Hot Rods $ to $ does it compare to yesteryear???

Had fewer "necessities" to support then than now; cable/sat TV, SAT radio, broadband, TiVo, cell phones(always updating), TV in every room(CRT>LCD>PLASMA>LED.etc), new computer every 3-5 years, ipod>itouch>ipad,etc

 

Yes, we used relatively new cars, compared to today. A model A was only 20 years old! I had three friends that bought brand new 55-56 Chivvys and customized them.

 

I realize you quoted necessities, but come on... These are choices at best. Take the $$$ spent on this list and put towards your project. And with the time save not using this junk you'll be able to finish it too.

 

They were just starting when I was in school, early 80's. I owned and looked at a lot of cars back then that were cheap in today's dollars. I paid $250 for my 62 Nova convert, less than 500 for any of the 9 pre 64 nova's I owned. 1200 for a 69 chevelle ss396 4spd convert. 900 for a 40 willy's coupe complete with a 62 corvair for the front suspension. 2k for a 59 anglia 289 powered g***er. The list goes on.

 

well i know in 72 my dad was 19 and bought a brand new monte carlo ls while working for min wage at a grocery store now days you would be hard pressed to afford a kia at min wage so car prices have definitely gone up in price new and used

 

You obviously don't have two daughters, like me (13 & 9). Just try and convince them that cell phones and ipods aren't necessities! The fact is that what were yesterday's luxuries are today's necessities. Are you going to give up A/C in your house for more money for your project?

 

I've also noticed that 10% ratio...from my first 22,000 house w/2200 new truck through a $375,00 house and buying a $37+K pickup the same year.

INSURANCE has always been the killer deal...bought a '62 'vette in high school for $1200, but on the following monday when I went to get insurance on it, was quoted 1600 year. I don't supose a couple of excabation of speed tickets on my record had anything to do with that

 

Things were better a year and a half ago.

 

To us here on the HAMB nothing from that time is a hot rod. We like the old stuff. But a guy in his late teens or twenties driving a turboed up Honda Civic or a Camaro with a built V8 is having a blast for a reasonable amount of money. To me that is the spirit of hot rodding.

The problem is that a lot of us that like the old stuff now have a lot of money (I'm not one of those people) and the prices are now bid through the roof.

 

It kinda does compare. Those cars were 30-40 years old in the "golden days". You can still buy a 30-40 year old car and "hotrod" it, and make it very fast. Not a traditional hotrod, but a hotrod none the less... 50 years from now a 1980 mustang might be 25 times what it is today.
But who cares... They were still ****ty cars in my eyes

 

I bought a 30 Ford Delivery for $75 in 1960, got it running and sold it for $75 in 1962. Bought a 56 Chevy 2-door hardtop in 1964 for $350, sold it in 1966 for $300 then bought a 1962 MGA for $1200 (Navy re-enlistment bonus). Gave that to my sister when I went to Vietnam and never came close to breaking even on a car after that.......

 

My kids are 26 and 22, but when they were 12 and 8 they thought TV was a necessity. They argued about it all the time. They came home from school one day to find the TV gone. It's still gone - no need for it. And yes, I gave up AC and conventional heat ( use a wood stove) in my house to build my 2500 sq ft shop.

 

Personally, nothing's changed at all.

Couldn't afford anything cool in the '50s.
Still can't.

 

I think you older guys had it easier now a days any part with the word custom on it adds another 25% the price.

 

yeah if you look in the little books at the ads for parts or labor to have something done it was alot of money...so parts is probably was the burden of the wallet. cars on the other hand well they were cheap, they were just old cars back then

 

When I was in high school, I drove a 26 year old car and was the envy of my school. I paid $300 for it. The car was a '32 3 window. How many kids would, The big difference back then was those old cars had soul today most 26 year old cars are just old. Parts were harder to come by back then.

 

You got that right. There aren't any 1984 cars with soul.

 

I've only driven one new car in my Life..in 1986 I bought an 85 Chevy Pickup for $12K my payments were $272 a month..First car in 1965 was a 55 2D sedan my Dad and I built, have to ask him about how money he spent. Second car in 1967, my graduation car, was a 55 Nomad I drove off with a rod knocking 265 for $300! Its all relative I guess, $300 was as hard to come by then as $3000 is now...

 

The problem here is one of definitions. Take a 1980 to 1990 Mustang for example, and you've certainly got a car that has some performance potential, but will it be a "hot rod?" Probably not in the sense that term is used here, but that doesn't mean it can't be a fun car to own and drive.

There's also another thing to consider - emission controls. Many of us live in areas with emissions testing that adds a potentially serious obstacle in the path of engine upgrades for the cars of that era. That's not a problem for HAMB-era cars because they all predate emissions controls.