Declining interest in gbodys discussion

[Geo's66]

Geo's66, I'm bummed I can hit 'like' only once per post. So I 'liked' all four...you'd get five, but Post 45 is broken...

Also, I have shop envy...

Thanks- a friends shop- so not mine- as for the thread, personally I love my 78 Monte- I'm 52, they're easy to get into, less $$ For now than buying a chevelle(I have a 66), and they have that nascar look w wheels on them... Love the back seat, head room, trunk, etc.... And for now, different- and raised letter tires!! Lol...

 

[Mike buttafuoco]

My interest in g bodies grew out of my enjoyment of auto racing. I was a kid watching drag racing on abc tv and going to races at the old Danbury CT Race arena. The track is long gone, replaced with a mall. We finally got cable tv and when ESPN started showing Nascar races regularly, I was hooked. Dad had an 82 Regal and we started rooting for Harry Gant, Bobby Allison.

Then a friend bought an 84 SS and I loved it because of how it was Nascar inspired. Back then the noses, door skins, and most of the sheetmetal was used on the racecars over the tube frames. I remember an article in Stock Car Racing magazine showing pictures of Junior Johnson picking up some passenger car Monte door skins from a dealership after a crash by Bonnett during practice. I think I also remember a story of parts taken off a rental car to get a wrecked car ready for a race! That was truly the beginning of the end of the true stock car racing era.

So the idea of driving a car that used "Nascar Parts" was the closest I would ever get to being Waltrip or Earnhardt. I went the Daytona 500 and Winston 500 in 1988 and it was like I died and went to heaven. I was so glad to see the Montes race before being replaced by the Lumina the following year.

It just seems to me that our g bodies, except for maybe t types and Grand Nationals, are just not getting the love some other older car models get. I just love seeing "trolls" on some of the old car review sites that bad mouth our cars because of "low horsepower" motors. Back in 84-88 when the cars were new they held their own fine. I looked at my SS more as a comfy cruiser, not a drag racing demon. That was not what it was built for as far as the street version goes. So trying to compare those cars to a 345 hp Focus or 707hp Hellcat is just ridiculous in my opinion. I might not be around to see it but I can imagine 30 years from now when people will have self driving electric cars that can do 150 plus mph in a few seconds and snicker at our "slow internal combustion dinosaur"! Who knows?

Thankfully there are still plenty of us that like the old g bodies for a variety of reasons. If owning, driving, restoring these cars give you enjoyment, then so be it. If you like it that is all that matters.

The one cool thing about taking my 85 SS out is I think it has been over 7-8 years since I have seen another one on the road. When I am in a town that has a bunch of retirees, a conversation is always sparked up because of how long it has been since they have seen one, owned one a long time ago, etc. The bad thing about having a rare car like the SS is I better not drive it to rob any banks!! lol

I have to say I've absolutely enjoyed this thread so far! Ive stated in somewhat similar threads about it, and tend to agree that there is a decline. Here in Louisville, if i see any G's out and about they are usually worn out looking and someone just needed an inexpensive driver.
However, on nice days i see mostly elco's and montes and the occasional cutlass. For the most part around here the nicer rides stay tucked away for shows, and most of them are factory original clean G's from all the makes. The other side of it are the drag cars which there are plenty of those, but most are not even street legal!
Hell, i went to the most organized JY the other day to scavenger hunt and there are no G's on the lot anymore as they don't have anything pre-'90....glad i scalped a roof skin and quarter windows from a donor 87 cutlass to fix mine about 4 years ago!!!
My love for the g bodies, or hotrods in general runs fairly deep, I bought my cutlass at 17 going into college back in 2001....obviously still have it and it would tear me apart to let it go! I have so much time, blood, sweat, and $$$$$ thati could never sell it for what I've invested! My mom used to drag race a 69 chevelle ss 396, and still has the jacket! My dad has always been a gearhead and we(3 older sisters and 1 younger brother) grew up learning to work on our own stuff. I was helping my dad do engine swaps at around 10 years old!!!!
As stated, so many of the younger generation have absolutely no desire to get into the car hobby, they worry about their social media and as long as they have an A-B ride it doesn't matter which sucks for the hobby! Luckily, there are still some guys and girls like us that have parents who show them the ropes on getting their hands dirty and having pride to enjoy their ride!
I've made sure my 2 girls are around the hobby as much as possible that way hopefully one day they will enjoy it as much as my wife and I. No joke, my girls play with hot wheels and toy car haulers as much as their dolls and such!!! My 6 year old made her list for Santa and the top spot was a request for and i quote "a racetrack for my cars"!!!!!! Needless to say, I enjoyed picking up a badass hot wheels track and some more cars and I can't wait to out that thing together on Xmas lol!!!!

Whew, that quick thought in my head just ended up as a short story lol!
Rant over, for now anyways (drops the mic)

Guy. I graduated high school in 94' and my auto shop teacher would let me use the brake lathe and the lift (after I graduated) to do work on my grocery getters. I hung around to talk to the class one day about the auto/diesel industry and no one was even the littlest bit interested. This was in Long Island New York and it seemed pretty eveident then that the shift from blue collar work was happening. Sure enough, the auto shop was gone a few years later. It wasn't much longer after that I saw less and less muscle cars on the road and saw more import stuff. The writing was on the wall. However, years later it seemed that it again changed. And then again it changed. But as I said earlier, I love g bodies but I have a goal to own a bunch of different cars over the course of my life so I never get bored with cars. And furthermore, I spent 21years in the auto/diesel field and am very proud of what I do and how well I did for myself and the life it has provided. It has allowed me to enjoy my hobby but I also never had to pay anyone. But for all that share this hobby, keep going and he'll keep us all going. And get out there and wrench!

 

[Injectedcutty]

Guy. I graduated high school in 94' and my auto shop teacher would let me use the brake lathe and the lift (after I graduated) to do work on my grocery getters. I hung around to talk to the class one day about the auto/diesel industry and no one was even the littlest bit interested. This was in Long Island New York and it seemed pretty eveident then that the shift from blue collar work was happening. Sure enough, the auto shop was gone a few years later. It wasn't much longer after that I saw less and less muscle cars on the road and saw more import stuff. The writing was on the wall. However, years later it seemed that it again changed. And then again it changed. But as I said earlier, I love g bodies but I have a goal to own a bunch of different cars over the course of my life so I never get bored with cars. And furthermore, I spent 21years in the auto/diesel field and am very proud of what I do and how well I did for myself and the life it has provided. It has allowed me to enjoy my hobby but I also never had to pay anyone. But for all that share this hobby, keep going and he'll keep us all going. And get out there and wrench!

One thing i forgot to add, my dad is a veteran diesel mechanic....been at the same truck shop for 44 years now and going strong!!! He worked on heavy stuff in the army, and while in vietnam and when he made it home safely in 1970 the GI bill paid for him to go to diesel school in Chicago. Like i said previously, we grew up around all things mechanical, and used to take my grandmas (rip) '59 Catalina to shows. My cutlass was my 1st car, and I've owned a couple imports for daily status due to commuting for work, but nothing gives me more satisfaction than firing up that beast and chugging along making noise and all the newer cars are sitting around quietly with no personality!!!

 

[joesregalproject]

Around here, it seems that the automotive crowd has turned into the truck crowd. Cars seem to be losing a lot of ground in favor to lifted pickups with tires big enough to sleep in, and ironically most of these trucks never leave the pavement. I'm of the old-school mentality that your truck is your work vehicle, and your car is what you take out at night to cruise. That doesn't seem to be the case anymore. I'll admit, I like trucks a lot too, but not these new aluminum cans that are filling the showrooms nowadays. Most of these new trucks have more luxuries than my BMW!

Also, among people who are still into cars, G Bodies seem to be wildly unpopular here. That's why I don't really attend cruise nights anymore. Everytime I go in my Regal I hear some old prick whisper to his friend "Why is this here? Shouldn't it be on goofy wheels in some ghetto neighborhood?" People don't see them as "real classics", they see them as some hoodlum stereotype car, so I don't bother being at their show-off cruise nights. I'd rather be driving it than looking at it anyways.

 

[Oldie85]

I grew up in the 70's and 80's and have always loved these G-Body vehicles. I have begun a collection of a few over the years and try to keep them as original as possible. This includes not changing the engine, transmission and even the radio. I did have thoughts of engine mods since a lot of G-Body owners put a faster more performance engine in them. So I decided to work on that one and keep that one a street or track cruiser, my 79 Malie. My 85 Cutlass is as original as the day I brought if from the original owner and my 78 Gprix I had the original engine rebuild and transmission done as well. Yes it is time, patience and money that entails owning these vehicles. On the flip side, I hope it pays off and we as G-Body owners will always keep it real and stay to what we enjoy and don't fall into the trap that these cars will lose there uniqueness and value.

True G-Gody enthusiast

 

[ed1948]

Oldie85...please adopt me! We must be related because we think so alike.

 

[Clone TIE Pilot]

I used to go to a movie forum years ago, one time a thread popped up about traditional gender roles. Lots of young guys responded how they were proud they did not know how to work on stuff like plumbing and cars. They look down on such skills with distain and contempt. So some of the decline in hobbies like cars may be in part with modern PC masculinity that is being shoved on boys and young men, some of which is more toxic than the so called old toxic masculinity. The other week on network tv sitcom, a lame one, had a episode where a white collar father is horrorified his oldest son is expressing interest in learning how to fix stuff from his retired blue collar grandfather who is the dad's dad.

Another issue too is the big shift from industrial economy to a post industrial economy where there are few middle of the road skilled labor jobs. Instead, in a post industrial economy, everything revolves around service providing instead of manufacturing, which really polarizes the job market into high education jobs like software engineering or low skilled jobs like janitors with few middle tier jobs unlike an industrial economy where there were lots of mid tier jobs in skilled labor, and it will keep getting worse. It is at the point where college education no longer guarantees a decent job like it once did, and more and more low positions are being filled with over educated employees for said positions who have to settle. It really is a mess now. I do fear one day society may end up as a real life Metropolis, the 1927 film.

 

[joesregalproject]

I used to go to a movie forum years ago, one time a thread popped up about traditional gender roles. Lots of young guys responded how they were proud they did not know how to work on stuff like plumbing and cars. They look down on such skills with distain and contempt. So some of the decline in hobbies like cars may be in part with modern PC masculinity that is being shoved on boys and young men, some of which is more toxic than the so called old toxic masculinity. The other week on network tv sitcom, a lame one, had a episode where a white collar father is horrorified his oldest son is expressing interest in learning how to fix stuff from his retired blue collar grandfather who is the dad's dad.

Another issue too is the big shift from industrial economy to a post industrial economy where there are few middle of the road skilled labor jobs. Instead, in a post industrial economy, everything revolves around service providing instead of manufacturing, which really polarizes the job market into high education jobs like software engineering or low skilled jobs like janitors with few middle tier jobs unlike an industrial economy where there were lots of mid tier jobs in skilled labor, and it will keep getting worse. It is at the point where college education no longer guarantees a decent job like it once did, and more and more low positions are being filled with over educated employees for said positions who have to settle. It really is a mess now. I do fear one day society may end up as a real life Metropolis, the 1927 film.

That's really crazy about guys being proud to not know how to work on cars. The whole, Honest-to-God reason I ever got into cars was because I found it embarrassing to not know how to work on cars. I knew that if I got be an adult and had to pay someone to replace drum brakes, change oil, or much less replace a tire for me I'd be embarrassed enough to cry. I'm not saying everyone should be a mechanic, but if you're an able-bodied 20 year-old man and can't change oil or a tire, you really need to analyze what you've been doing with your life.

 

[Opie Knievel]

That's really crazy about guys being proud to not know how to work on cars. The whole, Honest-to-God reason I ever got into cars was because I found it embarrassing to not know how to work on cars. I knew that if I got be an adult and had to pay someone to replace drum brakes, change oil, or much less replace a tire for me I'd be embarrassed enough to cry. I'm not saying everyone should be a mechanic, but if you're an able-bodied 20 year-old man and can't change oil or a tire, you really need to analyze what you've been doing with your life.

I couldn't agree more. I don't see how people can just drive their cars and have no clue how to maintain them or fix even small problems with them. My fiance knows more about cars than most of the guys she works with . She gave some guy a jump start the other night and she had to hook the cables up for him! What is this world coming to?

 

[Canon_Mutant]

Love how one of my nephews borrowed my old gen 1 Tacoma to move a while back and ran out of gas. He said, well doesn't it like beep at you or something to let you know? The purely digital world kids don't get the analog world . . .
No, Josh, you actually have to look at the gas gauge once in a while . . .

So, obviously, the idea of wrenching on something is completely out of the question. That said, on the rare occasion I actually get mine out, I get tons of looks and compliments . . . even from millennials.

Of course, I have the "it's winter" excuse again now but I scattered mine earlier this summer to do the big pro-touring update and with the electric antenna from hell problem and now the headliner that actually fell on my head when I was sitting behind the wheel in the car "making varooom noises" I seem to be taking 1 forward and 2 back lately. But, I initially planned on this suspension/brake mod to be a winter project but the big 25% off July 4th sale moved the schedule up . . . so now I am just back on schedule, right?

Right? . . . and you could hear a pin drop! Tumbleweeds blowing through the garage . . .