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Barnstormin': Shrinkage

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  • Barnstormin': Shrinkage


  • #2
    Re: Barnstormin': Shrinkage

    I had a pile of standard bore, 4 bolt 350 cores. The first few I had people driving 200 miles to pay $300 for. The last one I literally could not give away. Opening bid $1, no bidders. I assumed it was due to inexpensive crate engines and aftermarket blocks. I'll be happy to see rodding get back to basics. And I do NOT mean $15,000 rat rods.

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    • #3
      Re: Barnstormin': Shrinkage

      Personally, I think the shrinkage this time is permanent. We've sold ourselves down the river and we have no way to get back. Fact is, the middle class is under attack, and as it continues to shrink there will be less & less people with the extra cash needed to screw around with cars - even "back to basics" projects. Folks will be too busy just trying to pay their bills and survive.

      I hope I'm wrong, but....

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      • #4
        Re: Barnstormin': Shrinkage

        I've been considering the "KISS" aproach (Keep It Simple, Stupid) for about the past year. Out of the 3 cars I have, I've collected enough parts to build ONE really nice hobby car/daily driver. I think this aproach might make more sense than spending a ton of money trying to build my "dream" car that I'll never finish.
        Just groovin' to my own tune.

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        • #5
          Re: Barnstormin': Shrinkage

          In my opinion, all the money floating around is what ruined the hobby and chased the little guy out (and us blue collar guys are the ones that made the hobby cool!).
          Cheap, slow, half-assed: Pick three

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          • #6
            Re: Barnstormin': Shrinkage

            I do plan on building 28-29 Ford of sorts,and it probally wont be motorvated by a small block chevy,more than likely it will be an inline 4 ,even a foreign one.
            I think Hot Rodding will get back to the basics, I use to live in Mooresville NC, and thought it had become the land of automotive excess for a few reasons,Nascar,NTI, and just the money that floats around, well look whats happening in Nascar and jobs now.
            You can find a lot of trucks and cars throughout America thats just waiting on a LS or Mod transplant.
            Think 70's C10 ,like DF's with a LS swap,just not as extreme, $1500 truck,$1500 engine,other general needs maybe an investment of $6000 total with swapping and selling some parts.
            Late 90's F150 some V-6 worktruck needing a swap ,a 5.4 out of a wreck.
            Hot Rodding will always be done as long as there is something left to Hot Rod,maybe just not to the extreme as we see it now.

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            • #7
              Re: Barnstormin': Shrinkage

              Brian: great commentary...you've just set the editorial standard for BangShift (and easily equalled anything in CJTV or FJYD).

              I'm optimistic the rebirth you suggest will occur. But I think we've collectively become a lot more than spoiled; BLINDED would be my assessment. And it's that type of peculiar blindness that not only precludes us from understanding what the future might hold but also prevents us from understanding what it is that has just happened.

              Lots of folks blame money (in this case, too much of it in the wrong hands for too long) as the cause of the current predicament facing the hobby. I'm not so sure money is the only -- or even the biggest -- issue.

              What worries me more is misplaced nostalgia and sentimentality. The original 'muscle car' era has been over for close to 40 years and yet we still drool over them. The new muscle car era produced a crop of cars that can clean the floor with the originals but many folks don't want to believe it, even when faced with the hard evidence of track tests. The era of the modular/LS/new-generation hemi motors is well established but many only lament the passing of the earlier generation V8s. Every time an old hot rodder or racer dies we seem to go into a paroxysm of regret.

              If we look wide-eyed to the future the hobby will be fine. If we focus on the past with blinkers on it is truly screwed.
              Michael from Hampton Roads

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              • #8
                Re: Barnstormin': Shrinkage

                Originally posted by milkovich
                In my opinion, all the money floating around is what ruined the hobby and chased the little guy out (and us blue collar guys are the ones that made the hobby cool!).
                I think you are bang on here. Many of the newer breed of "car guys" were in it because they thought it was "cool". You know the type. You ask them what cam they have and they say "a really big one" or "full race". They don't know what gear they run, what converter they have, etc. The guys that call a Pontiac, Olds or Buick 350 a "350 big block". They think having fun with the car is washing it & having people tell them how great it is. They have "a guy" they take the car to for simple maintenance.

                The real car guys are in it because they love the cars, new or old, and want to have some fun challenging themselves & their equipment. All of the little changes to make the car quicker are the fun of it. Some people want their car to look the best, others want theirs to handle the best, another group wants the quickest E.T., but the group that was in it to try to be cool is what drove the cost up.

                Now that people are jumping back on the "green" bandwagon, the cost of muscle cars is dropping again. The neighbors are starting to look down their noses when I fire up the old V8. The poseurs are looking at Prius' and such. Things are getting back to normal, and I am happy about it.

                Now we just need to get the economy straightened up and things should be OK for us real car guys.

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                • #9
                  Re: Barnstormin': Shrinkage

                  I dont mean to talk about trucks so much, thats just what I have come across. I was traveling through NC today from Roxboro to Greensboro and stopped at a Convenience store and there was 3 guys with a late 90's F150 extended cab work truck they had just picked up at auction for the low price of $2400. It had a 4.6 auto and was straight as an arrow. Tell me you couldnt take that truck or similar car bought at auction ,do engine or suspension upgrades and maybe with double the purchase price have something you could call your HotRod. Check and see what Wikipedia defines a Hot Rod as.
                  Local DUI autions could result in similar results,county auctions. And what about the 80 Vette on here somebody had,drop a engine in plus the 2500 purchase price and it all starts from there. Everything doesnt have to be high dollar to be a HotRod.
                  Basics, I bought junk ,my 65 Dodge,cleaned it up,did what I wanted because I thought it was cool,and 14 years later it still is in my eyes. I went with cop car wheels painted body color at the time,baby moons, took the Jr. west coast mirrors off,and went with the factory mirrors, rebuilt the engine,added chrome valve cover,and lowered the front about 2'' . Its been the same basic truck all that time . As I changed things on the truck it got attention and comments,not that I was seeking that,but they came. I did what I wanted,even Chevy guys give thumbs up while cruising.
                  I hope I not way off base in what I am trying to say,there might be shrinkage ,much needed shrinkage,but as we do what we carguys do,it'll be ok.

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