I got sick last night

[R W Burgess]

On 8/29/2017 at 8:58 PM, John_Mc said:

In the future when originals will be unobtainable at any price, these self proclaimed "artists" who mutilate these cars today in order to fulfill their own self-absorbed egos will surely be cursed.

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John, few of us will be around to complain about it. The youth of today have little interest in early cars. Many young people do not even get a driver's license until they are well into their upper 20's, if then. .

Wayne

[Xander Wildeisen]

If the youth do not care, and the old guys are going to the wrecking yard in the sky. Then your most valuable group of people that you have. Are the businesses and the guys/gals that are building/restoring, and the customers that make the choice to invest their money in bringing back to life these classic/collector cars. Having a conversation about problems that people encounter with in this hobby/industry/trade is a good thing. And setting aside who people are, or what they chose to do with their cars, is a good thing as well.

[padgett]

Suspect it is more supply exceeding demand. And the competition is exploding as collecting information and opinions becomes global. Today GTOs, Stangs, and 'cudas have to compete with Skyline GTRs and 240Zs. Thanks to the fed (55mph speed limit) we now have generations that never had an "American" car.

[60FlatTop]

I'm looking forward to a great buyer's market over the next 20 or so years. Quite optimistic.

 

I have always liked the cars most. The other stuff or types of car weren't important unless they pleased me. And I am pretty happy out in the garage alone. Or under a shady tree in my back yard. That tends to be peaceful.

 

Organized events, well, if you remove the grazing ones, one or two a year is probably sufficient.

 

Change. Not only does the hobby change, but how I want to spend my time changes.

 

Interests. Tuesday night I had a serious discussion about quartering a '59 T-Bird convertible and putting it on a Lincoln Mark VIII platform. Both 113" WB. Maybe fifths, it is early in the planning.

Bernie

[kgreen]

The facets of a vintage car that interest me not only include the appearance, but the mechanicals and material choices.  The flathead in my 41 pickup may only have 85 hp, but what a cool looking flathead engine with a very unique sound (if you care to listen).  That pickup is worth $10k as is, but can bring $35k with an sbc.  I think the starting mechanisms on my 40 Buick are unique and  fascinating, I see others installing pushbutton by-pass switches, but I like the function of the ignition on, pedal to the floor starter activation.  

 

I also find fascination with the materials used to make cars, back when these materials were less scarce and plastic parts were uncommon.  Look at how much forming went into the metal trim, the window cranks, the dash components, wheels, etc.  What would be considered wasteful today is the use of brass, chrome, nickel and so much formed steel.  Remember when Tom McCahill was reviewing cars in the 50's slamming them for poor fit, finish and performance?  I think he complained of the excessive use of the cheap chrome on those cars.  Today we seem to honor those very same cars. 

 

I too cringe when old original treasures are being modified, but these cars were made for market and never intended to be anything more than disposable.  I even have trouble sending a stripped prewar Buick frame to the scrap yard because I have no room to store it.  On the plus side, the value of the remaining old cars increases with awareness of them.  Consider what the movie Gone in 60 Seconds did for the 67 Mustang, or Rebel Without a Cause did for the early 50's Merc.  

 

Concluding with the wasteful use of resources, I'm sinking tons of time and resources into restoring my 40 Buick which will have very limited interest by the viewing public at a car show and just as little value when it is ultimately sold.  Millennials think that keeping a car like that on the road is wasteful and could go towards the manufacture of 3 or 4 Prius' and serving society better.  

[padgett]

"Consider what the movie Gone in 60 Seconds  did for the 67 Mustang" Depends on when, didn't do much for the '73 but then not much was left after HB got through with it.

[John_Mc]

On 8/31/2017 at 11:45 AM, R W Burgess said:

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John, few of us will be around to complain about it. The youth of today have little interest in early cars. Many young people do not even get a driver's license until they are well into their upper 20's, if then. .

Wayne

You have a very good point, maybe we're just dinosaurs who don't see the meteor coming.  I guess it just comes down to your common hot rodder not showing respect for these cars, the people who designed them or those who built them.  Interesting perspective, thanks. 

[1937hd45]

If that Chevy in question  was worth restoring someone would have done so by now. Bob 

[C Carl]

Some cars which are not "worth restoring" are originals which would be degraded by doing so. Those are the cars I have always been attracted to. Those are the cars we miss the most when they are mongrelized. But hey ! If a very common car is in real need of restoration , no tragic loss. And if the amount of work requires redoing everything anyway , it becomes a net gain either way. However , we all know that in the trigger happy past , many exquisite originals were over restored , and in doing so had much of their charm and a bit of their "soul" diluted.    - Old , unrestored ,   -  Carl , (more than just "patina" on me ?)

[mcdarrunt]

You old car puritans are the ones that make me puke. I'll be darned if I'll spend weeks trying to find the exact paint color of a heater box or the right plating on a bolt or nut. For gosh sake, build the cars to DRIVE or else settle for a framed picture. Nothing is as worthless in my opinion as a concours car that must not have a pebble in the tire tread. I'm 80 years old and drove the old cars and they were noisy, smelly, rolled, pitched, and wouldn't stop. We just made a lap of the U.S. in our 37 Buick Special (1952 263 straight 8, a/c, automatic, p/s, p/b, 12v, alternator, turn signals, halogen/led lights, and all the other non purist doo dads) and 99% of the people in the 20 states we were in have now seen a 37 Buick (in their eyes) and not a one gave a darn if a cotter pin was plated or non plated. Cruised in the left lane and if any of you want to join the next lap in your "correct" ride you can sign up now. Some people have their cars to ENJOY and not brag about how long it took them to find the exact correct heater door knob. You be the judge if the car is "Butchered".

 

 

[1937hd45]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Nice Buick, bet there are less than 10 people in the USA that would know what a 100% correct  1937 Buick should look like, and less that truly care, drive on! Bob 

[John348]

6 minutes ago, 1937hd45 said:

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Nice Buick, bet there are less than 10 people in the USA that would know what a 100% correct  1937 Buick should look like, and less that truly care, drive on! Bob 

 

Very true, but it really becomes a problem when 10% of the hobby know what is 100% correct!,

by the way that Buick is a great looking car, 

[Guest SaddleRider]

4 hours ago, mcdarrunt said:

........1952 263 straight 8, a/c, automatic, p/s, p/b, 12v, alternator, turn signals, halogen/led lights, and all the other non purist doo dads) and 99% of the people in the 20 states we were in have now seen a 37 Buick .......

 

Oh...the horror of it......sealed beam headlights on a pre-1941 car. 

 

Well...to be fair.....you don't have a '37 Buick automobile...you have a '52 Buick on which you have mounted the sheet metal of a '37.     If memory serves,   wasn't 1952 the first year the "small" Buicks got the benefit of modern "insert" type connecting rod bearings?

 

I don't blame you - if I wanted to drive a pre-war car around on today's roads at today's speeds....agree completely.. .sure as heck wouldn't try it in a stock '37 Buick of ANY series.     If I were stuck with a '37 Buick I would do exactly what you did.  

 

If memory serves,  by '37 only Buick and Chevrolet were still being stubborn and sticking with that cheapo "poured babbit"  set-up for con rods.  Which explains those news reports when they first opened the then brand-new Penn Turnpike... ( about how much fun the tow-truck operators had until people whose motors had "poured babbet" rod bearings learned their lesson...!

 

 

[Brass is Best]

10 hours ago, John348 said:

 

Very true, but it really becomes a problem when 10% of the hobby know what is 100% correct!,

by the way that Buick is a great looking car, 

 

Kind of like how the ACD club allows parts under the hood that are supposed to be chrome or polished aluminum to be painted with silver paint to "save" on restoration costs. Now properly finished cars without the silver paint don't match the judging standard and are docked points.

Edited September 4, 2017 by Brass is Best (see edit history)

[C Carl]

That is just totally nuts.  - CC