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!