Made a new prewar friend today, he is 14 years old!

[Steve_Mack_CT]

So today a newer (as in 2 years) neighbor stopped us today, seems her 14 year old has been scoping out the Model A but was a bit shy...  Well, after an invitation, we spent a nice 45 minutes in the freezing shed going over the A.  My new pal knows a bit about the era as well, and cited a recent Duesenberg siting in Western MA, how many 14 year olds today even know what an ACD car is...  Well, he left with a stack of Hemmings, and in a few weeks I will see if he is interested in taking a ride, maybe helping with some basic maintenance...  And so it starts! 👍😊

[Marty Roth]

2 minutes ago, Steve_Mack_CT said:

So today a newer (as in 2 years) neighbor stopped us today, seems her 14 year old has been scoping out the Model A but was a bit shy...  Well, after an invitation, we spent a nice 45 minutes in the freezing shed going over the A.  My new pal knows a bit about the era as well, and cited a recent Duesenberg siting in Western MA, how many 14 year olds today even know what an ACD car is...  Well, he left with a stack of Hemmings, and in a few weeks I will see if he is interested in taking a ride, maybe helping with some basic maintenance...  And so it starts! 👍😊

 

Thank you, Steve_ Mack_CT -

That is the way to help ensure the future of our hobby, 

as well as to bolster the young man's confidence.

Maybe invite him and his parents to your club's next outing?

[Steve_Mack_CT]

Marty kids are so funny, freezing today and when I said "he should stop over anytime, I will show him the car, I chuckled to myself when doorbell rang 10 minutes later.  Yep, drop everything and have a nice visit, truth be told I loved it.  He was taking in the lines on the A, and I just got a feeling this kids got the bug!  Time will tell but yes your suggestion about inviting them is a great idea, as usual. 😊

[edinmass]

It was probably me in the J.............when was it? 

[Steve_Mack_CT]

Yesterday by Yankee Candle Ed, are you up north this week?

[TAKerry]

1 minute ago, Steve_Mack_CT said:

Yesterday by Yankee Candle Ed, are you up north this week?

Headquarters?   I thought the owner of yankee candle has quite an antique car collection, maybe hes a member on here?

[Steve_Mack_CT]

Well he used to Terry, it was a great destination, then he sold out maybe 10 or 12 years ago, only to restart Kringle candle maybe 5 years ago.  I think, but cannot say for sure, he passed recently, I believr the collection was/is quite large.  Both candle companies are along I91 in MA and fun destinations.

[edinmass]

Most of the collection was on loan, and not his. He had about 30 cars......mostly post war. Knew him well and also know his son. I bet the car was a Duesenberg Two, after fifty years in Western Mass........I know the J’s that are kicking around. There are none currently active anywhere in the area. I was in Texas and Ohio recently, but last week I didn’t make it to Mass. usually I am in town for the first week of March, as my 94:year old mother has a birthday on the fifth. With COVID-19 it was the first time I missed her celebration in all my 55 years. 

Edited March 15, 2021 by edinmass (see edit history)

[rocketraider]

Steve, look at it this way. When the time comes your A will have a good caretaker.

 

Take the boy under your wing and expose him to as much old iron and as many like-minded people as possible, and above all teach him how to drive it. Kids like him are the true future of this hobby, not the guys rewriting their insecure youth by cashing in their 401k and driving the price of entry slam out of reason.

[John_S_in_Penna]

When I talk to interested onlookers, of any age,

I emphasize how affordable the hobby can be.

 

Many nice antique cars cost only the price of a

good used car.  So many times I hear their

astounded reaction, "I had no idea!"  They see

auctions on television and think they could never

afford one;  now great possibilities are suddenly

open to them!

 

Sooner or later, this boy will have some purchasing

power, and the hobby awaits him.

[1935Packard]

9 hours ago, Steve_Mack_CT said:

So today a newer (as in 2 years) neighbor stopped us today, seems her 14 year old has been scoping out the Model A but was a bit shy...  Well, after an invitation, we spent a nice 45 minutes in the freezing shed going over the A.  My new pal knows a bit about the era as well, and cited a recent Duesenberg siting in Western MA, how many 14 year olds today even know what an ACD car is...  Well, he left with a stack of Hemmings, and in a few weeks I will see if he is interested in taking a ride, maybe helping with some basic maintenance...  And so it starts! 👍😊

 

Awesome! Thanks for helping the hobby, Steve.

[3makes]

If the boy is interested in really early pre WWII cars, contact me later in the spring when it is warmer and I will treat him to rides in a brass era car and maybe a horseless carriage. 

[Steve_Mack_CT]

Will do 3makes!  Thanks for your kind offer sir!

[3makes]

PM sent.

[John_S_in_Penna]

Maybe you have a sales brochure or two

that you could spare.  Choose duplicates,

or those that aren't valuable.  They might

further his interest when he's not around your

car.  They'll teach him something, and who knows?

He might pore over them for hours!

[GARY F]

And it will keep him away from his gadget that they all carry around.

[1932 plymouth pb sedan]

That's the best news I heard all day, Teach him all he is willing to learn.

Brings me back a few years or come to think of it a few decades.

[C Carl]

On 3/14/2021 at 5:43 PM, Steve_Mack_CT said:

My new pal......................left with a stack of Hemmings.................................

 

 

People here are always looking for new shelves for some of their old magazines. Maybe someone close to Steve and his lucky friend ? For me , at his young age , my face was buried in various Clymer, purchased with paper route money, and a fairly large collection of Road and Track which had been a gift to me. I particularly enjoyed the “Salon” section which featured some very great Classics. I would have been about 17 when I drove my first crashbox car, a Model A. I had just got it back to running again, all it needed was a new condenser. Man ! That was 60 years ago ! I still remember how happy I felt !     -    Carl 

[Steve_Mack_CT]

Carl, I am re upping HMN today for two reasons, a 40 + year habit, and to give them to kid across the street... Now my Cars & Parts from up to around 1990, I cannot seem to part with those... 😁

[JCHansen1]

This is excellent, and I'm glad to read it. Well done. The next generation of enthusiasts who are intertested in these cars are out there, but the older generations need to help find connection points like this. I know a teenage docent who volunteers all summer long at the Gilmore who has a voratious appetite for pre war automotive history, and he already knows more about Pierce Arrows and Franklins than I ever did. I love talking cars with him. 

 

On the other hand, I was recently part of a team that led tours for several dozen high schoolers at the Gilmore and got to talk to each group passing through the muscle car wing. Standing next to a sleeper 409 Biscayne, I asked each group if any of them had ever heard of the song 409, and in almost every group I heard crickets, which was a little heartbreaking. 

 

As a connection point, I explained that the Beach Boys wrote an entire hit song just about the enigne in this car, sang the chorus for them, (she's my 4 speed, dual quad, positraction 409....) and pointed out the things on the car they were singinig about, and why they were important in the era.

 

As a bit of a pinchline, I told them I'm still waiting for Justin Bieber to write a song about a 6.2 liter Hellcat...

 

If even one of them went home and pulled up 409 on YouTube that night, I'll consider it a win!        

[SC38dls]

It’s hard to get a group of kids interested in old cars. I got a 49 Ford F3 pickup out of a barn in Chicago 30 years ago. I was going to take it down to the frame and redo everything as it was in rough shape. I offered our youth group at church an open offer - “If anyone of them had any interest in learning about old cars and how to fix them, they were welcome anytime. I had the tools, the space, the time and there was a cd/radio player they could use for any of their music in the garage. I would provide the pizza every Saturday.”  Not one kid showed up in the year it took to do the truck. 
I pulled into a gas station after it was done and three teenaged kids (2 guys and 1 girl) came up to me and started asking questions. I’ll never forget the  young girl asked if it still had a flathead 6 or 8 in it?  They all said it would be a ball to own an old pickup. My faith in the younger generation is still hopeful more kids will feel that way. There are young people that will carry on the hobby we just have to look a little harder and be more aware of how and where to find them and nurture the desire. 
Have fun 

dave s 

[AL1630]

26 minutes ago, SC38DLS said:

It’s hard to get a group of kids interested in old cars. I got a 49 Ford F3 pickup out of a barn in Chicago 30 years ago. I was going to take it down to the frame and redo everything as it was in rough shape. I offered our youth group at church an open offer - “If anyone of them had any interest in learning about old cars and how to fix them, they were welcome anytime. I had the tools, the space, the time and there was a cd/radio player they could use for any of their music in the garage. I would provide the pizza every Saturday.”  Not one kid showed up in the year it took to do the truck. 
I pulled into a gas station after it was done and three teenaged kids (2 guys and 1 girl) came up to me and started asking questions. I’ll never forget the  young girl asked if it still had a flathead 6 or 8 in it?  They all said it would be a ball to own an old pickup. My faith in the younger generation is still hopeful more kids will feel that way. There are young people that will carry on the hobby we just have to look a little harder and be more aware of how and where to find them and nurture the desire. 
Have fun 

dave s 

I think that there may be less kids interested in old cars today than in the past, but the ones that are have a wide interest in almost all older cars and want to learn as much about them as possible. That's true for me anyway. Brass era, Prewar, Postwar, anything, they all have something unique and I want to see them! Also, DRIVE THEM! Your trip to the grocery store or Sunday cruise may be the first time a kid (or adult) has ever seen a Packard, Hudson, Studebaker, Plymouth, Rambler, V-16 Cadillac, or any number of other antique cars. Someone seeing a car may make them want to see more, and maybe even decide they want something like what they just saw.

Edited April 11, 2021 by AL1630 (see edit history)