I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve had a strange “vibe” for awhile about the hobby we all share…. Older Buicks, and the car hobby in general, even wrenching on our daily drivers. The lack of parts for older cars, and the lack of quality parts for our daily’s. I don’t want this turning political, as we know that gets the thread shut down. I’m beginning to feel “car enthusiasts” are being forced to close shop so to speak. Jobs are abundant, but skilled labor doesn’t want to work, is it pay?? Or is it more complex?? What’s your guys view/opinion?
No "desire". It(work) is not looked at as fun anymore, by most. Nor is our hobby for that matter. Glad I still like work and my hobbies. Learning new things is what keeps you going
To put it lightly,....we are doomed in regards to skilled labor,...kids now are pretty much useless,..I hate to say it. The boys are just that,..boys not young men,..because they have boys for fathers,....God only knows what kind of fathers they will be,..when I graduated in 2001 my senior class was around 400,...I knew most everyone and the ones I didn't knew me,..and 90% of us guys were young men,..egotistical,...competitive,..full of testosterone,...hell alot of us built our cars and trucks. Could give a rats ass about a computer and obviously phones were still new and had antennas. Now,...these chumps in high school wouldn't last till lunch b4 we had them tied up in the locker room with a red stomach,...they have no desire to be better,..grow up,..take control,..learn anything,..they just "exist",...bunch of sheep
A lot of those Buick guys I have read about over the years are a lot older now and it does get harder to to go out and work on the car just can't put in as much time you get wore out quicker. It does seem the hobby is winding down some but every time I ride by Summit Racing or when I go in there it is Always crowded so I don't think this is dead just maybe things are shifting some. I hear in the market news that people are not going back to work too much free going on so this is making people not want to work, why when you can get free. The other problem we have right now you cannot get parts for the engines and I think a lot of people decided to retire before this stupid virus takes them out. They would rather be home with family instead of taking like chances. You have to admit it is very hard to get the car out and go cruising like the old days...about 3 years ago with the gas blown thru the roof I am sure this keeps people at home. That is why everyone is on here talking stupid thit, can't go out cruising anymore so we sit here and talk about stupid politics. It does seem like the generation behind us is not worried about our old stuff they want those fast new Hot Rods Gas going to kill that too. Get with the program get a boring electric car
Phones,....social media,....internet,.....loss of morality,.....all poison to the mind when they are made so accessible,..... Computer Lab in high school for me meant either I skipped or sit in the back and threw **** at everyone ha
OP-I've felt the same thing. It's going to get tougher and tougher. Along with more costlier. My car needs new shocks. I have enough age to my body that I was hoping not to do the work. I called the corner auto repair shop. Qutoed $750.00 to replace 4 shocks. He was serious too!! When you look up the part's it about $100 for quality stuff shipped to my door. So this guy want's $650 in labor and overhead costs!! This old guy will be crawling around on the garage floor one more time. I was looking to buy a B body GM convert when I bought the Buick. The final two in the search came down to the 1975 Lesabre and a 1968 Olds 98. As I looked at parts availability for the Olds it was horrific. Brake drums, steering parts, most anything was just not available. Common wear parts were only available used or as very high dollar NOS if you could find them. The Lesabre still has reasonable priced parts. A major of the problem with the Olds was lack of interchange with other B body converts of the era. The steering, brake drums and other parts do not interchange with the other GM lines. Not so for the Lesabre. Parts availability was made me buy the Buick. It's from an era when GM standardized much of the B body under pinning's. These later B bodies are really close cousins. Except for the power plants and how they bent the sheet metal from the greenhouse down. At some point we could end up much like the Cuban's in order to keep our vintage iron rolling. If you have never seen the movie Yank Tanks it's really worth a watch. A good look into how the Cuban's kept those old American sleds rolling. Amazing skill's and talents. All kinds of hand made parts. One guy makes windshields in his back yard. The chrome trim makers will blow your mind. The guy making brake shoes in a cloud of asbestos dust in his home garage. Watch this movie if you can. More than ever your skills, mechanical and physical ability, will be a huge factor in participating in the hobby. Networking with others in the hobby. As in forums like this will be a key factor as well. This car may well be my last old car purchase. I intend to keep it till I rust away to dust. I'm also planning on investing in it. I'm going to take a chunk of cash and buy some common wear parts now. Stash them away. All kidding aside. With today's inflation, and volatile investment market. Durable goods are a winning bet. Your cash is better off in brake drums, ball joints, and so forth than in your 401K. Have you looked at your statements lately?
The kids with $$$ now just pay for speed...like this guy's Nissan GTR. 1,800 hp, twin turbs, 7.90 @ 186.
Kids today do not collect Anything . Maybe we collected " THINGS " because we liked the way they looked . My wife collected Roseville Pottery . Others I knew collected Green Glass or Statues or figurines and displayed them in their homes . I collected tools to make my job of fixing cars or motorcycles easier . I graduated in 1970 and sure wish there had been a Computer Science class to LEARN something in and not just throw **** at others . I could have learned something that would have been useful in later life and not have to learn in on my own . Kids today collect APPS on their devises and collect GAMES to occupy their time . What a waste . Know nothing couch potato's .
Had they been trying to teach something of importance,.....and usefulness I would habe left the others alone,...maybe a mandatory business management course vs pushing buttons on a box
The media,..motion picture industry,...and especially the nazis that control Social media are the real issues,...they absolute GARBAGE they have indoctrinated into the youth is absolutely disgusting,...I won't go into detail because some Nancy's here will get sand in their vaginas but it's "all inclusiveness " has destroyed America's youth Trying to rewrite nature and our basic primal tendencies has now caused irreparable damage to the generations moving forward
I won't paint all the young guy's with the same brush. I've seen some incredible young talent out there. Still building. Nothing makes me smile more than to see a Gen X or Z kid rolling some old domestic iron. Or some import that they did the work too. They are still making brand new car guys. They are just rare limited editions now. Instead of mass produced like in my time. I really respect them for that. Bucking the trend and all that.
Yes the market is down, be patient. Personally I’ve noticed help is becoming easier to get, of course I’m paying a lot more than I used to but even a year ago I couldn’t find anyone. So let’s hope that continues to improve. When I was young and broke I used to beat the snot out of my Buick’s. Throw a bearing, pull the pan and replace it like it’s no big deal. Now that I can afford to fix whatever breaks I am scared to death to hurt it. WTF? Scarcity of parts is also why I abandoned my 63 Riviera 455 build. Aftermarket parts are non existent. Heck a Posi rear end is like trying to find hens teeth. There will always be a market for muscle cars, it’s just morphing into more modern cars. Gasoline is not going away until passenger planes can fly cross country reliably on electric and we are a looong way from that. Cliff
There is and always be the exception,..but as a whole it's true unfortunately,..the ratio is diminishing at a rapid pace I use my experience as a high school shop instructor for 6 years,..I had roughly 500 kids go thru my program,....I had a dozen atost with good work ethic,..ability to learn and absorb,...and possessed true willingness,... and had 3 with natural talent,....that's not a good ratio
I mentioned the other day,..I needed a sbc fuel pump,....NONE WERE IN STOCK and wasn't a regular stock item anymore,...that there is enough to scare a fella ha ,..the day I can't build a sbc from my local parts store! The nails are being driven
And I didn't intend to paint them all the same but the ones you are talking about are a very small minority .
I have more young women and girls ask questions or want to get in it, when we take the dragster or a car out in public( show, track, cruise in, whatever). Guys not so much unless they are under 8 but maybe it's just a bump in the road..
Try finding any nail head parts in Manitoba. Or mid sixties Buick parts. The word unobtanium comes to mind. Between these and my body slowly breaking down necessitating two knee replacements, one major foot surgery, and probably another one in the next few years equals a dust collecting tool box in my garage. As much as I love shifting a 4 speed, it's unlikely that's happening again. Sold my Buicks a few years back and only have my DD now. There's a young man next door to me who's come a long way since I first met him as a kid. He's become a bit of a gearhead, albeit with later model cars. He's a good person, a hard worker, and seems to be driven to succeed in life. His dad is also a car guy who gave much of that up to raise a family.
There is a young man that lives in a residence next to my shop. He's a major gearhead always under the hood or helping one of his friends with an open wheel dirt track car Kid with the track car barely has tools to keep it maintained. A neighbor said he was assembling a kit for him with spares he had lying around. The first boy I mentioned one time I got my truck stuck on the property. I went to the house he came to the door right out the shower wearing shorts. Came right over pushed while I drove. Some kids today I wouldn't even entertain the thought of asking.
