I am 48 years old my eldest son is 18 .I gave him a WB window less 3 on the tree panel van for a first car it is a very standard not messed with vehicle apart from an aftermarket stereochopped into the dash, that was relocated to the glove box. I have a large collection of HJ-WB parts,I had a 6 cylinder M20 4spd and it was decided to install this between my Son and I and so to finish the job a HZstyle console with rocker switches were fitted operate electric windows that I also had and a NOS WB SER2 eletric rear view mirror switch also fitted into the console. and a pair of electric ser2 rear view mirrors. We gutted the interior removed the steering column converting it to a blank column .All that was Brown was VHT vinyl painted black with anything that could be sealed under the dash sealed vents rust holes etc black carpet and underlay installed GTS dash and steering wheel and freshly painted road wheels with red pin striped tyres, A original factory AM/FM RADIO I supplied him a pair of WB bucket seats from one of my series 1 Statesmans. New door trims were made up with tweeter speakers being fitted in the original window winder holes of the door trim and recon Premier arm restored by a dsah restoration mob. Now he is telling me he doesn't want to work on it any more because he wanted to sand the back cargo area and paint it black but he has managed to do about a quarter of the sanding and has now hit a wall complaining it is not how he wants to do the van he wants to fit all the big amps and stuff racing seats 18' foose wheels and when I ask him to redo a job like the hand brake lever that he painted and looks like s*** he just says no that he doesn't want the van any more. I cannot do anything because I have just recently had brain surgery for terminal cancer and my left side arm and hand is now basically paralysed with a lot of therapy ahead of me, my prognosis is unknown because I have never bothered to ask that is why it be nice to see things done on the van when I ask . so I just cannot get in the back and continue sanding or unbolt the park brake lever and repaint it and asking him to do it. When I told him about the van and showed it to him he said yes it will be good to do up and then he wanted a Prem front on it so I got the clip and radiator support and guards to suit. Now he is talking about giving the van the flick until he has saved up some money to continue with it only thing is I am more of a factory original type guy I don't like seeing dash's chopped up for aftermarket stereo's I like factory sport wheels , some may say but you did gave it to him so it is his choice as to what he does with it but I just wanted to use some of the parts I have collected for other projects I had planned like I would of been fitting an SL/E GRILLs upper and lower and front bits like over riders etc this was to be a first car for him a form of transport straight up but now he is talking of getting a Ford XR6UTE, but he doesn't even have a job. Am I Wrong in forcing my opinion or should I just let him park the van back up in the back yard and cover it up with a tarp like it was and worry about it when he has got some cash to do it his way???????? or am I right thinking that he is ungrateful when Iwatch him work it just seems slow unenthusiastic and lazy like somebody else is going to doit for him which depresses me immensely he stuffed all of the top weatherbelt on the new door trims where they run up against the triangle bailey channel support instead of fitting it slowly he has just bashed it on ripping it in that area .Ihave mentioned about removing it and ordering some more and replacing it and fitting it properly so it lifts up around the edge and is not ripped as these are now

Your correct when you say the gap is too great. Kids just do not want 'old' cars any more.
I know a guy with am immaculate original A9X, when his son turned 18 he offered the car to him as a gift, the only conditions were that he could never modify it or sell it. Son turned him down saying that he didn't like the car as it didn't have aircon, power steer or electric windows and his mates would laugh. So his old man kept the car and the son went and bought a silvia.


At the end of the day you cant force your son to enjoy the car, he has to want to do it. Might be best to put it in the shed for a while and see what eventuates.

Utility 8 that is the issue that has been doing my head in "I gave it to him", so then rightfully it is his to do as he pleases but pre purchase it what was all discussed with him is this what you want as a first car? and I also went through the list of bits I had in the shed that we could fit and all we agreed on it all so Iwas definetly keen and nothing has been forced on him but what disappoints me is when he seems to hit a wall of possibly a little hard work the enthusiasm dies down at a steep grade but what annoys me the most is everything that has been fitted to the van up till now has always been responded with "Gee that looks cool",the GTS dash the AM Radio,the console with the rares spares4 speed insert and Torana 4speed gear knob,Reupholstered arm rest reproduction door trims, reproduction Prem arm rests,etc etc etc so nothing has been forced on him as in it not being how he would like it. I even put reconditioned power steering in it for him while my arm was still working because he whinged how heavy the steering was within the first twenty feet of actually driving it!!!!!!!!!

Dont loose sleep over it (especially your health !) Its just this generation that I feel want everything NOW and if its too much work and sometimes effort forget it (the "if its broken buy a new one !") I fought I would show my son how to service his car one time and after finishing and him falling asleep under the car his response was "how much would I have to pay someone to do this" You may have all good intentions for them and you know what in a few years he may understand that All the best

For what its worth ( I don't have kids) I'd be inclined to put it on hold for a while, until he decides what he wants to do.

You have much more pressing issues than a car. Also, the more input he has, the more the car/project will be 'his'

I'd be stepping back for a while & let him sort it.

And hopefully, in the near future you'll be able to anounce a remmission & a restoration.

You've only got to look at vintage cars - cars that were once pulling $30-40K only 15 years ago are struggling to fetch $10K these days - you can buy mint restored cars for 1/3 the cost of restoring them.

It's all supply & demand, and exactly what toby said - when the generation's population numbers dwindle, the demand drops away, and the prices tumble.

Wait a minute...Is there another way of looking at this? A few years ago I had an HQ at the back of my house awaiting restoration. You could clearly see it from the street and we often had people coming in off the street asking if the car was for sale.
And guess what? The vast majority were young guys that wanted an old school Holden because to these guys they are cooler than modern shapes.
Conversely, a lot of forty something friends of mine that were around when the HQ was new, don't understand why you would want to restore or keep an old car on the road. They just don't get it and I got tired of explaining why some of us like old cars.
What it comes down to is where your interests lie. There will always be young people who will be interested in cars that were before their time. I cant see an A9-X Torana or an XC Falcon Cobra not having a following any time soon. Sure there will be members of the next generation who don't get these cars or understand their significance, but these people are probably not car fans in the first place.

No I don't, but I have owned an EH which was built before I was born.
My point still stands. A lot of my friends were driving Nissan Pulsars when I had the EH.
They didn't want to be seen in an old car. That's fine, their choice but I liked the older shapes. Also, have a look over on The HQ owners page on Facebook. Plenty of younger owners/ enthusiasts over there!

When I was 17 (now 47) I had my fathers FC as a 1st car back in 1982 I loved it to bits , then I got the the taste for a more modern car as it was faster and handled better. I have HQ`s and Js and X`s now and a 66 pontiac but still miss my old FC and wish I still had it ! even though my daily drivers are WM stato and VY wagon.