I'm gonna rant!

[1evilregal]

joe,
keep your head up, and be proud of what you have. There will be a day when all those rich kids will be broken down on the side of the road, and have no clue on how to fix it, and chances are, it'll be when mom & dad are no longer footing the bill... that's when the fruits of your labor come full circle!

oh, and the ladies? when their car is broken down and the formerly rich boyfriends don't know how to fix it? they'll start noticing you!

 

[Kwik_Cutty88]

I'm in the same boat as you, Joe. Still a teen and a senior in high school and deal with spoiled kids everyday. No none understands why I spend most of my money on my car, they all think I should trade it in because I just out money into it, am it gets horrible fuel mileage. But so what, it's mine, it's paid for, and it may not be the nicest, but I built it.

 

[King_V]

I don't know, maybe I'm just crazy.

If you are, then when you're here, you're in an asylum where everyone has the same illness! 😛

I'll admit that I generally didn't have much positive to say about the kids in HS or college who had pricey cars handed to them. I'll also admit that, while I was enthusiastic about the guts of what made cars work, I knew only SLIGHTLY more than ZERO about how things worked. I could do a basic tune-up and adjust timing, though.

I, uh, will also admit that, erm, well, y'see, while I was mocking the kids who had their cars handed to them, I was sort of looking forward to the potential of getting an early-graduation gift of a new 1987 Buick Grand National (yeah, yeah, I was going to graduate in 1989, but still!).... now, I knew that was a long-shot, and an unstable job market meant that that didn't pan out.

Eh, maybe I would've gotten into an accident with it, or not appreciated it and been as cautious with it as such a car would deserve....

My car was always called "The Primal Concrete Sledge" because on the 2nd day of school junior year I got a loud music violation for blaring the song of the same name by Pantera and because the title summed up my car perfectly. Ahhh good times....

Before I even read the rest of the sentence, I saw that title and said "Dude, that was a Pantera song!" - actually, I wasn't a fan of Pantera, but I did love the songs "Cowboys From Hell", "Primal Concrete Sledge" and "Medicine Man"

I've gotten several comments on my Buick. The first day of school last year, some kid said he likes my Monte Carlo. NOW when's the last time you saw a 4 door Monte Carlo?
And somebody also once said "nice rims man"

They ARE! Those rims are my favorite! Sadly, my 1984 Buick Regal 4-door, silver, had a bizarre mix two of the rims like you have, except completely painted over in black (who the hell did THAT?!), and two Pontiac rallye (?) rims. Weird.

Yours has a THM-200C? Mine was also a V6 with a 2.41 axle, but had the oddball THM-250C transmission.

 

[307 Regal]

Class of '09 here. These cars typically don't get a whole lot of love in high school. Nobody knows what they are, they're slow, and everyone thinks they need hydraulics. (I'm still getting that last one even now in college. lol) I thought things might change when Fast 4 came out, since there was a big opening sequence with a GN, but that wasn't the case. Nobody made the connection; probably because my car wasn't all black. You will run into a handful of people that like it though, even if they don't know what it is. I don't remember too many compliments other than one kid liking my tach, one of my teachers talking to me about my car since he had a Cutlass, the friend who found it for me always asking me to do a burnout at his house, and another classmate who started humping the back of my car in the school parking lot as I was making my way over. (that last bit being the closest my car has ever gotten me to "getting some action" ) The only unwarranted compliments I ever get on the car itself come from older guys; especially when they used to own a g-body. There's only one time somebody my age complimented my car out in public. One night back when it was still flat grey, I was cruising through town with the windows down apparently after some car show had ended. As I was stopped at a traffic light, I heard some kid on the sidewalk say "(something something something) Grand National!"
Close enough.

 

[1Bad4558]

I wouldn't let any of that bother you. Your always gonna run into people that have stuff handed to then on a silver platter that don't respect where it came from. I remember I got no compliments back when I was in high school cause I was driving my 79 cutlass. Didn't let it get to me tho. It just brought a smile to my face when I would out run what momma and daddy bought them.

 

[MrRabbit24]

joe,Johnson i applaude you im 22 but liked g bodies at the age of 14 and let me tell you i get your rant do people call it grandma car ? what shape is the car in ? and yea made me mad but when you get your g body done girls go for them that other member was right chicks dig old cars.

 

[Poncho61]

35 years ago, I was you. In 1979, I drove a 1972 GP. I bought it, with a loan from mom, to replace the 69 VW I had bought 2 weeks before. Figured out real quick, VWs weren't for me. Back in 79, the student parking lot was almost empty. Parents didn't buy their kids cars and kids didn't get a car of their own, just because, like they do now. From a parents standpoint, or at least speaking for myself, I bought my kids cars. Nothing brand new. The newest was a 99 I bought in 06, for my oldest, a daughter. My thoughts at the time? I wanted something safe. And reliable. I didn't want to worry about her stranded somewhere. We live in the middle of no where, 8 miles from town. I didn't want her out there in an old beater with a heater. Her car was a far cry from a lot of the ones in the student lot. Lots of brand new cars and plenty that were only 2 or 3 years old.

My sons? Yep, so far I've bought 2 outta 3 of them cars. The oldest boy got the GP in my avatar. He's not a car guy. I think my wife must have had an affair. LOL He had no idea how to drive a car with, gasp, a carburator and a choke. He also spent a hell of a lot of his paycheck on gas to make the drive to college, 40 miles away, everyday. He drove that GP for maybe 3 months. Complained the whole time. The gas was killing his part time money. I repo'd the GP in favor of a 90 Sunbird. 4 cylinder, fuel injected, 5 speeds, low mileage, no rust. 3 times the gas mileage. He's been driving that now for 3 years. Second son got, thanks to dads check book, a 92 6 cylinder Firebird. He goes to the same junior college, so the gas mileage helps him as well. Now if I can teach him to use the brakes instead of the rear bumper on the car in front of him to stop.............Another affair?? LOL The last one, he's your age. High school senior. No car of his own. He drives a spare we have at home until I find the right vehicle for him. It'll probably be a Pontiac, so that right there tells you it won't be brand new. It will be reliable, it will be safe. Well, as safe as any car can be with a teenage boy behind the wheel. And I'll sleep a little better at night. I've learned to live with the fact that right now, none of them are car guys, or girl. Damn, you think my wife had 4 affairs? LOL They've grown up in a word of Fuel injection, ABS, power everything. I grew up in a world of power under the hood, and no creature comforts. Well, compared to todays cars. I think I'm the better for it. Maybe someday, my sons will walk into my garage, ask if I need help, and realize that old cars can be cool if for nothing more than the fact, there won't be a parking lot full of them where ever they go. Until then, I'll continue to work on their cars, force them to help so they're not complete idiots and have a small grasp on what makes things do what they do.

You keep at it. Someday, despite what you may think of parents buying their kids cars, you look at something you and the woman you found who accepted your old car made together, (a kid), and realize its the most important thing you'll ever do in your life and you'll do things you said you''d never do, like buy them a car. So you know they're safe and you'll sleep better.

 

[Poncho61]

By the way, thats my oldest driving that GP in my avatar. I still have the car. It survived his brief use, and the even briefer, is that a word? use by my second son. I've since taken it back for myself. Its currently sitting at home, no gas tank, rear frame cut out for repairs, interior getting swapped out for some later model pieces. The ball of fire 265 V8 runs like a top, and on a good day, will chirp the one tire that the open rear end powers. LOL If I ever have more time and money that I don't spend on my kids cars, I will take care of the lack of power, and enjoy it for myself. And a second by the way. Except for those 4 possible affairs my wife had creating kids that are nothing like me, LOL, she is not into old cars, but, I've spent the last 31 years trying to change that. Someday.................LOL

 

[Jeff in Ferndale WA]

Well...it's been 40 years since I was 17 and in high school, and I see that things haven't changed a whole lot. 8)

I drove a several cheap "beaters" that I needed to learn how to work on just to keep them running.
I had to work after school and buy my own gas too :shock:

There were guys like me, and then there were the guys whose parents bought them everything.
Those that are handed everything are those that feel they are entitled to handouts from the government.

I remember one kid that had a really nice hot rod handed to him, and I saw him stuck along the road one time and he didn't even know how to change a flat tire!
I smiled and waved as I drove by in my 65 Ford Falcon!

Be proud that you have learned how to help yourself

 

[King_V]

Digression...

Jeff, that T-top Cutlass of yours is EXTRA awesome!

Digression over!