From: Jim Altemose <jaltemoose@xxxxxxxxx>
To: 1962to1965mopars@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Thursday, October 13, 2011 2:41 PM
Subject: Re: Younger vs Older Generations (Was - Original 65 Hemi lightweight for sale)
I'll chime in now that it's a separate thread. I'm inclined to agree
with DJ. I'm not sure if I have a real point at the end of my
ramblings, but what the hell.
I'm 47; born 1 year later than my two
'63's. My first intro to cars
was when I was about 10 and was reading my Uncle's car magazines in
the early 70's, mostly to check out the Big Daddy Roth T-shirt ads in
back. I also watch Speed Racer religiously. My Uncle took me to the
local circle tracks, Islip Speedway and Freeport, through the late
70's (Islip invented the 'demolition derby' back in 1958).
In 1985 or so, I bought my first car which was a 1970 Chevy Bel Air 4
door with a 350 for $250. It was battleship grey with a black vinyl
top; rusty as hell, but STRONG on the highway. At the time, my
friends called it the "Bluesmobile" and it was just cheap
transportation. After that I had Fox 4 cylinder Mustang, a 72 Montego
and then a string of 80's and 90's blah blah blah cars.
But I always missed and liked that 70 Chevy the best. Simple,
powerful and had character. When we had our first kid in 2000,
my
wife said I needed a bigger car than the Toyota Celica I was driving,
so I picked up an Orange 72 4-speed SS Chevelle (I'm not sure that's
what she intended). I drove that for a couple of years and that's
what really got me more serious about muscle cars. The more I
learned, the more I liked about them and the more I worked on mine.
I also came to realize that Mopar had everything dialed up to '11'
compared to Chevy or Ford. The paint and styling were cooler, the
engines more interesting and powerful and definitely the hobbyists
more knowledgeable, loyal and hardcore. For whatever reason, I
gravitated toward the early 60's Mopars. The look, the racing history
and especially the Max Wedge engine all hit me between the eyes when I
discovered them and I sold my Chevelle. I can still remember right
where I was when I turned the page in a book and saw the Max Wedge for
the
first time and said "Holy crap! That's what I like!"
So, what's, my point? I'm sure guys like myself and the other
sub-50ers are the exception rather than the rule. I didn't grow up in
the early 60's living this stuff myself. But I wish I did and I know
more about the Ramchargers than about anything that happened in the
80's. So, I think there will always be some group of younger people
who appreciate and love this stuff. Unfortunately, I can see it
dwindling, especially as fossil fuels and internal combustion engines
become verboten.
But I do know my 7 and 11 year old boys dig our cars more and more as
they get older, and ask "what's this do?" and "can I help?" and wear
Rat Fink and Nitrofish T-shirts and have walked down the Englishtown
track with Don Garlits, so it can't be all bad.
- Jim
Jim Altemose, Long Island, NY
'63 Polara 500 (Max Wedge)
'63 Polara
500 (383)
'65 Belvedere I (Street Wedge)
'71 Bronco
On Thu, Oct 13, 2011 at 12:49 PM, Dave64 <
lt7dave@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> I'm closing in on 49. I feel lucky that I was at an age in HS when factory
> muscle cars were affordable, used cars. My first car was a '70 GTX. We had
> a lot of great cars back then. My daughter is 19, and she digs our old cars
> and drag racing big time. But you are right - I don't know that she has the
> patience to put 10 years into a car to get it on the road at this point.
> But at that age - I wouldn't have either. That probably has more do do with
> her age than her generation. But her generation is into instant
> gratification, like you said. And I think we're all getting that way to
> some degree. I can't imagine going
back to the days of having to order a
> catalog by mail to look at parts to then order by mail to get to you. The
> computer age is a wonderful thing for our hobby.
>
> Daughter loves the new Challengers as well - so do I. But I look at the
> price - and for a car I can't drive in WI winters - for that price - I can
> buy a '70 Challenger (and can actually work on it). I'd still have a new
> one if I had a lot of money I didn't know what to do with. (That'll never
> happen.) Maybe I'll buy a used one some years down the road.
>
> Dave
> '64 Belvedere 2DHT
> 318 Poly, Push Button Auto
> Originally Florida A/C Car
> From: Christopher Glick <
mrchristopher1@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> To:
1962to1965mopars@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Thursday, October 13, 2011 10:36 AM
> Subject: Re: Original 65 Hemi lightweight for sale
>
> DJ makes a good point. Me being 42, I'm kindsa in the middle. I grew up
> watching the "older kids" work on Hot Rods, but my first car was a Datsun
> b210 and it got souped up ...well as much as a Datsun can. It wasn't until
> my 30's that I could afford a real Hot Rod or at least the shell of one and
> over the years I have been able to completely rebuild every part of it.
> Still have probably 2 more years before it's on the road. I think the
> biggest difference, is the younger generation has this instant gratification
> mentality and can't comprehend spending a decade building the car you want.
> Of Course I want a 2010 Challenger SRT, but that's not in my
reality.
>
> Just my 1/2 cent...
>
> Christopher Glick
> 1964 Dodge 440 2dr hrdtp
> 1987 Dodge Ramcharger
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: D J <
djohn14296@xxxxxxxxx>
> To:
1962to1965mopars@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Thu, 13 Oct 2011 01:02:00 -0000 (UTC)
> Subject: Re: Original 65 Hemi lightweight for sale
>
> Joey,
> I've given some thought to your statement below. In all honesty, trying to
> compare our generation(I'm 63) to the younger kids, is really like trying to
> compare apples and oranges.
> We grow up in the golden age of automotive styling. Fins, no fins,
> intermediate size cars, biggg cars, and the then small cars.
Most young kids
> grow up with Honda Civics, etc. They really can afford a new Dodge
> Challenger, especially the SRT. I can't afford one, well I can, but to much
> $.
> It is nice to look at a restored '65 Sport Fury or Coronet, but if most of
> you are or were like me, Every car I own, old or new, always got souped up
> and modified. Headers, intake, bigger carb, well you get the picture. My '65
> Coronet 440, came all orginal, 2dr. HT, 273. Not my type of motor. Great
> motor in the 1st A bodies, but not in the almost 2 ton Coronet. I put a 331
> hemi in it. Couldn't afford the biggie. It was a built up motor, 413 hp
> according to the dyno and 434 lbs., at 2700 rpms. Had 2 4s, most
> non-moparites, didn't know the difference anyways.
> They do care about cars, just not our cars. Not their generation thing.
> jm2cw
>
> DJ
>
>
>
________________________________
>
> From: Joseph Lemire
jlemire426@xxxxxxxxx>
>
> The younger kids with the exception of site member Jason Chance really
> don't care about the cars the way we do.
>
> Joey
>
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> Please address private mail -- mail of interest to only one person --
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> recipient, not to the Clubhouse public address. This practice will protect
> your privacy, reduce the total volume of mail and fine tune the content
> signal to Mopar topic. Thanks!
>
> 1962 to 1965 Mopar Clubhouse Discussion Guidelines:
>
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>
http://www.1962to1965mopar.ornocar.com/general_disclaimer.html.
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>
> --
> --
> Please address private mail -- mail of interest to only one person --
> directly to that person. That is, send parts/car transactions and
> negotiations as well as other personal messages only to the intended
> recipient, not to the Clubhouse public address. This practice will protect
> your privacy, reduce the total volume of mail and fine tune the content
> signal to Mopar topic. Thanks!
>
> 1962 to 1965 Mopar Clubhouse
Discussion Guidelines:
>
http://www.1962to1965mopar.ornocar.org/mletiq.html and
>
http://www.1962to1965mopar.ornocar.com/general_disclaimer.html.
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Please address private mail -- mail of interest to only one person -- directly to that person. That is, send parts/car transactions and negotiations as well as other personal messages only to the intended recipient, not to the Clubhouse public address. This practice will protect your privacy, reduce the total volume of
mail and fine tune the content signal to Mopar topic. Thanks!
1962 to 1965 Mopar Clubhouse Discussion Guidelines:
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http://www.1962to1965mopar.ornocar.com/general_disclaimer.html.
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