65 vette dude

Well in that case.......I suppose at this stage, no news is good news for him.......Thank you John.

360Rocket

Just got back, had an awesome time, Mecum tomorrow. Some good items at the swap meet including a Centennial Edition interior in perfect condition, a couple of C6 fitment Z06/GS front fascias, and I would have loved to find a way to trade my B&B Oval tips for a beautifully polished set of B&B rounds tips for sale.


So glad to see the responses to the next generation topic. Glad to know that there are others interested in preserving the future of our addiction/hobby.

TNVetteguy please post a thread on that project please. You mentioned Trans Ams so I am going to post an unsolicited, gratuitous picture of my Firechicken...

wilbur

Reminds me of myself at that age..
Wow! It goes up to 160

ctjackster

Good looking kids Jim - great to see them in that 65!

MikeM

Speaking of my neighborhood, most of the new Corvette purchases I knew about were young, single guys with jobs anywhere from owning/running a gas station, factory workers or lower level office types.

From what I remember, almost all these guys got rid of the Corvette when they settled in with some female, but not all.

I would believe though that the owners I described spent a considerable portion of their income supporting the new Corvette. I know I couldn't even afford one or so I thought.

Capt Van

I think I ended up a gear head because my dad was an old school drag racer, I think he started in the early 60 and ended up with an old slingshot.



But I think what most influenced me was the young guy down the street, I was about 14 or 15 and he got a real 289 AC Cobra and I would go down there and he would let me help him wash it and clean it up. He about drove the wheels off it and took me around the block plenty of time and let me shift.

After it was kind of ragged out my dad bought it and ran it at the strip, my first full pass was in that car.

I have been through plenty of cars since then as we all have. I used to do my best to keep those snotty nosed brats away form my cars, I always thought they would treat it like moms mini van. That was until I became a granddad with a little girl. She was riding in my cars as soon as I could strap her into the passenger seat, taught her how to shift by time was 3 or 4. She was on the back of my Harley by time she was 2.

When ever Miss E was down to visit I had her out in the shop putzing around with cars. When she was about 8 or 9 she helped me rebuild the 2x4s on my 60, I rebuilt one and she did the other at the same time. As luck would have it, after I told her that the car NEVER starts the first try after doing this, I poured some gas down the carbs, she it the key and it roared to life should have seen the look on her face.

She was my crew chief at the NCM HPDE last year at Sebring doing all the checks on my ZR1 every time I was in the pits, honest to god it was priceless.

She has developed a thing to show the cars and has won many awards at local shows. I always let her invite kids she meet there to sit in the car and she tells them all about them, she takes pictures with them in the cars.

I recently got a 2014 Viper GTS in racing yellow and black stripes that we took to a little Vets benefit show in town. To my surprise most of the kids knew what it was, I guess it is one of the cars in one of the driving games. We let them all sit in it, take pictures. The funny part was the parents were freaking out about the kids even standing close to it let alone sit in it. We had a great time and all the kids were very respectful and thanked us, it was very very cool.

So all you old farts (me included) if you want our passion to continue on, let the kids experience our cars. I have taken kids in my neighborhood on plenty of rides around the block and I just can't help remembering my rides with Clint and the AC.

Here is a couple shots of Miss E









She says she loves the 67 but the 60 is hers. man I'm looking forward to us taking it apart and making the way she wants it. She is going to get dirty, bloody, cry but when it's done it will be hers.

Hitch

We need more guys like MikeM and MikeWard here so that they can make sure to help the younger guys get into the hobby....

84wuzmy1st

Pictures from the NCRS event taken Sat.

https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/1...53555226856593

oldgold49er

Great place here at old town. drove 1550mi down for some warmth Ha HA. To the initial posters comment, I found re-stamping, broaching, and a box at a booth with at least 25-30 trim tags for sale. Could someone really build a fake car that could fool NCRS? I guess if there is $ to be made it is possible to do most anything. In my opinion this deception together with modern technology would make it VERY hard for anyone except? to know a fake from the real deal especially considering there are far more 427 cars than were produced. Sad.
Anyone looking for the real deal better do their homework and take an expert. or just buy a quality non original(there are lots of them) for a reasonable price and have fun. At the end of the day numbers do not make a car more fun to drive, or give you more

ghostrider20

I've owned my 65 for 13 years, and I'm 37 yrs old. I enjoy the forum but I did my last car show/organized event 10 years ago. After several events I found the "older generation" not at all open to even having a conversation. Stuck up, clicky, etc. Most local clubs are a "who's who" social scene. I have no time or interest in joining any corvette type club or organization. I would rather spend my time and money doing something fun, like taking my 2 year old daughter to the dairy queen in the vette!

Tyler Townsley

We had one car withdraw from judging to keep from being catagorized as a fake (Vin tag) and 2 disqualified due to trim tag issues. People need to do thier homework.

Tyler

Frankie the Fink

I drove the '63 SWC Thur, skipped Friday to work, and drove the '61 Sat. I was in the Corvette Only parking area Sat and for the first time in all the years I've shown the car I had some moron jump me about my non-original paint while I was talking to two forum friends and, with his arms spread wide said, "Why that color ?" with a scowl on his face. I said "Why not ?" and he told his pal, "That guy ruined his car ?". I told him to carry his @ss over to the judging field if he wanted to see perfection.

He got the message.

All-in-all, except for cooler weather than we all probably liked it was a pretty nice, laid back deal both days I was there. Bought a copy of Noland Adams, "C2 Restoration Guide" for a good price and some odds and ends but no big purchases.

As to the hobby eroding as the current crop of owners fade - it was pretty telling looking around at all the gray hair, bald spots, pot bellies (and I include myself). My plan is to sell one of my cars in about 3-5 years as I think prices will have peaked or be trending downward (one alternative might be to restomod one but my cars are so original)...and I REALLY hate to admit that but even the "younger" crowd at the meet were in the early-to-mid '50s I'd say.

Tyler and his crew deserve a huge deal of credit for pulling this thing together every year - I can't even imagine all the work and logistic nightmares.

Thanks to you and your team sir !!

blusteve

Mike M I am sure you are referring to Danny Boone and the 62 fuelie he used to street race

DZAUTO

For years and years I have tried to get this across to people in the GENERAL Corvette community------------------------including here and in the NCRS camps. These people (or YOU people) are just in absolute denial. No one in the Corvette community will own up to the fact that in general, they are a large group of primadonna snobs. And instead of trying to improve that image, the common response is that "Oh, all car clubs/groups have those kinds of people within each group". To an extent, that is very true-------------------BUT NOT AS MUCH AS IT IS IN THE OVERALL CORVETTE COMMUNITY!!!! Yes, there are people with superiority complexes in other car communities, but I've never encountered it as much as it is within Corvette folks. What is it about Corvette people that make them feel they are God's gift?

edub63vette

Interesting topic.
I sold my 62 fuelie on EBay a few months ago. My ad was as honest as could be on what the car was and what it wasn't. Only negative messages I got were from 2 different NCRS judges, one telling me it was a "mutt of a car". My response was "so what, I am pricing it as a mut!".
Two young guys (30ish) wanted the car and I sold it to a young guy in Mexico, who was very excited and was a very smooth transaction.
Also sold my resto-mod 70 Chevelle to a young guy in September at a price in the same range as a numbers matching SS.

I still think there is significant interest in high quality drivers and resto-mod's from the younger crowd. Ton's of younger people at Mecum Indy every year.
Not to be down on the NCRS crowd, but my limited experience seems like (some of these experts) need to get a major attitude adjustment if they want to preserve that part of the hobby.

Tigershark3

7vettes

We went up there yesterday and here's a pic I took in the NCRS section of the show, which sorta confirms your observation. For the most part the folks in the pic (who I applaud for being there, BTW) are pretty typical of the overall crowd in that particular section.

Vendors in the swap meet are getting older as well, and in some unfortunate cases have even fallen by the wayside.

Regarding kids, I was standing in the swap meet talking with a buddy when I couldn't help but overhear an exchange between what appeared to be a grandmother and her young grandson. The rather loud granny said....Oh look, TOYS.....as she pointed to a display of model cars/trucks/etc in a nearby stall. Then she added.....but those aren't the kind of toys you like, are they?

Anyway, it is what it is and most folks seemed to be having a great time.

bluestreak63

I applaud your efforts about a free auto camp. I wish they had one where I lived growing up. But please be aware that we have become a society of irresponsible behavior in which people at fault blame other people. What I'm saying is, if something happens, better be sure you have good insurance. Or at the very least have the parents of these young kids sign waivers, then again, sometimes they don't hold up in court.

Also, that is great you are giving your kids experience with these older vehicles, but you don't give your son shoes while he's in the garage, but give him gloves to push a tire? Not trying to be too critical, but this is the reason for the above paragraph.

Again, great for you showing your kids how to work on these cars and I'll be doing the same for my boys, but please remember to instill safety at the same time.

cor28vettes

Was reading somewhere that 1/3 fewer kids are getting their DL than in 1983.

Someone from Un of MI did a study on why:
Too busy
Able to get transport from others (parents ).

Kids also said... car is a hassle, gots to feed it gas & maintain it.
(it's sort of like a relationship they want no part of)

remus

Well said, could not agree more!!