Oldsmaniac

As us Boomers age with myself almost turning 65 I was wondering what age group is buying the 60's, 70's cars and how about project cars? Seems to me the kids today have little interest in the old stuff and lesser interest in fixing up an old car. Is the old car hobby dying? My local car club when I joined about 30 years ago was full of guys with 20's 30's 40's cars. When us new guys would come in with a 60's car we were often viewed as not really having an antique car. Well those guys are all about gone and guys like myself are starting to fade with fewer younger members joining. Those that do have late 70's and 80's cars. Just wondering what the status of our hobby is and what it will; become for guys like us and not the Barrett Jackson group.

chip-powell

What I'm seeing more of in my area is younger guys taking cars like 2010 camaros and mustangs and tricking them out with beautiful paint and engine mods. The same thing that we used to do to our cars from the '60s and '70's when we were their age.

Face it, they look at us the same way we looked at guys when we were kids that brought their Model T's to car shows.

Coastie

Im 26, so I might be able to shed some light (and hard truths). There are lots of young enthusiast out there, plenty who appreciate classic cars. The issue is money and bang for your buck.

This is gonna **** a lot of y'all off, but boomers have ruined the classic car scene for younger guys. How many cars have you seen where they're rusty shells, but priced at 15k? I've had the issue of boomers refusing to sell me a car simply because im young and "won't appreciate it" (despite them letting a car sit for 15 years). It's just harder to get into good classic muscle cars for the younger crowd because the boomer generation holds on to them. For the price that you pay for a clean 442, you can buy a 2010 mustang, add some mods, and you've got a 600hp car with A/C, manual, OD, and gets better than 8mpg. Sure it doesn't look as good, but it's objectively better in every way.

ach1992880

I have to agree with the above statement. Although not young myself, inching ever closer to 40, I see what is being done in my area by younger car enthusiasts. One of the houses in my neighborhood is rented by 4 early 20's guys. One has a WRX STI, one has a Focus RS, another has a 2015ish Mustang GT and the last has a similarly new silverado. These guys are all into their cars, and all have mods of some sort. This is the type of car I see younger car enthusiasts buying. They are finding sub-$30k cars that do a lot of things very well while also providing reliable and comfortable daily transportation. It takes a similar amount of $ to get a nice classic, at which point you store it in a garage and wait for a nice day. These guys like a lot of the classics, but the market has priced them out. In the mid 90's I bought a mechanically sound but rusty 71 Cutlass for $600. My buddy got a nice rust free driver condition triple black 70 GTO for $7000 at the same time. Our Cutlasses are still just about the lowest point of entry into the "muscle" era and a good driver with a 350 auto is in the teens. That gets you a car that runs 8 second 0-60, has a dozen different rattles, the windows dont seal, the radio may work, but if so just well enough to make out the song at highway speed. These things are endearing if you spent your youth driving one, but without that nostalgia they are too crude for the newer generation that is looking for a thrilling car.

RetroRanger

The last two times ive taken my car out, ive gotten positive comments from 20 somethings so its not like younger people dont appreciate them.

Money is a thing and like coastie said theres guys out there that will just hang on to a car until its barely good for parts before they will sell it.

Tedd Thompson

You can't buy a classic anymore because it is the fastest around, our era has passed and it lasted much longer than most. 60's and up to early 70's were the king of the hill for 30 or more years. Now soccer moms run around with mid 11 second cars as daley drivers.Classic are classic they look special/unique like a classic should and for that they will motor on as a class of interest and desirability, but straight muscle in not our forte any more.

The future of the hobby is not in jepatory it just will change just like it has in the last 1/2 century I've been playing with it. As for price of stuff (old cars) if someone just gives you a car and you can do a lot of the restoration yourself you will be in it 25 to 30 grand once you get past the it's just a driver stage. It's not a cheap hobby to get into and hard for young family man to justify the out lay, it's kinda a old farts game.

So my theory is I'm just gonna keep on going on till my car loses its interest or I do which ever comes first. I haven't retired my lawn chair and pop up yet..... lost in the fifties....Tedd

KW5413

Its especially encouraging when kids, in their ricers, give you a thumbs up.

My S-I-L still has the '69 Camaro his Dad gave him almost 20 years ago. His Dad has a '67 442 that will be passed to him or my oldest Grandson. My almost S-I-L will, someday, be taking over his Dad's '67 Mustang that is currently in the shop getting a new Coyote, transmission, suspension, paint & interior. (When I take both of my cars to a show he usually drives one). Then there are mine, that will likely be around when I pass on. Not sure they will keep the Cutlass but, somebody will hold on to the Nova. Hell, they are, playfully, fighting over it now. Even my 3.5 year old Grandson loves these cars.

So, the genre will live on...within my family...for years to come.

Oldsmaniac

I guess I can answer my own question a bit. I sold my red 67 442 Track Pack last year to a true Olds guy, about my age, who had a 67 442 and wanted to replace the car he used to have. The 66 Delta was purchased by an older guy in Utah who was crazy for the B body 4speed cars. He admitted that at his age he should be down sizing but had a true love like most of us for Oldsmobiles. And for me I cant resist a low buck project, thus my addiction.

oldcutlass

I don't worry about it. I'll just enjoy my cars as best I can until I pass and at that point whatever happens, happens. I doubt my kid will want to keep them.

Inline

This same subject raises every year atleast once.

Coastie gave a pretty good insight. Im 29, but ill write down everything he said. Plus, every year the older generation asks what to do about their beloved muscle-car hobby to preserve it to younger generations, yet when younger generations express their thoughts, older generation totally sweeps them aside and keep to their old ways and ideas what to do. Weve seen how it works.

This wasnt either meant to **** anybody. From my friends im the only one i know who has old american car, and reason is simply because im the only one who can afford one. Its not like they wouldt adore them; its just because they cant afford them.
Others have newer cars as hobby, since getting loan for year 2000+ car from car seller is as easy as snapping your fingers. For older car you need to save since hardly any bank gives credit for them.

matt69olds

I’m guessing a lot of the younger generation look at our old iron the same way the model T crowd did 30-40 years ago. As I get older and more stubborn, I’m guessing today’s youth (think hybrids and Teslas) the same way the flathead ford enthusiasts looked at the small block Chevy.

I don’t think there is any less interest in the look of old iron, I’m guessing today’s youth just don’t have the interest in the mechanical part of cars. My son loves cruising around in the Olds, but until I add a Xbox controller to it, I’m guessing that’s as far as the interest will go. Maybe that will change as he gets older, and stops looking at me as a reminiscing for the past old geezer.


im guessing this cycle has been going on since the auto industry really got started. Hopefully the car hobby keeps going.

oldcutlass

When we got into the car hobby it wasn't a hobby, they were daily driver cars and considered our toys. They were 10-20 year old cars at the time maintained, hopped up based on what we could afford, and driven. The same scenario for todays youth, no difference in my eyes. The reason our cars are so expensive is not because of the boomers, its because of the price of parts and labor. Why should we sell our cars just because you want them?

I'm curious, what thoughts does the younger generation express that the older generation ignore? Do you honestly think that it was any different for us to play with cars when we were young? Do you think that money somehow grew on trees when we started in the hobby? If it wasn't for the older generation, there would have been no hobby for you to enjoy.

gs72

There is still hope. My 20 year old son scored this thing for 3500.00 running and driving and plans on making it his daily.
I took him for a ride in my Cutlass one day and did a 1st-2nd gear burnout on one of the back roads near our house. On the way home
he said the words I have been waiting to hear "Dad, can we make the engine in My C10 have more power?" I almost had to choke back sobs of joy. My little boy is becoming a hot rodder. I know it sounds Kind of corny, but is was one of those father son moments.

Inline

Are you trying to say we imaginary owe something to you guys since you have these as hobby? Thats biggest BS ive ever read on public internet.

Edit: Ill answer yuor question, wont mind to write a long-winded post on the phone.

bobs72

I think whats coming in the not to distant future are converting classic cars, not rare ones, to all electric. Clean, quiet, quick , reliable but the cars won't have a soul.

Inline

Ah, now at PC.

Oldcutlass- Every now and then ( here in Finland too) older hobbyists asks what younger generation would like to see/ where would theyd like to move the hobby to generate more interest on their age, and generally pull more people to hobby. There are dozens of answers and suggestions depending on whom you ask. And every time they will get showed to corner, since the "real" hobbyists, the older generation, knows better what we want.

One thing i could write, is that we really dont care about numbers-matching and paint-stripe sparing. There are those same tired cars at every car show, over-restored numbers-matching, paint-stripes re-painted and so on boring-as-hell ( just my opinion, and maaany of my age) cars. Its fine, and there should be preservations from past, but people of my age mostly spends time at car-shows on parking-lots saved for hobby-cars. There you see interesting cars, be it paintings, wheels, whatever mods, but cars that are getting real use, be it sunday-driving, work-driving, giving it some pedal etc. Trailer-queen and only sunny-weather cars? Not interested. Nor is most of my age. Then those same trailer-queen owners too many times look over their noses those cars-at-work at those parking lots. Im more interested about $1500 late-80's singed and drinked Caprice STW than some six-figure Hemi-Mopar, as an example.

Btw, thats nothing personal for anyone.

oldcutlass

Younger people today with cars that you describe here in the states gather at night in parking lots or at Saturday morning cruise ins where you can see anything from a $500 hooptie to million $$$ exotics with everything in between parked side by side. You realize young people can get together and put on your own car shows based on your likes. The car hobby is not just what we older folks like.

oldsmoboogie

I’m 44 and buying everything my wallet will allow. Most of my friends 35 and up love old muscle but the younger crowd is into the turbo ls scene. They are taking average 80’s and 90’s cars and making them run 10’s for 6-7000 dollars. That was the cost of the last 455 i built. I have 2 ls swapped cars so i see the appeal but nothing beats getting behind the wheel of my cutlass with a built big block. I will always have muscle cars but it is nice to jump in the c10 with newer technology and head out for a cruise. When i was 16 you could still buy decent muscle cars, i bought a 70 Chevelle Malibu for 450 bucks that ran and drove.

CRUZN 66

X2... I have the same mindset as Eric... However, on one point, I do have OLDER children who do have an interest and may like to have one of "Dad's Cars" as a keepsake, although not to the level I have taken with the extreme collection of vehicles (34 at one point in time) and parts (about 2K plus square feet of storage space full)...

Coastie

​​​​​​A restored muscle car is fine to ask 30k for. A wrecked, rusted, or rolling shell is not worth the absurd amounts boomers ask. Boomers have this circle jerk going on amongst themselves, over inflating the prices over things that the younger generations don't give a **** about. We don't care about numbers matching, or "1 of 30 ever sold with ref interior and yellow paint" like they do. The best are the "super rare" (not actually rare cars) that are missing anything that make them special. I recently found a collection, and the owner wanted 15k for a 66 charger because it was 1 of 3 with a big block and 3 on the tree. If it was a complete car, that's understandable (as long as it's not rusted through or wrecked), but what he had was a shell with no interior, windows, doors, axles, engine, or steering column. What was left was rusted and bent, I didn't even see a single good piece of trim on the car.

Honestly, it's boomers like this that are so entitled that they'd rather let a classic car rot and be destroyed, rather than get their head's out of their *** and realize that they're asking way too much for what they've got.

Also, they ruined so many good classics because they had 4 doors. Y'all made ******* shorty cars which are more retarded than Gen Z eating tide pods.

I don't mean to target anyone here, I just deal with the public at my job and it's always the boomer generation that drives me crazy, on top of dealing with them in the classic car scene.

oldcutlass

Hate to burst your bubble but sellers don't determine the price that a car sells for, its the buyers. Sure there are idiots out there of all age groups that think their p'sos are worth tons of money and sure there are rare p'sos that really are worth tons of money. On the flip side of the coin, I see good deals on a regular basis on all the car sites, you just have to be patient. I used to sell cars for a living, most people are annoying not just the boomers.

Inline

Here we have so short summer, that generally every weekend of summer is already scheduled up, and those same old geezers hold them. Theres simply not enough cars for two shows at weekend, after all this is not a big country, every nook is under days drive one way.

Japan-car hobby on the other hand is living well here- if you happen to like them. Wifes friends boyfriend has an Nissan Skyline for example, and they have alot gatherings with people of their age.

Once again i write everything Coastie writes. We live at other side of the world, were pretty much same age, and have formed same opinion. It cant be just us imagining things.

Andy

Well, thank you for your opinion.. You could have said all that without insulting us “ boomers” ..but hey thats what you young guys do now, makes you feel ....well ...something.

Inline

To put it short, dont know how to actually express this any better.

American car hobby has become too snobby

KW5413

I dunno, its sounding just the opposite, to me.

I hail from right smack dab in the middle of the Boomer range. I know a LOT of classic car owners and with few exceptions I wouldn't refer to any of them as snobs. Damned near to a person, they love talking cars and quick to share any knowledge they have....even to the ricer lovers.

If you want to talk demographics, it has been my experience that it is the Young Ones that have the tendency to be brash and arrogant. But, alas, that is true with every generation throughout history. Damned Kids these days.....

Back to car shows, my cars picked up a dozen pieces of hardware last year. So, I attended a few shows. Many of those shows embraced modern muscle cars, rat rods, trucks and ricers, all in their own categories. Motorcycles are, also, being invited to many of these shows. Camaraderie is engaged at all levels. You can be a part of it...or not. You reap what you sow.

Just for the record, Snobs thrive across all demographics...even the Young Ones...certainly wouldn't be exclusive to the American Car hobbyist.

solly

The statement that boomers are ruining the hobby is absolutely absurd !!!!!!!!
I'm sure there are plenty of people asking too much for there classics, parts cars and project cars but where is the data supporting the fact that their boomers ? is there a Craigslist or E-Bay survey I'm unaware of ? most classifieds don't contain a section listing the age of the seller!
Could it just be some of the sellers have done their research and know what their classics are worth ? in some cases they may be trying to recoup what they have invested this rarely happens but you can't blame them for trying ! there is a simple solution, If you think the prices are to steep move on, continue to look until you find what you looking for at a reasonable price hopefully it won't be a boomer selling it ! as for boomers ruining it for 4 doors. also ridiculous there are numerous 4 door owners here with beautiful cars and I see many 4 door Cads, Buicks Olds, Pontiacs,Lincolns and Mercs at local shows,
This is a hobby that should be enjoyed by everyone and there's room for everyone, buy what you want, build what you want, show off what you want, like any other hobby there are different levels of interest and there are price tags associated with the different levels, it's
up to you what level you want to obtain.
I'm new to this site and hesitated to post this but it's my opinion. and you have yours so be it.
P/S on this site I have gotten answers to all my questions and help with everything I have asked for, occasionally I see some tongue in cheek comments but 95% of the time everything is positive.

Andy

Rarely, very very rarely have I saw a boomer shorten a 4 door.. not our style..We call it simply to many doors for our style.. you don’t see many because they aren’t popular, either been parted out, rusted out or crushed for metal weight.. hey you want to be in the hobby, do what we do, save..

Koda

There are jerks in all age groups and most hold contempt for people not in them.

The classic car hobby is what it is. Certainly, the muscle cars have gone up in value and in price (and that's not the same thing) due to increasing demand, decreasing supply, and the increase in disposable income that they now have. That isn't anyone's fault, and it certainly isn't wrong that some young adult, who doesn't have the coin to play, is excluded. People are under no obligation to make something accessible to someone else because they can't afford it. Old men leave their cars to family, or they get sold, or they give them to friends like Eastwood did in 'Gran Torino.'

There are people who charge way too much, and two things need to be realized. First, that's what he WANTS, that's not what he is going to GET, and, as long as it doesn't sell at that price, it is not a valid indicator of market value. In other words, some dude charging 500% of what something is worth is simply crazy, and not some boomer excluding the kids.

Edit: (got distracted). 2nd, that primo price may be for primo stuff. Let's say you have a beautiful, matching, perfectly restored with all NOS stuff 70 4 speed W-30. It's worth $100k. Let's say you have a Cutlass bought as a roller for 3k, an engine bought for 1k, and a stick trans and rear bought for 1.5k. That's compared to the 20k the W-30 cost from barn. Then you saved money with a cheaper paint job, cheaper interior, repro parts, but had some good engine work done. That car is worth maybe 35k, but you put in 20k into it, not the 150k or so the w-30 had. Same performance, or better from the built Cutlass, for 1/3 the price.

Any hobby has got the real expensive stuff, and claiming that you can't play in the big big big leagues might not be an age thing, since very few people can. I think the old muscle car hobby is very accessible for younger people of less wallet if you go for non-numbers, non-W stuff.

ach1992880

Boomers have no more to do with the absurd prices than any other age group. Most of the people I have bought and sold cars and parts to or from have been gen-x'ers lately. The one exception is a 62 Bonneville shell that I bought over-enthusiastically and subsequently sold to an aging boomer that has about 20 '62's in his posession including an original 421 super duty. Most of the guys I see at shows with original condition, factory performance, restored muscle cars are boomers, that have likely owned the car for at least a few decades now. For that, I'm talking SS chevelles, w-30's, any performance mopar. Those same shows have a few guys with interestingly modifoed Malibu's, Pontiac Lemans, Cutlasses, etc. Few have the $50-$100k for a rare original, but many have taken the time to put together a fun car for $25k or less over time that looks good and in many cases is as fast or faster than the originals. Where the gripes stem from is throughout the classic car community people seem to think a rusty, worn out non-performance car needing full interior, quarters, fenders, bumpers, new engine, trans rebuilt, new bushings, brakes and paint is a $10k car.

Bernhard

Young guys still love fast cars. They are into modern muscle cars and imports. Some like the idea of a older muscle cars but in stock form they have little to offer the younger generation. In stock form muscle cars do nothing well except look good. One of the younger guys I work with just picked up a Mustang Cobra with 500 RWH its his summer daily driver.
X3 just enjoy the hobby and don't worry about value or what happens to your collection. My car will have way more into it than it will ever be worth and will be slow by today's standards.
I never thought ink car magazines would be a thing of the past but they are nearly all gone.

budg

I hear the same thing about vintage guitars. “When will all the boomers start dying off so I can afford a vintage guitar?” Just craziness. I wish classic cars would be 4K already to go, but they’re not. Boomers aren’t the reason they have gone up in value. My step son is 40. He bought a GMC typhoon he’s working on . He loves my car ,but he isn’t lamenting about not being able to afford it.

My experience is younger guys mostly don’t have any interest in classic cars anymore.

RetroRanger

I can appreciate a concours resto as many can, but just as many here on CO have a non numbers car that they have customised to their liking. I can laugh at the" LS swap completed garbage can Meme", but at the same time i would do an LS swap if I had less finite resources and another car, (mines already got a BBO started out as an SBO) The car hobby is so broad its ridiculous. Some folks like the donks, not for me but i dont mind checking them out. Its true you will run into some high dollar muscle car guys who feel because they have an unatainable for many car that theyre better than your clapped out 72 suprme, that doesnt bother me i like my car and the way it looks.

I think some people point out something that is non orginal on someones car as a point of fact and the car owner perceives it as slight against their car when it wasnt meant like that. Like texting sometimes the emotion in a forum post can be misconstrued.

point is every one here is here from one reason they like OLDS, im ok w its your car do what you want w it....

Most of us just like cars and trucks and bikes etc etc I have a modern muscle car as well its awesome sounds great power, great tunes, good mileage blah blah but i enjoy my 72 just as much even tho its got no radio, something always needs work, its makes some unwanted noises etc etc.

in keeping w the thread I would buy another muscle car project, not likely a w30 tho that would be awesome an f85 would be fine cuz im just gonna make it mine anyway.

KW5413

It looks to me like there isn't a slow down in the classic car business. Just look to the activity in the Newbie Forum here. That surely doesn't represent every Olds that has been bought.

OLE442

Well, I've been looking forward to/regretting finishing up my 1972 Cutlass 442, 455, 400 turbo with Ram Air! It has 47,700 approx. actual miles. My brother bought it in the 1980s from the first owner, I believe. Either my brother or I have owned it since then. As of yesterday, I realized where we are most likely headed politically , in this country and had a emotional rush about what is or isn't important for the few years I have left. I have this and a 1976 Corvette with less than 50,000 miles (was my deceased cousins since the 1980's) in nice shape and I'm not so sure I want to finish up the 442 at this stage in my life. I could have it done but that's is not in my cards. My decision now is whether to sell or not, sell one car or the other or to just part out the 442? That is exactly what I'd hate to do but the sum of nice parts may just be more than the project is worth as a whole! IMO!! I've been a bit bummed after realizing where we are headed as a country!

At any rate, I was actually going to start a tread asking opinions as to the best course and what makes more sense. Collector cars (or collector anything) is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Barrett Jackson prices are mostly for the upper crust and not everyday working class stiffs. I could get in gear and paint it and start to put it all back together by the end of next year but I'm getting very close to 70 and can't seem to find that "case of motivation" that I put somewhere in the garage a number of years ago!! I hate to not finish it but hate the thought of finsing it up! Guess I'm getting old.....and not to sure of how many years I have left.....LOL!

Kids at car shows I go to are interested in the old cars but they are only a small percentage of the skate boarding Antifa wann-be's out there. And, they money is tough for even us retiured folks and is definately a problem for most young people these days! That, and if the Demoturds/Socialist/Communist/Marxist folks get their way, gus guzzler, high performance cars will be outlawed via the New Green Deal type legislation and the fees we will get charges to have one will bankrupt most of us. It will go away with the rest of your bill of rights! The future for carbon based fuel burning cars is bleak IMO! Especially, if the next election goes the way I think it will!

Coastie

What's the point in having these cars if you're not going to drive them? I never understood the logic.

OLE442

I drive the Vette and cannot help the fact my cousin and previous owners didn't! The 442 is another story.....I started on the restoration in the 2000's and then life got in the way (including two full time jobs for 10 years). It sat at my brothers for approx. 10 years which I can't help! So it sat since I have it partially torn apart but with weather stripping and bumpers off, I could drive it on the street but it was not practical. I had a 3 car garage built a couple years ago and since retiring have been finishing the inside up and repairing a lot of things around the home that I had let go! So, the 442is back on the to do list but I'm re-evaluating if I'm up to it. So. sh*t happens....at least in my life!

Bunser

X2
Too bad we won't be around when they accomplish something of note. (As a side note...there's a regular gathering Sunday mornings in a mall parking lot, where young pups and geezers bring what they have and get along just fine.) Each to their own.

Warren Seale

Do you see how the "classic car dealers" price their cars? Well, people see this and think this is what THEY can get for theirs. They are in dream land.

Cosmic Charlie

prices here seem typical for the internet - pricey to me ..
https://www.oldsmobilecentral.com/se...970+oldsmobile

Natedawg

I don't think technology has as much to do with it as seems to be stated here. There are always going to be gear heads in every generation. I'm 41 and know PLENTY of people from late teens and up that would love to own and work on a classic muscle car, and that's the "problem" I would say. If anything, classic muscle is becoming more idolized as time goes on. Just look at the appearances in movies throughout the last twenty years. Barrett Jackson. More people keep coming, but not original cars. The days of grandma selling her grocery getter classic muscle are long gone, and the condition of the non-restored cars that are out there is now rust bucket status at best, if at all. Its no longer the time when you can pick up a cheap beater and throw some performance parts in and go. That era is now for the 2000's cars. The average salvage yard cars are late 90's and up now, most in the 2000's. Finding any 80s car in a salvage yard is nonexistent now, at least for me. For 60's and 70's cars it is now complete resto time with lots of rust repair and scrounging for parts. I think its the rust and all the body work required that becomes a big separator for the low buck DIY'er(aka the younger crowd), and rust is all thats left out there for project cars. Anything in good shape or restored is high dollar now and relatively rare, nobody is at fault for that. If classic muscle was more common, we would be seeing a whole lot more of it in the hands of younger generations. They are just working with what they can get.