Popular cars at the shows seem to be muscle cars, in 1990 I foolishly traded in my 72 Nova, small block, maroon with a tan vinyl roof, got $500 for it, would still be driving it but had a long commute and engine was 1 qt oil per 500 miles, not that I neglected it but after 18 years of driving a car stuff happens. I look at the 54 ford, our family car as I was growing up and have no desire to own onem though I might go for the 58?impala with the fins.
fast and loud… is it just me or does anyone else think that they butcher great cars regularly?
My uncle in the early 50’s drove a 1939 or thereabouts Ford,w ith a thing called Columbia Overdrive. He routinely drove over 70 mph with no strain at all. The only reason you still can’t is because the steel changes over time and becomes brittle.
Oh geeze, I sold my 59 Pontiac for $125, my 60 Morris Minor for $250, my 61 Corvair for around $200 I think, my 67 Buick Vista Cruiser wagon for $250, . . . Man, I coulda had my own museum for a thousand bucks. Kicking self.
I regularly go out with my father in law and a bunch of his friends who happen to be older - in their 70’s and of course I brought up cars etc. One still has a 65 mustang convertible that he rebuilt. Mostly the guys seemed to be nostalgic about certain cars, but fully welcomed the ease of the modern day car.
I wish I had still had some of the cars I’ve owned over the years too, but like most people I was too busy living life to think about keeping them.
And now, in full disclosure of my complete lack of taste, the list I wish I still had:
my '64 Fairlane,
my '72 Vega,
my '76 Corolla,
and my ’ 89 Toyota pickup.
And there’s some I almost bought but didn’t buy that I wish I had bought,
a '95 Mazda 929. (wife wouldn’t let me)… gorgeous car. They let me take it home for the weekend (they knew me).
An MGTF (yup, they really existsed) that I could have bought in the mid-'70s
A early '70s Triumph Spitfire
All the rest were just cars, trucks, and minivans. They served their purpose without ever imprinting anything special in my memory.
The only old car I ever owned that I can that I liked during the purchase in the late 60s but soon (VERY soon) learned to loathe was a 1958 Thunderbird with the 352-4 Barrel.
A garden slug has more zip and panache than that thing.
There’s a farmer about 10 miles south of me who collects old T-Birds and parts and while I’ve never met the guy I swear my old '58 is sitting out by his barn along with a few others. I have no idea what all he has stashed inside that barn as I’ve never seen the door up.
The other thing…is there are a lot of aftermarket parts available for the new vehicles. You can buy a brand new Ford Mustang body (only build with better steel and building techniques) for a 60’s Mustang. It fits perfectly.
Thank (insert your preferred deity here)!
One thing I cannot stand is the ubiquitous blaring 50s sock hop music at the local cruise nights.
It’s like the time I ate too many Doritos and couldn’t even look at one for years afterward.
It’s not like there aren’t cool cruising tunes from any other generation…
I happen to be generation agnostic. I will admire any car if it’s done well and looks cool.
Haha. I agree with you there twinturbo. But my concern is the disappearance of those car generations. Seems to be quite rare around me. The funny thing is a mustang, camaro, or chevelle fetches twice as much for half the condition. I saw a chevelle I think it was missing the entire front clip, no engine or trans either, and I think they still were asking 7 or 8 grand. Silly
IMHO Ed Roth and George Barris will always and forever be the kings of hot rods.
I’m not sure they could rightfully be called “custom cars”, however. Both really created many of their cars from “scratch” rather than modify existing cars. Nobody does that anymore except perhaps Randy Grubb. For the younger crowd not familiar with these guys, I recommend a visit to the websites of all of them.
There’s also Darryl Starbird who has created some pretty wild rides. He has a huge museum located by Grand Lake in Afton OK not far south of the Will Rogers Turnpike for those who might be traveling through here and interested in a break from driving.
He has some pretty outlandish and strikingly beautiful customs under an acre of roof.
My only knock against Starbird was at a car show many years ago which featured a custom Harley 3 wheeler in the ads on TV. At the show I found the paint was knock 'em dead gorgeous.
Unfortunately the engine/trans looked like it had been sitting in the weeds for decades and the spokesman insisted that thing would run when I posed the question of whether it would.
He had no answer when I pointed out the missing oil pump, missing oil lines, generator gone and the hole stuffed with a rag, no drive chain, no carburetor, no kick starter pedal, etc, etc, etc. Huge disappointment.
Some guys like the era, some are trying to relive the glory days or their youth.
Some of it has to do with availability of parts. What is easier to find, parts for an Oakland or a Chevelle?
My first car, bought in 1975, was a 1960 Chevy Impala, my second, bought in 1976, was a 1958 Pontiac Star Chief. That Pontiac was a big, heavy, powerful car (371 cu in V8, 4 sp superhydro) with the worst brakes I’ve ever had the displeasure to use. The shoes were so skinny, it was almost comical. It took forever to get that thing stopped from highway speed, and if you needed to panic brake, make you first attempt count, because you weren’t gonna get another chance at it.
Haha thats what I hear DrRocket about the brakes. I wont know until I fix mine on the cadillac.
@meaneyedcatz this is what boggles me. A 57 bel air in crappy condition is twice that of a 50 cadillac in crappy condition. Now the parts for that 57 are like 1/4 the cost of parts of the caddy it seems.
My hope is that there can be a resurgence of the era so the parts can become cheaper and more available to everyone. I think part of the mystique to me is the history behind them.
I guess I’ll probably be in the minority but I really am not much interested in the Mustangs, Cameros, etc. In fact if I’m not mistaken, Mustangs are banned from the Back to the 50’s event.
@Bing
I guess I’ll probably be in the minority but I really am not much interested in the Mustangs, Cameros, etc. In fact if I’m not mistaken, Mustangs are banned from the Back to the 50’s event.
BOY HOWDY!!!, I’m with you on that. Those cars are fine but when I’m at a car show I always walk by the Camaros, Stangs and Vettes.
I am always drawn towards the Chevy Rampside pickups, Nash Metropolitans and the like.
Haha I’m with you guys on that too. I mean the boss 429 1969 fastback mustang is one fine piece of automobile, but outside of that I’ve had my fair share. My last car for the previous 10 years was a 1998 mustang GT, and I was a cofounder of a mustang club in college, which is still going strong since Ive left. I’ll always be a mustang guy over the camaros and vettes, but now I’m into the older stuff, or even total customs.
@fender1325
this is what boggles me. A 57 bel air in crappy condition is twice that of a 50 cadillac in crappy condition. Now the parts for that 57 are like 1/4 the cost of parts of the caddy it seems.
Because more people want the Bel Air and the Caddy parts are harder to find, my guess.
Yeah simple supply and demand I guess. Who wants to pay a premium for a car that everyone has or is familiar with?