Todays Youth -American Rods Vs Tuners

Yup, ain't it the truth!?!

 

There was a time when it was common to see slicks or big tires in the rear wheelwells of a car and not in front..... Gag!

 

They don't wanna be like Dad, they wanna do their own thing . It's only normal and you gotta respect em for trying. Same as hot rods just diferant cars. Nothin to get all upset about. If every one drove Hot Rods they wouldn t be Hot Rods

 

Well my kids are growing up around hot rods, muscle cars and hot wheels. Hot rod was the second set of words to come out of the boys mouth so we will see what the future holds.

 

Amen to that.

Oh by the way, a 5-speed in a 409 isn't traditional so I don't really get the point he was trying to make?

 

yeah, let's still be butt hurt about something that happened 69 years ago.

How does WWII have anything to do with cars built 40 years after? I'm just asking.

also I think you forgot about the part were America stood back up after a sucker punch and laid down some whoop ass.

 

Old cars suck. That's why I love them. If I wanted a car that I didnt have to love, I'd have a beater. I don't though, I wanted a project car, and I was raised on the ilk of buying the best possible car to start with. I didn't. I skipped over a REALLY NICE '59 edsel, in favor of a '54 ford that needed some lovin'. I went with the car that needed loving.

This stuff is not cheap, and it never has been. Is it cheaper now? Yes, by far. Hot rodding has always been an old mans game, unless you had a great job or rich parents.

Do kids get my car at my school? Probably not. Do some dig it? Yeah, I suppose. Do I give a damn? Nope. As long as noone hassles me for playing with slow, old cars, then I wont hassle anyone for driving whatever.

Now, would my car even be half of what it is now without a giant network of friends and family helping me out every step of the way? Hell no. Old cars are not so much about the iron, but about the blood, sweat and memories they make.

The reason I'm not going to IU is because I want to get my car painted over the summer. My situation was either go to IU, and sell my scoot, and not paint my car or go to iupui, and paint my car and keep my shovel. I'm going to iupui.

 

I'm 22.. (Not necessarily a youth, but young nonetheless) and I hate ricers. I always have. Since I got my driver's license and drove my truck every day, I knew there was nothing more American than that.

I drive a '68 Chevy truck daily, and am building a '48 Chevy truck (Dad and I were together before he got killed last Dec) and I also have a '29 Model A Coupster I'm really eager to start on. I have several other cars and parts that I tinker around with, and I'm always cleaning my garage or cleaning parts.

I think the only downside (I say downside because the general public doesn't understand me.. But I know most of you guys do) is that I strictly prefer '72 and older cars, and they absolutely MUST be American as well.

I do agree.. The media can be to blame, but I did like the Fast and the Furious series although they really didn't put the muscle cars through their paces. I did love seeing the blown Charger driving around in the end.

I wish there were movies that focused on the traditional eras of pre-war and even some post-war cars, but not anywhere past the late 60's.. I want to see movies based on the FEDs and their quarter-mile burnouts, or soldiers getting out of the war and wanting to build 20's and 30's cars out of aircraft parts. I want to see movies based on the Bonneville guys of the post-war era. It'd be really flipping sweet to see one based on Tommy Ivo!

I guess those kinda movies aren't out because the general youth wouldn't understand. They just don't get "it." You know? I guess magazines and books will have to do for now..

 

It has alot to do with them just not being able to relate to much anything before they were born. It's not just cars, it's everything. As a high school art teacher this is one of those things that I have to deal with everyday. That is why I am doing this hot rod art show for my kids in a few weeks. I have introduced them to a lot of the stuff that is discussed here... and some have really taken to it.

Now...Why don't they drive the older cars? Well very few kids at my school drive at all. Driving is becoming increasingly more expensive and most of the kids at my school would be happy with any sort of semi-reliable tranportation.

The kids that are really into what I am showing them are the kids with the beater Hondas and such. They want to go fast. They want to have that individuality. They want to tinker and build. And in all honesty what I see my kids doing isn't that totally different than what the first hot rodders were doing. They are doing the best they can with they can truly afford. Just be glad that they are in the garages doing anything with cars at all. I've discovered that these kids are truly into cars. Probably more so than most here because at least they are open minded about what a cool car can be. There is more than just one kind. My advice is "Each one teach one." These kids will take more of an interest than you think in these old hot rods. Most just don't know about them.

 

Semper Fi Marine...keep up the good work.

From an old Amtrac mechanic...YAT-YAS!

 

I'll take a few swings at this horse.

I agree that nowadays, parents aren't involved in the lives of their children because they want them to explore their individuality, rather than shaping/guiding them into a productive lifestyle. If Jr. would rather spend all day playing "Modern Warfare 2" then that's his decision as an amateur adult?!

Growing up I used to help my dad work on anything that was in the driveway, wash his Semi when he brought it home, and when there was nothing "constructive" to do he taught me the unstable properties of various household ingredients. Dinner was served at the table and nothing was a "secret" because honesty WAS the best policy.

You see kids that don't grow up "right" almost ALWAYS traces back to a neglected upbringing. We get harsh with eachother here on the HAMB, but we would rather someone stay than leave. The only real thing you need to join the HAMB is a "thick skin".

All that being said...have you guys seen what goes on at some of those Mini Truck and Import shows?! Just take your car, run by the bank, and withdraw everything in 1 dollar bills. Who can blame these "kids"? I'd follow the tail also.

 

First of all...you can't "blame" someone's taste in autos on an upbringing. Secondlly, many of these kids pour there heart and souls into their cars. It's no different.

 

I guess I chose a bad analogy. I was speaking generally about the common interests of todays youth.

I know these kids pour their heart and soul into these cars, and they do it to gain the approval (for lack of a better term) of their peers. Different strokes, I know. I put all I have into what I'm into. We all do it for different reasons. It just takes a different passion to build an old car as opposed to a "new" car. See what I mean?

 

You're actually talking about me.

If you really want an idea as to what goes through some our minds, here is my, consistent, personal experience. I'm in my 20s now - my little brother and I have WWW'd, chopped, carson-topped, skirted, sectioned, channeled, frenched, flared, shaved, etc - new ("tuner") cars and trucks etc since before we could drive. Since we could drive, we have been continuously kicked out of the cruise-nights, been turned away at show registrations, and had H.A.M.B. threads deleted before pics were even shown for - not being a custom.

You ask why the two of us don't build an old car? In the beginning it was an old saying my pop once told me - "bein' cool is doin' with what ya got". At this point - it's principal. If you take that as an insult, re-read what I've said until you see through the looking glass. Kids are customizing, traditional customizing, there's just no _______ for us.

Ask yourself these questions again, while imagining looking through my little brother's eyes, as he's being explained he's not welcome. Imagine us receiving the news we need to leave for the 50th time from inside a newly channeled and sectioned Mazda body that was drug from the junkyard. Imagine the disgust, as you lock the steering of your newly 6 inch narrowed front suspension track-width in order to make a u-turn and leave without ripping the fenders off - because the car is not a custom. God forbid we'd ever be allowed to park our non-customs next to a stock new Vette at the local cruise-night.

Ask yourself this, what is more custom? The same model years that have always been built, largely using different combinations of the same mods, or something that hasn't been done before?

Just our experience and associated influence. No disrespect to anyone intended. I'm not trying to get you to build newer cars either, I'm just trying to visually illustrate an answer to your question.

Give us a break, alright? If you see a kid in a "tuner", and they seem nice, invite them over some night for some primer and mods. If they seem stand-offish tell em' I sent ya.... haha - Think about it.

(Attachments: Do we look like customizers to you? - bagging that s10 for supremes? How about in black and white?... Does that plaque really look out of place in front of a 4cyl "tuner" motor - that's mounted to a 6in narrowed front clip swap so we can steer while we hug the street in our "new car"? Somthing to think about.)

 

I see where grim is comin' from.

It has alot to do with what is available. I'm in my 20s as well. Growing up in TX, the only cars we could find that were drivable for the most part were the base model muscle cars like malibus and 6 cyl rustangs. Yeah we could come across old cars, but they were shells for the most part and being 16 you want something with some kind of go. My brothers satrted buying what old cars they could get, muscle included, and kept trading until they got some serious vintage tin. I worked pretty hard and the toss up for my first car was a 72 malibu and my 53 ford 2 door. The 53 was gonna suck up all my money and the malibu was gonna leave me about a thousand for goodies. I thank God everyday that the guy with the malibu wasn't home. The ford already had an sbc swap done and didn't need much else...for a teenager. Best $2250 decision I've made until so far.


PS...In HS I would have killed to have a Supra. Now I can live without one.

 

WTF are you talking about Grim? channeled and sectioned Mazda?

this thread is lame.

 

I know it! Godamned-teenie-boppers and their half-assed attempts at custom work... lol

Converting fwd to rwd and channeling a unibody car... The nerve of em'; back in the day I hear they called em' greasers - juvenile delinquent bastards need a roll model.

 

Hey i'm a 15 year old and my dad owns a body shop and he really got me into cars. Ever since I was really little cars has been a big part of my life. I was either going to car shows or working on them. I actually used to like all the tuner cars but the past couple years I've really been into the more rat rods and kustoms. A couple years ago when I was in 7th grade my dad traded an early GMC truck for a 37 Hudson Terraplane that he gave to me. I have a lot of plans for the car and I hope I can get them all done except the only thing is that I have to do the work all by myself.(There are about 120 bullet holes through out the car)
Here are a few pics

 

The Carshows I like the best are the ones where all cars are welcome.

At the Trad shows, everybody tries to look like James Dean and Rosie the Riviter.
And at the Street Rod Shows they play too much fucking Beach Boys music.

But I go to the HAMB to see Trad hot Rods and Trad Customs.

 

ahem...
in the unlikely event you can head said fart box over your own motor, you have done something horribly wrong.

 

and for the record, I REALLY miss speedaddict in these sorts of conversations...I wonder what his lexus is up to these days....or his 39...or his bagged truck.

 

There's a time and place for everything right? This is an old school / traditional hot rod forum. The debate about why kids like this or that is as old as having children. I've owned so many different types of cars it would make most peoples heads spin. I've loved them all for different reasons but I understand that the HAMB is for pre 64 stuff. That's fine with me. I talk about my '30 coupe here. When I wanna talk about my Evo or 350z I'll take it to that forum. It seems possible that within a few generations, kids will be lucky to have ANY type of internal combustion powered car. Then all the tuner guys (who will be old as dirt) will be like 'Those young punks with their lithium ion powered crap!!!' .... And the debate rages on!!! LOL END THREAD

 

Got it backwards, I remember when they were making first movie (they were doing car casting calls in socal.. and I used to be a admin on streetracing.com) the import scene in socal was already past it's peak. The movies were an effort to cash in on what was already a big scene. Granted we did see a bit of a bubble of interest after the first movie, but it was very short lived as the cops had already had enough long before that.

But ya, most kids "rodded out" the cars of there days or what they could afford. For those of us that didn't have an ole man telling tales of his hot rodding days that inspired us to get a something older. Most of the other people I grew up with were getting 5.0 Mustangs, TPI, LT1, and later LS1 camaros... ..or they went import with civics, acuras, eclipses or if there parents were rich supras.

I think the issue now a days is 2 fold. 1) While this may hold true for a few of us now.. when we were kids the car we wrenched on was our daily driver.. For me, driving to high school in a shit kicker '69 camaro with a huge motor when gas was a buck a gallon wasn't a big deal. Being a kid now, and having to pay 3.5$ A gallon (in socal), makes it hard to justify a jalopy on most likely part time minimum wage or if your lucky a couple bucks allowance.

The second is just the cost. I new domestic V8 car is upwards of 30,000$ What 16 year old kid has that kind of money. A civic is half that amount.

Also in terms of movies feeding, look at transformers all gm. Also every f&f movie had a "bad ass" domestic in it.

 

Lots are, you just have to go to the track on the right day. Like anything the scene become popular it was flooded with short timers but as things settled those that truly had a passion for it stayed around. Personally I like Muscle cars, I like ole hot rods, and a I dig some imports. Really who wouldn't jump at the chance to drive a fully built rally WRX, or ANYTHING that runs sub 9's in the 1/4?

 

My parents do not care for old cars, I saved my pennies and bought my first car ('54 Olds Super 88). I'm 26 now, I bought it fresh out of high school at the age of 18. I just spent $200 and an hour and a half changing 4 stupid sensors from my OT '00 F150 parts hauler and it still needs a fourth one (another 100 bucks!). Needless to say, I'm selling it as soon as I can and buying an older truck. Cheaper to fix, more fun to drive. Old cars are all I know, and I grew up with my parents driving new Chryslers my whole life.

 

First pic bottom row..........No...No...No

 

Few words..but straight on the target..

 

Im 21 and I like hot rods but I hope the general youth likes ricers because the prices of this hot rod shits just going threw the roof. I figure the less that like hot rods the less demand for parts. I know all you old farts are gonna die sometime and I wanna be the person that picks your hot rod parts out of the trash. All because your kid is more into coffee can mufflers and twin turbos and they dont know what a carberator or distributor is.

 

hey im 16 i got a 26 stude hot rod, and a 53 caddy, every dollar i get from work i get goes into my stash for parts. do the work your self make it dependable and safe you can usually have a cheeper car than what kids my age drive around here. but everyone has their own styles, lot of people dont wanna get their hands dirty theyl just by a fart can for their honda and be done. anyway..........thats just my 2cents

 

i personay would not owne one
they were t & a fords when i was growing up 40 ford coups
i got into try 5 they were cheep and was put down because they were not real hot rods
then chevells mustangs ect. they were not real hot rods
much later imports toyota honda they are cheep and they are not real hotrods
what is a hot rod
its an older car ? truck that u do mods to u like or can afford
as we grow older cars are different
i think it is good they use tech that is avalable like we did changing jets ect.
wheels paint spoilers ground effects
they are out wrenchin on what they have or can afford
tunning te a skill moving poramiters around with a laptop is like rejetting