The best way I've found to get youngsters interested in old cars is to let them ride in them. They love the feeling of a high torque V8 and the wind blowing through their hair in a convertible. I regularly take kids from our church on short drives in my Wildcat. My 11 year old daughters argue over who will inherit the Wildcat and who gets the Model A.
Mark I bought a second Wildcat GS so there wouldn't be any argument. Then a third and a fourth I have an addiction
This won’t be popular… but when was the last time a new sbc came with a mechanical fuel pump? 30 years ago? Points? 50 years ago? Why are their less auto shops and mechanics? New cars just don’t break down like they did. I worked in a gas station in high school in 1983… it had four bays that couldn’t keep up and my small town had at least three others. Today, they just aren’t needed. We don’t have to like technology or even modern society, but looking at it through the lenses of old glasses is a no-win game. Why aren’t the Model Ts still worth the big bucks? It hurts to type this, but our cars don’t universally relate like they once did. We actually like working on our cars, but grew up learning to mostly out of necessity. Today, kids would rather drive cars than work on them, simply because they don’t have to.
A sbc fuel pump should be easy to get at any place no mayer how old it is. you could get parts for cars for 50's car in 1980 but today you cannot get a sbc fuel pump? really? Maybe not at Auto Bone today but Summit Racing should have it to ship tomorrow. If the Chevy shop doesn't have it yeah, then we are in trouble.
I guess like our fathers I'm just blown away as to what isnt readily available now,..and to relate to "them just wanting to drive it" ,..absolutely I would show my students videos of the World of wheels show,. Sema,. Etc,..most would really dig it then I would be like alright I can show you how to make and build something like that just listen to and watch me,..then put the work in,...That's where they give up and just say nah I'm ok,..the very mention of work and they were out ha
I have two sons, 19 & 21. The younger one has no real interest in cars, they are just transportation, the older one has not started wrenching but has interest in old and new cars (mostly new though). I was at a car dealer yesterday with the older boy who wants to buy a new car, the salesman was a 22 year old who actually knew the specs on the cars he was selling and about other types of cars., my son is the same way and the two of them were going back and forth taking about the available options and drive trains and upgrades, it was refreshing to see, I just sat back and listened. My older son wants to have "toy" cars but does not have the $ to fulfill his dreams yet. He is a 4th year student in computer engineering with a minor in electrical engineering and already has a job offer in the spring making real good money. One of his priorities is to get a house that has storage space for cars. The younger one is going to school for Computer science (he is good at writing code) and is a work in progress with cars but at least he is not into tic-toc and that other crap. I will say that none of their friends are "into" the car hobby. As a kid I was "forced" into wrenching to keep my car going, no better way to learn that necessity. Even back then (1980's) car guys were the minority but there were quite a few. The last car show I went to all of the owners of "classic" cars were my age or older. I am going to a "cars and coffee" tomorrow and typically its 95% tuners and HP new cars with a sprinkling of classic cars. Tuners are not my interest but at least they are working on something car related.
Yep, I have no investments, I DID about 20 years ago, but I had my stroke, and had to cash out. Regardless tho, I dont like investing, cant afford too put money into something long term that I cant see, feel, touch and HOPE I make a few bucks. If there arent any SBC fuel pumps, then Buick is doomed Yes, waaaaay toooo much technology, they're used to pushing a button for instant gratification. Interesting points, why wouldnt it be popular? Yes our "A" bodies are phasing out for the "G" bodies as far as interest in classics. Probably the same with Mustangs, the Fox body is probably more popular now with the younger crowd. HAHAHA, yeah they like the concept of a restored or custom car, but dont possess the skills, determination, or work ethic to accomplish the results. Thats where I say "Well you better have deep pockets, 'cause its gonna cost you BIG TIME, and I dont wanna hear your whiny entitled ass nit picking 'cause your too stupid and ignorant to appreciate the hard skilled labor that went into your car.
I have been reading doom and gloom articles about the car hobby for more then 40 years. Car guys are still around. I'm not going to lose any sleep over it's projected demise.
I had a '51 Super Riviera, and although it was definitely not a 1/4 mile car, it would get up to cruising speed at a reasonable rate for the time. It was super (no pun intended) smooth, and just about as quiet as modern cars. I did wish that it had power steering, but it wasn't too hard to steer. My next door neighbor was a big shot in Gulf oil, and he had a series of Buicks as company cars. His last company ride was a Roadmaster that had just about everything in the accessory book. I asked him why he hadn't just asked for a lower-end Cadillac which would probably have been cheaper. He said there were two reasons - He liked the smoothness of the Dynaflow better then the Caddy dual-range Hydramatic, and Gulf Oil felt that if it's executives were riding around in Cadillacs, everyday folks would think that Gulf was making too much money.
When I was 20 there was an older guy in my neighborhood who owned what was just a basic 1966 Ford Custom four door sedan that I tried to buy. He also had a 1969 or 1970 Mach 1 which didn't interest me as much, since I already owned the 1971 version. He declined my offer on the Custom and told me many other guys wanted it just for the engine and transmission. His (late) father ordered the car new, and he wanted to keep it entirely original. I would have done the same thing, and probably would still have it today since it was a real oddball. Only two options that Custom had were a 428 P code engine, and a toploader 4 speed. No PS, PB, radio, or even floor carpets!! I heard it was written off several years later after being hit from behind. I missed an opportunity to grab a mostly original, loaded with options, 1968 Sportwagon pulled from a local dealership's indoor storage compound about 12-14 years ago. Had no room to store it at the time.
Around here the drag racing and 1970+ Cars and trucks are hugely popular. Anything with a LS is getting a turbocharger or nitrous even if it’s a 2000 Chevy 1500 pickup truck. Most people don’t rebuild engines they just swap in $300 junkyard 6.0 LS. I pick one up in a few days LOL
Wish I had a place to store it inside out of the weather would be in my possession as we speak. Tom T.
I think the entry price and parts availability will steer most younger folks towards modern muscle cars. It's gotten crazy expensive to make our beloved 60's and 70's cars perform well in comparison. Seems like right now even the cookie cutter Chevrolet guys are struggling to find parts.
Home Depot and the paint department or Rhino liner I'll try to get pictures of 2 vehicles I see at least once a week
This thread reads like the time old complaint that the next generation is not like the previous one was. This is life. Things change and they don't stay the same. Kids today like Japanese and German cars. They do modify them so there still is a car culture out there. They don't get into the old muscle car stuff because it is too expensive. They, for the most, part work with the modern cheaper stuff. Like we did back in the day.
