Is the hobby dead or just broke?

[polywideblock]

wait till the new F&F 8 comes out and everyone wants a 71 -72 GTX /roadrunner "just like dom's "
might take a bit of the heat off 2nd gen chargers for those that want one, and put the prices up on 3rd gen for those that own one

 

[gdrill]

I'm not sure how long the hobby will last, but the knowledge base is definitely thinning out. We're a dying breed. BUT, the internet is here now and much of the knowledge will be stored somewhere, they will just have to find it. I know a few young guns and just today a friend sold a 21ish year old a 73, 340 console 4spd, black on black road runner that is stored at my place. No drivetrain and a project. Kid didn't care about the engine as he already has 440 ready to go, a 413 sitting in the shadows and a 383 lined up. Knows all the details of what it's gonna take to do it too. 21ish years old! Sounds good to me, they may be fewer, but they are still there. And as for the 72 and older thing, that is exactly why the 73/4's are gaining some respect from the youth. You can't find a 60-70 anything for a reasonable price, but those terrible 73/4's can be had fairly cheap! Good damn thing. If it wasn't for situations like that, we would lose the youth altogether. I'm glad the later A & B-bodies don't get the love. That leaves a place for new comers to jump in and eventually they can work their way up to the "coveted" models. That is if we don't shun them away at a show or on the street because they have a "beaknose" car. The downfall of the hobby is partially self inflicted no matter how you look at it.

 

[Bb70charger500]

You older guys are pricing the cars out of reach for us young guys. Ever since all these TV shops and auctions project prices are threw the freaking roof . There's a 73 charger on c.l. here for $6000 it needs full restoration ummm doing the math on that restore it for an additional $15K plus the $6K =$21000 for a car barely Worth $10-13K
Then restored cars are way up too another charger 74 se guy wants $21K and it's nothing fancy.
Plus add these super expense parts it almost doesn't make sense anymore. I can go buy a brand new challenger and not have any problems. Obama didn't help ether.
We can't get any younger guys interested in the older cars they like there "slammed" Honda's for some reason .
I don't know what's going to happen with the old cars in 20 years all I know I better save my money it might be a buying frenzy for me if your kids start selling hemi cars for peanuts!

 

[Bladecutter]

If it's a Dream & a Keeper......it's Worth what's put into it. Monetary value is no longer priority. I'd love to do my version of a 68 Coronet, knowing that it would absorb more than what the market would handle........another car I'd like to do is a 68 Torino my way, knowing it would take more to do than what it could be sold for.......depends on how much Love One has I suppose. I want a ride that is mine, my ideas.....the thought of buying a hi performance carbon copy new car doesn't work for me.....anybody can have it as long as they got the dough......lacks imagination in my bible. Tailor Your own, nobody else has it, not quite like Yours......I hate the way cars are built now & they are all way too HEAVY. New Corvette 3200 lbs. New Challenger, close to 4500. My old 68 post coupe, 440 trim,,318 Coronet....shipping weight,,, 3235 lbs. We're going backwards on that playing field.........think about how much faster, better handling & stopping a Hellcat would be if it shed a 1000 lbs....fast would get a hell of a lot faster.
As long as there is original thinking People, the Hobby will not die.

 

[monaco66coupe]

Surprisingly, many love the sedans. More for the Buddies.and Hubcaps! The kids never see them. and are quite taken with them. I have been asked more than once: whats with the two doors? You can't use the car at all! And they love wagons! The hobby may change in taste, but the old cars still fascinate many. fortunately many of the cars don't command big dollar money. My old Chryslers are slowly becoming more attractive. Kids seem to like boats, not muscle cars!

 

[747mopar]

If it's a Dream & a Keeper......it's Worth what's put into it. Monetary value is no longer priority. I'd love to do my version of a 68 Coronet, knowing that it would absorb more than what the market would handle........another car I'd like to do is a 68 Torino my way, knowing it would take more to do than what it could be sold for.......depends on how much Love One has I suppose. I want a ride that is mine, my ideas.....the thought of buying a hi performance carbon copy new car doesn't work for me.....anybody can have it as long as they got the dough......lacks imagination in my bible. Tailor Your own, nobody else has it, not quite like Yours......I hate the way cars are built now & they are all way too HEAVY. New Corvette 3200 lbs. New Challenger, close to 4500. My old 68 post coupe, 440 trim,,318 Coronet....shipping weight,,, 3235 lbs. We're going backwards on that playing field.........think about how much faster, better handling & stopping a Hellcat would be if it shed a 1000 lbs....fast would get a hell of a lot faster.
As long as there is original thinking People, the Hobby will not die.

Couldn't agree more. When I build a car now days I will only build something I really, really want and build it my way regardless of resale value.

 

[BeeKool]

Nothing after 72 is desirable. Maybe get anew engine to overhaul.
The only GM after 70 worth owning is a 70-72 Chevelle or pickup
No Ford after 70
Other makes you decide

 

[YY1]

I agree for the most part with post 23.

You can't call a hobby dead if there are more than 20 currently running TV shows about it.

 

[dukeboy_318]

Watching Craigslist this winter in New England and I'm seeing a lot of cheap easy 71-78 GM projects that go begging, plenty of 72-76 A-body stuff out there reasonable, some early-mid 70's b-body stuff priced cheap enough and some decent 66-75 Ford stuff…..Most of these project cars are under $2k-4k, some run and drive…..BUT NO BUYERS. Are we coming to the end of an era? I hate to think so….but its possible. Are we running out of people that dig our generation of cars? OR, is it just the COSTS involved with putting the jump-paddles on some of these old rats? I sense a shift of interest based on costs, but dollar for dollar, are today's kids really thinking the Honda/fart can car is more bang for the buck?………ugh. i hope not.

no, its not dead, but when people are forced to pay half their wages in health insurance costs and taxes, leaves little for most people to have hobbies, let alone hobby cars. The hobby ebbs and flows usually in a delay from the economy. it'll rebound to the point where we'll be complaining about high priced project vehicles again.

 

[747mopar]

Nothing after 72 is desirable. Maybe get anew engine to overhaul.
The only GM after 70 worth owning is a 70-72 Chevelle or pickup
No Ford after 70
Other makes you decide

I disagree but you have to look at it from a Hotrodders perspective. I have a 75 Torino that I'll eventually build, looking at the car it's got nice lines, cool interior and an overall mean look but lacks. So what makes it lacking.. the bumpers, grill, tail lights and rolled over trunk lid. I'll recess the grill, flare the truck up like a Charger, suck the bumpers in tight and graft some cool tail lights in. All said and done I garantee it will all of a sudden become desirable to most looking more like it was built in the 60's and best of all it will be a blast to build. Just have to think outside of the box a bit and make them your own.

 

[mmissile]

Smaller audience, every year. Prices will have to drop.

 

[hacksaw]

there is a down side as more of us pass on .... youth just don't care about it as much as we do now. Lets face it .. the mopar thing is getting way out of hand price wise. I have been doing the parts thing for some time and have see a major price hike in them. Way out of line IMO .... ppl wanting 350 bucks for a left side grill for a 73 charger .... no way .... I just sold a perfict pair for 250. Happy mopar guy and i can sleep ay night. Greed is driveing it now .... sadly all most ppl see now is $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.Maby im old but keeping a 47 year old dayly driver mopar on the road is what it's all about. I can see the time and money put into trailer queens .... just never knew why. ... Drive it there .... thats what thay are for .....

 

[Ghostrider 67]

I see a lot of interest from the younger set at car shows. There will always be different strokes for all folks though. I get the feeling that the younger guys and gals will buy the HP off of the lot rather than spend years building them for the most part. These days of instant gratification are hurting the builder sport.

 

[Big D A12]

This hobby evolves around what we drove as kids. For us 50-60 year old's this was the muscle cars of the late 60's and early 70's. As one generation ceases to exist, the passion for those cars dissipates. Hence the reason you cannot give away a nicely restored Model A.

There will always be a few cars that remain desirable from every era. I think the late 70's, 80's, and 90's are going to have a dismal future as collectibles other than a select few (Regal T types, GN's, and some Mustangs from the 90's). Not sure the 2000's are going to be much better (GT40's are doing OK if you were able to afford one). I am sure I am missing some, but you get the idea.

Now with all of that said, the 2010's seem to be improving with Dodge leading the way and everyone else trying to catch up (Hellcat and Demon). If by some chance the current generation develops interest when they are 40 ish, the hobby will continue.

Just another thought. When we all see our hobby as a revenue stream, it is no longer a hobby. This seems to be what is driving prices today with so many buying and selling cars and parts. (As someone mentioned, 20 TV shows about the hobby) Free markets exercising supply and demand, the American way. No complaints.

DD

 

[kb67mopar]

In my mind its all cost driven. The young guys still love our cars...they are just way out of reach. Hell I'm 32 and can barely afford to keep mine.

 

[Dave L]

mopar carlisle has a lot of empty spaces.Most of the mopar people are too old or dead to attend,but if you need a tee shirt, or hat there's lots of vendors

 

[Bart K]

Now is your chance to become a millionaire! Just figure out which years and models will be "hot" in a few years and buy them up now! As you all can see by my avatar, I have a 4 door 69 Coronet......I think maybe 4 doors may be the next cool thing because they still have to cool lines and look, but you can buy one for a 10th the cost of a 2 door of the same model. That is why I bought mine. Maybe some folks will get over the thought that a car has to be a 2 door to be cool. I guess we will see!!!!

 

[OH71RRunner]

A lot of younger people don't understand how to work on these older cars. They can't just take it to autozone and hook up a computer to see what's wrong with it. It costs money to build and keep these cars going. On top of that, sometimes it's hard work.
Most younger people don't have the funds, knowledge, or desire to put forth the effort.
They have an interest to looking and have lots of oh's and ah's. But that's about as far as it goes.

 

[Darter6]

Peaks and Valleys in every hobby. One thing for sure costs will continue to rise.The price of a project car may fall,but the cost to restore it will surely rise.

 

[Bladecutter]

Now is your chance to become a millionaire! Just figure out which years and models will be "hot" in a few years and buy them up now! As you all can see by my avatar, I have a 4 door 69 Coronet......I think maybe 4 doors may be the next cool thing because they still have to cool lines and look, but you can buy one for a 10th the cost of a 2 door of the same model. That is why I bought mine. Maybe some folks will get over the thought that a car has to be a 2 door to be cool. I guess we will see!!!!

As You know, I happen to love the lines of 4 door Coronet's, the quarters without the dummy louvers stamped in...they are stiffer and even lighter by a skosh than 2 doors(a 68 4 door Coro w 318 , shipping weight,,,,3225 lbs) & the huge bonus is the majority haven't been beat to death under hard driving & track days for a good portion of their life like a lot of the two door variants undoubtedly have been....except maybe the cop cars. If I can muster the bux for another B & make a project, it's def a 68 or 69 Coro 4 door I will seek. Def more economical than 2 door also.