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

Your post gives me hope....

Outside of my son (22), very few in our part of the world (SE Alberta) are into customs or hot rods. I'm still considered a "young" guy at 48 in the hobby. Even a few of my sons ideas for his 56 Victoria are a little OT, but he's into it and I'm proud of him. Our friend group are into mostly post-60's cars and trucks, and who knows what else. Even our daughter has a "Squarebody" she loves, but one day she is proud to inherit our 56.

From what I see around here, the hobby is going in a direction at least, but fragments of it are slowly dying. I remember as a kid in the 80's, guys were building chopped Mercs and 30's coupe hotrods. These days that kind of aspect of the hobby are ghosts. Our area is saturated with Musclecars and restored parade cars.

I'm optimistic, and hoping for good things for the future!!

 

Lucky rascal, I have always wanted a square body bird like that! I think that he has the bug pretty bad and we don’t have to worry about him not having a cool car either Lord knows you got a pascal of them

 

That is too cute!!

 

Grand girl starting a 69-435 for lash adjustment... GranBoy chilling in papas 32'... Already has a Jeep..but trying to get his dads HCat!!! his mommas ss camaro does about 780 on the rear tires..So yall keep em interested and they will be in to it... We keep her a week at a time (mother passed 2yrs ago to FK CANCER) and goes back to daddys for a week. I work with grown men that dont know pliers,adjustable wrenches,screwdrivers etc... (Sad Too). BUT SHE does @4 yrs....... They're ALL are in the SHOP to see what PAPAs got going on!!!!

 

I got my first pay check in the speed equipment business in 1962 and this same question popped up at BS sessions, editorial meetings and at adult beverage fueled meetings. The growth of the high performance industry is beyond words over the past 65 years. However, since this is a forum devoted to 1965 and earlier vehicles, the move to a younger generation isn't going to happen. I'd bet money that all those cute kids pictured here will end up with Honda's or Toyota's as their first cars. Offenhauser and Jardine were tooling up for intake manifolds and headers for Toyota 22R engines in the 70's. If I were Ryan, this is a subject I would ban like those funny little bugs with air cooled engines.

 

I’m sure you are right about some of the kids. Mine started with much cooler stuff than that and I’m sure others have as well. Both my boys actually have owned multiple HAMB-friendly vehicles as well as other American cars that are newer but that most of us would think are cool. A big piece of passing on this stuff is us making it fun for kids where they have fond memories and want to relive it when they grow up.

 

Well said Jeff, I don’t care that my three girls don’t want to work on my old stuff, they are enjoying their own lives not what I want them to do.

They each have asked for one of my old cars when I am done with them, good enough for me.

 

A 1500 mile road trip that I tried to make fun for my 4 kids when they were growing up.

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/road-trip-oklahoma-to-st-louis-hot-rod-hundred.949123/

 

That is one fine group of short people that you have there and judging by the smiles it looks like the hated every minute

 

Jeff which group likes the older car more the boys or your daughters? With my son he’s always up for the ride and likes all the cars new and old but my daughter and granddaughter loves the oldies. Especially when the boys were taking an interest in my daughter she hounded me in picking her up from school anytime I could, and when she had boys over the garage was the first place she would take them to

My granddaughter (11) has already said that she gets everything in the garage when the good Lord decides he wants me, so don’t be giving away the cars LOL. My grandson he’s only 2 months old so he digs looking at the colors but I made sure he has several Goodguys onesies to wear around for subliminal messages
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Well, the boys are more into it, but my youngest daughter also has pics of my grandson in front of all the cars on her desk at work. So, they all seem to like them.

 

I think my Grandson is pretty representative of the new car culture.
He drives a 2018 AMG Benz but goes to every GTG with me he can get
the time off. He just likes well done cars. A custom Vette, a Nissan GTR,
a 32 roadster or a stretched knucklehead. Loves them all. Rat Rods need not apply.

 

In 1957, a '32 Ford was 25 years old and affordable (barely) for a young guy with a job.

An affordable 25- year- old car today is a 2000 Honda, Toyota, or maybe a 5.0 Mustang.

Let that sink in.....

 

Getting them interested when they’re young as always best. Now, if we could get some of these kids to come back that are now in there mid 30s. It’s a bit like church. Younger kids like to go and then when they get a college age, they stop attending. Then they tend to come back when they start having kids. I think hot Rod tends to have that same cycle Plant the seeds of interest when they’re young and they very well might come back.

 

Great thread and glad to read these stories. I'm an elementary principal and when the weather is nice, I'll drive my AV8 roadster to school. The kids go crazy when they see it and love it.

One day during recess, 15 or so 4th graders asked me if they could sit in it.

I wish I took a picture, but there are about ten 4th graders inside and in the rumble. They were having the time of their lives. When I started up the straight piped flatty, the look on their faces gave me hope that the hobby is not dead.

 

Yep, both my boys have those 25 years old cars only they are corvettes which are honestly pretty affordable.

That’s too cool!

 

I was driving my 49 Ford yesterday and a high school kid told me “I love your car, sir”.

The absolute best way to promote our sport is to drive our cars. They can’t get into something that they’ve never seen.

 

Rode shotgun with a buddy last summer to a local gathering, a second-year deal in a small town. Organized by some young couples maybe in their 30's with young kids. They were driving O/T rides, several being pickups that some would call "R-R" style. We may not like 'em or always agree with their choices, but they're big time into both the building and the social scene.
Bring on Generation "Next"!

 

Yes, that reminds me of when I picked up my latest shoebox project. I went thru a drive in window with the rusty hulk on the trailer. The girl said “ that’s a really cool car. I want one”. I said well it’ll look nice Someday. She said “oh no I want it just like that”.

That proves she has been exposed to the RR scene. (or that I’m just a really cool dude and still have a way with the ladies). Are the only magazines left on the shelves catering to that stuff nowadays?

 

I haven’t seen a magazine rack in years but the internet and FB are super popular with the kiddos

 

Neighbors 2 yo in the model T