Stop feeling sorry nfor yourself. At 90 years old my tather drives my 23 chevy rdstr pu daily when in florida. Drives non-stop from Wachula, Fl to sullivan county Pa . drives hi 28 ar rdstr pu all summer in pa. This is the time us gray-hairs enjoy our toys. In May enjoy your trip. Joe
Mike, if you want to do it you can.....I am driving my roadster to CA this summer for the 5th time, I usually drive to PA frm MN to meet up with a buddy and his roadster. I will be gone the month of June,(will park the roadster in NV and fly home), then will take the 32 Vicky to Des Moines and Columbus, fly back to NV in August and drive the roadster to Bonneville, Yellostone , Black Hills and then home end of August, next will be KC for Goodguys and then Texas in late September. I always carry a bottle of Ibuprofen for some ache and pain help.......I turn 65 in April. If the car is up to it, just put your mind to it....age is a number....ignore it ! Dale
Funny how life has a way of giving you reality checks from time to time, my wife just called and said we have a new grandson, born in the front seat of a Jeep on the way to the hospital, Mother, Father and son all doing well and at the hospital now. Somehow a little ride in a roadster doesn't seem like such a big deal now, plus in a few years I'll have a little co-pilot to help out, sure hope he's into traditional hot rods...
Don't be that fella late in life sitting on the pourch wishing he would of done this and that. Maybe our age won't let us run 100mph anymore, it just slows us down where we can enjoy the things we missed at 100mph. I say go for it and enjoy the trip.
53 year old body but still has 18 year old way of thinking. I just hate it when they clash! If you stop dreaming.....You stop living! Do what ever you want because tomorrow you may not be able to!
I love the phrase "with age comes wisdom". Yet being wise..at times you can talk yourself right out of doing something you really want to do, by justifying it with reasons why you shouldn't. Bottom line, is it a physical thing, or a mental thing?
Your eyesight's the same regardless of trip duration or vehicle, right? If the roadster's uncomfortable, add extra stops. Do it! Enjoy yourself and you'll be fine. It's too easy to take the easy way out. The only thing that limits me is money and family commitments.
No, but my back sure does I see the same smart *** in the mirror staring back at me when I was younger Older - certainly not wiser Jim
I'm sensing a krazy irony here. The young folks like me are sreaming "no" to the "dreams limited by age" concept, and the older fellows are screaming "yes." I find it ironic that, in most cases, by the time you've got enough money to follow your dreams your too old to jump on them. Carpe Diem!
65 in April and must be optimistic as I have 5 different deuce projects. Still planing on working at 5 or 6 shows this year, continuing building ch***is, and selling parts. Going to the LARS and Bonneville, Maybe finally the deuce meet in Texas. No time to slow down. I watch the locals who stop and retire, and they just waste away.
I say do it, just be realistic about how much you can do at one time. Hot rodding in general makes me feel great and driving an old car just brings the kid in me back out. I think that I'm one of the lucky ones that still has a p***ion for something and it sounds like you are too. I know a lot of guys in their mid-50s and older that just don't seem to have enthusiasm about anything. I avoid spending more than a few minutes with guys like that, what is the point? I've lost three close, long-term friends in the last year. One died with a lot of regrets about things that he wanted to do but just didn't do, one died teeing off on a golf course and one died slowly from a mul***ude of problems that could have all been treated if he'd ever gone to the doctor. So what I've learned from those guys boils down to (1) doing things that I want to do, to hell with what other people think. I'm signed up for a drag racing school this spring. I don't want to drag race but I do want to drive a dragster 160mph and that is a good way to do it. (2) I hope to die doing something that I love like my friend who died on the golf course did. (He absolutely loved playing golf, second only to spending time with his Grandkids.) (3) I'm going to keep seeing my doctor every six months to make sure everything is cool even if it does piss me off that it costs so much money to do that, with laboratory fees and all of that. Take the trip, drive the damn roadster, don't end up laying on your death bed wishing that you had done it.
The thing I notice the most is when getting down under a car or getting back up. Used to be just sit down and slide under, still not that bad, but getting up requires a whole new plan, like crawl out from under, roll over on all fours, grab the door or bed side to help yourself get in the up right position, then everything is ok when you are in the erect position...
Well, I'm 17, so I can't speak much from experience, but my grandpa is 86 years old, has bad knees and was recently diagnosed with cancer, but he still drives all over God's green earth finding cool car stuff. 60 is young.
Mazooma1 has it absolutely right - health trumps age and good health is the most important thing you have. A positive at***ude is second. As Henry Ford said "If you think you can't do it, you're right". Sure many of us, me included, have had health issues. It may slow me down but it isn't going to stop me. After back surgery 12 years ago I cannot bend over for long and cannot lift anything much, but learn to live with it and work around it whenever possible. I apply the principles of physics and use hydraulic devices wherever possible. I see so many people who are chronologically younger than me but mentally are so much older. The mind is an amazing thing - use it well.
Health is wealth as you get older but at***ude still is a powerful tool against the years of time my friends at any age....lol..... "you are blessed with the look of youth and gifted with the wisdom of time"
Man... you old people are depressing the hell outta me. I'm 25 and feel like time is running out all the time. I bet i'll be a real pleasure to be around when i'm in my 60's-70's... if I make it that long. -Chris
I just learned a lesson Christmas eve ,my dad past away @88 and i've not seen him in a couple of years .He lived 1200 miles away ,but i seen my uncle (his brother ) who is 2 years yonger than him but looks to be 70 . He plays golf every week and is always active .So the best thing is play as hard as you can and follow your dreams .
Spent 30 days on the road this year and went from Atlanta to Louisville, then Bonneville, then California for 3 shows, and then back home. It wasn't as easy as it was, but you work through it and enjoy it while you can. Next I will brave the cold to go to the Detroit Autorama, but I will aim for a break in the weather.
53 years old and still having nightmares. I still dream about all the car I want just like when I was a kid. Never give up on your dreams. What I've learned in my life is that dreams are nice but if you never put them to action you'll go to your grave never knowing if they could become reality. Mikey www.mikeyspinstriping.com coming soon... "VROOM!! The Car Guy's Guide to Success in Life and Business" It ain't just all about the cars. Mikey
To paraphrase an old saying; You don't stop bulding Hot Rods because you get old, you get old because you stop building Hot Rods!
I'm sixty and I'm just getting started. I pissed away my middle years when my hobby was pub crawling. Everyday, I'm a little deeper into the car culture that I pretty much abandoned in my twenties. It was a wrong turn but now I'm back on track. I get inspired by the oldtimers who didn't make that wrong turn and by the young guys and gals who have embraced the traditional rods and custome and put their own stamp on it. Despite the ***holes in Washington City, it's a great time to be alive.
Age is a state of mind,,,I'm 59 soon to be sixty and have been frozen half to death ,,,sun & wind burned,,damn near drowned like a rat,,and beat with hail in a roadster with no top or creature comforts. I wouldn't trade the experience,,, It is generally this stage of life when most guys can finally afford that dream car and if it is a roadster don't let a number stop you from fulfilling that dream! Don't let your age get in the way!. HRP
Hey Doodlrods, Mazooma1 and Dolmetch are right on the mark. I turned 60 in july and the company I worked for eliminated my position as of 12/31. So I'm adjusting to "retirement". I've got stuff to do, like finish my "A bomb". The dream is to drive it to Bonneville this year. Drive an open car across the country? Hell Yes! I've done it a number of times and I've had fun doing it. My relatives in Chicago and North Carolina declared me the Nutty Guy From California. Did I get sun burned? Yes. Did I get rained on? Yes. I remember the little boy in East Tennessee where I stopped for fuel staring at my car, his eyes so big they almost fell out of his head. "Where are y'all from?" he stammered. "San Francisco" "Wow, that's almost in California!" So, anyway, the point of all this is we all want you to not limit yourself. If you want that car and can drive it across the country, do it. Make time for a little sight seeing. Relax, if you don't want to drive 500 miles in one day, don't. It's your dream, make it happen! Tom
The Jalopy Journal
