If "Hot Rodding" and restoration survives, you will be able to build complete vehicles from a catalog. You can pretty much do it with a '56 F-100 now.

 

'

and a 57 Chevy... and a 32 Ford...

 

47 to 53 GMC too.

 

Actually, Ive got my eye on a 84 VW Rabbit diesel to resto

just kidding...

 

I talked to a guy yesterday that is still driving one of those, said it had over half a million miles on it

 

Good point every one, ill just keep on cranken them engines till they purr!

Also, ill always be able to "upgrade" my truck as i get older and more financially able. There are things i wanna do, but just dont have the money to do right now dealing with college loans and books (A.K.A. Girls), so i just clean it up the best i can, and say another time. lol.

So really my truck will never be finished. Ha in 10 years ill be redoing something i did earlier, and think WTF was i thinking!

 

You are catching on, and the expensive girls never go away. Also come by in about 40 years. I have an 01 F150 sitting in the garage with 59,000 miles on it, and 97 Thunderbird 1 owner with 80,000 both in really good condition.

 

Hi billingslm1, First off its great to see a young kid who likes old trucks... I'm 22 and own an 1948 F1... At one time I was thinkin the same thing as you.. Would I ever find myself a old truck to redo.. Well After all the time spent driving around and playing on E8ay.. I came to find out there are still a ton of them out there.. Heck I know just around where I live theres about 6 or 7 Ford F1's 48-52.. The big thing is getting the owners to sell them.. I got lucky when I found my 48 with the inline 6 and trans.. She's going to need a lot of work but I'm still young and can drop a few bucks here and there when I have it.. But College comes first.. And soo do the girls .... Buy the time we get in are 30's you may never know how many old trucks you will have by then.. But there still out there.. I do think theres more old trucks n cars out west..... Just enjoy your youth man.. Drink some beer n hangout with the ladies ( I know I am) If you ever want to talk old trucks send me an email anytime n I'd bee more then happy to talk....
-Cody

 

This is a very interesting predicament... I am in my early 30s and always enjoyed wrenching on what I consider classic vehicles. (40s to 60s vintage) When I was in high school, it was not unreasonable for me to find a 60s jalopy for about $1500, putt around and mess with it for a year and flip it to find something more interesting. I have to admit that I never made any money on it. It was just the fun of it all.

Now I can't find anything for that price anymore. I have to pay 3 to 4 times more for the same stuff that I used to get. Yes, given it was 15 years ago, but the cost of living did not jump 3 to 4 times since then in my opinion.

I think what happened was the late 90s and the early 2000s boom jacked up the cost of the old beaters. Places like Jason Barrett pretty much killed the enthusiast community. (Actually the average-joe enthusiast community like myself...) Given that, I would imagine it would be harder and harder to pick up one of these in the future. But don't frat... The definition of classic is rapidly changing. I see people drooling over the late 70s stuff, which I would consider crap. So in the end, you will have something to tinker with no matter what.

 

It's all relative honestly. I'm 29 now, but throw an old motor with a carb in front of me and I'm dumbfounded. Hook me up to a standalone EMS system with sensors recording everything and anything and I'll pull horsepower some guys only dream of in motors that are 4 times the displacement.

I also work with DC control systems for a living. You give me the native HZ (frequency) of a stepper motor and I'll build you a board with a pot that will do anything you want. Ask me to set a jet... pfft... you got a better chance at watching me fly w/o wings. I actually built my own standalone EMS system from a kit in my avenger, cost me under $300 bucks and I had total control of everything that went on in that motor and transmission.

Some people take offense to it, but the hot rodders of yesterday are no different to the kids with the imports and what not today. Hot rodders were always about the bang for the buck and going fast... how is that so different from the kid who takes a honda civic, rips out the carb'd d15 motor and drops in the b18 from an integra gsr into it to put the power to weight ratio way higher?

I wish I had the money and time to complete my truck in a few months, but sadly it'll probably take me a few years to get it like I want it, but it may very well be what you'll come to expect 10-15 years down the road when these kids want bigger projects then just swapping the motor in their daily drivers. There may also come a time that at your rod run you'll find nissan's and toyota's restored and customized thrown into the mix. It sounds blasphemous right now, but I'm fairly certain that's where things will end up in the future.

 

I can agree with hxgaser. I've been buying projects now, instead of "one at a time" due to the ever-present going-green mantra being pushed on everyone, which translates into anything old will be banished. Sadly though, as I've known these projects to be $500 or so beaters with a few fix ups and driving again types, these days that same beater is $1500. The rotted out shell is going for $500, and that is frustrating, but it is what I can afford, and so the shells are what I get, and the rest of the parts are gathered over time. As to the future... I don't think there will be many vehicles from now to be restored, as there will likely be some sort of massive clean up bill passed, and anything not running will get scrapped. Plus anything now with plastic will be cracked beyond repair 40 or 50 years from now. My '87 Tbird dash as an example, lol.

I should add, that it's the cars and trucks we all see as classics today, that will likely be re-done again 30 to 40 years from now. Which is why I've been saying we should get all of the details recorded accurately, since everyone who grew up with these and know the real deal, will be long gone 50 years from now. The engine colors for each model as an example.

 

Times are changing, like everyone is sayin, lets just enjoy now. worry about later...later.

 

I bought my 31 Vicky as a complete car, from the original owner, for $600 in 1970. The bare body shell now is 10K+ I have less than 5K in a 56 cab, hood, doors, fenders, bed, running boards and grill. It's all pretty much relevant to the times. With all the reproduction of steel cars and aftermarket chassis available now all you will need in the future is a certificate of origin and you're in business. 67 Mustang, 68 Camaro (ugh) just about anything you can think of. Let me preach a little bit here too, "support SEMA in any way you can!!". They are the ONLY ones with the connections and the money to save our hobby/sport.