet they are nice. I want to see my friends and they are out like Bill and I are.

I can drive a standard transmission vehicle just fine thank you very much. I drive our 35' RV with a car in tow behind it or our Dodge quad-cab with a 31' toybox trailer. I admit I don't back them, Bill does that. He can actually back the RV with the PT cruiser on the tow dolly for short distances and with good accuracy. He even impressed some big rig drivers one day in Virginia by putting our RV and PT between two of their rigs at a truck stop.

I got into the judging end because I got tired of Bill coming back to the RV with stories of all the great vehicles and new and old friends he had met/seen. It was the greatest thing I ever did. I love it.

[keiser31]

I was swayed in the direction of old cars because of my dear sweet father. He took us to the Henry Ford Museum and the annual Old Car Festivals. He bought a 1931 Dodge in 1959 (my first car) and I have been intrigued ever since. My father took me to Hershey. He would go looking for old cars and stop whenever he spotted one "just to see what the owner was going to do with it". My mom was not that into the cars. According to her, "1 is enough". By the time I realized she was not that into them, I had a 1931 Dodge business coupe, a 1936 Dodge touring sedan, a 1926 Chrysler "58" 4 door sedan and a 1929 Franklin 6-wire wheeled 135 sedan. It was a tough juggling act for a 16 year old with access to only a two-car garage....with a dirt floor. Now I am into them for me. I like the friends I have made and the other cars in the clubs. For me, I just like cruising in something that has lasted so many years and I am just still a little kid (with my father on my shoulder) when I see an old car.

[poci1957]

Looks like a common thread, the early-teen son just getting interested in cars and the father expanding it into a mutual interest. It certainly worked in my case, and the old cars were our primary bond for the rest of his life. It is one of my biggest disappointments in not having a protege to pass my interest on to, I am still looking for someone to mentor and hopefully we can all try to pass on such a positive influence and keep the hobby alive in the next generation.

[dship]

Before I retired I had an office job all my life. Therefore, weekends then and always now I've fooled around with cars to keep a mental 'balance'. My father taught me mostly when I was a kid so that I wouldn't 'get suckered by a mechanic' (as he put it).

Luckly, my wife is into preparing our cars with me and attending auto shows and cruize-ins. In fact, recently we both entered our own same-year but individual riv's in an auto show (same class) and she won!

[Richard Lichtfel]

I'm in it for the money. That's why I'm poor.

[Shop Rat]

I'm in it for the money. That's why I'm poor.

ROTFLMAO!!!!! :D:D:D:D Good one!!!

[Shop Rat]

.....I've fooled around with cars to keep a mental 'balance'. .....

And yet many folks think we are mentally "unbalanced" for loving old vehicles and for spending the time, effort, energy and money we do on them.

Several years ago a guy that had worked with Bill came into town to do some work at the Carbide plant here. He lives about three hours from here, and worked at a Carbide plant near where he lived. They both worked at Carbide at the time. Bill was just starting to tear down the 1939 Dodge Deluxe 4-door to start resoration work in it. Bill invited him to come help him with the tear down.

It turned out to be great for Bill's friend. The friend tended to drink when he went out of town and got bored. Working with Bill gave him something positive to do. I would hear his modern Mustang go down the hill as late as 2 a.m. sometimes. But he was sober and enjoyed working with Bill on the Dodge.

Horse owners have a saying, "The outside of the horse is good for the inside of the owner". I think old vehicles have the same power.

[alsancle]

My dad in 1958 and my dad 3 weeks ago. It runs in the family.

[john2dameron]

I was addicted to cars before I started to school; I got addicted to reading when I started to school so what better to do than spend my life reading about cars. My goal was always to own a nice car; my Dad's goal was to thwart my interest in cars. It didn't work. One vow I made is not to get involved in the ownership of an old car but I do enjoy going to shows and museums, looking at the cars you folks have restored and talking to you about them. I've taken my children to Harrah's, the Imperial Palace, Henry Ford Museum, A-C-D museum and lots of others but all to no avail. All three of them do have some interest in Mustangs but that is about as far as it goes. When I go there will be 1,000 diecast models to be gotten rid of and a collection of automomotive literature that I started accumulating about 1948. What will become of it? I don't know. I'll be gone and it will be of no further use to me. I've thought of donating it to a library where some kids could enjoy it but I guess the wife and kids will sell it for about ten cents on the dollar maybe. Oh well, it's brought me a lot of pleasure and I've met lots of nice people at the shows. I do have a 16-year old nephew that likes to go to the shows with me. I teach him what I can and a lot of it seems to have sunk in. Someday you might see an old man taking photos at a show and a nice teenager at his elbow taking notes for him. Take a minute and say hello. I'll be looking forward to it.

[MCHinson]

I guess I am in this because I must have been born in the wrong decade. I fondly recall working on small engines as well as cars in my brother's shop when I was young. He went through a lot of used cars in the 70's that would now be considered quite collectible. So, I grew up with old cars, but for some reason I don't care much for those cars of the 50's and 60's. I have always liked old things and always liked working on mechanical things.

The first car that I drove as "my car" was a 1961 Cadillac Hearse that I persuaded my father to buy for me just before I got my license. It was only 15 years old at the time, but certainly attracted attention.

The first antique car that I wanted to buy myself was a 1938 Buick. I still love those, but I have not bought one... yet.

I have alwasy been drawn to pre-war cars and decided that I should begin with a simple car, so I chose a Model A Ford for my first antique car. Somehow, I can't seem to get Model A Fever out of my head, I have had a few Model A's over the years and still can't seem to move on to the Buick that I initially wanted to buy.

As for the future, my not quite 21 year old son likes antique cars and has spent time helping me over the years with old cars and I suspect that he would like to inherit an old car or two. His major competititon on that matter is his 11 year old sister. She has, on numerous occasions, informed the entire family that she helps me with the old cars more than her brother does. She reminds him that she has been to more car shows than he has, since he often now has to work. She also has declared that she intends to inherit all of my old cars and that her brother is not supposed to get any. After the movie "Cars" came out, she announced that she wants us to buy a 1951 Hudson Hornet. I have not found one of those that I could afford yet... but who knows. So, at least for our family, the hobby is alive and well and the future looks promising.

[OldsDoug]

All the cars I liked when I was young are now antiques. (To say nothing of myself...)

[msmazcol]

This is my Daughter. Somewhere in an old photo album there are photos of me smiling like this sitting on my Dad's Franklin running board.

This is quality family time and lasting memories.

That's why !!

[Guest mercman86]

I got into the hobby after being obsessed with antique autos for my entire life. I think that my Ranchero, that i have put a lot of sweat and blood into (literally) is my starting off point for hopefully many other antique restoration projects in the future. I have learned a lot from restoring it and that is why i cant wait to get my hands on another antique that needs a new home and a paitent owner to bring it back to life!

[1937hd45]

Back in 1961 Mom dropped me off at the local Pre 1942 car show, I was ten years old. The cars and their owners made a lasting impression on me, and I've spent the rest of my life trying to relive that day.

[Guest Skyking]

I guess with me, old cars are in my blood. My father, my son, my two brothers and their 4 boys are all into it. There was a time when we could have our own car show visiting at one of the houses.

<O:p</O:p

I find it very relaxing just to go in the garage and fool around with one of them. For the last 4 or 5 winters I was restoring a car at some point. Now that mine are all finished I don’t know what I’ll do this winter.

<O:p</O:p

As for keeping them in the family, who knows what the future holds. My father gave up driving a few years ago and wanted one of us to have his 1931 Model A Deluxe roadster. I figured, since my younger brother did most of the work on the car it should go to him. He declined because living in <ST1:pFlorida</ST1:p near the water and only having a one car garage for his car, it wouldn’t survive the elements. So my father ended up selling it to a friend that for years was in the process of doing one of his own. It was easier for him to buy a turn key car than finish his.

<O:p</O:p

My son takes his two boys to all the shows & cruises he attends. I don’t know whether or not this will have an affect on them when they get older. I hope it does, at least it will keep the hobby going on………….and maybe some of the cars we now have, kept in the family.

[Dave@Moon]

I was addicted to cars before I started to school; I got addicted to reading when I started to school so what better to do than spend my life reading about cars. My goal was always to own a nice car; my Dad's goal was to thwart my interest in cars. It didn't work.

That's my history as well. To this day my dad (now 74) has no idea why I'd be interested in any car that's not under warranty. I've always envied those who had the advantage of a start from their parents in this game.

I started in American antiques, and have now limited myself to little British sports cars (an extinct branch of the tree for some time now). My son, who has that advantage, has inherited the sports car bug, but so far shows no interest in the antique side of the equation.

But that's all the "how" of this process. Plenty of people have the advantage of early exposure, but it obviously is neither necessary nor irresistible. The "why" runs deeper.

The "why" for me is the same reason I'm an environmentalist. There is an element to living in this world which inspires a desire to preserve the best parts of it for as long as possible. If you want save 1947 Hudsons for future generations to see (be they your kin or a wider range of people), you are experiencing the exact same motivations and emotions that someone who wants to save California condors and/or stable climatic biomes for future generations to see. It is basically the same thing.:cool:

[Shop Rat]

My dad in 1958 and my dad 3 weeks ago. It runs in the family.

Please tell your dad that I drool over 35/36 boat-tailed Auburns. I saw a great one at Hershey this year. I have a bent grill from one, an 851 grill badge from a '35 and two of the remake Supercharged emblems that go on each side of the hood. They are rough casts and had not been finished and chromed yet.

Before I die, I want to get to ride in a real 35 or 36 Auburn Boat-tailed speedster. A one line bucket list.

[R W Burgess]

............Before I die, I want to get to ride in a real 35 or 36 Auburn Boat-tailed speedster. A one line bucket list.

............

I'll call Jay Leno for you Susan. Then, your guy can call his guy and set up the appointment! :cool:

Wayne

[R Walling]

Quote from Skyking; " For the last 4 or 5 winters I was restoring a car at some point. Now that mine are all finished I don’t know what I’ll do this winter".

I feel the same way, I have too many to start another one. Instead I will bring them in one at a time and do that last bit that never seems to get done when you first register and start driving them.

I never quite got to installing the rear window moulding on my Essex and my Buick sits a little to low in the back and my....

[Guest Skyking]

I feel the same way, I have too many to start another one. Instead I will bring them in one at a time and do that last bit that never seems to get done when you first register and start driving them.

Roger, what I did lack to question is, are we really ever done with restoring our cars? Just last night I was in the garage changing the rear back-up lights on my '60 Met. The lights that came with the car were in excellent shape but were not the correct ones. I found a perfect correct set on Ebay that I'm changing over now. Maybe this winter I'll add disc brakes on my Buick. Working in the garage nights after work is one of the few things that helps keeps me sane.............

[Steve Moskowitz]

I am fortunate to know the exact moment I realized cars were going to e in my future both as a hobby and how I made my living. It was in 7th grade and I remember the "aha" moment. From the second in time I began my quest to make it happen. I was a prolific builder of model cars and bought every magazine I could afford. Lots of stuff in between that time working in body shops and new car dealerships while going to college to pursue my automotive dream.

The as a young district service manager for Oldsmobile Division I visited a small Chevrolet-Oldsmobile dealership in Beecher, Illinois. I met the parts/body shop manager Wendall Ohlendorf who invited me to his house. Slam, dunk and score. His incredible home adorned with the most magnificent memorabilia and antique cars hooked me completely. I fell in love with early cars. He had some incredible cars and nurtured my love for the hobby. It was his insistence along with a former AACA President that convinced me to apply for the job as executive director and thereby ruin all your lives on the forum!

But how do you answer why the emotional connection with cars? Someone once told me if you had to ask the question, you would not understand the answer!

That is the answer I have to use because I can't explain why I love the sight, sounds and smells of cars. All kinds of cars but early cars and early race cars really trip my trigger! Whatever, your reasons I can respect your involvement in the hobby and thankfully there are people who are in their own way saving our history. Now join AACA and help me save my history!

[Shop Rat]

............

I'll call Jay Leno for you Susan. Then, your guy can call his guy and set up the appointment! :cool:

Wayne

Thanks Wayne. Now I just have to get a "guy" to have one to call Jay's guy. Bill is too busy working on trying to fix the emergency brake on the RV :eek: or I would have him be my "guy" to make the call.

[Shop Rat]

..... It was his insistence along with a former AACA President that convinced me to apply for the job as executive director and thereby ruin all your lives on the forum!

It's wishful thinking if you think you are ruining our lives here.

But how do you answer why the emotional connection with cars? Someone once told me if you had to ask the question, you would not understand the answer!

Most people understand when you say, "It is art that moves." Especially the elegant older cars. Today's "jelly bean" cars.... not so much.

..... Now join AACA and help me save my history!

And his job. We want him around for a LONG time to be here to try to ruin our lives. (Good luck with that Steve.)

[Restorer32]

I was an avid reader as a teenager. At 19, as the result of an auto accident I was confined to a hospital bed for 6 months or so. I soon went thru the stack of Saturday Evening Posts and most everything of interest our small town could offer. A well meaning neighbor presented me with a number of old car magazines, really just 10 page or so brochures and a small thin Hemmings Motor News. These I devoured quickly. Someone then offered an issue of Antique Automobile with, as I remember, a Packard 645 Roadster on the cover. That car aroused feelings in me that I recognized as very similar to the feelings I got staring at some of the more well built young ladies that had crossed my path. I Knew I WANTED one but had no idea how to GET one. Turned out Dad and I could actually communicate about antique cars, something we had not been able to do very successfully before. Then we discovered Hershey in the Fall of '68. You know the rest of the story.

[budd28]

I was a kid going to shows with my grandfather and uncle in the shenandoah region.I've been a member of the richnond region since 1987.I have 3 of my grandfathers cars still,and 4 more to boot.I'm only 36 years old loved cars all my life,and I'll buy/restore more when I finish my next building.

[earl e rizer]

My mom said that when I was 2 yrs. old all I wanted to do was sit behind the wheel of Dad's 54 New Yorker or play in his T-Rod. My grandfather had a garage and machine shop which I hung around as soon as I could walk,1957-8. It's an addiction for me, always has been. I would be a lot better off financially if I had of been interested in stamps or clocks!

[Guest abh3usn]

I wish my grandfather kept any of his first few cars, '29 Whippet 96A, '36 Chevy sedan, '55 Chevy sedan, '59 Chevy sedan. I did acuire a '47 Studebaker M-5 truck when I was 12 from a neighbor who bought 3 at a time. From then on, I was hooked on antique cars. After that, I bought a '67 Fairlane from a friend who was going to sell it to a hot rodder. After selling it when I no longer had time, I bought a '78 Bronco. It wasn't until two years ago that I was again able to buy my current car a '77 MGB.

I don't really care if other people don't appreciate my hobby. I assume it will be legislated away sometime in the future under the guise of 'enviiromentalisim i.e. anti-capitalisim' So, enjoy it while you can.

I don't expect the next generation to participate in the hobby as it will be seen as wrong due to the 'polution' the cars cause. Look at the lack of appreciation for history among the youth. They don't understands it or care to.