Originally Posted by runner140*

I'm not 50....many years older. However, I'm not fat I'm a distance runner for over 50 years. Had several Vettes and muscle cars before they were called that.(1949 Ford my first car) I think its how you feel and think about yourself. I will always have a Vette.

Originally Posted by The Chev

It would seem that an old guy that has been saving his social security pennies finally saved up enough to get a 15 year old sports car just a few short years before his lifespan ended. He is mad at all these people that could afford it when they could still crawl around under the car to modify it, because he failed at life so badly that it took him nearly 80 years to save up less than $20K.

He decided that he wanted to help his cause along and make broad sweeping generalizations about people that he does not know.

Let's face it, this is the generation living off of; pensions, social security, medicare, veteran's benefits, and is constantly working to destroy things like; pensions, the middle class, social security, veteran's benefits and medicare.

And we should respect him, why?

Originally Posted by Rabbitman

I'm 68, overweight, have been for 25 years, kids are gone,very little connection with grandkids, know it ain't a good idea to get another motorcycle. Already went through the Harley phase years ago.
When us late 60's guys were kids the Corvette was the ultimate high performance car, no muscle cars for another 10 years and the Corvette was just the car we all wanted even when we were 10 year olds in the 50's.
We got our drivers liscense in the middle 60's, [most of us} and we were the ones buying the 55-57 Chevys and finding out how easy it was to change the engines and build them up with the parts we wanted either from the speed shop, junk yard or at that time fairly reasonable from the dealership. $25 for a factory Corvette solid lifter cam in 1966 for example.
We learned from eachother and through magazines what to get and what worked and what didn't and the Chevrolets were by far the most interchangeable of the rest. That's why the tri-5s are so sought after today but the best part of it all was we learned how to do it ourself.
Of course the majority of the things we all wanted were already on a Corvette but for most of us we might as well went out to Seattle to look at a Boeing 707 as go to a dealership to look at a Corvette or any new car or even a good used 60's car for less than a thousand dollars.
I don't think there would be less than 95% of us that it we could have any car then we wanted back then it would have been a Corvette. We considered ourselves lucky if we could just get some parts from them here and there if nothing less to brag that we had a Vette cam, heads or whatever.
The car itself was just out of the question even a 57 Vette in 1967 was pretty high and a 4 speed transmission at that time put you in an insurance situation out of our range but we still liked them.
So the years go by, you go in the service, brag about your tri-5 Chevy and add some lies like everybody else did but the Vette is still in all our minds, it was like Marilyn Monroe or something way beyond anyone of our grasp.
So we get out of the service expecting to go back to the hot rod world we left and half the friends are gone or married and the next thing you know we are too. Then for another 35-40 years it's the family thing with a nice truck or something now and then {Chevy} preferably, still wanting to work on them if nothing other than an exhaust system for at least the sound, maby some wheels and tires. By the way had a few big Buicks too Park Ave.'s and such.
Then life goes on, parents die, kids grow up and move away, grandkids are too far away to communicate with but you still just keep going to work and one day one of us gets a nice used C-4 for a toy. We are driving Hondas now or the equivilent for the good car but our buddies C-4 gets us all talking about this stuff again and suddenly it's 1966 again and we realize these things are actualy within our reach now. Then the boss gets a nice C-6 {still out of our range) but the C-5 isn't and I get interested and realize I can actualy get one of these now.
By now the Vettes have changed so much like everything else but to us old Chevy lovers it's still the ultimate car, at least the image and the sound, That's why they sell Harley's, we know because we had them to for the same reason. Sure there are faster cars out there but to us it brings back our memories from the past along with a feeling that his slinky looking thing sitting in the driveway makes us feel we finally graduated or something similar and we feel good and young again.
Think about the movie American Graffiti, we can all relate to that period and the things we did then. Everybody wanted to be (John Milner) and sometimes we think we were. But in reality most of us were (Toad), I know I was and still am but when I just think about my Vette or clean it or tinker with it in some way I think about John and those days and I'm young again for a little while. By the way a Corvette is what John would have eventualy been driving one the street if the story lasted longer don't you think? God knows what kind of engine he'd put in it though.LOL.
I guess by the time you get this far reading this you will probably be ready to fall asleep from the boredom but we can't just answer "What's The Attraction" in just 3 or four words like the text world is today.
Some of us have had Vettes for a long time, I just got my C-5 this Summer {first one} and a convertible yet.
I've had a lot of vehicles over the years since about 1964 but nothing ever made me feel like this thing does, you don't have to go fast in it to feel good, burn the tires off or rattle the windows or whatever, you're already there.
And I guess most of all when I look in the mirror I see John looking back instead of Toad for a little while. At least I found out this last couple months That's what the attraction is to me.
I bet a lot of the other Vette guys are laughing at this but I know the other old, fat,bald or whatever form of decay has befallen the other old Dinosaurs like myself aren't.
But that goes away with a twist of the key, or the push of a button now.
I guess it's about bed time now, time to pop a few Prozacks, put on a fresh diaper for the night, grab my walker and try to find the bedroom. No I think I'm just go out in the garage one more time and sit in the Vette tonight for a while and look in the mirror, John always cheers me up!
Moral to the story is "There is a little John Milner in all of us, even in a Toad but to find him I needed a Vette to get back there."

Originally Posted by Rabbitman

I'd also love to have a 49 Ford now.

Originally Posted by Bob Hubbard

It's more than obvious your useless dribble is aimed a me,and begs for a response.

First off, I have never had to save up for anything, and that includes my Corvette.
My very first car when I graduated from high school in 1956, was a 57 Ford convertible, and I paid cash for it by starting work at the age of 13.
I knew at that age I wanted a new car after leaving high school, and started saving for it.

It was not a question of having too, but wanting to.
Could have asked my dad for the money, but wanted to do it on my own.
I don't think many 16 year old guys can say that.
I have always maintained financial stability, and never asked the government for anything.
I make a healthy living with my property management business, and ss is just frosting on the cake.

I didn't want a vette when I was younger, I was to busy driving luxury vehicles, and the sports car bug did not bite me at that point in my life.
As for "crawling under" vehicles to do work on them, I still do.
My recent surgery put a slight damper on that, but not for long.

If my family history is any indication of longevity of life, I may well live beyond one hundred.
None in my family died before their late nineties, and my grandfather live to be one hundred and six.

I am confident I'LL be around for many years to come, and more than likely behind the wheel of my Corvette,

So now who is it that is talking **** about people they don't even know?

If the shoe fits, wear it.

Bob.

Originally Posted by Bob Hubbard

It's more than obvious your useless dribble is aimed a me,and begs for a response.

First off, I have never had to saveup for anything, and that includes my Corvette.




My very first car when I graduated from high school in 1956, was a 57 Ford convertible, and I paid cash for it by starting work at the age of 13.
I knew at that age I wanted a new car after leaving high school, and started savingfor it.


Bob.

Originally Posted by jd911

Does this forum hold these self admiration meetings often?

Originally Posted by jd911

Does this forum hold these self admiration meetings often?

Originally Posted by Murray Anderson

I tried to look the other way regarding this mess of a thread but the irony was too much to ignore.

Bob.... it's a shame your ignorance is beyond your comprehension. I'd hope if you came across at a gas station what you saw in a couple of pictures, you'd keep your thoughts to yourself. I know I do when I see an eighty something person try to climb out of the drivers side of a sports car.

From a fifty yr old that, thanks to construction, has the body of a 25 yr old

Originally Posted by speedmaster64

Man, I feel for those of you who are getting pulled into this war of words with total strangers. Some people let their anger and frustrations out on the internet, some people do it by yelling at other drivers for causing the slightest inconvenience. It's all part of the human condition I guess. But I think you need to find a healthier outlet for your pent up frustrations.

My take: Nobody you pass on the road gives a sh$@! what you're story is. We are all just here on earth for a short time, trying to be happy, and enjoy the ride while it lasts. Why waste a minute of your time arguing with strangers on this site?

Im 52, bald, relatively successful, have a smoking hot wife, an ex-wife from hell, and I don't care what anyone thinks when I'm driving in my C5, cranking up The Allman Brothers live at the Fillmore East from 1970. Even if some young person sees me and thinks "mid life cliche," ten seconds later they've forgotten about me anyway.

Chill out, my brothers!

Originally Posted by speedmaster64

Man, I feel for those of you who are getting pulled into this war of words with total strangers. Some people let their anger and frustrations out on the internet, some people do it by yelling at other drivers for causing the slightest inconvenience. It's all part of the human condition I guess. But I think you need to find a healthier outlet for your pent up frustrations.

My take: Nobody you pass on the road gives a sh$@! what you're story is. We are all just here on earth for a short time, trying to be happy, and enjoy the ride while it lasts. Why waste a minute of your time arguing with strangers on this site?

Im 52, bald, relatively successful, have a smoking hot wife, an ex-wife from hell, and I don't care what anyone thinks when I'm driving in my C5, cranking up The Allman Brothers live at the Fillmore East from 1970. Even if some young person sees me and thinks "mid life cliche," ten seconds later they've forgotten about me anyway.

Chill out, my brothers!

Originally Posted by Shakeydeal

Great post, and I think we could probably close this one on that note....


Shakey

Originally Posted by Forcedvert

I wish I had a Genie.