Remember when people bought new Muscle cars and left them outside?

[Ghoste]

For some reason kicking the living sh*t out of a car on a dragstrip is right but driving it in the rain is a sin. 

  I'll admit it; guilty as charged and Mike, you are absolutely right. 

[genlee1970]

So true.  So true.

"Appliance" is a term I've also used to describe modern cars.  That's pretty much what they are.  You read the product reviews, you shop around, and you try not to get ripped too badly.  When it breaks (and you KNOW it's gonna happen, way too soon), you throw it away and buy another one.  You go get ripped off on a fresh one that you know is probably even crappier than the one it replaced.


----------------------------------------------------

Those guys that restored the '20s and '30s cars thought that a unit constructed car was a disposable car, WRONG.

I think they're right.  We're just killing ourselves trying to rebuild a disposable product with all this rust repair we do. 

It shouldn't be this difficult to fix corrosion on a product just to keep it in service.  Not if the product had provisions for anything resembling serviceability in its design.  (You could say, "Yeah, but after 40 years?"  And you've got a point.  But it didn't take 40 years to compromise the flooring or lower quarters of a 1969 unibody in the Rust Belt.  Some these cars were coming apart within 5 years or less.)



   
[/quote]

Interesting thread folks. But yeah, in the end they're ALL appliances. How many otherwise sound cars were scrapped during the mid seventies because they had a mechanical failure and the fact that they were "gas hogs" sealed their fate. I personally have wondered how anyone could have bought a new second gen and not have lavished the ultimate in care on in...wash, wax, maintenace, etc. But then I realize that to most, the Charger was just simply the most attractive model available at the time that fit within the scope of their new car purchase requirements. Probably cherished for a few weeks/months and then when the shine started to fade so did the enthusiasm. 

In the end they'll ALL end up in tthe scrap heap, just as everyone on this board will end up in the grave. How soon depends on the care recieved and a smattering of dumb luck. Everything in this life is transient folks, so enjoy while you have the means to do so. Get out there and drive your damn cars. If people realized how short life really was, there would be no such thing as cars that are "too nice to drive".

In April 06 I was in the garage prepping my GL to head out to the Road Atlanta event. My neighbor Doug came by and asked where I was headed. I told him, and he was amazed that I'd actually drive the car on a 2,200 mile round trip. "Aren't you afraid something will happen to it?" I told him that I take reasonable precautions but I don't let fear stop me from enjoying the fruits of 2 years labor in addition to close to 25,000 dollars in parts ect. I then asked him why he doesn't drive his  99 Mustang convertible (which he bought new) more often. The usual "I'm afaid of this, that, the other." I basically told him to get out and live. Get off the couch, put the top down and drive that thing every nice day that comes along. "Yeah, you're probably right" was his response. Well I came home from Road Atlanta the next week and found out that in my abscence Doug had been carried out of his house by the paramedics, dead from a heart attack. He was only 42!! I hope he did go for one last drive.

There will always be cars from every generation that will be sought after/restored to some extent. We're a nostalgic bunch, we humans. People will be restoring what ever cars were in their lives during thier "fun days" in much the same way people like to listen to music from that era...even disco or that early 80's new wave stuff.

For me, it's the styling of the 60's early 70's rides, as I was too young to have one when new. IROCS and Monte SS were new when I was a teen/young adult. My first choice will always be vintage muscle, but I do own an 88 Cutlass Supreme Classic which I may do up as a 442. That'll satisfy my 80's party years nostalgia though I do sometimes yearn for an 86 Camaro like the one I had. Either one will have Motley Crue blaring from the speakers!!! 

[Mike DC]

Chew on this:


There are currently factories making 1969 Camaros and all their individual components brand-new.

But I don't think there is anybody making much of anything like that brand-new for a 1999 Camaro.  Oh sure, good used stuff or NOS is easy to get for the 1999 car.  But it's not being made NEW anymore.  (And is the 1999 stuff any cheaper than the "obscene" prices for the 1969 stuff?  For some reason paying $250 for a clean used '69 body part gets people frustrated while paying $500 for a clean NOS 1999 body part from a dealership doesn't.  Figure that out.)




So, what if I argued that it was a bigger loss to wreck the 1999 Camaro than the 1969 one? 

It sounds wacky, but can you logically tell me that I'm wrong? 

[tan top]

nope not wrong  ...

[Ghoste]

Production numbers must have the 99 as the rarer car anyway don't they?

[68beepbeep]

As GENLEE1970 says, life is short. I'm almost 50 and have been into these cars since the '70s and I can tell you that a lot of guys that I knew years ago(roughly my age)that lived and loved this stuff are gone now. I don't know if people are dieing younger or what?
I have had some rare Mopar stuff in the past and learned the hard way that the more you own the more responsibility that goes along with it. It has this way of turning into a job and is no longer a pleasere. I have just one vintage Mopar now and I drive it. I do have a trailer to tow my car to those long distance shows though. I learned from people older than me and cars older than ours, that they end up displaced in time with little interest in them. So yes, take car of what you own, but, enjoy it too.~Steve~

[1969chargerrtse]

As GENLEE1970 says, life is short. I'm almost 50 and have been into these cars since the '70s and I can tell you that a lot of guys that I knew years ago(roughly my age)that lived and loved this stuff are gone now. I don't know if people are dieing younger or what?
I have had some rare Mopar stuff in the past and learned the hard way that the more you own the more responsibility that goes along with it. It has this way of turning into a job and is no longer a pleasere. I have just one vintage Mopar now and I drive it. I do have a trailer to tow my car to those long distance shows though. I learned from people older than me and cars older than ours, that they end up displaced in time with little interest in them. So yes, take car of what you own, but, enjoy it too.~Steve~

This thread took a bit of a turn, but for the better.  Well said my friend.  " So yes, take car of what you own, but, enjoy it too. " 

[Mike DC]

I just don't get the vintage/value issue.  The same person who doesn't take care of a $40,000 modern truck will bust their ass to maintain a $12,000 1966 Coronet.


Look at Hollywood and old cars.

Ya know why they don't mind bashing up vintage cars?  Because as a whole, most of them still don't even cost as much as new cars do.

People in this hobby spend half their waking lives complaining about how they "can't find any ____ anymore."  But you never see Hollywood having any trouble getting enough cars/parts to do their movies.  It's not because they've got a magic supply of them, it's because they simply never learned that musclecar prices are supposed to be frozen in 1977 for all time. 

[moparstuart]

or you could be a dumb bastard like me and still leave your old one outside

[genlee1970]

I have had some rare Mopar stuff in the past and learned the hard way that the more you own the more responsibility that goes along with it. It has this way of turning into a job and is no longer a pleasere.

There have been times I've felt that way too...like selling my other projects and just keeping the General, because I'd stress out about getting the funds or time to complete them. But I've made my peace with them. I enjoy the one that's done and when the mood strikes and the funds are available I pick at the others. The Cutlass is a turn key car so I can enjoy it while it's "in progress". I don't have high aspirations for it either so I doubt I'll ever totally tear it apart all at once. The AMX is getting the full treatment like the General so it'll be a while, especially with the economy....

And yeah, vintage/value.... I liked it better when the cars weren't worth as much. It was all done for the love of the cars. Of course the rise in value does have it's perks like a thriving aftermarket. But when I bought my Charger, nice R/T's were 12k all day long. It didn't bother me at all that I'd be upside down in the car when it was done. Of course that's not the case now I guess. The AMX will likely cost me more to do than it's worth too, but again, that's not what it's about for me.

Here's another vintage/ value thought. Some folks lavish all kinds of income on the project and skimp on maintenance of thier daily driver...and I was once one of them.   I learned long ago that the most important car you own isn't the hot classic in your garage, it's the one that gets you to work every day!!! Especially important when you have a crew waiting on you and you're driving the van with the supplies and tools.


Btw, the General, Cutlass and AMX stay in the garage when not in use. My daily driver and work van live outside. If my garage were bigger or I had a couple storage lifts they would be inside too. So nice to not have to scrape ice/snow off them. And they last longer too without UV and moisture exposure. I've never had a new car and likely never will so I try to make what I have last as long as possible. They say it's either repairs or payments...well I've never had a daily driver that required $350 plus dollars a month for sixty moths in repairs bills. The only saving grace to that statement is that the payments come at the same time every month. The reapirs come when it's least convenient

[500hp_440]

there so ugly anything to help the rust outta of sight 
but one day im gonna buy a used viper and store it for years untill im old and decreped and sell that thing as an original classic and just get burried im my charger (ill store a few so i can do that)

[1969chargerrtse]

Hey someone bought a new car cover. ( The blue Challenger )