[pont3]

I've never been a car show participant, my pleasure always came with daily driving my cars whenever I wanted to wherever I wanted. Unreliable replacement parts now have me too paranoid to drive the car in today's traffic for fear I'll be stalled on the side of some busy highway. That along with the rising thefts, (I've already had four (non-Pontiac) vehicles stolen while parked at work, and NO they weren't Hyundais or Kias), I'm afraid to leave any of them unattended.

I'm probably going to be quitting as well because when you consider the expense and can't use the car in the way you envisioned, then it ain't worth it.

[Formulajones]

I can relate to some of that, but it still doesn't stop us from daily driving them.
My wife loves driving hers, and she parks right outside her window at work so no one is going to mess with it without her getting involved, so I don't really worry about it. We aren't in a real high crime area anyway.

I generally don't park them anywhere I cant keep an eyeball on them either, that's just classic car life.

I think parts have been crap for decades, you just have to sort through the good and the bad and know what to buy. I still trust these old cars more than anything new on the road today, and they are so simple to fix there really isn't much that would leave me stuck somewhere waiting for a hook. It's when you complicate these old cars with a bunch of electronic gizmos you really back yourself into a corner.
They are still a heck of a lot cheaper than any new car I might be interested in when I figure insurance, tags, and upkeep on those things. We went down that road years ago and that's what pushed us to get away from new cars in the first place.

[Half-Inch Stud]

Driven the 68 GTO the least this year. Probably about 15 times. Was done with car shows ~1988.

Rural living means the GTO gets out for beer runs, and Groceries.

[poncho-mike]

I've been dealing this for a couple of years now. I bought up a number of fairly rare cars over the years and stashed them away. My original goal was to retire in my mid to late 50s and restore my cars. A layoff ended my plans of an early retirement, so I ended up working longer. Things are in place to retire early next spring at 65 1/2, even earlier if my employer angers me. One of the fallacies of my planning is I didn't fully consider the effects of aging. Four years ago, I had hip replacement. My other hip is starting to bother me now, and my neck and lower back hurt more often. I know I'll have to scale back the number of cars I attempt to restore myself. I'm going to do one car, see how well it goes, and then decide how to proceed.

I still like to go to car shows, more to look than to participate. I used to enjoy going to swap meets, but even that isn't as much fun as it used to be because the parts are drying up. My youngest son still lives nearby (he's 26), so I plan to enlist him in my projects. His level of interest will make a difference in how far I go.

Mike

[fyrffytr1]

I do appreciate all the replies. I guess I just got to missing my friends. And, at 71, 72 next week I am getting to the point that I can't do all I want to. I don't blame that completely on my age though. I am still suffering the long term effects of Covid that I got back in January. I was vaccinated and boosted so I just had a mild case but the lingering fatigue and weakness are working on me. If I can make myself get up and start doing something I am alright for about 3 hours, then I have to sit down and relax for an hour before going back to whatever I was doing. And that brings up another problem. I sometimes forget what I was doing! I'm not bragging but I can forget what I am doing while I am doing it!
One other thing, I don't have anything against any other car brand. I just meant that the spot where we sat up our Pontiacs and Chevrolets was taken by Mopars. Heck, if it wasn't for other brands how would I know I had the best?!

[Mister Pontiac]

Originally Posted by nUcLeArEnVoY

I'm in a rather odd-man-out position of being in the younger generation having a passion for these cars...

...Point is, I think the funner aspect of this hobby is just getting out and driving the car. It's a transformative experience, and seeing them in the wild in an ocean of bland late model cars is way more special, imo.

Love this!

Originally Posted by Jack Gifford

...I'm much happier driving my Pontiac-powered machines.

100%

Car shows are nice, but...

Did Phoenix to SoCal & back this past Saturday. Swapped some parts with one member, and bought a 428 block/crank from another.

850+ miles in 18 hours. All behind 455 Pontiac power without a hiccup.

There's no place better to me.

[Formulajones]

Originally Posted by Mister Pontiac

Love this!



100%

Car shows are nice, but...

Did Phoenix to SoCal & back this past Saturday. Swapped some parts with one member, and bought a 428 block/crank from another.

850+ miles in 18 hours. All behind 455 Pontiac power without a hiccup.

There's no place better to me.

And that right there is how you do it

Get these cars out and enjoy the darn things, run your errands, make your road trips. What are you saving them for. We aren't getting any younger.

[mgarblik]

Here in the midwest we have a pretty short show/race/drive season for hobby cars. Between November and May. So for 6 months out of the year, the opportunity to drive and enjoy the cars is spotty. Even for people who REALLY try to use their hobby cars, there is generally 2 months of snow on the ground or a coating of salt or other super corrosive compounds. When the weather is nice, the cars really come out, which is cool. Our area has many "Festivals" in late summer, early fall. Usually the theme is some kind of food or flower etc. My small town, Tipp City, Oh has a Mum festival. An open car show is usually part of these events. The Mum festival this year had a car show with over 1200 vehicles! The town population is just a tick over 10,000. Great turnout, fantastic cars. From million dollar ultra rare cars to works in progress. All driven in. Couple standouts: A REAL 427 Ford Daytona Coupe, not the modern one. A 440-6 4-speed Plum Crazy Road Runner, the nicest one I have ever seen. Real 69 and 70 Judges, 3 1964 GTO's, Fantastic 66 421 Catalina, not a 2+2, Real 69 Hurst Olds 442, Half a dozen Ferrari's and Lambo's, 50+ Corvettes. Great mix.

[Formulajones]

Originally Posted by mgarblik

Here in the midwest we have a pretty short show/race/drive season for hobby cars. Between November and May. So for 6 months out of the year, the opportunity to drive and enjoy the cars is spotty. Even for people who REALLY try to use their hobby cars, there is generally 2 months of snow on the ground or a coating of salt or other super corrosive compounds. When the weather is nice, the cars really come out, which is cool. .

That's why you need a beater classic.

When I lived in Ohio I still daily drove classics with the only difference during winter months when the roads were nasty with salt, I switched to either a V8 Monza or V8 Vega depending on what I actually had at the time.
Back then they were cheap to buy, I'd drop the V8 drivetrain in and drive it till it rusted beyond repair. I usually got a few years out of one, then go out West, find another one, swap my drivetrain in and repeat the process.
When Spring rolled around and the roads cleaned up, I went back to driving my Firebird. My wife liked to drive an old jeep in the inclement weather and during the summer months she drove her 71 454 vette.

Now living out in Arizona that process isn't necessary. We have pretty much year round classic car weather.

Point being, you don't have to drive your restored high dollar classic in nasty weather, there are plenty of neat classic alternatives that are relatively inexpensive and make great transportation.

[Half-Inch Stud]

Neighbor is real big on rat-rod fab; BBC, LS powered old chassis; 57 wagon(AMC?), Jeeps, pickups, and a 57 GMC chevy). THOSE are the practical rural vehicles moreso than our muscle cars that handle.

[77 Canamman]

Originally Posted by 72projectbird

Nothing wrong with Mopars. I like seeing any brand out at shows or the track, rather than sitting in a garage doing nothing.

I tried to broaden my automotive horizons about twenty years ago. I purchased a nice dry Western 71 Road Runner 383 4 speed. It looked nice, had the Air Grabber hood, Pistol Grip, Go Wing. HOWEVER, it broke just about every time I took it out to "enjoy" it. Also, it was the biggest rattletrap I've ever owned. The lack of quality was simply astounding. After that experience, I will stay with Pontiacs for the rest of my days.

[Vroom_vroom]

I wish there was a better drag strip out here, the one in Vegas is too commercial. Grew up with my cousin at pacemakers and Norwalk and they where a way better experience. Miss all of them.

There’s Maybe 6 days a year you can get on the track out here for a test and tune but it’s every moron that thinks he’s a street racer.

Always preferred the strip to the car shows but I think I’m gonna end up at one or two with my father in law this fall. Got his ‘63 fuelie returned to the road. Drug it out of a barn in Knox county durning covid. Been sitting there since 71. That’s much more of a car show vehicle than my bird.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[FirebirdHank]

Every year around this time I start to lose a little interest in the cars . I clean them up, cover them up and stash them away in the back of the garage. Then, usually around April, I start thinking about the summer coming and the interest seems to come back. I had a friend from an area where these cars could be driven year-round and he said that it must "really suck" to have to pack the cars away when the roads are salt covered. My reply was that every spring it is all new again.

[JUDGE3]

Originally Posted by 77 Canamman

I tried to broaden my automotive horizons about twenty years ago. I purchased a nice dry Western 71 Road Runner 383 4 speed. It looked nice, had the Air Grabber hood, Pistol Grip, Go Wing. HOWEVER, it broke just about every time I took it out to "enjoy" it. Also, it was the biggest rattletrap I've ever owned. The lack of quality was simply astounding. After that experience, I will stay with Pontiacs for the rest of my days.

Ha Ha! agree. had to chime in on that, I rode in a lot of mopars back then, I was always amazed even as a youngster the lack of quality and those rattles and weird sounding starters!

they look cool, the big hemi thing is cool though. no bashing please i am on a pontiac site and allowed to be 100% biased as I am!

[kingbuzzo]

This is so true...I'm depressed to put my car away for the long winter next weekend but spring is so exciting.

This is the first year I have owned a car I have felt "worthy" enough to participate in a car show so I have a different perspective I guess.

I didn't know anyone, and my t/a was surrounded by new stangs and challies but I have met so many new people that I would have never crossed paths with before.

I go to just about any show now...lol

[unruhjonny]

Originally Posted by fyrffytr1

Our car club's annual show was this past Saturday. ...
When I went back to my car, it was surrounded by Mopars! There were two on either side and pulled out enough to make my car all but invisible!

Well that was incredibly rude.

All the shows I have attended, there was an effort made to align the front ends of cars so that no participant would be made "invisible".

Originally Posted by fyrffytr1

That is when it hit me. I was alone, not only car wise but people wise as well.
All my close car buddies have passed away and as I sat there by myself for the most part of the show I came to the conclusion that it wasn't as much fun as it used to be.
Hopefully this feeling will pass because I love driving my Goat and still enjoy the comments people make about it. But, things aren't the same without my buddies. We used to have a friendly rivalry because they drove Chevrolets and I miss that.

I get it.
This makes complete sense.

Other replies here mention smaller scale (as in less planning, and less structure) shows like a coffee and cars S&S;
you might find more enjoyment with those;
The diversity can be really surprising - and maybe you can make some new car-guy friends.

I am sorry to read of your buddies passing(s).

Originally Posted by Cliff R

Life changes as you get older and so do your interests.

...

I'm 63 this year and still very active with quite a few hobbies, but they are different ones than when I was younger with more energy and ambition.

I still love the older cars but really don't care much about even attending a car show, but I take my grand kids to a couple every summer and walk them around answering any questions they have, etc.

...

I'd also add here that no one else in my family has the first bit of interest in older vehicles, so it wasn't something I was going to pass on. The wife and grand kids actually LOVE fishing and boating, so I bought a Pontoon boat and we spend quite a few weekends on the lakes around here. Everyone loves it, and the smiles on their faces when we're pulling them on the big tube and bouncing them over waves is priceless..........

there is a common thread here, and I can identify between the two;
Changing interests.
When I first got my Firebird, I loved going to shows, and aspired to make it look better for the couple shows I attended the following summer...
But that too gets old - especially when the fees to attend start getting outrageous, and then you're stuck on a show field for hours on end.

Having buddies to cajole with would make the time fly by - but like "fyrffytr1" found on this last S&S, I would often show up solo (I've always been a bit of a loner, so it's self inflicted), so doing shows got old.
Sometimes I would take buddies with me, or meet buddies there - but when S&S's got old, I stopped attending.
I also diversified my automotive interests.

But, I quoted Cliffs latter part of his post, because he has recognized that he has people to do activities with, but they don't have any interest in the "car stuff" (as my wife puts it).

I hope you are able to find a way to enjoy your Pontiac with other friends or family - even if it's just going to a local drive in ect once in a while - if you are at all networked to know local car clubs, odds are you should be able to find out where or when local events happen.

Even though my Firebird is on dry dock, I will occasionally take my kids to a local A&W which has a weekly (free) S&S on Friday nights - we can walk through, look at different cars, and they don't get bored to tears...

I attended the TA Nat's years ago, I went there solo, and that was a real learning experience for me.

The next national event I attended was the Pontiac Nationals;
I intentionally did not drive a Firebird there (I owned the 70 & 73 at the time) - instead I drove my Grand Am, drove for thirteen hours to pick up my dad, then when I got to the Nationals, I had a blast running in the FWD/V6 bracket.
(I actually intended to camp there to keep costs down and maybe have more opportunity to be social, but my dad didn't want to have any part of that, so we stayed in a hotel.)

I had so much fun at the Nationals, that I have full intent to attend the PSMCD when my Firebird is done - I will have my wife in tow (who will hopefully not get bored to tears), and hopefully even have my kids with me...
I aspire to make a vacation/road trip out of it, so that it's not a destination which is all about sitting on a show field and turning off my in-tow family totally from the whole "car thing" in the process.

[77 Canamman]

Originally Posted by JUDGE3

Ha Ha! agree. had to chime in on that, I rode in a lot of mopars back then, I was always amazed even as a youngster the lack of quality and those rattles and weird sounding starters!

they look cool, the big hemi thing is cool though. no bashing please i am on a pontiac site and allowed to be 100% biased as I am!

If I were blessed enough to come across a 426 Hemi in my budget, I would make a very extreme exception to the no Mopars self inflicted rule. They were an awesome engine in a lackluster package.

[Formulajones]

I get the feeling some people maybe own these classics for the wrong reasons.

For me, it's always been, and always will be, that I own these things for my own personal pleasure. I don't have to go to a show or cruise to show it off. I don't care what people think. If they like it fine, if they don't, keep on steppin. I'm not looking for recognition. I think some get too hooked on the show scene, disappointment sets in, and they blame the car as not being fun anymore. That is not why I own them. I don't need a car show as an excuse to get the car out.

I own these cars simply because I love classic cars, will always own classic cars, and will always drive classic cars until I'm gone. I have them to drive them, race them, and all around just enjoy them for me myself and I. If I get a thumbs up while driving, that's fine and thanks, but that's not the goal of owning one for me.

[unruhjonny]

Originally Posted by Formulajones

I get the feeling some people maybe own these classics for the wrong reasons.

For me, it's always been, and always will be, that I own these things for my own personal pleasure. I don't have to go to a show or cruise to show it off. I don't care what people think. If they like it fine, if they don't, keep on steppin. I'm not looking for recognition. I think some get too hooked on the show scene, disappointment sets in, and they blame the car as not being fun anymore. That is not why I own them. I don't need a car show as an excuse to get the car out.

I own these cars simply because I love classic cars, will always own classic cars, and will always drive classic cars until I'm gone. I have them to drive them, race them, and all around just enjoy them for me myself and I. If I get a thumbs up while driving, that's fine and thanks, but that's not the goal of owning one for me.

Bingo!!

This is a great post.

I bolded the portions which I REALLY agree with.

Then again, my current daily driver is a "wrong wheel drive" bright yellow car with a goofy spoiler (the spoiler has grown on me by the way).

My other car (my previous daily driver) is one I bought because I (quite honestly) was in a spot where I could not afford to daily drive my Firebird;
I took the time to find something I could enjoy.
I drove that car to the Nationals, not because I expected any accolades, but rather it was a fun car, that was quicker than many people expected.

Would it be nice to get recognition for my Firebird when it's done, sure, but I won't be building it to be a points car - I plan on driving it.

If I lived in fair weather part of the continent, I probably would re-enlist it as a daily... because, I am now in a spot where that a V8 daily is an affordable thing for me.

[geeteeohguy]

I'm about Cliff's age and agree with him. I have BTDT a lot in earlier years, and put in a TON of effort and energy into car restorations and other hobbies. I was totally immersed in brass era cars and in 2018 sold my '15 T and that was that. Like a light switch. I have flat lost interest in tough, arduous work that I used to relish. I did enjoy removing and rebuilding the engine and transmission of my '61 Corvette 3 years ago. Very gratifying. I would NOT restore another car at this point. The need to own more 'stuff' has been replaced by the need to streamline and get rid of more 'stuff'. I have realized that the more 'stuff' you have, the less freedom you have. I have never, ever been a 'car show' guy, just a 'driver' guy. Taking my '67 GTO to Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, Zion, Canyonlands, etc. etc. was just too much fun. Lots of memories, still being made, while the wheels are still rolling down the blacktop, not parked on a lawn.