Featured Hot Rods Who Said the Future of our Hobby is Dead…

After meeting these young men I can attest that it’s in good hands.

@guthriesmith ‘s youngest and his two buddies just left my house this morning (1:30ish) after picking up some parts for his dad hauling a beautiful Galaxy convertible. The enthusiasm these kids had whenever they were showing me the car was contagious. They really reminded me of myself when I was their age gallivanting all over Gods creation with my buddies getting cars, parts, hitting shows and swap meets. Heck if I wasn’t in my jammies I would’ve hopped in the truck with them and finished the trip!
These kiddos were living the life and enjoying every minute of it!

 

That's awesome.

 

They were 10 hours into the drive and had another 7 to go and was just as chipper as ever! Oh how I miss having that kind of energy

 

The hobby is not dead or dying, its just getting younger, both with the age of the cars, and the age of the owners. Most of the guys here are stuck in an era that is 70 + years old, and they refuse to see anything that doesn't fit into their era.

 

Excellent
Dan

 

Looking back to when I bought my 48 in 1973 I was 26 years old and the 48 was 25 year models old. I drove it to the NSRA street rod nationals in Tulsa that year. One of the highlights if the trip was having a 16 year old who had an AD at home getting his photo taken in front of the 48.

Now a 25 year old car is a 2000 model.
Still I think down through hot rod history most guys build what they can afford or if you are starting out older build what you wanted when you were young. The reason so many guys in their late 50's and 60's show up at cars and coffee or local events with 60's 70's super cars. Many of my former auto shop students from when I taught between 1978 and 1991 have the cars they wanted in high school and one still has the same car he had in high school and another who passed away a couple of years back had the same 70 Chevelle with a big block and 4 speed that he had in high school along with a real nice 55 chev 2 door post with a big block that he built from frame up.

 

Oh how I miss having that kind of energy .
Me too bud,me too,lol!

 

the car hobby is not dead and dying, just the part where all the cool cars hang out.

 

Thanks again for meeting them at such a crazy hour! And, yea, I agree that there are still some that will continue on with this stuff. One of my sons buddies used to see me drive either my 60 Thunderbird or 56 Fairlane to their school regularly. So, hopefully I helped plant a seed with these kids at minimum. Oh, and he still isn’t home. They got to his buddies house about 9:00 or so this morning, but then he went to church and has been hanging out with other friends all day. I also wish I still had that kind of energy.

 

This was Samuel and a group of his buddies headed to paint ball one day before he was 16. We rode in the 56.

 

No of three guys under 30 building cars of there own two of them 55 chevy gassers, there's good number of C-10 and F100 lowriders in town in the 40 and younger club gives me hope for us 40 and older guys that once we are gone your cars and stuff wont just be pushed into a hole some wear.

 

I really enjoyed seeing them! I was wondering when they made it back to the house, and if I didn’t live on a narrow dead end street it would’ve been easy for them to park their rig and camped out with us until the morning. That way they’d be rested and had a full tummy before heading out. But they were ready to get home and backing out of the neighborhood wasn’t on their list of things they wanted to do

 

At one time I was the younger generation! Haha.

Not only has Jeff raised gear head sons, they’re GOOD boys too.

 

I definitely second that!

 

I’m always letting the kids sit in my cars or take them around the block, it makes the cars more accessible as such and most times later in life they are swinging by the house showing off their old cars that they just bought as their first ride. And through the years I’ve helped build motors, do bodywork, paint, anything that I can do to help them out.

 

Im VERY fortunate for my 3 of 4 kids to be gearheads and have their Hotrods...Growing up in my business shop and being around all the different kinds of cars i worked on.... That started with my uncle letting me work in his carshop/machine shop/parts store... he got em coming and going ,..... FULL service... LOL

 

Fine stand-up gentlemen there.
Thanks for sharing the hope.

 

The car hobby is not really dead. It has just moved on. Nostalgia is for old duffers, flatheads have no appeal. Kids do not look back and become fake 50's greasers and build chopped 50 Fords. Today's youth is just running the cars they know and can afford. Spending $60,000 to buy a 60's Chevy Camaro or Ford Mustang is not a thing for them. Yeah some can dig 'em, but they are the exception not the rule. The Honda Civic is what the guys build with a K24or B engine swap and laugh at old guys get annoyed at the 4 inch exhaust. If they can afford a new car, Mustangs and Dodge Chargers are a thing too. Maybe throw in some newer Camaros or a GTO.

Hey I am an old guy and love my hot rods, but I recognize that it's not the future. I get some attention when I roll into a gas station in my 56 Chevy for sure. But I also get a lot of attention from the young guys when I pull up in my 2005 GTO hot rod. And to tell the truth, the GTO is super fast, great handling, and that LS 2 rumbles and makes the kids turn heads.

Hey time marches on and the era of the automobile has moved on too. Plenty of cranky old gold chainers that haven't. Me, I just plain love cars (ok Korean cars not so much) and love to the youth modify and run any car.

 

I wish that I had what I had, in my fifties.

 

Let us not ignore the fact that time was when the cutting and the modifications of stockers
upset the old folk that knew how perfect ( they thought ) a factory version was.
Of course they coulcn't post on line, only gripe over the back fence about the hooligans

 

IMO here in the NorthWoods of Wisconsin the car hobby is stronger/ bigger than ever, not as many events here as 15 years ago but every event I went to had record breaking numbers for participants. The HAMB style cars are dwindling, all the growth is in muscle car or newer factory Vettes, Mustang, Camaro type cars, the aging factors in, all my HAMB cars are gone, I have 3 OT hobby cars. A lot of the younger men are still building cars, minus the $$$ up paint, chrome and upholstery, the SYMCO show is outstanding. For years I've gone out of my way to make the younger guys feel welcome, that Honda civic is their 57 Chevy and I remember being young and appreciated when the older guys took some time for me, Huge believer in karma

 

Awesome story!

Give them a nudge every time you can....I let them get in my cars at shows or give them rides at cruises every chance I get.

 

AGREE ! Back when I had my high boy Roadster, 32 3 window and my mild kustom 51 Merc, (pics in albums)I always let kids sit in them and the parents taking pics, they were happy, I was happy. I do not understand why some guys are the way they are. I was at a cruise in and some high school kids were there, exchange students from Germany I was told. they asked if they could sit in and take some pics, my answer, yes, then the whole family, and whomever with their group, in/out must have been 25-30 people involved, no problem for me, all good. the owner came and thanked me as did some school advisers. I ate free for the rest of the season at this cruise in. Somewhere in Germany my roadster is famous, LOL Karma is a good thing.

 

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I have 2 engine swapped old vehicles <old - but - on the wrong side of the HAMB guidelines>. Both have 5-speed, overdrive, manual transmissions swapped in. We live on 2 fenced acres. Our kids and grand-kids learned how to use a clutch. Some as young as 11 years old.

One "un-named grand-kid" was idling around, and I told her "You need to get more aggressive". You guessed it, she put the F150 into the field fence. My response: "Well, you did exactly what I told you to". The F-150 was a pre-dented $1,000 Craig$list find. I repaired the field fence and my son volunteered to pay for the windshield replacement.

None of our 5 kids and 5 grand-kids are car people. The world has changed, it took me 42 years (and one divorce) to acquire a property with a garage (run down doublewide mobile home and an unfinished 24" x 28" outbuilding). It took several more years to get this work shop usable (just about when the alimony and child support tapered off...).

I'm now 81, beginning the wind-down years. Recently, had the discussion about passing on the 2 "collectable" vehicles. The consensus was: We don't have the knowledge to maintain them, the money to send the work out or the space to park them.

At car shows, lots of kids have sat behind the wheel of these vehicles (Customized 1962 Volvo PV544 and a 1986 Ford F150 (Cummins 4bt and a 1952 Bell Telephone Systems service bed)).

Earlier this year, I was leaving a Walmart parking lot, when I hear a very enthusiastic "Cool car". I looped around the parking lot and asked his dad if he would like to sit in the car. He was about 5th grade age. Very enthusiastic, got the full tour, including under the hood and asked knowledgeable questions. Dad was a car guy.

Russ