JThw8 wrote:
At the ripe old age of 40 I'm the "young kid" in our local studebaker club. Next youngest is our president who is in his late 50s. Most of these guys are in their 70s and 80s and when they go their knowledge and experience goes with them.
I try to take the opportunity to learn what I can from them and in turn they are thrilled to see new generations take an interest in "their" cars.
So if you are younger and do have an interest in the older makes then I strongly suggest finding the local clubs and getting involved. Alot of these guys aren't internet savvy so we'll never get to chat with them in places like this, but a wealth of knowledge leaves us a bit more every day and its a shame.
1.) Buy audio recorder (even an old cassette deck with decent mics will work)
2.) Buy keg of beer.
3.) Invite all those old guys to a club function, start them talking Studes, and record everything they say.
Knowledge & experience partially saved for the future.
I don't think people will ever lose interest in old cars enough that they get scrapped (at least the ones that are worth a lot of money right now). I do think some of the really expensive ones might get cheaper, but probably not a huge difference. I think it will mostly be the same as now, with people that like old cars buying and driving old cars, and people who like new ones buying brand new ones. The one difference somewhere in the mid to late 80s cars the idea of restoration ends for all but the most expesnive and valuable cars. There are too many complicated pieces and electronics for anything newer than that to be restored like a 70s or older car can be.
I disagree, although it is a common opinion. My 1966 Cadillac has a fiendlishly complex HVAC system that involves vacuum lines running everywhere. There are some oddball manifolds in there that would be very difficult to duplicate. Heck, the whole car tries to do everything a modern car does, but it's like a steampunk version of valves and hoses instead of wires. Even the door locks are vacuum-powered.
Meanwhile, the ability to duplicate electronics is improving all the time. Sure, the actual chips used might be hard to find, but the function could be duplicated.
Those HVAC manifolds could be machined or fabricated. The electronics in a newer car could be manufactured or built. Different skill set, but that doesn't make it impossible.
My '70 Lincoln is the same way. ^
The climate control system is just goofy. One of the relays can't be gotten anymore and I had to replace it with a 30 amp Bosch type relay. It works but it sure doesn't look stock.
Vac door locks are dimple enough but a royal pain when they don't work (like three of mine).
If the vac manifolds break I'll be off to the parts store to buy hose barbs and teflon tape, it'll look ugly but will work.
Shawn
You should see one of the ones on the Cadillac. It's a big switching station. I do not want to know what's going on inside.
As a 20-something-er... i have absolutely zero interest in any car made before the 1960s, and some days, even the 60s have a hard time captivating me.
I think the oldest cars that i have any interest in would be Datsuns. The Fairlady 2000.
In reply to 93celicaGT2:
Well as a counter-point I love cars made in the 60s and before. So while the old cars might lose some interest there will be plenty of people who still love them.
As a 21 year old I have a great interest for old cars. I would love a car from the 40s or 50s, I almost bought a 46 Cadillac once (I would have if it fit in my garage) and the guy selling it was surprised someone as young as me was interested in it.
I love prewar cars as well, some more than others.
as a 16 year old, I have an appreciation for anything unique and fast, all the way back to pre-war GP racers (something along the lines of an old Auto Union), and especially Duesenbergs and old Bugattis (I have a real soft spot for the Type 57 Atlantic) and of course '30s American cars (who wouldn't say yes to getting to drive a deuce coupe for a day or two), 50's European and British sports cars and some American cars from that era, including the old 'Vettes, all the usual '60s classics (muscle cars, British and European sports, touring, and sports prototype cars), a bunch of '70s foreign sports and touring cars, not a whole awful lot from the '80s-present. there are exceptions, of course, and the really oddball cars (Citroen DS, Gremlin, Starlet, Pinto, weird cars like that), and of course pre-and post-war GP/F1 cars, especially ones from the very early wing-era back ('70 and earlier, aka cars like the Lotus 49C and Matra MS51 and other cars like that), even moreso the pre-wing cars. and junior formula cars from that era, from F2 all the way down to Formula Vee
that's just me, maybe I'm weird for my generation, I dunno
Slyp_Dawg wrote:
as a 16 year old, I have an appreciation for anything unique and fast, all the way back to pre-war GP racers (something along the lines of an old Auto Union), and especially Duesenbergs and old Bugattis (I have a real soft spot for the Type 57 Atlantic) and of course '30s American cars (who wouldn't say yes to getting to drive a deuce coupe for a day or two), 50's European and British sports cars and some American cars from that era, including the old 'Vettes, all the usual '60s classics (muscle cars, British and European sports, touring, and sports prototype cars), a bunch of '70s foreign sports and touring cars, not a whole awful lot from the '80s-present. there are exceptions, of course, and the really oddball cars (Citroen DS, Gremlin, Starlet, Pinto, weird cars like that), and of course pre-and post-war GP/F1 cars, especially ones from the very early wing-era back ('70 and earlier, aka cars like the Lotus 49C and Matra MS51 and other cars like that), even moreso the pre-wing cars. and junior formula cars from that era, from F2 all the way down to Formula Vee
that's just me, maybe I'm weird for my generation, I dunno
You, sir...are not "weird". You are a man, rising above children. (Where's the "thumbs up" icon?) If I were in any way superstitious about an "afterlife", I'd call you an "old soul". 
Joe Gearin wrote:
The older I get, the more I'm drawn to non-disposable things.
Truth.
EDIT - and if you're anything like me, one of these - http://www.amazon.com/Parker-22R-Butterfly-Safety-Razor/dp/B0017QSZY4 - looks like a really good idea.
Keith wrote:
Dr. Hess wrote:
I'm pretty sure that at 49, I'm youngest in our British car club. We are concerned about that.
I'm pretty sure 49 would make you the youngest person in our local Miata club as well. That particular car doesn't seem to be dying out quite yet.
Maybe it's not that the cars aren't appealing to younger owners, but the club. None of my British stuff has been to a club meeting since Basil went to the Ottawa Valley Land Rover Birthday Party in 2000. At the time, I was 30 and I was not the youngest owner there.
When does the club meet? If it is 7 am on Saturday, that's the first problem.
