random thoughts

[jaybee]

I think there's a lot going on here. As a society we don't teach young people to work with their hands like we used to, but there's a lot of stuff going on with big stereos, ricers, 80s cars and trucks, and sports bikes. There are people tearing out whole interiors including the dashboard and building new.

A lot of things are being built from kits...but there are a lot of good kits on the market now. Lower any car or truck that's out there? There's probably a kit for it. Want a good looking, great sounding, well built exhaust? There's a kit for it. Or an LS-architecture engine in anything which previously held a sbc. Or a brand new Ford 9" suitable for anything from 500-5,000hp. Speaking of which, if you're running what qualifies as strong horsepower in the current world good luck getting one of the older transmissions to live behind it. So there's a whole range of stronger transmissions which come in...kits to fit the dimensions of any popular cars.

Then there's expense. These kits both reduce the cost of building (except for the really exceptional and ingenious garage builders) and make the car more salable.

Ahhh, that brings us to value, and and the concept of values which will fall. The price of the cars we love has gotten high enough most owners think of them at least partly as investments. So...you have to be careful to not do things which will destroy the value.

And aging. I was struck at the DSM Goodguys show how much older the typical participant is than when I first started going to that show years go.

Oh, don't forget that a lot of the really desirable cars aren't nearly as available or as cheap as they were previously. But I've also been struck by the increase in "odd rods" compared to prior years.

So, prices falling back into a range where home builders might find them more accessible, more acceptance of cars beyond the first ones which come to mind, there's reason for concern but I don't think it's all bad.