True car people are becoming a thing of the past
I going to name drop here, but was talking/joking with Pat Reily with Miami Heat last year about our old cars, he has a very nice numerous collection of old hot rods, and we were joking what is going to become of them as we are similarly aged, and our kids don't want our prides and joy.
Sign of the times.
Heck I am now 75 and I remember back in the 80s and 90s the Model T guys were aging out of the hobby. The cars and their owners/lovers were going the way of the dinaseur. (Computer can't spell CAT). Dying off and few younger guys with any real interest in that Model T. OK there is a lot of difference in the Model T and model A as far as making hotrods. But fast forward to today and look at what you can buy as a hotrod driver Model A and many driver cars of the 40s and 50s. Bargains compared to "muscle cars". There are bargains out there but not in the second gen. Charger and RoadRunner, Camaro, etc etc groups! So the younger guy looks to what he can afford and what HE WANTS. He does not rlat to 40s 50s cars or even Model A hotrods.
As I grew older, I learned that owning a "high end" car meant nothing me, I had already had most of them back when they were plentiful and cheap. I knew I enjoyed the hunt for the net project, the build, driving it some, then it was on to the next and sell the one I just built. Too bad seldom did it seldom make me a dime for my labor. An occasional quarter maybe. But I could not afford to buy the next without selling something! So I began to see the "art" in every model. The designer was always an artist, OR maybe sometimes a designer on drugs!!??/
Then I learned that getting that old slant running was about as fun as getting that 383 or 440 running. Cruising down the road in whatever was just plain FUN! Maybe slower than another but fun! As the 69 383 RoadRunner and second gen Charger projects kept getting silly expensive I looked toward cheaper models to build. I saw the beauty in design of whatever model, and realized IF I built a car that I had too many dollars in and too perfect, I would NOT drive it and therefore LOST part of the fun.
I admit thatI have now pretty much aged out of the hobby. But in th last 7-8 year, worthwhile projects that are actually worth their (asking) price have become rare here inTx. Cheaper projects alway in OK Ks Mo AR Ms etc but sorry project at best 95% of the time. Overpriced non drivers are, pretty much, NOT selling here. The price does not come down and they don't sell. A decent model (that is in demand) priced right (cheap) sells fast but those are rare! The fun is pretty much gone. I don't want to pay way more for a project than I feel it is worth and I don't want someone elses high pried (Cluster***).