Hot Rods Does it seem like the ring is never within reach?

First of all, this is gonna sound like one of the old guys at the donut shop complaining about the long hairs ruining society as we know it. I get that....I just wanna vent.

So, I remember coming out of A/P school as a young mechanic, thinking "If I could land a job with American Airlines, I could be rich. I'd be making $10/hr. That was 1988. Now, I have been involved in aviation for the last 35 and my pay has increased significantly, but so has everything else.

Why are you crying, you ask?

I just went out to look at the cost on a new aftermarket block for a hot rod build I was planning. The dart SHP blocks used to run at an affordable price. Around $1500ish for the longest time, so I started saving my pennies. I figgured it was a wash vs machine work etc.

I just looked, they have gone up $1,000 in the last few months.....
I freaking give up. The ring is just always out of reach. The man is keeping me down.


End of rant.

 

I just found 2 engines I need at the scrap yard.
I’m kinda happy.

whitewall tires prices make me sad

 

Well, I’d hope after 35 years in the industry, the extra grand wouldn’t put you off for what you want.
I say this because I know you’ve built many vehicles (Produce truck my favorite) over the years.
I liken it to paying 1500 v 2500 for a vehicle that’s going to run you 10(at least) times the initial buy in.
Ie say you spent 1500 on a project, spent 20k to get it on the road.
Would 21k keep you up at nights

 

I have more nice flathead blocks than I can ever use in my lifetime. I think my merry go round ride will stop before I get to them all. Different kinds of problems.

 

Did they actually jump up $1K in just a few months or have they been rising over a longer period of time. A 66% price hike all at once seems drastic. Inflation is hammering the market for everything. I guess if you compare the price increase on a Dart block with the price increases at the grocery store, they are probably comparable. Even Chik-fil-A just raised their prices 20%...

 

Capitalism…

 

I’ve been out of the hobby for quite a while and yeah it’s mind boggling how much stuff has gone up. Every time I’m skim the internet for prices of stuff that I bought years ago I am reminded that damn how do folks really afford to build their hot rods. Heck I about shit a brick when I bought wiper blades for my wife’s OT car and it set me back $70. When I retired from NAPA the same blades were like $5 after my cost plus 10% discount. Dropped spindles for my shoebox with the steering arms and the works from Fat Man were double what I paid in the past. And don’t get me started on paint………

 

When I retired my pension was around $2000 a month. Due to underfunding, the stock market and other issues it is now $475 per month. Add chrome and paint prices, I feel your pain.

 

My wife says I live in 1986 price land. I get it stuff goes up, but man I feel like I can never get ahead. 20 years ago I paid 21K for my 40x50 shop with concrete and doors. I got a price on a 40x80 the other day and it is 120K. I know it's bigger than the first one, but come on.....

 

Rant away, @Roothawg
I'm with you 100%
Some stuff these days is flipping ridiculous.
But I also have to say...
If I can do it, you can do it. I've had a whole bunch of stupid shit happen in recent times that didn't help at all. My income is minuscule these days. The guy standing on the corner with the sign makes more than I do. Admittedly, the only reason it works is cuz I have almost no out-of-pocket costs living here on Judy's farm. But it still takes me a long damn time to save up for anything. I recently bought an early 60s long ram intake. Too much money. Like a million dollars for me. Who cares... it's important.

You're gonna be fine.

I think, the only time we need to be concerned, is if it robs something from somebody we care for.

 

Still...
Damn treadmill keeps going faster and getting steeper! LOL

 

I suppose the good news is that we aren't paying someone else to build our cars

 

Oooooh... that would suck. LOL

 

look around your yard, see what stuff you have sitting there that you haven't worked on for a while.

I just sold an old truck for 10k, running driving 6 cyl, in other words, a nice $1500 truck in our "old" world.

I have plenty of money. I guess because I hardly ever reached for the gold ring over the years, I settled for rusty broken crap.

 

If I could eat popcorn, I'd have it ready right now. This might could get really entertaining before it turns ugly political and gets shut down.
Most of us are in the same boat. I couldn't afford the high price gear back in the day, even on journey level machinist wages.
Such is our station in life I reckon.

 

Well, which one is it, the long hairs or the man?

Yeah, this has been going on forever. My dad wanted a Sunbeam Tiger. He had 3 different Alpines over the years but the Tigers were always just out of reach. Same with the Mopar muscle I dug. I could swing a lesser one, but never the big boys. They are just stupid money now.

I'm currently jamming up another thread with a car I've wanted since I was a teen. It's priced well in the market and it couldn't be built for what they are asking, but it would drain all the funds. It would be stupid to get another car that isn't even a basic transportation unit when have a couple I don't use more than a couple times a week. Not to mention the other projects that are apart and have been for years. Did I mention the garage that isn't sealed, insulated or powered and already stuffed?

I will mention that it is even worse for the younger people. I refuse to get into touchy stuff, but the dream of home ownership is for most not even within sight, never mind reach.

 

Commerce 101, cost of operation goes up you raise price to compensate. Increase in price causes people to pass on purchase, loss sales cause increase cost of operation and increase in prices again. We all know that it is about supply and demand. I built cars professionally for close to 40 years, I have no idea how the few small shops that I still know of are making it. 20 years ago, it seemed like there was a body shop or mechanic shop on every other corner. and there were 3 machine shops in town. Now the GM dealership has a body shop and Gerbe auto body bought up the Ford dealerships body shop and they are surviving on light collision. Thats all that's left. And aside from the 2 dealerships there are a half dozen service shops and within the next 5 to 10 years half of those the owners will be retiring out and can't find help now let alone someone who would want to take them over. Every industry is facing the same issues. You want that motor you had better buy it now. Larry

 

I feel the Crunch also. It wasn't too bad until I fully retired. I have more projects set aside than most but I did that so I would have plenty to do instead of just ridding the Rocking Chair. Now that the incoming Cash Flow has fully stopped O.M.G! Have you been to the Paint Store lately? $140.oo an hour Machine Shop labor, I kinda turned a blind eye to that when I could pass that on to the Customer with a little padding for me. Not anymore.
Ya, I cry in my Beer a little once in a while.

 

If I could afford for someone else to build mine, it would already be done. Wait a minute, if I paid someone else to build a car, then it would be his creation and not mine. Where's the sense of accomplishment in that?

@Roothawg, in '63, I was re-building wrecked aircraft for $52 a week and could have bought a complete AT-6 Texan for a year's wages, in '67 $4.00 an hour, in '70, I was building the C-5A for $4.50 an hour. In '66, a brand-new Cessna 172 sold for $12,450 and today, that 172 sells for $359,000. As long as people want newer, shinier, faster stuff, it's gonna cost more money.

 

I bought a Dart SHP block in December 2020. Like you said, you could find them at a number of places for $1400ish depending on the freight was included. I found a dealer that had them for $1250 shipped. I called to verify the deal and was told that yes, that's the current deal, but come January 1st Dart is forcing all dealers to sell at least as MSRP or loose their dealer status. So that leveled the playing field, and with materials increases, availability, etc., it is what it now is. So buy sooner than later. Hot rods are not cheap, but compared to other vices one could have, I still spend my money on them.

 

There's also the premise that the ring keeps getting bigger and bigger. When you have more disposable income, the quality of vehicle that can become a reality for you goes up. Then the cars that you're comparing that car to in terms of quality of finish, interior, paint, engine, etc., improves, and it's not the top of the heap anymore. There is a constant moving of the chains.

I can remember the first time I went to the Detroit Autorama, the first big indoor car show I'd ever been to. I'd see some nice cars locally at some cruise nights and even at Lead East or some bigger regional shows. But it was a tremendously humbling experience to walk into Cobo Hall, see the cars on display, and suddenly come to the realization that there were several levels of quality above what I had previously seen that I wasn't even aware existed.

This is why it's so impressive to see the super elite builds that compete for the Ridler, the AMBR, on the Concours at Pebble Beach and Amelia Island, and so on. Those cars represent the absolute zenith of workmanship and quality at this time. But inevitably, someone else will come along and raise the bar higher, and everyone then is playing catch up.

I agree that the cost of everything has gone up, including parts and services for these cars we like. That's largely a conversation for another venue. But the notion that the ring becomes out of reach is a misnomer because the ring was never in reach, because as soon as you try to grab it, the ring moves further away.

 

I'm on my 5th Model A, one stocker, one warmed up banger, two flathead V8's and another banger project and everything has gone up but I did the first one in the 80's. I'm getting older and not as fast on the build so as I get around to buying something I need I cuss about the price but it's either buy what you need or go sit in the recliner.

 

Cut your cloth to suit.
Build what you can afford rathet than trying to afford something you can never have.

 

When trillions in paper money is printed out of thin air, what gives it is alleged value? It is worth..less so hence it takes more pieces of paper to buy a product. When I graduated high school in 1975, my experience with inflation and higher prices began. It slowed here and there over the decades, but now it has become impossible for the average person to afford the essentials. Forget about the extras. It's the younger folks, our kids and grand kids, who are realy going to suffer. When you see the selling prices of some really nice cars on the market place, it makes you wonder why there are so many for so little.

 

Seems the price of things is forcing us to revert back to the way building a car was in the days gone by, building with what we have at hand or still able to trade or rustle up at the fast-disappearing salvage yards while watching the sale prices or closeouts for those essentials when absolutely necessary. I guess I'm lucky in most respects as I've mostly done things that way, a current rebuild of my avatar with but only a handful of new pieces & even so must admit those are old stock mostly off my own garage walls. It's little wonder the weathered & worn look & home brewed builds have made such a dramatic impact.

 

How much has your salary gone up in those 20 years? Now hopefully everyone involved in building a buildings salary has gone up that same amount. It's easy to forget that we are not the only ones who should be making more money as time passes.

 

Hey I’m good, I have all the part’s I need just as long as I don’t need tires or food… or new paint on the Fairlane maybe some interior trim, it really sould have the six point and harnesses added. !#%@$

 

A while back someone here said "I need to win a lottery that pays out in tires", that was a great quote.

Every good mechanic and body man I know is slammed with work, booked out for years, so someone can afford it. Those guys seem to be much more rare than in the past, so maybe it's just more competition for the good people who are left?

I will say, over the last 10 years I've bought huge amounts of stuff from junkyards that were closing, and estate auctions that were clearing out, and those stocks of stuff were bought for pennies compared to what I'm selling them for today. I sometimes hear people talking about a "dying hobby", but if that were true, the prices would be dropping. Stuff that was considered common/worthless 10 or 20 years ago now sells easily for a very good price. I have a feeling 10 years from now, today's prices will seem cheap.

 

Yes the price of a new car doubled, then doubled again in the 70’s. Now it’s back to the same rate. I paid around $800 for one of those blocks in maybe 2010. I sold the whole dragster for less than I had in it before this current inflation hit. I screwed myself double with that decision. Government spending goes up and the stock market goes down.

 

I've made almost 64 laps of the sun...in all those years, I've never heard anyone say "wow, things sure are cheap this year!"