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Are the hobby members getting that old?


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I guess the members and hobbyists are getting old so a new way to drum up some future business. Notice who is hosting this event and is our hobby dying off? Any other different events out there?

http://www.canadianobituaries.com/durham/durham-community-events.html#OshawaFuneralHome-CarShow

Edited by Joe in Canada (see edit history)
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The hope is we are getting older, the hobby has always been older with the exception of second or 3rd generations generally. As we age the discretionary money is available. The younger people are either more into the current or newer "antiques"  or "tuners". At least some are showing an interest.  From the stories out there, the concern is over the lack of interest in owning anything, houses, cars, boats motorcycles etc. The auto industry worried about this almost 10 years ago. Seems to be more of an Urban problem than suburban or rural. Just my thoughts. Rob

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Unfortunately times have changed dramatically.   Modern day cars simply don't loan themselves to being easily repaired or modified by their owners.  So the new generation isn't being exposed to treating cars the way we used to treat them when we were young.   So that whole mindset no longer exists.   In addition to this the new generation isn't acquiring the tools and knowledge of how to work on older cars.   Not to mention that parts for older cars are no longer easily obtainable without having to pay high prices for them.

 

In fact, I had recently complained about how expensive replacement parts are for older cars.   I was simply told that if I need to worry about the cost then I'm in the wrong hobby.

 

Just as a very small example.  I have an old engine that I would like to remove the head from just to take a peek into the cylinders to see if I might want to clean the cylinders up before trying to start the engine.   So I decided to order a new head gasket first.  The head gasket cost $70.  What?  ?   $70 for a head gasket!   You've got to be joking me!   I remember when they used top be $7.

 

It's a miracle anyone bothers with this hobby in today's world to be quite honest about it.   Replacement parts are a total rip-off.

 

So in today's world, not only does a person need to have the tools, knowledge and desire to do this, but they better be filthy rich to boot!

 

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6 minutes ago, AntiqueCraftsman said:

 

 

It's a miracle anyone bothers with this hobby in today's world to be quite honest about it.   Replacement parts are a total rip-off.

 

 

 

 

I'm not trying to derail Joe's thread, but this statement deserves comment. NOS parts prices are generally ruled by supply and demand. NOS reproduction parts don't come cheap because of high setup costs and low production numbers. I've received quotes on reproducing components in the past,and the cost of making castings alone is steep.I'm grateful to those who have taken the initiative to make previously unavailable parts available  again.

Jim

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11 minutes ago, J.H.Boland said:

 

I'm not trying to derail Joe's thread, but this statement deserves comment. NOS parts prices are generally ruled by supply and demand. NOS reproduction parts don't come cheap because of high setup costs and low production numbers. I've received quotes on reproducing components in the past,and the cost of making castings alone is steep.I'm grateful to those who have taken the initiative to make previously unavailable parts available  again.

Jim

 

I agree.  "rip-off" may indeed be too strong a word.  This implies that the supplier or manufacturer is making an outrageous profit, which may indeed not be the case at all.

 

Perhaps I should have simply said that replacement parts cannot be had for realistic prices.   Not intended to place blame on anyone.   It just is what it is.

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Fewer and fewer people these days know how to use a wrench.  Those same people lacking mechanical expertise are also lacking knowledge and interest in things like engines, transmissions, and rusting sheet metal.  Unfortunately this is the way its been going for quite a while. There are no more mechanics of the 1946-1966 era entering the field. It pleases me greatly to see the rare young person today who is eager to get his hands dirty and bleeding.  I'm 73.

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7 minutes ago, playswithbrass said:

I’m getting confused. Are the replacement parts for the cars, or for the owners who might need the services of the funeral home?

 

Yeah,that happens when a thread morphs into two topics.Guilty. Hopefully the owner can donate some of his parts before the funeral home gets him !

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Let's turn to a more pleasant topic.  Has anyone ever attended a car show at a nudist park?

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39 minutes ago, Terry Bond said:

Let's turn to a more pleasant topic.  Has anyone ever attended a car show at a nudist park?

 

Wouldn't have to worry about buttons,belt buckles,or zippers scratching.

A friend was invited to a Miss Nude Canada pageant near here with his Model T tudor. He chauffeured the top three contestants around the park. All they had on were numbered pie plates.

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2 hours ago, Doug Novak said:

Good to know, I've been looking for a cemetery where I could be buried in my car. 


Then there's the one about the two grave diggers watching some old guy  being buried in his Duesenberg.  As the mighty car is lowered into the huge grave one of them turns to the other and says "man, that's really livin'"

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Shouldn't be an uncomfortable topic.  Mortality is real, and much easier to comprehend at 70 than at 20 (years of age)...

 

No problem.  My wife says when I die, cremation then a ziplock bag of my ashes in one of the door pockets of my '31 Pierce.

 

if you buy it at the estate sale, please respect my final resting place.

IMG_0953.JPG

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David......I drilled a hole in the ash door support on my 1936 Pierce 12, and put some of my dad’s ashes in it so he would always be along for the ride. ?

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9 hours ago, AntiqueCraftsman said:

Unfortunately times have changed dramatically.   Modern day cars simply don't loan themselves to being easily repaired or modified by their owners.  So the new generation isn't being exposed to treating cars the way we used to treat them when we were young.   So that whole mindset no longer exists.   In addition to this the new generation isn't acquiring the tools and knowledge of how to work on older cars.   Not to mention that parts for older cars are no longer easily obtainable without having to pay high prices for them.

 

In fact, I had recently complained about how expensive replacement parts are for older cars.   I was simply told that if I need to worry about the cost then I'm in the wrong hobby.

 

Just as a very small example.  I have an old engine that I would like to remove the head from just to take a peek into the cylinders to see if I might want to clean the cylinders up before trying to start the engine.   So I decided to order a new head gasket first.  The head gasket cost $70.  What?  ?   $70 for a head gasket!   You've got to be joking me!   I remember when they used top be $7.

 

It's a miracle anyone bothers with this hobby in today's world to be quite honest about it.   Replacement parts are a total rip-off.

 

So in today's world, not only does a person need to have the tools, knowledge and desire to do this, but they better be filthy rich to boot!

 

I 'll bet you are into your cellphone for way more than that head gasket cost, priorities, it all about priorates. 

 

Bob 

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This reminds me of our local volunteer fire department's annual hog roast/fundraiser. I found it humorous to be sitting in a chair and using napkins and cups with the name of the local funeral home emblazoned on them. Glad they are there for the sponsorship!

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1 minute ago, 1937hd45 said:

I 'll bet you are into your cellphone for way more than that head gasket cost, priorities, it all about priorates. 

 

Bob 

 

Sorry, but I'm most likely living in a totally different world from what you are used to.     I don't even have a cell phone.  Nor do I have TV.   I do have Internet access obviously, but even that is bare bones basics.   I never pay for any content.  

 

I live in a very small cottage that I built myself from trees I cut down and cut into lumber myself.  I heat with wood that I also cut for free.  I even built my own outdoor woodboiler system for a grand total of about $1,500.  Something I was told could not be done for that price.

 

By the way, the people at the woodstove store where I bought the hot water pump wanted to also sell me heat exchanges for $400 EACH!.    I said "No way!   Why should I pay $400 for their heat exchangers when I can go to an auto parts store and pick up a couple truck radiators for under $100 a piece.  They said that truck radiators would NEVER work.     Well, guess what?   Those truck radiators have been heating this place every winter for the past 10 years and they work perfectly.   They were simply wrong.  Truck radiators work just fine as heat exchangers and are far less expensive.

 

By the way, getting back to the head gasket.  I found a place where I can buy a sheet of head gasket material for only $8.99 that is large enough to make a head gasket for my engine.  I also found a DIY site on the web of other people explaining how they made their own head gaskets from this stuff.   So I'll definitely be making my own head gaskets.  No way am I about to pay $70 for a head gasket.   That's absurd.

 

I mean I could see the need for that if I was building a dragster engine.   But just for an old stock 1954 6-cyl engine?  I don't think I need a $70 gasket for that application.  That's overkill.  I'm sure a $9 homemade gasket will work just fine.

 

That's the world I live in. ?

 

Besides, if I start paying $70 for every little part for this car that can add up really quick.    Ten items and you're up to $700 already.   A hundred items and your talking $7000.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Back on topic.  You could say that I'm a "newcomer" to this hobby in a sense.   It was only this year I bought two cars to restore.   So in that sense I only just started this "restoration" hobby.   Fortunately I have years of collecting tools, skills and knowledge under my belt.  So I'm hardly "new" in that sense.  But I am 69 years old.

 

In fact, I'm wondering whether I'll ever actually get to finish these restoration projects I've started.   Old people don't typically "get into" this hobby.  Typically they've been in it for quite some time and just accidentally got old while they weren't paying attention.

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My Uncle Eddie asked to have his ashes placed in his beloved 1955 Plymouth, which was arranged and the jar was set into a molded cup holder on the transmission hump. They had a double length carport on the side of their trailer so the Plymouth was somewhat protected and my Aunt would bow her head in a moment of silence each time she came home. Then her health began to fail and she was finally institutionalized, yes finally. With the lot rent way overdue....

 

 

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3 dogs in the cabinet over my garage workbench.  I told my family I would be fine with sharing space with them when the time comes...

 

Ed, I think that is really cool...

 

I think any business willing to sponsor an event is a friend to the hobby, all good. ?

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On ‎7‎/‎24‎/‎2018 at 6:41 PM, trimacar said:

Shouldn't be an uncomfortable topic.  Mortality is real, and much easier to comprehend at 70 than at 20 (years of age)...

 

No problem.  My wife says when I die, cremation then a ziplock bag of my ashes in one of the door pockets of my '31 Pierce.

 

if you buy it at the estate sale, please respect my final resting place.

IMG_0953.JPG

Technically there are no ashes.

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On 7/25/2018 at 9:45 PM, Joe in Canada said:

Technically there are no ashes.

 

If you ask for the raw remains boxed up they come in a 5 or 6 pound package, a lot of chunks and silt that looks like calcium. When you take a boat out into the middle of a small lake and sprinkle them expect a white ring around the shoreline for a couple of years, a little like the soap ring in a bathtub.

 

"What's that white stuff?"

"Grandma, she loved this lake."

"You thinking about that, too?"

 

"Bigger lake, maybe Ontario."

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" I have an old engine that I would like to remove the head from just to take a peek into the cylinders to see if I might want to clean the cylinders up before trying to start the engine.   So I decided to order a new head gasket first.  The head gasket cost $70."

 

I have a $15 borescope with leds I can insert into a spark plug hole and do the same thing. Besides for head gaskets Rock Auto is your friend. Biggest difference is that when a younker I sent my order (with check or money order) off to JC Whitney (Washawski to westerners) it was a few weeks before anything happened. Many things I get from Amazon tomorrow.

 

Methods change but not the task.

 

C'est la meme chose.

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