Anyone else like old classic cars?

[Silence Dogood]

For a while now I've needed a new area of interest and something to take up my attention.  I've gotten interested in old cars and am really enjoying learning more about it all. 

For many years I'd always stop and stare when I'd see an old car. I would rarely know the make or model, but I just love the old curvy cars with fins, huge chrome bumpers, etc.  What kind of car it is wouldn't matter that much, just so long as it was old and still clean and taken care of.   

In learning a bit more, I've realized I like old American cars more than European ones.  Old Corvettes, Studebakers, Thunderbirds, etc. all really appeal to me. 

Yesterday I went to a classic car museum and really enjoyed it.  There were many more European cars on display, but tucked in the corner were a few old American classics.  In a couple weeks there is a classic car show that I'm going to attend. It's fun learning something new, and it's such a deep well that it could take up many years before really fully exploring it. 

I'm not mechanically-inclined so I doubt I'll ever own one, but I just love to look at them.

Here are some pics I snapped yesterday that turned out pretty well. 

[teh]

Those are cool photos. Studebaker and Chevrolet always had some classic designs and to think I could have bought a used 57 Chevy in 1973 for $200. Vintage pickups from the 40s through the mid 60s along with the old Jeep Willys from the same time frame have always caught my attention too.

If you ever get a chance to watch the movie "Tucker:The Man and His Dream" with Jeff Bridges and his father Lloyd Bridges, give it a look. 

[B0WIE]

I feel a special connection to classic cars. It's bitter-sweet because I love them but I need to stay away from them. I learned about finishing (paint), fabrication, and repair working at a shop that specialized in classic cars. These skills carried over and helped me start building audio gear, repairing guitars, etc and I can still fix my own cars. While I really like classic cars, one entry-level collector costs as much as a high-end guitar collection and... well... I think we can guess which direction I walked. Plus, the level of time they take, it can really consume you.

I did own a 71 Camaro. I love that Italian-inspired design. Spent a couple hundred hours getting everything perfect. Then, it was stolen. But, I used the insurance money to invest in my business, which changed my life. It looked like this;

[Gill]

I feel a special connection to classic cars. It's bitter-sweet because I love them but I need to stay away from them. I learned about finishing (paint), fabrication, and repair working at a shop that specialized in classic cars. These skills carried over and helped me start building audio gear, repairing guitars, etc and I can still fix my own cars. While I really like classic cars, one entry-level collector costs as much as a high-end guitar collection and... well... I think we can guess which direction I walked. Plus, the level of time they take, it can really consume you.

I did own a 71 Camaro. I love that Italian-inspired design. Spent a couple hundred hours getting everything perfect. Then, it was stolen. But, I used the insurance money to invest in my business, which changed my life. It looked like this;

What a beautiful Camero,the loss of that car must have hit you hard,especially after all the time and money you put into getting it to that standard.

I was an early automobile buff from an early age,my particular favourites were old Jaguars,I've renovated a couple during my lifetime,a 52' XK 120,and a 63' ( I think,it was along time ago) XK 150,completely rebuilt from the chassis up, engines stripped down and rebuilt by myself,took me a couple of years for each,but it was fun,they didn't belong to me,as I did the rebuild for a client in both cases,these old sports cars were built ( like your Camero) for straight line speed,and these days,look like transport from a bygone age,modern vehicles to me lack any imagination in body design,they all look the same to me.

[Silence Dogood]

Those are cool photos. Studebaker and Chevrolet always had some classic designs and to think I could have bought a used 57 Chevy in 1973 for $200. Vintage pickups from the 40s through the mid 60s along with the old Jeep Willys from the same time frame have always caught my attention too.

If you ever get a chance to watch the movie "Tucker:The Man and His Dream" with Jeff Bridges and his father Lloyd Bridges, give it a look.

Thanks for the props on my photos.  They were taken on my iPhone and edited with Snapseed.  It's fun trying to get phone pics to look like "real" photography.  A lot can be done with the editing apps.  And thanks for the film recommendation as well.  I remember this movie but I never saw it back in the day.  I've placed it in the queue now. 

I was in high school in the late 80s/early 90s and old cars from the 50s/60s were still pretty cheap and easy to get, at least the ones that needed work.  They were great for the mechanically-inclined kids who took auto shop class, but I never grew up working on cars and had no idea where to start.  Still don't, really, but I do love old cars. 

Gill points out that newer car designs lack imagination, and I agree.  When I look at the brilliant and original designs of yesteryear, and compare them with the boring cars of today, it kind of makes me shake my head.  I've wondered for a long time why some car makers today don't take some of these older designs and revamp for modern times. Imagine something that looks like a '57 Chevy on the outside, but underneath was a modern car.  I would buy one, but maybe I'm in the minority?  I drove a Chevy HHR for a number of years, and the main thing that appealed to me what that it sort of looked like an old car. 

Bowie, that '71 Camaro looks great. I drove a '94 for 14 years till it basically wore out.  It was a great car. 

[Queequeg]

In 2011 Sally & I went to the International Jazz Festival in Havana, Cuba.
I pieced together some still shots with some video clips that I shot while we were there.
The funny looking car at 1:03 is a "Lada", built in the Soviet Union.
One afternoon we took a cab back to our hotel in a '55 Belair and as we rounded a corner at speed, the door beside me flew open and I narrowly escaped flying out of the vehicle. The latch, simply no longer functional.
You might recognize me at 1:20 in the tricked out yellow tourist taxi. The driver insisted that I sit in it and he took my picture, but I never rode in it.
That's Sally at 3:00.
The backing track is from the soundtrack to the 1999 documentary, The Buena Vista Social Club.

[B0WIE]

What a beautiful Camero,the loss of that car must have hit you hard,especially after all the time and money you put into getting it to that standard.

I was an early automobile buff from an early age,my particular favourites were old Jaguars,I've renovated a couple during my lifetime,a 52' XK 120,and a 63' ( I think,it was along time ago) XK 150,completely rebuilt from the chassis up, engines stripped down and rebuilt by myself,took me a couple of years for each,but it was fun,they didn't belong to me,as I did the rebuild for a client in both cases,these old sports cars were built ( like your Camero) for straight line speed,and these days,look like transport from a bygone age,modern vehicles to me lack any imagination in body design,they all look the same to me.

Yea, it taught me a lot a big lesson about bonding with material possessions. All those hours spent seemed ok because this was mine, it was part of my identity, and I thought I'd always have it.

 I do miss the way everyone gives you a thumbs up when you drive a car like that. The way it growls every time it gets a sip of fuel. I put a tuned exhaust on my current car because I wanted to get a little of that vibe back. But, you're right. Modern cars have no creativity and I hate the idea of getting a new car because they are so boring and cost so much. Mine is 13y/o and I'm absolutely dreading having to buy a new one.

In 2011 Sally & I went to the International Jazz Festival in Havana, Cuba.

Wow, I had no idea Cuba was like that now. Looks like a great trip.

[StringPicker6]

Unfortunately, the winter road salt and humid summers here on the east coast destroy a lot of the old classic cars, so we don't have as many as in the more arid states. I couldn't believe how many cool classic cars I saw out in Los Angeles on a trip there once!

[247hoopsfan]

My first car was a 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air.  It was a 4 door hard top, no pillars in the doors so when you rolled down the front and rear windows it was all open.  Bought it when I was 16 in 1971, split the cost of $150 with my older brother. We drove it for a couple years, then sold it for $400.  Thought we were rich.
A few years later I bought a 1968 Malibu 2 door coupe for $900. Kept that car for quite a few years, sold it in 1983 for $1600. That's when I started driving Mercedes.  I have owned 7 of them, still have 3. One is becoming collectible, a 1990 300CE 2 door coupe.

[Rockysdad]

Well, I restored quite a few cars that went to Barrett- Jackson Collector car Auctions.

Several tri-5 Chevys, Mustangs as well as  a number of various Shelby's Camaro's, Plymouth Roadrunners, some Chevelle's, the list is long.  They were all high dollar sales which went to the two brothers I worked for.

Every car was stripped down to nothing ( not a screw, bolt, or bit of wiring left untouched, if they had frames, they were lifted off. Went through every detail of every car, mechanicals, electrical, cosmetic.

It was quite an enjoyable career, but, I really preferred rebuilding old British sport cars back when I still lived in Ontario, Canada. Old Healey's, MG's and Triumph TR-250's Tr-5's and 6's

[247hoopsfan]

Well, I restored quite a few cars that went to Barrett- Jackson Collector car Auctions.

Several tri-5 Chevys, Mustangs as well as  a number of various Shelby's Camaro's, Plymouth Roadrunners, some Chevelle's, the list is long.  They were all high dollar sales which went to the two brothers I worked for.

Every car was stripped down to nothing ( not a screw, bolt, or bit of wiring left untouched, if they had frames, they were lifted off. Went through every detail of every car, mechanicals, electrical, cosmetic.

It was quite an enjoyable career, but, I really preferred rebuilding old British sport cars back when I still lived in Ontario, Canada. Old Healey's, MG's and Triumph TR-250's Tr-5's and 6's

Rocky, that's quite a list of some of the best of the muscle cars. I almost bought a 69 SS396 with a 4speed when I was 23.  That clutch was a beast.  Had a friend in high school with a red 66 MGB convertible. Fun little car, but always working on it.  Loved the Triumph TR6 too.

[Silence Dogood]

Those are cool photos. Studebaker and Chevrolet always had some classic designs and to think I could have bought a used 57 Chevy in 1973 for $200. Vintage pickups from the 40s through the mid 60s along with the old Jeep Willys from the same time frame have always caught my attention too.

If you ever get a chance to watch the movie "Tucker:The Man and His Dream" with Jeff Bridges and his father Lloyd Bridges, give it a look.

Based on your recommendation, I tracked down this film and watched it.  I really enjoyed the visuals of the movie: the peek back into the world of the 1940s and how the world must've looked back then. 

To me, a kid born in the 70s, the 40s and 50s have always seemed like a sort of magical and mysterious world of optimism and possibility for America.  There was the horror of WWII followed by the Cold War and nuclear scare, but when I watch the movies and listen to the music of that time, there seemed to be a genuine optimism woven into the social fabric.  The earliest rock and roll music was pretty jolly as well: all about cars, dances, falling in love, and even getting one's heart broken.  I know some would look back and scoff at such sentiment, calling it fake, bubble-gum, etc, but I like it. 

I like how people wore nicer clothes, combed their hair and were clean-shaven, had more manners than now, etc.  Of course it wasn't perfect, and many people today (as they have been trained to do) will rush to speak of the social injustice of the times, etc, etc.  Of course, some of that has validity: but some really valuable things have been lost along the way. 

When I see old footage from everyday life back in the 40s/50s and compare it to now it's quite sad.  When I go do my grocery shopping on any given day, it's not uncommon to see 1/3 of the shoppers in bed clothes, or half naked, "vaping" and gazing into a smartphone: everyone living in his or her own movie via social media.  In comparison to the older days, we live in a much uglier time in almost every way.   

About the film itself...

I thought the movie itself was a little oddly paced and even a little boring, like it never fully took off.  I'm still glad I watched it because it's a genuine piece of automotive history that I was ignorant of.  I kept wondering how they got all those Tucker cars for the movie since only 50 were ever made.  I'm guessing someone had to build these, which makes it quite a feat for a movie made before CGI and all the fake stuff used today.  Maybe I'll do some research on that. 

My father-in-law, who is a car nut, remembers seeing some of these on the road back in day.  And again, seeing how few were produced, that's pretty cool in itself. 

There is a classic car show coming up in one of the nearby towns that I'm thinking of attending.  If I do I'll try and get some more photos.  I'm enjoying learning more about all this stuff.  If there are any more movies or documentaries on this topic you you know of, please chime in with some recommendations. 

[DaveyO]

My first car was a 1965 Ford Mustang
I was nine years old
And didn't have the money to fix it when it broke down, which it did all the time
I wish I had that now of course
And I still pine after old Mustangs

[StringPicker6]

My first car was a 1965 Ford Mustang
I was nine years old
And didn't have the money to fix it when it broke down, which it did all the time
I wish I had that now of course
And I still pine after old Mustangs

Nine years old??

[Pilgrim]

My wife was gifted her great Uncle's '65 Mustang.  He bought it new in Sept.'64.

[Rockysdad]

Got my drivers license in a '65 Mustang like the pic only it had a black top.