I agree with the opinion that most restomods look the same (in a lot of ways). I get bored looking at custom cars. loved them when I was younger and had a 49 Ford F-1 with Western Smoothies, Kelly Supercharger 60's, Side pipes, and all sun gages in the original dash cluster. Had to have a Ford 351 Cleavlend (Fords got to have a ford). Everybody had to have a lower cost, easier to build Chevy. Really enjoy looking at well kept or restored originals. What I really don't understand is why it's a sin to take a C2 and add a C2 update, as going from drum to disk, or adding C2 power steering. And tires. How many cars just a year or two after leaving the dealer have the exact factory type / model tire put on them? People call this restomoding. I wouldn't.

 

If I happen to have an 18th century chest of drawers with missing ***** and full of stains and burns, why not refinish it, put on some ***** of my choice, and enjoy having a nice old piece of furniture that I can actually use, plus has vastly more soul than a brand new piece from Wally World?
When it's all about the "value" then it's not worth a thing to me.

 

It is my Fast Food Friday, but in regards to Ice cream you guys can send me any favors that you don't like!

And some of the stories about how and what drove your Corvette interest have been interesting!

Let see I got a Corvette because my Father had three of them.
I got a Corvette because they are cool looking!
I got a Corvette to get girls!
I got a Corvette to have a cooler car than my neighbors!
I got a Corvette for the performance.
I got a Corvette because my dog liked to ride in it!
I got a Corvette because I enjoy working on it!
I got a Corvette because it is American made!
I got a Corvette because I found a good one!
I got a Corvette because it's a Corvette!


He what led others to picking our Marque and their particular car???? Did you win your car in a poker game? Did God tell you to get one? Etc.?

 

I respectfully disagree. Try driving these.






This one was trailered to the show. It is rare to see them at any local shows, and you can look at it to know why. Can you imagine driving at 30 mph to wherever you are going? Fine if across town, terrible if you have to go 100 miles.



This one has rear disk brakes. They are a special aftermarket brake since the stock brake wouldn't hold it on a grade. It has been modified a lot so the guy can drive it around the area.

Even then, it is limited in where he can go due to speed and such.

But you could take that black '62 above and go almost anywhere. a friend drove his '56 to the Street Machine Nationals a few years ago, about 300 miles away.

My friend who took the Model Ts from St. Louis to Indy took 3 days. It is about 5 hours normal driving in a regular car.

Now the Model T guys were like many groups, they do it because they had a strong love of these cars and because they could relate to them. It wasn't for investment, but because they loved them. As such, they overlooked the difficulties.

Anyone buying in today has very little if any connection to a Model T, so they don't have that love and bond to overlook the issues. It becomes just too much work for so little gain, and I mean gain as in pride, opportunity to go to shows, to caravan somewhere, and so on.

So it is both, but the nature of the car is preventing new blood.

If you find them at shows today, you typically find them in this form.





Now this you could. It doesn't have the Model T suspension or the transmission. It is a modern V8 (for the '70s anyway) and could cruise the highway. It is the equivalent of a resto mod for Model Ts.


Most people never use their cars to anywhere close to their full potential. The number of people who go on about how the cars will lift off the ground at 130 or the rods come out the block at anything over 5500 RPM have indicated they have never done this.

Yes, there is lift, but they don't take off like an airplane. I sold a '63 convertible to a guy who took it for a 135 mph test drive on a public highway. My '66 went 150 - 160 without all the aerodynamics and didn't take off. After limited air dam in front, I took it to 185 - 190, depending on who you believe. Obviously, that is far faster than 130.

These were mostly stock, and went well over 160 and didn't leave the ground. Notice the lack of a front air dam.

 

You know I actually don't have driving a Model T on my bucket list!!!!! I just added that!

PS and I added driving the 1967 LeMans Racer to my bucket list also! I just need to refresh on how to hot wire it or convince the Owner that I am worthy!

 

In response to TCRacingCA question....
"what led others to picking our Marque and their particular car???? Did you win your car in a poker game? Did God tell you to get one? Etc.?"

Because It's the Star Spangled All American Dream...........

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c1-a...ago-today.html

 

I like the picture of you with all of the Vintage Hooter girls!

 

I have to respectfully disagree.

I've been in the Corvette hobby for many years and I have to tell you that when I go to any Corvette meet whether it be NCRS or otherwise the owners sitting behind their cars is getting older and older with very little new young turks replacing anyone. In fact, in the last tens years or so, not only are the owners getting older, but they are in deed the very same people showing their cars that I've known for years.

So what's it likely to look like ten years from now? Maybe there will be a sudden influx of young C1 and C2 owners showing up at Corvette meets? I wouldn't bet on it.

I get the point about Model T's not being the best street car and as I said in an earlier post, I'm not making any predictions, but if the current trend continues (older Corvette owners not being replaced by a younger crowd) I can see a decline in value of Corvettes just as there was one for T's as the ownership started dying off without any interest in those cars from a younger generation.

Nothing last forever. ymmv

 

Because my parents told me not to!

 

This part I agree with you on.

I disagreed that it was solely or even mainly due to the graying of the owners. The reason was that when the Model T crowd started dying out and the popularity of them began taking their nose dive, they were still very affordable. So it wasn't price that kept younger owners from getting them, it was a few things:

1. Younger people had no connections to them, thus no desire to have one.

2. The cars were quite alien to them. If you can drive a car of today, you can jump in any 1950 up car and most likely drive away. the exception is the three on the tree manuals, which will make many younger drivers stop for awhile, but after they figure out it is still an H pattern, just on the column, they can get it. The pedal setup on a Model T is like nothing around today.



3. This one had an electric start, so imagine if it was a hand crank start.

4. Let's try checking fuel level, oil level, tires, and so on. Long video, but interesting. It includes a cold hand start with fuel priming.





Now with Corvettes, much of the lack of younger people had to do with price and insurance.

1. Corvettes used to be a problem with insurance. It was common for your insurance payment to be as high or higher than your car payment.

Heck, what am I saying? Insurance is a MAJOR problem with young people having an old Corvette.

Most collector policies will not cover anyone under 25 or less than 10 years driving experience, so this stops many. Regular insurance is often cost prohibitive and will end up not really paying for it all if they do have a loss.

So most under 25 have to get their car thrills elsewhere, and after they fall in love with a new Mustang, a slammed Toyota with all the street racing gear, a mile high 4x4 truck, or whatever, they don't bother to come back to Corvette when the insurance says they can. By then, it is far too late.


2. Younger people tend to personalize their cars, and through the late '80s and '90s, any older Corvettes being modified was frowned upon by the main core of older Corvette owners.

This is much less true in the newer Corvette owners, and if you look, you will find younger olders with C5s, C6s, and even C7s.

3. Money. For many, an older Corvette was often a full years salary or more. This is for a car that won't get driven every day, takes up space in the garage, usually requires they have another vehicle for everyday driving, and may cost as much as their house. For many younger people, especially if they are just married and starting a family, this is just outside their budgets complete.

4. The graying of the Corvette hobby. This itself didn't help. How many 25 yo guys or take want to hang around a bunch of 60 yo guys?

5. The tendency to restore and abandon the sports car aspects - racing, autocrossing, rallying, and so on. Again, young versus old mentality, young guys want to go fast and do things that are fast or at least appear to be fast. And the import guys were. Old Corvette guys weren't.



So I agree that odds are, the old Corvette hobby will gray itself nearly to death, and the widespread appeal of today will diminish greatly, but those old cars won't end up being tucked away doing nothing. Kids will discover them, and turn them into street rods and such, like they are, as restomods.

Essentially, today's restomod Corvette is the T Bucket hot rod of 30 years ago and newer.

The high dollar restomods are occurring now in the straight axle and midyears. The former late models (sharks, C3s, Stingrays, etc.) are being heavily modded on a lower budget generally with stock frames but improved suspensions, better engines, changed bodywork, and changed interiors. go visit the C3 section of here and you will see many of these.

But still, the number of stock Corvettes and the number of restored Corvettes is still high, and likely to stay high. They may not be NCRS or Bloomington restored, but they will be essentially stock vehicles maintained in a stock configuration. It may have a 327 or 350 in place of the original, but dressed out to look stock with Corvette valve covers, air cleaner, and so on. They all won't receive an LSx engine. They all won't receive a TPI system.





The stock configuration Model T has almost disappeared, while the restomod (SBC, SB Ford, etc. with a 4 speed, 5 speed, or automatic transmission) Model Ts do thrive, mainly due to driveability.

That won't happen with Corvette, which is quite driveable in stock form.

But the restoration groups like NCRS and Bloomington, they will continue to dwindle. It is obvious now. When i went to Bloomington from 1977 to 1996, it was HUGE. It took all day to see it all.

In 2005, it probably didn't take as much space as one field at the old Bloomington fairgrounds. In 2008, it was even smaller.

The cars won't disappear, but I seriously doubt we see lots of C1 and C2 young restorers.

 

My Grandad told me that (because of the gravity feed fuel tank) he had to occasionally turn around and BACK up a hill! That is "less likely" with my Corvette

 

Haven't looked at the video yet, but my understanding is if you can drive a '50s through '70s car with three speed stick on the floor, a Model A will hold no serious mysteries. It has the same control layout as a more modern vehicle.

OTOH you shift a Model T with foot pedals!

 

Thus inclusion on my bucket list!

I have a bunch of good ones to date done on my bucket list!
Some of the more notable ones were:

1967 Lola T-70
1966 Ford GT-40
1961 Ferrari SWB Berlinetta (The Aluminum Bodied car)
1965 Ford Shelby Cobra 427 S/C
1957 BMW 507
1971 Lamborghini Miura SV
1920's Rolls Royce (can't remember the model)
1974 Pantera GTS
1973 Porsche Carrera RS
A Navy Seal Chenoworth Buggy!
and quite a number of others (mostly Muscle cars and Corvettes).

Yes I should put a Model T on the list!

PS as a Duty Driver for the Commanding Officer back while in the Military, I drove a truck with 3 on the tree! So I guess I am qualified!