Featured Features The Collector Car Market continuing its steady fall...

For sure! Cars today are all " cookie cutters!"All you see in a parking lot are black,white and grey![/QUOTE]
Yeah X2 on this…..every time I drive my wife’s new GMC I loose the damn thing in the parking lot. My ‘51 is a whole lot easier to pick out and another thing I’ve noticed is that nowadays you don’t get as many looks nor “what year is it “ like I did 20 years ago. Middle aged and down club won’t even give it a second glance, but go Gaga over a Tesler

 

Yeah X2 on this…..every time I drive my wife’s new GMC I loose the damn thing in the parking lot. My ‘51 is a whole lot easier to pick out and another thing I’ve noticed is that nowadays you don’t get as many looks nor “what year is it “ like I did 20 years ago. Middle aged and down club won’t even give it a second glance, but go Gaga over a Tesler[/QUOTE]
Can't help it! Everytime I see a reference to a Tesla, I think of this:
https://videos.files.wordpress.com/Hp4kiySI/its-alive-frankenstein-28-movie-clip-1931-hd-low_dvd.mp4

 

Odd that, any time I see a Tesla drive by, you usually see at least someone flip it off at least once. Especially if it's the 5 year old styled truck. I've gotten people coming up to me asking about my car off and on, or kids going on that they thought mine was awesome. Granted it's a red Jeep, but at least it's not cookie cutter i guess?

 

yup, I have watched out of the window at restaurants people in their 20's and 30's walk right next to my corvette without turning their heads or giving it a p***ing glance....[/QUOTE]
You gotta cut them a little slack, Mark. They just weren't raised right.

 

yup, I have watched out of the window at restaurants people in their 20's and 30's walk right next to my corvette without turning their heads or giving it a p***ing glance....[/QUOTE]

Yep and if that thing don’t stop em dead in their tracks there no hope for those individuals, must be zombies , no heart or soul. Something’s changed not sure what. When I was like 12 or 13 I couldn’t wait until I could get my drivers license. A drivers license meant freedom, adventures, cool cars and on and on. I wanted to peel out man.
Dan

 

I am always concerned when the cost of restoring, maintaining and modifying cars grows higher and higher compared to vehicle value. I experience this in the old tractor hobby. I have a solid small tractor that my grandfather bought new. It could use four new tires, but they cost more than it's worth. I can't justify restoring it. Just as the future supply of quality examples of these dries up, so will our Cars follow. I can only lose so much money building a car. My latest Model A pickup is not getting paint even though ten years ago I would have never considered that as paint and bodywork is one of my skills. I will have 15K total in this pickup due to its Hemi driveline. I've had to pick and choose as playing with my toys is a "me" thing and not a family thing. Some may consider lower values as a good thing, but I feel that is a bit short sighted as quality won't be built, maintained or available in the future. Maybe demand will continue to erode as well, Time will tell but I hate to see car related events shrink and go away.

 

I have (since the late 80's) called them all "Jelly Beans"....

They are all shaped the same just different colors!

I have only owned ONE car from this century & it was the only one on my long bucket list from it ('07 XLR-V). Not like I park it in too many parking lots, but when I do at least I can find it without any problem.

My Wife's everyday (Subaru Crosstrek in black) looks like every other black midsize SUV & I have walked up to the wrong one several times! LOL

God Bless
Bill
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...ar-transport-hauling-open-or-enclosed.614419/

 

99.8% of the people in this world have no interest in older cars.
Out of that .02% .01% only care about the cars they grew up with. I know a young man who collects Fiero's and Z/34 Cavaliers. Older than that he has minimal interest.
That leaves a .01% which is where we fit into. While what the hobby does concerns us but in the over all scheme of life it's just a grain of sand

 

Kids today were often brought up to believe gasoline is evil. My son turns 40 this year, he turned 16 in 2001,and couldn't wait to get his license. Maybe hanging out with me had something to do with it, or the Moon discs I put on his first OT car. Yet some of his contemporaries had no desire to drive a car, even then. I couldn't understand that then, can't understand it now. Bought my first running car when I was 15, and would take it out when my dad was at work long before I got my license. I now even smile at some of the ridiculous (to me) tuners. At least those kids are playing with cars.

 

@partsdawg I agree to a great extent. However, there is another small percentage in there. Due to the ***le of this thread (Collector car), there are some who have a great deal of money and have decided to diversify their investments into collections of different types. Some for their own interest in the items collected, some to 'buy into' a group, some just for investment reasons.

 

Collectors of anything, be it cars, matchbooks, rocks or anything else someone deems collectible place themselves in niches that not everyone else in the world are interested in or even understand.

Back when different oil companies were selling truck bank collectibles, I started collecting strictly Texaco trucks, airplanes and boats. I saved the boxes and the receipts intending to p*** them along to my grandchildren when they got old enough to understand what they were. Even though I tried to explain to my wife and children, I couldn't get them to understand that this was a brand specific collection. They gave me things that they thought would be just right but had no bearing on what I was doing. They meant well, and I said thank you, but their gifts just didn't fit. I didn't want Smithsonian Museum or Danbury Mint collectible cars mixed in with my bright red Texaco trucks. I finally gave up and parceled them all out to the grandchildren, who saw them for what they were. They were toys and meant to be played with. None of the collection survived.

There are a number of serious car collectors on this site. I'm glad that there are people who have large, well-tended collections of cars that are significant in the history of our hobby, just as I'm glad that there are others like me who participate by keeping one of these old vehicles going. It takes time, effort and money, things which aren't in abundance at my house. For me, these cars are time machines and this thing that we do makes me remember a time in my life when I thought anything was possible as long as I could go to a salvage yard and find the parts I needed to improve my car. Now, anything I want to do with my car is possible as long as I'm willing to pay the big box stores for foreign knockoffs of original parts.

I've taken up enough time on this subject. I'll continue taking care of my one car collection until I'm unable, then hopefully, someone else will take over. If not, then at least I will have had the experience of owning something that not everyone in the world has. In the end, it won't really matter to anyone but me.

 

For years people have been saying the market is done. In the early 80's my father would not let me buy a rough C-1 Corvette for $1500. He said I should save my money and buy a nice one. They were only $3000 and they would never be worth more than that.
I have always though I would like a 1965 GTO. I have been waiting about 20 years for the market to drop on those as well.

 

Another thought that hit me was just last week; my wife and I were at the local Subaru dealership to finish filling out the paperwork for her new car. The salesman in his late 30's was surprised to find that I mess with old cars and trucks and half of them have manual transmissions. He said they have no mechanics or salespeople who drive a stick shift and if one comes in for service, the owner has to pull it into the shop and drive it for the mechanic on test drives. My three daughters in that age range have all had or have stick shift vehicles. I found that strange and a sign of how far removed some of our younger car people are from my experiences.

 

I find the salesman's statement hard to believe.Does he not sell Subarus with a stick?

 

Really BAD rule !

In 1970 here in Missouri, a good friend had a really nice "driver" 1958 Ford flip-top that he did a lot of work on (paint, interior, new top motors, etc.).

His job relocated him to the state of California, and he could not take the Ford with him. He started at $500 then 4 then 3, then 2 then 100 with no sale. The day of his move, he came to the house and offered it to me for s**** price ($40.) and I declined because then I thought the 1958 was the ugliest Ford ever built. He s****ped it.

What is a 1958 Ford flip-top red / white / red in number 2 condition worth today ???

Jon

 

I DON'T CARE being stuck looking at that car was my point, think of what could have heen sitting in its place. ALL THOSE YEARS.

 

I like ugly cars

 

Can't help it! Everytime I see a reference to a Tesla, I think of this:
https://videos.files.wordpress.com/Hp4kiySI/its-alive-frankenstein-28-movie-clip-1931-hd-low_dvd.mp4[/QUOTE]
Well, not but two days ago I walked up to “my” car, hit the FOB to unlock the door, damned thing wouldn’t open. “Beep beep” again, nothing.
WTF?

Kept pushing the ****on then I noticed off to the right flashing lights.

I looked and watched and “beeped” again,

Oh dang, I’m at the wrong vehicle.

To top it off, not even the same make as mine.


So yeah, I can see how you could lose it in a parking lot.

Well, that and you’re older than dirt, but I digress.

 

Here is a good example of what I am talking about.

This car is about an hour and a half away, I am sure many people would look at this car and think it was a deal.

When I look I see

-A chop that needs to be finished perhaps redone because I see no bracing in the body. If it is twisted this maybe a roadster or a racecar/drag body now! Black primer on the innerweb hides alot of sins!
-Can I see out of it with the chop and those seats
-An engine that need machine work and ***embly
-A 5 speed that needs to go away.
-It has a 2x3 tube frame as welder/fabricator there are many welds I would grind out and redo or more likely use a Model A frame or build my own 2x3.
-It also has rear coil overs that I have no interest in.

There are somethings like the dents that wouldn't need to be with to make it drivable but I would defiantly get the worst of them you

 

That type I refer to as 'staged'. It looks like a complete car at first glance, but then you look closer and it's a bunch of parts propped together to look like a car.
Nothing wrong with that, but as you say, it's no weekend project.

 

I’d drive it

 

I was actually gonna do my usual "...we ain't goin nowhere..." shtick. Nope. **** it. Sky is falling. This is it, over, stick a fork in it. We are done! Best we can hope for is some ***hole to come along and give us .50c on the dollar for our stuff if we're to recover anything at all. In fact you'd be lucky to get that because the same ***holes would offer much less.

So, we all know I'm a ****. Never know what I'm liable to throw into the pot to call or raise. I'm willing to give .55c on the dollar to atone for my past sins or offenses. Hey, it's the least I can do

 

I'd still be making money on that deal, but I'm not selling, had the stuff too long, it's like family.

 

I'll take it, but you gotta load it all out!

 

Well, not but two days ago I walked up to “my” car, hit the FOB to unlock the door, damned thing wouldn’t open. “Beep beep” again, nothing.
WTF?

Kept pushing the ****on then I noticed off to the right flashing lights.

I looked and watched and “beeped” again,


To top it off, not even the same make as mine.


So yeah, I can see how you could lose it in a parking lot.

Well, that and you’re older than dirt, but I digress. [/QUOTE]

"Oh dang, I’m at the wrong vehicle."

Speaking from experience here. Worse yet, going to where you think you left your jellybean white Ford SUV with your wife, starting to get behind the wheel and then realizing that the woman in the p***enger seat is NOT YOUR WIFE. Very awkward and very glad she didn't have a gun.

 

Better tip your hat to the lady, son.

Carter's Auto Restyling just posted about costs in his latest video. It's not a collector car, but it's all discussed and covered.

 

And yet the banjos still play.

I checked out marketplace. They had a sweet ‘51 Ford Fordor that looks like it spent some time at the bottom of the Coosa River.
They could not say rust free because the car was brown. I think at one time it was blue. Really good body needs everything. Uhhhh Yeah! Trashed seats, Fred Flinstone floors, chrome? Are you kidding, dangling headliner, stuck flathead….

$3000
Yep….Ok

 

I don’t really care what the “market” is doing. I buy stuff when I see it and can afford it. Outside of that I could give a **** what’s happening.