o you reach a point where you loose interest in cars or the enthusiasm wanes..... I'm not sure if its just old age or the fact that the car industry its self has changed. I have 2 daughters that are driving now one has a VT the other a VH, one wants the newest the other the oldest commodore they can get and I find my self more interested in the old VH than the newer VT. With the advent of electronics into cars and more and more gismo's and harder and harder regulations I have lost interest. I don't know if its because you cant just stick it in the shed and work on it anymore with out computerized specialist equipment! Or it may be the fact that its such a throw away society now you simply replace it and not rebuild it....... Then you have the fact that both Ford and Holden as we know it are coming to an end, what a bleak future when all we have are Asian cars, that LOOK ASIAN ! LOL Then we have the future of electric cars and all the young lads will be sitting around comparing their "Photoelectric cells" to see who has the biggest or the fastest!

Boy I miss the good old days and Im not even 50 yet !! But I just cant afford $1,200 a year to register a V8 or over $100 to fill the tank. I miss the real Bathurst battles with real cars, not these new trans axle things where you "stitch" the body on.

Ow well my third daughter wants a mini truck, how the hell do you shrink a Mack? LOL, and the boys only 6 god knows what he will be driving even though he loves Chevy V8's !!

Well thats my little rant, I started on cars when I was 5 with my old man and been at it it ever since even when I swear "thats it no more". Just wondering how you guys feel about it ?

Some of you work in the industry, other write about it, while others just do it for a hobby, but how do you feel ? Cheers Barry

I have thought the same thing, Throw it in and get some thing up to date and not worry about it.
The thing is you don't say lets take out the late model wagon for a Sunday drive,you do that during the week,it is more fun with a classic,At the moment i have as a daily driver a HJ six seater 6 wagon which is pritty clean, and the looks that i get from other blokes that are in the up to date cars ,they slow down to get a closer look.
My ride is not the bees nees or anything just clean and straight,the look on there faces are of, i wish i had that or somthing like it, may it be a holden or dare i say it ford lol,
But i have decided to say stuff it all and be happy enjoy it because you are only here once and it is great to just drive them the feeling is like no other,because if you decide to get out it,it will be much harder to get back in,
well that's my thought about it

Interesting conversation.

Im 42 so dont have quite as many ks on the clock as you but i know what you mean. I have fond memories of mates with their old holdens and a mate who had a lime green SLR 5000 that we would cut laps up and down the main street in, do donuts on the lawns and sometimes drive up and down the footpaths in with the lights turned off.. yeah stupid stuff i lknow but it was a different era.

Where once everyone had an old holden/ford/valiant in their driveway with the bonnet up, now its jap crap with blue lights underneath... The torana is no longer the hoon car, its now the balding 50 year olds weekender and cops only pull you over to have a look at it.

Anyway, you can lose interest, but that also comes with age, as lying on a cold concrete floor, swearing at a rusted bolt and taking layers of skin off your knuckles becomes less fun. Not to mention the attraction of a car which starts on cold mornings, has working heaters and demisters and doesnt overheat or have linkages which seize at the lights... Old cars can suck arse, but the solution i found is to have both. we have a reliable family car cos we have 2 kids, but I also have my toys. A blokes gotta have a shed to play in and a car project is a great thing to have. My daughter couldnt care less about old cars, but Im hoping my boy will when he gets older. For that reason Im hangin in there.

Ive also converted my VH to EFI so it runs beautifully. I get a real kick out of the old school V8 sound and performanc in an old car, but it is also really reliable and powerful. I have my HZ sandman which lets be honest, is a pig of a thing to drive really, with no side vision and a clutch that requires weightlifters legs. But its only a weekend car now. I used to always have panel vans and swore id never get a boring car. But when you have kids you have to make a few compromises! Just as long as you can hang onto some toys, you can still do the family stuff. Its cool that your girls are into cars at all and that one of them goes for the early commodore look! Mine just complains about the petrol smell!

Its not so much that you lose interest, more just that the priorities change. If you get a sandman at least they are useful and you look cool camping or going to the drive-in! Im also doing up a torana. Its just a fun project to chip away at but i dont hold any hopes that times ever gunna go backwards and everyone will be hooning around old school again. Its just a slow project that keeps my brain occasionally occupied. I agree though, that its probably going to get more expensive as time moves on, but the amount of looks and conversations that the sandman generates when i take it out, make it all worthwhile!

Anyhoo thats my rant.....

Yeah, I think hainzy has nailed it, your priorities change over time. When you have a family you don't have time to fiddle with old cars (like when you were young & single) & you need a modern, safe, comfortable car for day to day transport.

The other thing I've learnt is that you shouldn't try to use an older car as your only form of transport. It's like trying to race your everyday car, something breaks & you have no transport.

When you get older, you could have enough money & time to have both; a modern everyday car & an older 'toy' for fun & pleasure. Take a leaf out of the hot-rodder's book & make motoring fun.

Dr Terry

i agree with the doc , at 45 , i have chrysler 300c as a daily driver comfortable , powerful , and all the mod cons and love it, and considering u can pick one up for around the 20-25k mark these days is awesome value ,

and by not using my hobby car each day you seem to enjoy them more , which is why the v8 eh is of the road at as we speak , removing the manual valve body auto , removing the 4.11 rear , and all the chunky cam and engine bits , to change her over to a super smooth roller cam 350 / t350 / 3.25 9""
so she become as super smooth cruiser that can be a joy to drive all day long if you wish

the other option expanding on docs comment , take a leaf out of the hot rodders book ,

street rod guys add all the mod cons into rods these days ( as have added into mine )
makes them much more easy to use

simple things , air con , power steer , elec windows , central locking , cruise control ,4 wheel discs ,remote boot release ,

so many of these things can come in kit form and are easy added bit by bit as time and money allows

a full mod cons early holden is just as much fun to drive as a stocky if not more

i love my EH,s but when you boil it down to what you really love , for me i love the clunk when i close a door , real steel , i love the interior EG dash board and gauges , all these things are not affected by updating to a few mod cons

end of rant , lol lol

Wow so much negativity.

I am 54. Keep fit and active. Work hard. Earn less money than I did before the GFC. ....and I love the way things are.

I have the same passion I had when I was 16 years old and look forward to taking it with me all the way!

Enthusiasm does take a little drive and discipline but once it is re-engaged it builds its own head of steam.

Whether it's an HB Torana or a Glamour GTS most of us really like that special car in our shed.

I like my new daily drivers as much as my oldies. Cars are just great.

I know that times change but any of you who went to the Sydney all Holden day last Sunday would agree with me that there is still intense interest in cars generally. Thousands and thousands of Sydneysiders enjoyed a loveley sunny winter's day looking at some of GM-H's finest.

It's a great hobby.

Cheers.
Nick Moran.
Yamba.NSW.

I still own the same car that I drove as a P-plater 22 years ago, a HQ GTS, and I bought another HQ GTS a couple of years ago.

I've recently been converting an old video of me and mates cruising around (hooning) in our cars and its cool to see that my car still looks exactly the same as it did back then, yet sooooo many things have changed with us and the world over those 22 years. Its good to have something constant in our lives and for me its my HQ. One of us is a grandparent FFS!

My current daily is a Nissan R35 GT-R and I'm completely in love with it, however!! . . if my garage was burining down I'd rescue my two HQ's first and then I'd get the GT-R if it wasnt on fire by then.

I freekin love driving the HQ's as often as possable and I'll never get tired of it, I feel like I'm 19 again when I drive them so for me the answer is no I dont 'lose interest' in my/our history. My family and my friends and their kids wouldnt let me sell it now anyway, its like a time capsule.

Edited by user Saturday, 11 August 2012 8:15:52 AM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

^^^^ agree with that, specially when you don't have a garage or carport and have to do it all outside. Not real fun when you are getting a bit older and the hands don't want to function, the muscles ache and the joints creak etc, lol. Far better to spend the winter indoors planning the summers activities whilst cleansing the inner self.

I find my enthusiasm can run in tandem with the cooks attitude re the spending etc, sometimes I have had enough of the dramas and just let it slide for a while.

Colt your only 5 years older than me and you got rid of the kids??? Whats the secret ??? LMAO

It seem we all go through that "raising a family" stage that seem to bite into our funds and our time, I think my raising time has been extended lol the girls are 23,20,18 and the boy 7 and it dont look like any are leaving home real quick and "Mum" dont want them to go either lol