Thread: what will happen to hotrods, & the industry

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been thinking, we as americans have a love affair with cars, up til now gas has been cheap. as teens we went "cruzing", & driving around with our car (some of us still do!!!), we build & have old cars, & hotrod we drive for fun, gas has really never been a thought (or aleast not for me). I(we) build engines for power, not fuel economy. And with cheap gas in part, the old car & hotrod industry has grow.
what do you think will happen in the next 10 years or 20. with gas so high, do you think having hotrods & old car will die out? I hope not!! what do you guys think??
what have you noticed about attendence & vendors @ the shows this year

I think we are in for some big changes, both by our choice and some that are imposed on us. There is already some whisperings about things like 55 MPH and limitations on unnecessary driving, so I think as this thing evolves we are going to have some tough battles.

Some will say that there are too many of us and that our economic clout is too great, but if you look at some of the stuff that gets passed as laws, they kind of do what they want for the most part and we have to go along with the program.

I do think major events like the Nationals, Turkey Run, etc will start to decline because the cost of getting cars and vendor goods there will be prohibitive. I sure hope I am wrong, but I think we have seen the peak of our car hobby already.

Don

How one sees this is somewhat dependant on your age, and perhaps political affiliation. Those of us who lived through similar experiences in the '70s saw a big shift to 4 and 6 cylinder rods for awhile, along with reduced participation. Sales of muscle cars tanked big time. Those million dollar hemis of a couple years ago were practically given away back then. Once the panic passed, people adjusted to the new pricing, and we had a change in government that led to decontrol of pricing and eventually the recinding of the so called "windfall profits tax" (yes it was tried before, was just as erroneous and dumb an idea as it is now, and failed to increase supply). The result was a worldwide push to find more energy (crude oil), prices moderated somewhat (the opposite of what the government control freaks predicted; sound familiar?), and we enjoyed a 20+ year "binge". Depending on how the politics works out again we could see an easing of restrictions on exploration and production, aided this time by some easing in how electricity is produced (ne, nukes), or we could have increased obstruction to feeding our ability to grow and produce viable sources of energy. If the factions that believe government central command is the answer get the power our hobby will be one of their targets for elimination (or MAYBE severe restrictions). Will we allow ourselves to be cowed into submission to these power hungry elites, or will we do as the founders of this country did and throw off the oppressive efforts of a self annointed elite? Time will tell. I've learned to enjoy freedom and the prosperity it brings to we common men............I'm not sure about my neighbors though.

Originally Posted by Itoldyouso

I think we are in for some big changes, both by our choice and some that are imposed on us. There is already some whisperings about things like 55 MPH and limitations on unnecessary driving, so I think as this thing evolves we are going to have some tough battles.

Some will say that there are too many of us and that our economic clout is too great, but if you look at some of the stuff that gets passed as laws, they kind of do what they want for the most part and we have to go along with the program.

I do think major events like the Nationals, Turkey Run, etc will start to decline because the cost of getting cars and vendor goods there will be prohibitive. I sure hope I am wrong, but I think we have seen the peak of our car hobby already.

Don

Yup. I hope you/we are wrong too.

Not just like it was before, Uncle Bob.... This time I'm gonna be buying up the cheapo muscle cars when all "the sky is falling" types bail out....

To repeat something that many have told you before, "Well put", Uncle Bob.

Our country's capitalist economy is a wondrous thing. Because of the system, our country has taken unbelievable kicks in the gut and rebounded quickly and, almost invaribly, stronger than before.

Little surprises like natural disasters (floods, drought, quakes, etc.), wars, economic depressions, epidemic disease, political ineptitude, religious fanaticism, ......... Aw, you know, these and other such "inconveniences" ..... have come and gone. We survived them all.

Now we can add gas prices to the list.

In every one of the above instances Dave's "the sky is falling types" have caused our glorious leaders to do such wise things as Nixon's ordering wage and price controls and Carter's brilliant handling of the '70's gas shortages.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that this, too, shall pass. Hot rodding has evolved a lot since I first got interested in it and will continue to do so. People who like to demonstrate their ingenuity through what we call "Hot Rodding" won't be beaten down regardless of what obstacles present themselves. Hot rodders don't have a "creed" as such, but if they adopt one, maybe it should be "I'll figure SOMETHING out!"

We'll see what "something" turns out to be.


Jim

Originally Posted by Dave Severson

Not just like it was before, Uncle Bob.... This time I'm gonna be buying up the cheapo muscle cars when all "the sky is falling" types bail out....

I hope so! Boy wouldn't be nice to get one of those 1960's muscle cars for a song and a dance! I like the positive spin you put on this Dave.

I am watching for the new z06 vetts and shelby 500s to drop like a rock
just like the 69/70 scare.Been saving money for one or the other..........

The good news is that with todays technology, a 6 banger can make the power that a V8 did back in the 80's and early 90's and get good mileage. I'm starting to see more six cylinder powered rods; Rod & Custom ran a feature on a 36 Chevy with a blown 3800 from a late model Grand Prix. Very slick setup and he was knocking down 28mpg. That early 90's blown V6 T-bird is a pretty cool setup, too.

For the most part, hotrodders are pretty resilient. I really think that we will servive just about anything that's thrown in our way. Look at the past. The big 3 in Detroit followed Lil John Butera when he got in a fight with his chrome shop and started painting everything on his cars rather than chroming. I personally have been building 4 cylinder hotrods since the 70's and I have plans to built a 500 H.P. full electric 26 T as soon as I can afford the batteries. When you think about the creativity of the average Hotrodder, there is no way that anything will hold us back for long.

Originally Posted by falconvan

That early 90's blown V6 T-bird is a pretty cool setup, too.

My dad had a Super Coupe back in the 90's. I've never been much of a V-6 guy, but that motor would rev and produced good torque for a daily driver. Decent mileage too.

-Lee

www.atomicpinup.com
Atomic Radio

There is a guy a few miles east of Richmond who specializes in converting cars to electric motors but the straight electric ones have a very short range of maybe 50 miles or so per charge. I chatted with him and he thought removing about 600 pounds of engine and transmission would make a Model-A roadster light enough to put in a Doug Nash five speed and a 100 pound electric motor and then add batteries, but what I did not like was that he said you don't need a clutch, you just feather the electric throttle to shift but I wonder what sort of synchromesh can handle that over many shifts. Then other folks say you just put the transmission in second or third gear on a five speed and just use the rpm range of the electric motor and never shift and just reverse the current in the motor for reverse. I suppose we will each go our own way as either stuck with the old images in our head or adapt what we can. Although the Buick V6 was maybe the answer in the '70s, 28 mpg may not be enough in the future and I really like that Aptera and the three wheeled low drag aerodynamics with plug-in electric power and an auxilliary gas/diesel engine for charging the batteries when away from a power plug, BUT (!) I still like the look of the traditional roadster even though it is an aerodynamic brick. At the moment I do not see any reasonable way to yank out a SBC and replace it with batteries and an electric motor even though I have seen a swift Porsche 911 with electric power on TV, because when you are done the range is too limited and the cost of the transition is too high. Some Hot Rod ingenuity will probably lead some into the low drag Aptera plug-ins but many of us will just drive the traditional rods for good weather weekend events. Actually it is hard to tell what will happen but there will be some changes. The political situation may result in short term increased drilling but I think the point has been made that there will be more electric cars in the future. The political situation is indeed frustrating with a lack of the desired leadership on the one side and the other side saying anything and changing every day or so. Actually I don't think GM will go under and maybe the Cobalt will save GM for a while longer but why oh why can't they build a plug-in hybrid that will justify more electricity from nuclear plants?

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

Back in the 70's while building the panel truck (BBC), I worried that I wouldn't be able to afford the predicted 50¢ a gallon for gas.

Now 30+ years later I wonder the same thing about the $5.00 a gallon gas.

oh well........ I'll keep building.

First you have to understand that gas here is still cheaper than in other countries. In Europe it costs twice this amount, and has always cost much more. You will notice that American-style hot rodding happens there anyway.

Another point is that gas cost is not such an issue, unless it is the car you use to get to work each day, and is driven 400-500 times a year. A "hobby car" is not that much of an issue for your fuel budget.

Car shows, and local events, may replace cruises, attending distant events, and drag racing, for some people.

If gas cost does not decline, I can see future builders using smaller more fuel efficient engines.....and maybe building somewhat lighter cars.

We will "adapt & improvise"....and the hobby will endure!

as i see it the problem is not gas consumption. it is oil usage. be it power, heating, plastic or whatever. look at the plastics coming out of china. if our congress does not open up our resources we are doomed to deal with the likes of iran and that stupid chauves the moron. we are the strongest economy in the world. we stop buying for a month and the rest of the world will jump off building.
as for hotrodding i see our kind of cars going away for the most part. todays youth is into turbo 4cyclinders and v6's. they make a ton of horsepower and still get 30 mpg. to me this election is the most important one of my lifetime . imho it is going to make us or break us. if we cut tail and run one more time we will never have the voice we once had in this world. i for one am a little worried this time.