Hey guys, how would you like to be able to buy a brand new 428 with dual quads for $750.00?
I thought so, me too !

Here's an add from the June '68 issue of "Car Craft" for Vic Hubbard Speed and Marine.
If only I had the money (and foresight) I have now back then.

 

Pretty neat ad. Too bad people couldn't know how valuable old cars/car parts would be.

Now everyone thinks anything old is valuable.

 

isn't that the truth... Except for old people, we seem to discard them at a whim.

 

That's part of the issue with this hobby.. Barrett-Jackson, Mecum, R & M and others sell old iron for super-high prices and has, in a way, inflated the real and perceived cost of old vehicles. It's good that they are bring attention to older vehicles and what they can be and manufacturers are stepping up with new repro parts (like Dynacorn's Mustang shells) - That's a definite plus.

On the other hand, every swingin' d1ck who owns an old rusted out Mustang, Fairlane, or Torino wants Barrett-Jackson prices for their vehicle that need quarters, pans, and frame rails. One of the reasons I like Bumps and Dents is that the repro parts are mostly reasonable and they're still arriving in the salvage yards ripe for the pickins for those hard-to-find parts that aren't reproduced or are really, really expensive (like grill shells).

 

Agree'd. That's exactly why I bought this truck instead of one of the couple 67 Mustangs I was looking at. Simple affordable.

When I said that people think anything old is valuable, I was going much further than cars. Been in an antique mall lately? lol People are so overpriced on EVERYTHING, simply because its old.

 

To the original post...keep in mind $750 in 68 would be roughly $5k today. How many of us today have 5k to drop in an engine??? Given, that particular engine would have been well worth the investment...but I still think my 401k will have a better return on a 5k investment over 45 years.

 

Which I had a forehead and a Honey!, oh that goes in another forum dangit!

 

Let's not overlook pop culture's role in this too...shows like Antiques Roadshow, Pawn Stars, American Pickers, etc... (love Pawn and Pickers, by the way)

Before my dad died, we used to talk about cars he had when he was younger and what they would be worth now if he still had them. He, like you Mike, said "If I had only known..." but then he would add "I still would have had to get rid of them. Couldn't keep everything."

Once I did ask him this: "If you knew then what you know now, what would you have bought back in the day?"

His answer?




"A warehouse."

 

Agreed, inflation sucks. That's why I said I wish I had the money I have now back then.....talk about a spending spree!

 

No, you want the thread that everybody on this forum has been ignoring for two years.

 

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..........

 

Shoot, you want to talk about "If I only had the foresight and the money..." My dad talks about how there used to be a big military surplus yard on Alameda street in south L.A. back in the late 40's. They were selling hundreds of new-in-crate Packard Merlin V-12 aircraft engines that were used in P-51 Mustangs for a low price (I can't remember what he said the price was). They were mostly snapped up by boat racers. I wonder what a new-in-crate Merlin would be worth today?

 

So, if you got the money now, and you now have foresight now, and your theory says "buy now" for what "will be good in 40 years", how many 2013 vehicles and parts are you stocking up on right now?

I didn't think so…..

 

Well, at the moment I'm contemplating getting a F355...

 

Lets see, seeing as I won't be around in 40 years, it would seem a little pointless.
Hell, I'll be happy if I'm still around in 20 years.