Todays youth NOT interested

Just got off the phone with an old timer with barns full of Hotrods and race cars and his children could care less about them and will scrap them for the junk prices

Meanwhile his grandchildren love grandpa's hotrods!

He shared with me that it's been 4 years since he's had any of his cars out and that he's in bad health.

I asked him if he would sell me some parts or one of his cars and he told me he's not selling anything!

So we will have to wait and see if his kids scrap everything or if his grandchildren can save a few of them!

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Guys like this don't help much. They won't sell anything or if they do they want premium dollars for it and in the end 99% of it will go to scrap and they won't see a penny.

 

He won't sell you anything, and knows his will sell it all for scrap when he dies.

Read that a few times, and then ask yourself, am I that guy?

Don't be that guy.

We're already on borrowed time. Don't make this a race to the end.

 

I didn't read everyone's response just the 1st post. I am not young like 25 but 37. I love old cars! I also love imports! In fact I own both. I work with 25 yr olds who love old cars. I think the on I work with wants to put a VH45 Nissan DOHC V8 in a '62 Unibody F100?.....but he loves old cars. I think old school hot rodders would say, "blasphemy!" Yet I see where he is coming from! You can find a VH for $400 if your lucky. He found a whole car for $600. It is already fuel injected, it is dual overhead cam, it has good power numbers stock, and can be built, and turboed. I just told him grind the nissan logo off, and smack a ford emblem on it. Then watch the old schoolers scratch their head, wondering what engine it is. I think the future of the old cars is safe. They are young now, they will get older and as we get older we calm down. They will remember these cars, and as they get older they will appreciate them.

Also, I do like imports. Actually I like anything with wheels, and an engine. But I always describe to younger people the difference between them. I always say, "You like imports! They are very linear in power and smooth, they handle extremely well. You can drive one to a drag strip one weekend, drive it home, and then go road racing the next weekend. I get it! But the old cars had style like you will never see again. They were solid metal, they had all that chrome, the pride of people who built them shows in the car. Not to mention their power is very different. If imports are linear power, then old V8's are like trying to stick your hand in a blender without getting it cut off! They are pissed off and raging! If you screw up! They will bite you!"

 

I think younger people are into cars much like young people were into cars back in the prewar and into the 60's eras. Where part of this thread seems to have missed is the common thread among youths is the bought and fixed up what was cheap. During the beginnings of our hobby, the younger generation wanted the fast cars but few had the money to get what they wanted, so the bought a heap for little, added and subtracted parts for performance and asthetics, much as youths of today do. Those who do not do the car thing are like their counterparts from the early days of the hobby, it isn't anything new, it's just part of the cycle.

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And there's the problem again. Pissed off old people.

 

Exactly!

I don't agree with this. I have a '91 Civic 4 dr in my garage. I t has special meaning to me, because it brought my daughter home from the hospital when she was born. It will someday be hers. It has an Integra engine swapped into it. When it is done it will have over 600 HP. You want to talk about maintenance? Let's talk about that? It was originally an OBD0 car with 2 injectors in the throttle body. I had to rewire it, and jumper harness it to adapt the wiring harness to an OBD1 ECU. I also had to depin the wiring harness plug for the distributor, and depin wires from the ECU harness and move them to different spots to make it work. Add in a injector resistor box for the new 4 injectors. Get 91 Integra trailing arms, and brakes to convert it to rear disc. Then Prelude rotors redrilled for my hubs, and Accord calipers (because they are the same as a Integra Type R) Which increased the front brake size from 9.2 inches to 11" Then I have to add a turbo kit, buy a $1000 standalone ECU take it to a tuner, and spend money getting all fuel, and ignition parameters dialed in to keep up with boost increase throughout the RPM range.

By the way it won't have a plastic body kit either. Because anybody who knows imports, knows most of those look gay! We call the guys you stereotyped as "Ricers!" Young kids who don't know anything about cars, and put the lamest ricer***** on! Those same kids though are learning, and they will eventually get it someday!

When I was a kid in the early 80's I remember seeing young kids, with their cars air shocks in the back, jacked way up! Some cragar SS's or Keystone classics, with way too wide Bias ply tires on the back. 6x9 speakers laying in the back window blaring their treble in their music. What did you call them back then? Maybe I should stereotype them and just say all hot rodders back in the day drove that. That look wasn't even cool then! Back then there were nice clean hot rod cars, and those jacked up nose scraping monstrosities! The import community is the same don't stereotype all of them.

Also, there is this huge movement in the hot rod scene to add turbos to V8's. Where do you think that technology came from? In the 80's old cars tried that once. But everything was manually controlled. It didn't work so hot back then! The technology wasn't out yet to do that. It wasn't until kids from Cali started taking their ECU's apart on their Honda's. Reprogramming them, taking out chips burning new fuel and ignition maps. Putting the chip back in, and then taking it back out reburning another one. Eventually leading to standalone ECU's that can be programmed with a laptop. Or piggy back computers that made your stock ECU into a computer you could update yourself, and even datalog with. The import scene brought back turbo technology on 4 cylinders. So next time you see that V8 with over 2000 HP like Nelson Racing engines. Just remember it was us plastic body kit, no maintenance, good enough import people that made that happen. Your welcome!

By the way I am not being mean. Just stating the facts! It is these kind of comments that make that younger generation not care about your cars. Do your homework, open your mind, learn something. I don't see wire tucks, and brake line tucks on hot rods like I do on imports. There is stuff to be learned from both sides. I am a car enthusiast, I love cars! My number 1 is old cars, my number 2 is Japanese Imports, then probably M35a2 Deuce and a halves! LOL lowriders, mudding trucks, mini trucks. I think the only cars I hate are DONKS! I hate donks! Might as well put a car on a truck frame!

 

Okay. What's an "OBD1 ECU"?

And EVERYONE was riding wide radials, not bias ply, if they had the**** end raised up. You sound like a "tuner" and are out numbered by the ricers 10 to 1. That's why folks get it confused. But it still stands, a new Honda is a great way to go for a youngster.

 

The hobby probably won't die, but it'll become quainter and more of a novelty...way out of time...kind of like steam-engine locomotives are today. I imagine that eventually, it'll become difficult to even get fuel to run gas-powered cars at all. It may even become illegal. Hmmm...that's a disheartening thought.

 

When they pry the keys from my cold dead hand.

 

The kids today are like the kids of the past eon. They play the 'cards dealt' to them by society. Look hard at what is going down (literally) and imagine being a kid in this mess. So what if they do not like our old stuff.

 

Look! Kids! And they like what we like!!


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I'm with you, Fred.

But your cold dead corpse can probably keep the keys, 'cause nobody'll want 'em...lol.

 

More hope! Don't worry about the hobby. It's safe with the little guys. Those are their personal cars. They love them....


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I had my roadster out yesterday for the Santa Parade. As we were staging for the parade a couple of kids came over to check out the car. One was really interested in it and ask several questions about it. When ever this happens I stop and answer the questions and take the time to talk and
LISTEN to them. Have had a lots kids have their pictures taken in the roadster. Just maybe this will help the younger people get the bug we have.

 

Their loss.

 

I have 3 daughters. The husband of daughter #1 isn't into cars but has learned some mechanical skills because he needs them to service the power equipment in his landscaping business.

The boyfriend of daughter #2 is clueless. My daughter was borrowing his car (a totally clapped out Subaru) and she called me at work about what type of crankcase oil and brake fluid to put into it...it seems she had a gut feel it needed some looking at and she found the MC nearly empty, the dipstick just about dry and about 12-16 PSI in each tire. SHE went through it and topped everything off and filled the tires herself!

The boyfriend of daughter #3 has no car, no license, and she drives his sorry**** everywhere.

All my daughters have done oil changes and know how to do basic stuff but somehow I think God is getting even with me for something I have done in the past...not a single gearhead in the bunch as far as the guys are concerned!

On the bright side, I'm up here in MA and live very close to Gillette satdium where the NE Pats play. All summer long we have a cruise night there and it easily tops out at over 2000 cars, trucks and bikes every other Thursday. There are thousands of people that attend these cruises and I would say its split 50/50 between kids and adults so there's some hope for the hobby.

I do have to admit that these cruise nights are pretty all-inclusive. That's just another way of saying we see our share of ricers, late Mustangs, Camaros, Challengers and Vettes along with the hot rods and customs. Personally, I just ignore the new stuff, I couldn't bring myself to show off a new, store-bought muscle car along with all the hand built and home built beauties.

 

I guess we will all be arrested for moonshining! For brewing our own fuel! LOL

 

I can't say that I totally agree with your theory that kids just don't get it nowadays. Next time that you are out in your hot rod /truck / custom or whatever, drive it past a little league game, Pop Warner football game or even a park, a couple of the kids will point and stare, the rest will wonder what they are looking at! I believe that it's just wiring in our DNA that makes us "car people" some of us get it, most people don't. Just my 2cents.

 

Just a passing thought...

What was your father into and are you following in his tracks ??

My ol'man was into wood turning and I figure wood
is for burning or building houses.

 

Get your son/daughter, niece/nephew or grandchild involved in your ride. Got my son started at an early age.

 

kids today are more into video games (ok) but they still play the racing games so there is hope

I have a 11 year old cousin that loves cars and mechanical things and loves to tinker with things got a flat on his bicycle took it apart and fixed it him self
(just like we used to do ) I gave him and his father tickets to the Detroit Dragway Reunion at Milan he loved it !! dad drives an econobox and knows nothing about cars

recently he saw the lifetime channel movie that featured a derby car
(25 hill) http://www.25hill.com/ and started looking up stuff on google and youtube
freaked him out when he found a youtube video of me and my daughter on the local news in Des Moines at an event (being were in Detroit )

last week end I gave him my daughters spare (akron) car

and let him take a test drive in it (hes hooked)

I gave him the rule book and the****embly instructions and told him he had to disassemble the car and re****emble it so he could understand how it worked

his mother loves me !!!
he isn't allowed to do anything it with unless his homework and daily chores are done!
says his bed room has never been so clean

so in the first week he has****embled his work shop (in a corner of the basement )
and has sent me a couple emails with about of how he wants to repaint the car

I might just have to do a build thread with him

 

Ran across an interesting observation I lifted from the 4/13 issue of the SEMA magazine:

All agreed that, while there is a wide perception within the industry that young enthusiasts are disappearing, precise data on the trend is lacking. Still, several broad indicators point toward a diminishing market of younger drivers—a matter of concern, since a lifelong passion for cars was built at an early age in past generations.

A troubling statistic is the steep decline in driver’s licenses among teens. In 1972, for example, 50% of American 16-year-olds had licenses, with that number growing to 69% by age 17. Today, those figures are 28% and 45% respectively. While tighter licensing laws for teens are major contributors to the drop, experts say that there are other important social and economic factors at play, including:

Increased devotion to social media, such as Facebook and texting, which are replacing in-person interaction and making cars less necessary for “hanging out” with friends.
Gaming, which is displacing sporting and activity events.
A shift of discretionary income toward mobile devices, leaving less money for automotive expenditures.
Current unemployment rates among 20- to 24-year-olds reaching 15%.
A tight economy, rendering parents with less disposable income to help young enthusiasts with auto-related purchases.
Economic pressures forcing older wrenchers from the hobby, depriving youth of role models.
In addition, advanced technologies have made new cars more difficult to modify, smog laws have become more restrictive and performance cars and insurance are dramatically more expensive than they were 20 years ago. Combine all these phenomena, and it’s easy to see why young people may seem slower to build a lifestyle around cars.

 

Time to start doing for myself and friends? Time to say, "Screw it. I got mine."? Maybe so. In my last thread to get deleted, the one about comparing the car hobby to the washing machine hobby, a lot of guys stated they didn't want to or don't talk to, none car people. If that's the case, then maybe hot rodding SHOULD die out.

How many kids are going to invest in something that gets "put away for the winter"? None of the ones I know. Of course, you guys up north get a pass on that one, but only if it snows. You want to attract interest, get 'em in the gawd damn street. Stop sitting behind your car in a lawn chair and drive that damn thing around town. I've got almost 800 miles on a 1 month old engine. A week of that were rain days. DRIVE YOUR DAMN CAR.

 

I say it's our generation (I'm 42) that needs to pass this onto our kids. My kids are 10, 8, 5 and they are already arguing over which cars are going to be theirs. My five year old son has laid claim to my '61 Galaxie Starliner, my 8-year old daughter wants the 62 F-100 Unibody, and my 10 year old son is claiming the '66 F100 to be his as long as it's really loud and fast. He's already talking about taking it to our local dragstrip when he's old enough. I involve my kids by taking them for a cruise in the old cars and sometimes taking them to car shows (not to the point of burning them out). Of course they'll sit and play video games or stare at an I-phone for hours like any other kids if I let them but they respond positively to the old car hobby when I involve them. Bottom line: it's up to us!

 

Years ago, I gave my nephew one of my many extra electric guitars/amplifiers, and he took it and ran with it. A few years later I gave him my 51 Chevrolet Business Coupe; we then used a mildly built 350 I had on the engine stand, one of my build Powerglides and stall converters, and a complete 56 rear end with a 4.88 Positraction 3rd member. We did the brakes, suspension, new shocks, new gas tank, all new wiring, big and little Cragar SS rims/tires, one piece windshield, new aluminum radiator, rebuilt the starter and generator, and a good portion of my $$$$$ along the way, and the list goes on. He was exited, and dedicated to getting the car up and running. Then out of the blue, he buys a left over 2012 Cadillac SVT4 Coupe (???). Then we offer to sell him my Mother's house after she passed for 1/2 the tax appraised price, and he followed through on that. Then he opens his own specialized machine shop after getting discouraged with his long time employer. I don't know if he has lost interest in the 51 Bus Coupe, or if it's just all the other things going on. I have tried my best to get him hooked the older cars. He's 28, single, and obviously a responsible person. Maybe he's just not a car guy deep down. There has to be that inborn spark. Hot rodders are born, not made; that's my take on it. Butch/56sedandelivery.

 

I think your right about that. No one in my family was or is into cars except for me. My dad liked stock ,restored cars but parents were divorced so I didn't grow up with him. He left me his 55 t bird which I told my 12 year old son he could have when I die. He has no interest in it ,doesn't even want to go for a drive when I ask him. I guess its just in your blood.

 

I'll throw my .02 cents in on this one:

Me being 34, sorta puts me in the middle of this age spread. I was not raised around cars as a hobby. My father did nothing with cars, just enough to keep them running for a year or two.

I got into the hobby, because I got tired of paying outrageous prices to garages/dealerships for something I could do myself, if I did alittle research.

I basically started with the newer vehicles and am working my way backwards in years. I still have in my stable '05 Audi S4, '85 Chevy K10, '70 Chevelle SS, and just recently '49 Chevy AD. Can ya guess what is next? '32?

I have a 4 year old son, that would rather drive in the '85 or '49 chevys then the 400hp Audi S4 or moms' loaded Tahoe.

He LOVES to spend anytime he can in the garage with me. I created a monster, lol.
He was a deciding factor in purchasing the '49, something he can help me work on (even if it is just threading a nut and bolt on and off).

So do you all think he'll be a gearhead?

 

I'm super busy these days, but at least once a week I have a day off and head to my hometown to work on my Ford where it's garaged.

If I'm ever there around 3pm I try to drive past the high school when classes are letting out and all the kids are on the streets, and I rev the***** out of the old flathead and sometimes even do a safe mini-burnout at the stop sign- all just to see if I can get a reaction out of the kids and perhaps inspire one or two of them to someday pick up the hobby. Gotta show these kids there's more to life than TV and iPads

 

I think the hobby is safe. My little brother is freshman in highschool, him and dad are building a 39 Chevy coupe for him complete with a solid axle and 327/M20.

Meanwhile I'm 26 and messing with a little of everything. Id love a 33 Ford...........hell a 30's anything but I can build a whole car for what a rusty hulk costs.