As much as I love restoration work I am not going to be able to restore this car. I have sold it and will be leaving next week. I very much want to restore it but in the end, my heart is just not into convertibles. I know after I restore it I would end up selling it anyway. If I had the money and space I would just put a top on it and drive it just as it is but that is not in my cards. I think I have found my forever car and likely picking it up in May. When I sold my Rallye 350 in 2014 I said then that I wanted to eventually end with another Rallye 350 and Melissa's Jetfire. Well, I think it is that time. I am still collecting parts for another possible 62 Jetfire restoration in the future but that will be my last restoration if that one even happens. I may end up doing parts restorations and sell the restored parts just for the enjoyment of it since restoring a car is just to much money these days. I am getting priced out of the hobby of restoration work. At least the Rallye 350 model is more affordable up front for a nice car. The one I am looking at is original paint and the original owner with great family history and stories.

 

I agree with the statement that you are getting priced out of the hobby. I've been doing this for over 50 years, and am feeling like that as well.

 

I thought of you when I saw this on FB
.

 

I've been feeling priced out of my hobby too. I try to find enjoyment,though its getting harder. I understand your sentiments and like the idea that a guy can do small part restorations and still be envolved.

 

The circle of life.

 

When I restored my 66 3X2 I didn't care what the cost was, now, I wouldn't even begin to think about restoring another car. When I see the price of bumper chroming I pass out. I can afford to buy or build anything I desire but I'm out of the game now. Good Luck to anybody that's restoring a car(s).

 

I keep telling my wife that I'm loathe to sell any of my 3 79's, the way things are going I would not want to pay the cost of getting another one. And that I should be satisfied with what I have. Which I am. I got these cars long ago when prices were much more reasonable. I agree with everyone that we're being priced out. It's maddening. I fortunately stocked up on parts and while I agree you can never have enough, there's always going to be that part that you suddenly need and didn't buy back in 199x when you had the chance and now it's either unobtainable or unreasonably expensive.

 

Just remember, the price of the good is NOT going up. The amount of the dollars needed to buy said part is. This is from the massive printing our Fed is doing and has done for a long time. More dollars in the system, more dollars it takes to buy something.

I remember thinking I just have to make so much money that inflation and taxes wouldn't matter to me. Yeah, still waiting on that part.

Hope this doesn't run afoul of the mods or the sites limits and rules. Been a member here for a long time. Don't want that jeopardized.

 

So, who’s buying these cars if no one can afford them? I have 4 cars and 74 years old, I’m thinking of thinning out

 

A work associate knew I had several collector cars and asked what will happen when we die off? I told him it will be the same as Model A's. No one will buy them except for the dedicated enthusiast. That's subject to opinion of course. That's ok. More for the likes of us.

 

More and more people in their 70's are selling cars off that they have had for decades. The prices of these cars will go down as that continues. The younger generation don't have the money for them and if they did they don't buy older cars.

 

X2. I am just lucky because I like the Rallye 350 model. Those have never had the value of the performance cars so I can still afford one.

 

Gen X are buying cars from the 80s and 90s. They dont care about cars from the 60s.

 

"The younger generation don't have the money for them and if they did they don't buy older cars." This means the price of these older cars will come down. I have a degree in Economics. You don't need one to figure this out.

"I am just lucky because I like the Rallye 350 model." Before I found the beautiful 68 I owned for about 15 years I was looking for a Rallye because I really wanted a hot small block with a manual. I found I was priced out of these cars. Maybe I'm just cheap? I found the 68 and paid above 20k for it. I ended up making a Rallye that was everything but yellow.

"Gen X are buying cars from the 80s and 90s. They don't care about cars from the 60s." People like the cars they have memories of. Our memories are of 69 Chevelles, Cutlai, and the other A-Bodies. What wonderful daily drivers. Loved that era. Cars today are like a cell phone and about as exciting.

I tend to get cars that I find are cool and have good value like a C5 Corvette. They're cheap, fast, reliable, and get great gas mileage.

 

I am the absolute last of Gen X, being November of 79 model. There are some of us who collect muscle cars. The H/OCA is interesting because there is a big, big 83 and 84 group. I doubt I will ever own one of those. I am pretty happy with my great 68 and good 72. I always had a hankering for a 96 Grand Sport Corvette. To me, those are the last of the not-new Vettes. C5 and on is new to me.

 

Gen X are still pretty active in the pre 80's cars. It is the millennials and gen Z that are not into them. They are more of an LS transplant generation or big trucks.

 

Us Gen X are probably going to be the last of us who have any connections to Oldsmobile and their great cars. Their 90's and up cars were generic GM garbage for the most part. Yeah, G bodies have really gone up in price to own a nice one, especially the H/O and 442. This will be my last Oldsmobile car. I may do a 90's GMC/Chebby truck with Olds power. But they are hard to find one not rotted out or they want a fortune. The hobby is in serious trouble due to cost of the cars, parts and labor to finish one just really puts a hobby car, out of reach for almost anyone.

 

As a millennial I can definitely appreciate the 50s and 60s cars. I own a '77 Oldsmobile that I'll never get rid of, but I may just be wired a bit different from the rest of my generation.

 

Your generation will probably give Collinade cars new value, don't remember the awful 70's oversize and power drain. I liked our 75 Cutlass 4 door, first Olds with the reliable mean sounding Olds 350 Rocket, we nicknamed "The Beast". I remember the TH350 literally going up in smoke. I also remember the bloated size, styling, big couch interior and just adequate power in that heavy old car. Honestly, most will just LS power them and think that is cool. My Kids are Gen Z. Most of that generation would want Mustangs, big newer trucks or little **** box imports. Our old cars will soon become the nearly forgotten 50's and older cars.

 

This makes me chuckle as I have a lifelong friend who had a 77 Supreme back in the day. Maroon/Maroon. What a sweet ride. I still don't know why he sold it. Never asked. I will next time I see him.

The difference is that we looked at these cars as regular cars to use and use up. We didn't have the advantage of second sight. He's looking for a nice 77 at this time.

 

Heh, I am too!

 

The hobby is fine. It’s bigger and better than ever. It has always moved forward. When no young people show up at the sock hop 50s music cruise nights they say it’s dying. Our monthly cars and coffee gets 1000 cars. A local club expects 4,000 at their season opener on Saturday. Young guys with newer cars. It’s alive and well.

 

Like I said, Oldsmobile specifically, interest in general will fade away. Like you said, young guys with newer cars. Almost no one wants the last of the Oldsmobile's, which are over 20 years old, far from newer cars. You said nothing to prove I was wrong, zilch. How many Oldsmobile's, especially Oldsmobile V8 powered cars were there?

 

LOL. The last Oldsmobiles were junk if you ask me. Plain junk. I didn't buy them when I was in the market for a car when they were available. Why would someone collect anything that is essentially a Chevy knockoff? And junk? Most if not all American Car makers were done as far as style, durability, and looks by 1975. Olds certainly had some really great cars in the late 60s and early 70s. They were magnificent. I was there I remember. 88s, 98s, heck, my Uncle drove from Wyoming to Chicago to pick up a brand new 98 in 76. It was brown or root beer color. So sweet. Now, compare that to a 1979 Olds anything. Ugh.

That 10 year window from 65 to 75 was really a great time to be alive.

 

This depends on what you're planning to do with it. Just collecting it to be a garage queen, or put it to work as a driver. In fact there actually is some data on this, 70's Malaise era cars are pretty popular now among younger buyers.

There is another factor to consider, young people today are massively poorer than then boomers were when they were the same age. Adding to that, the costs for new cars has gotten to nosebleed levels and reparability is at an all time low. Therefore, getting cars that were overlooked by previous generations and using them as dailies makes a lot of sense. In fact anecdotally I get fist bumps and waves from young people when I drive by, in fact today a couple of them were in classics themselves. I've also had several younger people at my work come up and talk to me about my car. Trust me the interest is there.

 

That is a good point also for the price of newer cars and the ability to repair them. New new trucks being built are trash and over priced. That is driving up the price of the older trucks that are rust free and lower miles. I just bought a 2002 Chevy 8.1 with the Allison transmission last year for $19K and has 125K miles. It will outlast all the new junk and a fraction of the price. 20 years ago I would have said you were crazy that I would spend that much on a 24 year old truck. There are a large number of businesses in my areas buying up all the old trucks they can that are really nice and do not hesitate to pay up for them. They need reliable trucks and not buying new stuff.

 

I'm hoping my 2014 Ford F-150 falls into this category. At 115,000 miles (bought it new) the 3.5 Ecoboost is starting to bark but I want to take a shot at keeping it going rather than buy new.

 

The corporate edict that they put ever smaller engines while piling on turbos to meet CAFE standards has killed the American truck industry. An old fashioned 350 cubic inch engine that is a workhorse is not available any longer. The average cost of a new pick up truck is $64,000 dollars. What?! And they are fragile. Men talk their position and say things like, it gets better gas mileage, etc. They don't want to admit they have just bought not what they want, but what was offered to them at a very high price.

Remember those 350 V8s issued by GMs big 3? They were such good cars and motors. Drove and rode so nicely. Now? You get a cell phone w/ tires. Blech.

The need to buy an old truck rather than what's offered new goes back (for me anyway) to the year 2003. I bought a used F-250 with the Turbo Diesel. Got good gas mileage too. I was surprised that in order to get a good truck (w/ the diesel) you had to buy something somewhat used up. My purchase had 116k on it. We all know that's not bad for a diesel. Those trucks got snapped up quick by those in the know. The same way they are being snapped up right now.

 

I do love my older trucks, but getting 7-12 mpg and riding like *** gets old if you use them often. I've owned a 2015 f150 forever. 2.7 twin turbo, 6 speed. 173,000 miles (many pulling a heavy camper) and going strong. Have never had to touch it with a wrench other than oil changes and brake pads. 20'ish mpg, good ride, and fairly quick.

As we get older, most of us don't want to admit that newer stuff is better than old, but sometimes it is.

 

Yeah, the last few years of Oldsmobile were junk, look at the Leakstar V8, might as well rush them to the crusher. That 2013 Ford F-150, if the timing chains haven't been done, it probably will need it soon, along with phasers and guides. My Daughter's boyfriend has a 2013 with the 3.5 EcoBoost, all needed done at around 200,000 km. We had a 2011 work truck go at 100,000 km. GM has V8's failing big time, some at 4 miles then the replacement fails. Also lifters along with the seizing bottom ends. The 3L Duramax is losing thrust bearings. The 10 spd behind the V8's and Duramax isn't much better. What is reliable? The 2.7 4 cylinder turbo and the 8 speed auto from GM. Only took GM a decade to get that 8 speed auto right. Kind of blows out the reliable V8's out of the water. Took forever to stop lifters failing on the Hemi too. It could just be the DOD causing the issue and or shitty lifters. Tech is an issue, too much and electronics don't last forever. My 88 and my 70 had shitty wiring, just my 70 has way less than even the 88 which is still much less than a new car. The only glitch electronically on my 2017 Dodge Challenger GT AWD has been U Connect glitches, finally fixed witn update. Unfortunately now the screen is delaminating, causes things to jump around without touching it but only sometimes. Other than the usual drive shaft failure, a bad angle, I replaced it with an Dorman driveshaft. Also a water pump and cracked plastic transmission pan, nothing outside regular maintenance. The Pentastar V6 and ZF 8 speed with its replacement aluminum pan has been great, as has been the AWD. So much nicer than the part time 4x4 in my Dakota.

 

Right now I own a 1999, 2004, and 2006 vehicles. Each has about 80k on it. Bought a 2004 Deville w/ the express purpose of driving it to Arizona and back. I've done that twice now w/ that Caddy. Northstar. Hang on to your hat because it may fail and it may not.

New cars are all cross overs. You sit in a compartment not a front seat. I remember being a young man with a lady and a bench seat (69 Chevelle). Those were awesome.

Sometimes change is unwarranted. Right now all I see is car makers offering not what the public wants, but what they want the public to buy. We have one dealership in town. A Subaru dealer. Guess what? All the older folks who know nothing about cars are all driving new Subarus. I hate them. They look like I designed them when I was 6 and thinking about camouflage in a big way. Boom. All kinds of weird cuts and angles that don't lend themselves to a smooth eye appealing design. Everything is plastic too. Did I mention that?

 

Funny about the Subaru dealer. I bought a new Subaru WRX in 2018 from the local dealer. It had a 6 speed. My first Subaru. Living in MN I was hoping they would swap out the summer tires that it came with for some all season tires. They told me no, and then proceeded to show me the all weather floor mats that it came with to help get through the winter months. I drag raced 3 people with that car, and lost every race. It is the slowest car that I've ever owned. It looked fast, but a girl in a mini van totally handed me my butt. After that it was sold. My first and last Subaru experience.

 

Yep, $64,000-$74,000 for a new Ford-F-150 is right on the mark. A rebuilt Fraser 3.5 Turbo for $7000 doesn't sound all that bad, if the truck still has good bones. I've got the super extended Ford Warrantee (160,000 miles or 14 model years whichever comes first), so I have until that time before making that decision. Which likely will be 01/01/2028.

To Jensen Racing 77, hope that Rallye purchase works out, that's a fine pick to be a lifer car.

 

I fell like a kid waiting on Christmas, lol. I will start a thread on it when it is home. May do another thread on the trip to get it. Slight teaser picture...

 

I wanted a Rallye but found I was priced out of buying one. I made a car that was better in all aspects except for the look. That yellow Sebring color w/ the elastomeric bumpers is spectacular. Love it.

When I was in High School a guy in our area had one. Must have had a 3.90 gear because generally no one could touch this guy.

You could choose a worse car to be a lifer with.

 

Are they elastomeric or painted steel?

 

They were urethane-coated bumpers. Steel metal with urethane coating. They had to bake them to cure.

 

Here you go

 

Wow, that's interesting. I always thought they were just painted. Thank you for that information.

 

I knew when I typed that sentence I was opening up a monster. The elastomeric vs urethane vs painted vs whatever was coming. I knew that. I shouldn't have done that. It's been beat to death on this forum many times over.