I do not want to drive a Honda civic

How very depressing.

It's kind of tough starting out in the world of rodding, particularly when you're young and have no money.

I found a neat car waaaaaaaay out of my budget and hit the bank for a loan.

Well the bank didn't laugh at me right away but the "debt to earning ratio" was not particularly favorable.

I've decided that the reason I never see any "younger" people with cool rods is that by the time they have saved enough money or spent enough time to buy/build anything cool, they are rapidily approaching thier golden years.

I don't want to spend the next 20 years of my life eating dog food so that I can save up enough to finally be able to afford a slick ride.

I don't want to spend the next 20 years twisting wrenches and missing out on birthdays and barbeques because I'm trying to get my rusted junk roadworthy.

I want to spend my days driving it and attending car shows and talking to other car nuts.

I want to drive it to and from work and not just twice a year because I am so petrified that the car I spent $80000 to build could be wiped out by an errant Chevette driver blowing a red light.

Yeah, I know, real hot rods are built not bought but even a Rat Rod is waaaaaay out of my budget. Any cool vintage iron commands HUGE dollars from greedy collectors leaving regular joes like me sucking wind.

No wonder kids these days are tricking out Honda civics and Toyotas.

Even joe farmer with a rusting hulk rotting away in the north 40 wants a zilliion dollars for anything remotely desirable since it's been pounded into his head that hot rods are rare and people are willling to pay the price!

I got into this hobby because I LOVE CARS!

What I don't love is being ripped off or taken for a sucker because my love for the hobby outweighs any common sense I may have had before I fell in love with hotrodding.

The whole movement was started by a bunch of poor, broke schmucks that wanted a cool, fast car but had no money so they built them out of junkyard parts.

I guess until I win the lottery, I will drive my decidedly un-cool 1989 Ford Taurus and wonder if the commaraderie I used to feel with my fellow street-rodders stops at the bottom line.

 

First of all, there are probably only 2 or 3 cars on this entire site that cost "$80k" to build. Second, look in the classified, there's plenty of decent iron available for less than "a zillion dollars." I mean, if your dream ride is a '32 Ford 3 window, you might be a little out of luck being able to afford it, but you have to be realistic. I can't afford crap, but there are TONS of cool rides that you can build for $2k or less. That's about my budget there. Hell, I'm probbaly going with a friend of mine this weekend to take a roadtrip to pickup a running '63 suicide door Continental for $1650. Yes it's ratty, but what do you expect?! It's still COOLER THAN A CIVIC! Hell, one of my favorite cars on here is K & R's '65 Olds, I guarantee he doesn't have $2k in that whole car, and once again, it's 10 times cooler than a Civic, has cheaper insurance, inspection stickers, and is probably twice as safe. Just what exactly are you bitching about? It's not that hard or expensive to buy a running 50's/60's car and drive the shit out of it. Maybe you just need to be more creative?!

 

I am sorry my friend,if you are feeling so depressed,because you can't afford "a slick ride" A lot of us missed those bbq's and parties,'cause we were working on our "rusted junk" Yes a lot of us'paid our dues',and are now reaping the benifits in "our golden years" sonny. However, there ARE quite a few younger people,who are out there working minimal-pay jobs AND building some pretty impressive rides! Hard work, some sacrifice,and a willingness to listen,and learn,from us OG's will get you far! Talk and listen to some of the guys in your area,most are eager to take a young interested enthusiast under thier wing,and help you get a "trad" ride started. Attitude will get you everywhere,my friend. And if you don't want to drive a civic, then don't!!!You will soon lean that "a zillion dollars",isn't what you REALLY NEED! Oh, welcome to the HAMB,and stop whinning!! Glenn

 

So why are you selling this 1958 Ford Custom 300 in the classifieds?

 

Steevil
You poor thing! Theres only a couple of categories in this sport pal, those that build and the gold chainers.
Take some advice, for every kid like you there are 10 other kids that do have a few dollars stashed from working their ass off and driving Hondas to buy a daily driver that means something. Hotrodding has many different opportunities , ways and means to an end.
When I was a kid growing up in Southern Ontario in the 60's my hero was the old guy who lived up the street( actually, now that I think of it he must have been all of 24). In my eyes he drove the coolest cars,started with a early 50s chev
next time I saw it he had it polished a gleaming, then a coat of paint... moved on to 55 / 6 /7 Chev's in that order.
Each of them was bog standard when he got it and he worked on em at weekends , lowered , v8 , hot wheels etc.
TOOK ME A WHILE TO FIGURE OUT HE WAS BUYIN AND SELLING with a bit of value adding at home. HE WORKED UP TO LATER MODEL CARS AND FINALLY A NEAR NEW VETTE.
I'll bet his total outlay in 5 years was less than a 1/4 of the cost of the vette. HE WAS SMART, HE NEW WHAT HE WANTED AND GOT OFF HIS ASS.
The world doesnt owe you a RODDING life pal, take some advice, buy that Honda, love it ,polish it and sell it for a profit.
Along the way you will find that being at rod shows isnt half as much fun as the time spent in the shed working on yer driver, if you think barbeques and birthdays are more important than building cars... take up golf.
Think yourself lucky you live in a land littered with cars I would kill for over here in the land of OZ.

 

Yes, first of all...why all the griping when you seem to be selling a more than decent ride?!?!

Second...how do think the rest of us got our cars, trucks, bikes, vans, etc.?! Either accept the fact that you have to make certain sacrifices in life to get what you want, or keep driving the Civic. Buying a car means you work lots of hours to pay for someone elses work. Building a car means you have to put in lots of time hunting for parts and putting them together. Either way...you're gonna miss some of the fun stuff while you're working or building. It's just the way it is, unless you have a trust fund or something. Some of us even have to work lots of hours AND build the thing ourselves.
Third...there are so many freakin cars out there, that are decent, for less than $5,000!! The key is to be flexible with what you're willing to own...work your way up to your dream ride...very few of us start out with our dream ride. Hell, I'm not driving my #1 choice of vehicles, but I have just as much fun, if not MORE, than anybody else!

Maybe you're just coming across wrong, but that might be the whiniest post I've seen in a while.

 

Yer profile says you have a 58 ford. What is wrong with that? As for not wanting to miss out on bbq's etc. That comes with the territory. I drive a POS mazda 323 with rattle can flames to work everyday with people laughing as hard as I do... No I dont have a new truck either. 87 Shortbed chevy. Come to think of it, every thing I have is JUNK to a banker's eyes. But, I have a 31 ford coupe in the 'building' stages and a 48 chevy fleetline in original form. I didnt get them from driving or buying NEW cars or looking thru the deals-on-wheels and dreamin. I fix what I got. Buy whats cheap, sell for more, and keep my goals. And for now, I have almost everything I want. And I am 30. It wasnt easy. If its out of my budget I SAVE UP. Or I build it.
Dare to be differnt!! Fix that 58 up. Its kinda rare, if you dont want it someone else will. The more effort you put into it the more you will get out of it.

 

After looking at the link in your post up top, I'm thinking to myself, just what exactly are you bitching about? You look like you are no more than in your mid 20's, and you have a jacked-up '94 Ranger that you go mudding in, the '58 Ford you want $6500 Canadian for, and the "uncool" '89 Taurus you speak of that you want us to feel sorry for you driving is an SHO! It looks like it has a ton of aftermarket stuff and nice wheels as well. Just going off what I'm seeing from YOUR website, you look to be out having fun, and have 3 pretty damn decent vehicles to do it in. Just what the hell are you expecting by now, some LA Roadster show winning '32?? Jeez dude, go bark up someone elses tree, it looks to me like you are doing mighty fine!

 

Tell you what, sell the Ranger and sink the cash into the '58. Problem solved.

 

dont they have swap meets up there in canada? Go there and i bet ya could find 75% of what ya need to get a car runnin at a decent price just put some labor into it and youll get somethin cool.

johnny

 

Steevil,

Dude, you need a better job. Sell out. It's not too late.

And stop your whining. You sound like a real putz.

Your pal,
don

 

I don't wanna hear it man... I put an ad in the local "Shopper" newspaper and scored a rolling T chassis for $900 complete with 9 inch rear and brakes. Add a running $500 425 nailhead (with trans) and a whole bunch of sifting through swap meets and junk yards and I now have about 80% of a BAD ASS little hot rod. Hoping to have it at the Showdown next year.

Anyone can do it with determination... I just wish I had started sooner!

(I was 24 when I started... now 26)

 

Whatever .Your websight looks like it cost money , trucks cost money , 58 ford 300s cost money , custom 17 inch SHO wheels for a taurus cost money. What are you crying about .You have a garage .Alot of the guys here don't even have that , they build their shit on the ground or in lean tos or storage spaces , scrounging salvage yards to find parts and enlisting the help of their friends , hosting bbqs throwing build parties and generaly busting their asses for what they have . don't you have to do that ? Sounds like your missing more than you have listed @&*@@%%%%&@ .Nice 58 . seeya . swaZZie

 

[ QUOTE ]
Dude, you need a better job. Sell out. It's not too late.

And stop your whining. You sound like a real putz.

[/ QUOTE ]

Haring you are hilarious.


(PS- This thread is lame.)

 

At first, I thought this guy might have something, as older cars are getting scarcer, and a little pricey.
BUT, after reading that he has three cars, of which I could afford NONE, I realised that he IS just a putz.

Christ, Steevil, take a step back and LOOK at what you have, then STOP WHINING.You have more money in the WHEELS of your Ford than I have in MY CARS (both of them, together).
Now run out and get a life, there's a good boy...

Cosmo

 

[ QUOTE ]
So why are you selling this 1958 Ford Custom 300 in the classifieds?

[/ QUOTE ]

No shit.

What are you bitching about when you've got this?

 

I think what you're finding out Mr. Steevil is that the bank is HAPPY to toss you into a NEW car that you can't afford, but they get super skittish about old iron that they don't have reposession stats on.

The BANK hates you! They want you to falter, hit you with late fees, reposess your ricer and auction it off for profit. They don't have the ability to do it with old cars.

As far as this hobby goes, I have told myself this is a cash money hobby, NO CREDIT. If I ever need to use a credit line for this hobby, I'm doing something horribly wrong.

It's all about priorities though. My neighbor has a ~30k vtwin bike, and eats TV dinner on his Goodwilled couch, watching his 13" black & white TV. Where there's a will, there's a way (he's probably got the stupid bike financed though)

You're still young and impatient (I suffer from this myself)

Young people WANT everything NOW, and worry about paying for it LATER.. Bad formula to run on.. Cash and carry means a lot less stress (and money spent) down the road.

Your rant about people selling cars way too high, and then posting up yours for 4 times what I paid for mine is kinda funny...

If you want a really nice old car and you don't have deep pockets, you gotta build it yourself. If you look at most of the people in really nice BOUGHT rides, they are old dudes with a lot of bank saved up. I'm guessing in most cases their windfall didn't happen overnight either.

You're young and probably have 80 years ahead of you (well 60 with the Canadian healthcare system) so just be patient and work with what you got already!

Forego fancy clothes, xbox, cigarettes, lotto tickets, and you're already gonna be a millionaire by 40.

Just my opinion.

PS: DRIVE THAT DAMN CHEVY.. I'd LOVE to have something that nice, present day.

 

thanks for listening to me bitch guys. Yeah I guess I sound like a whiner.

I just got royally screwed on a deal to buy a different ride.

It wouldn't have been a big deal had I not been decieved in the first place.

I guess I am generalizing after a bad experience that cost me time and money.

thanks for the reality check, I'll try to keep my bellyaching in check in the future.

 

Hang in there dude,whatever don't kill ya just makes you stronger.You are a real man for admiting to whining,and we respect you for that.We will help you all we can.Viva LA Hamb!! Glenn

 

What's this all aboot.. eh?

HC

 

Yeah, that's all great. Now answer the questions people asked you about why you're complaining when you have the '58.

[ QUOTE ]
thanks for listening to me bitch guys. Yeah I guess I sound like a whiner.

I just got royally screwed on a deal to buy a different ride.

It wouldn't have been a big deal had I not been decieved in the first place.

I guess I am generalizing after a bad experience that cost me time and money.

thanks for the reality check, I'll try to keep my bellyaching in check in the future.

[/ QUOTE ]

 

I remember thinking like you. Shit, I am still in a hurry. What these other guys are telling you is true. However I think there is a grey area between the guys who build their cars and "gold chainers" or whatever. Let's face it we all want ot be master car builders, but if it was that easy then we would all be doing it and the talents that some of these respected builders have wouldn't be such a big deal. I by no means built my whole car. I do everything that I have the ability to do myself and the rest....I PAY someone with more knowledge/talent/tools than I have. I am not ashamed of that. Shit it is actually TRADITIONAL. Look in the little pages, tons of the cars weren't owner built at all or the owners did some of the stuff themselves and then had guys like Barris, and Cerney do the stuff they couldn't do.

I would encourage you to continue learing and wrenching. Someday you may be able to build your own hot rod or custom from start to finsih. But you gotta take it in steps. I know very few younger rodders that have the ability to build their dream from start to finish or have the cash to have someone else do it. So, they compromise and start out with cars that are NOT their dream cars. THey work on em, learn from them, and as they gain more knowledge (and better paying jobs), they move on to other cars always getting closer to their dream car! Hang in there. Funny thing is I had a red 59 ford when i was like 18 or 19 and I remember bitching about it not being the ride I wanted and all my friends gave me shit cuz it was a lot cooler than their mom's mini vans.

FONZI

 

You've got to be fucking kidding me. That 58 is such a piece of shit. So is the SHO. And that ratty assed fucking ranger? That is definitely the shittiest $8000 truck I have seen in a long time.

No smilie.

 

Quit bitching.

 

Like HC said... What the hell is this post about? His first post is selling a car, his second is bitching about how you can't have a car for less than a ton of money?

 

[ QUOTE ]
How very depressing.

[/ QUOTE ]Yeah, readin this post kinda depresssed me too. Then I figured what the heck, I may as well jump in and reply anyhow.

[ QUOTE ]
It's kind of tough starting out in the world of rodding, particularly when you're young and have no money.

[/ QUOTE ]No different today than it was when I started and I figure when my old man started, likewise his old man and so on back thru history. That's life dude, live with it or slash your wrists.

[ QUOTE ]
I found a neat car waaaaaaaay out of my budget and hit the bank for a loan.

[/ QUOTE ]I've seen a heap of those in my lifetime. But Y'know what? There's nuthin in this world that I've really, badly desired, that I've not been able to get, just takes hard work, dedication and perseverence.

[ QUOTE ]
Well the bank didn't laugh at me right away but the "debt to earning ratio" was not particularly favorable.

[/ QUOTE ]So did you really expect a bank or any other financial institution to lend you money, knowing in advance that you don't earn enough to pay it back?

[ QUOTE ]
I've decided that the reason I never see any "younger" people with cool rods is that by the time they have saved enough money or spent enough time to buy/build anything cool, they are rapidily approaching thier golden years.

[/ QUOTE ]
I know quite a few very young fellas who own some of the nicest, and better built, even big bux, high zoot hot rods in the land. Likewise, I know a bunch of young fellas who own some of the coolest rattiest old shitters in the land. Both groups got 'em the same way and both groups are equally proud of what they have. See my second paragraph above to learn how they do it.

[ QUOTE ]
I don't want to spend the next 20 years of my life eating dog food so that I can save up enough to finally be able to afford a slick ride.

[/ QUOTE ]
I've never eaten dog food, what's it taste like? On the other hand, I have made more than a few sacrifices in order to move forward and earn the money to buy things I've desired.

[ QUOTE ]
I don't want to spend the next 20 years twisting wrenches and missing out on birthdays and barbeques because I'm trying to get my rusted junk roadworthy.

[/ QUOTE ]
Ummmm, now I'm confused. You want to be a hot rodder but you don't want to do the things a hot rodder does? Most of us have been twisting wrenches for a lifetime and will continue to do so until the day we die. As far as missing birthdays and BBQs goes, being a hot rodder has nothing to do with that, being a dickhead is what causes people to miss these things. One of life's more important rules; "All work no play makes Jack a dull boy." Work hard, party harder, you'll be amazed how good your life will become.

[ QUOTE ]
I want to spend my days driving it and attending car shows and talking to other car nuts.

[/ QUOTE ]Don't we all? However, following on from my previous comment, there's a little thing called balance, not to mention the ability to fund such a lifestyle. You'll never get the respect of the bank manager if all you have to show for your life is that you attend car shows. Life rule number 2 is; "Variety is the spice of life." Remember those birthday parties and BBQ's you missed? Life doesn't hafata be all car related, coz there's more to life than just cars. For example, I never had a car give me great sex.

[ QUOTE ]
I want to drive it to and from work and not just twice a year because I am so petrified that the car I spent $80000 to build could be wiped out by an errant Chevette driver blowing a red light.

[/ QUOTE ]Work hard enough and you'll be able to drive a car costing more than double that amount and with not a worry in the world. Trust me, I know. ;-)

[ QUOTE ]
Yeah, I know, real hot rods are built not bought but even a Rat Rod is waaaaaay out of my budget.

[/ QUOTE ]You must be living in a different world to the rest of us, some rodders are builders, others are buyers. We are all individuals, that's a big part of what makes it fun and interesting.

[ QUOTE ]
Any cool vintage iron commands HUGE dollars from greedy collectors leaving regular joes like me sucking wind.



[/ QUOTE ]Another bullshyte myth that also depends what you call cool. I regularly see neat stuff passed up by people too lazy to work at making something from a less than perfect or pristine basic car. Old cars are dirt cheap to buy but of course the cheaper ones require will require a bit more effort and yes maybe a few dollars as well. There's nuthin in this world or any other that I know, comes to you for nuthin. Even winning the lottery requires you to get off your arse and invest in a ticket!

[ QUOTE ]
No wonder kids these days are tricking out Honda civics and Toyotas.

[/ QUOTE ] They are doing that because they work hard, earn good money and can afford to invest in whatever they like. Sure as hell aint because it's cheap!

[ QUOTE ]
Even joe farmer with a rusting hulk rotting away in the north 40 wants a zilliion dollars for anything remotely desirable since it's been pounded into his head that hot rods are rare and people are willling to pay the price!

[/ QUOTE ]I'm off on Sunday to drag home a perfectly good, almost mint '67 Dodge from behind 'Joe farmer's' shed. Price? The princley sum of $100.00. The stuff is out there all you've gotta do is look for it, and yes that also means making a bit of an effort.

[ QUOTE ]
I got into this hobby because I LOVE CARS!

[/ QUOTE ]Me too, and I've stayed in it because I love the people even more than the cars. Why do I love the people? Because they come from all walks of life and are probably the most interesting and eclectic group of humans on planet earth. There's wealthy people and not so wealthy, blue collar and white collar, they have some crazy and interesting additional hobies and are generally just straight up great fun to be around. Best of all, there's very few pretenders, the genuine hot rodder appreciates how hard the other guy worked for what he has and more importantly doesn't whine about somebody else having something that's out of his reach. The genuine hot rodder works hard at his own stuff, encourages his pals to do likewise and chips in to help when he's needed. I could go on, but I think (hope) you get the picture.

[ QUOTE ]
What I don't love is being ripped off or taken for a sucker because my love for the hobby outweighs any common sense I may have had before I fell in love with hotrodding.

[/ QUOTE ]Love of the hobby should never outweigh common sense. Getting ripped of is often as much the fault of the person being ripped as it is, the mongrel doing the ripping. Very few hot rodders get ripped off by other hot rodders. Good thing is, other rodders are easy to spot, coz we all speak the same language, the crooks tend to stand out after a very short while. Don't believe that? Just check back through the archives here on the H.A.M.B. to see the proof.

[ QUOTE ]
The whole movement was started by a bunch of poor, broke schmucks that wanted a cool, fast car but had no money so they built them out of junkyard parts.

[/ QUOTE ]Nope, the movement was started by the same type of people who are involved today. They came from all walks of life and all had different bank ballances.

[ QUOTE ]
I guess until I win the lottery,

[/ QUOTE ]You won't win the lottery by whingeing about it. You gota get off your arse and make the effort to buy a ticket. And if you are relying on that in order to improve your lot in life, then I'd be inclined to think it's never going to happen. Fact is, none of the worlds wealthiest people made their fortunes by winning the lottery. Best I can tell and it's backed by my own experience, is the harder people work at it, the wealthier they become. yep, it's easy for me to say because I'm filthy stinking rich, not by way of a fat bank account, but because my life is filled to the brim with the things and the people I love and every day brings a new adventure and a new experience. I live by my own motto, "work hard, party harder!"

[ QUOTE ]
I will drive my decidedly un-cool 1989 Ford Taurus and wonder if the commaraderie I used to feel with my fellow street-rodders stops at the bottom line.

[/ QUOTE ]Methinks your problems with the commaraderie might be a result of your own outlook and attitude. Another thing I've learned in life is. The attitude you give, is the attitude you'll get back...........

 

Thank you carps, you wrote what I was thinking. Actually I was also thinking about getting pizza for diner but everything else you said was right on!

 

Bitchy, bitchy, just swallow your pride and go buy a civic, you'll love it...

 

Well, I do hate greedy old men too.

 

[ QUOTE ]
Actually I was also thinking about getting pizza for diner ...

[/ QUOTE ]
Man, how weird is that?

I was just thinking about Pizza for lunch. Guess this seals it!