Article on the 2013 MARC National Meet

I enjoyed reading the article. So true about the age demographics and younger people not necessarily having the personal connection, time, or money to be involved with pre-war cars. I'm in the minority at 32 and I know VERY few people that have a collector car of any sort, let alone a Model A. Time and money are HUGE barriers to the mid 30 and under crowd I think. Modern life has so many other forms of entertainment that anyone making a feeble attempt at keeping up with the joneses will not find the time for actually working on their own car and its often cost prohibitive to have all the work farmed out (if you can find someone willing). That and family activities in general take that time over until most people are empty nesters. I hope many of you that own Model A's get your sons, daughters, grandkids or even neighbors involved with Model A's and basic car knowlege. Teach them a thing or two so maybe they'll one day carry the torch. I'm forever thankful and fortunate that my Dad showed me how to use a wrench and my grandfather passed his A onto me. ;)
 
I also enjoyed the article. I wish the author would have left the parking lot and explored the convention center where he would have seen the kids involved in Model A related activities, or hung around for the Grand Tour and witnessed the kids waving from under their umbrellas. True, they were in the minority but that is the case with all car related hobbies. What will keep the Model A popular is the attitude of most owners. I didn't see any don't touch signs on the cars and if the owners were around they were eager to talk to the public about the car. Kids were allowed to sit behind the wheel and toot the ahooga horn grinning all the while. Thats how connections are made and they happen all the time. When driving the A I have to add several minutes to every fuel stop for the gas pump seminar and I like that. Kids have a natural affinity for the Model A, with a little positive exposure they will aspire to owning one. I saw mine at about age 12 and decided one day I would have one. Forty-eght years later I can say I have owned it for forty years and never regretted it.
 
Excellent article, I really enjoyed reading it. We recently became "empty nesters," although we seem to be alternating between true empty nesting and temporary accomodation. We involved both our kids heavily in the old cars from day one and both keep their interest alive through attending events with us when they can. Neither can afford to keep a car at the moment, but both thoroughly intend to have them when they can. I was heartened at a recent local show when amid all the rods, customs, and high end exotics - first, second and third place Peoples Best of Show went to a 1903 CDO replica, our 1929 Model A, and a Renault Dauphine.
 
Delightful little car. Introduced to try and compete in the compact car market in the 60's, but not very successful. The owner and his wife take it often to local shows and have a nice display to go with it. It had never had a new coat of paint on it until this year when he had to do something to arrest body rot and put some new paint, in the original shade, on it. Love seeing oddball cars and their ardent owners get some recognition.
 
montanafordman said:
Time and money are HUGE barriers to the mid 30 and under crowd I think.
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I'm in the same age bracket as you, and agree with what you said completely. The big barrier for me was with a lack of mechanical skill, no shops that will work on it, and not much help nearby, it just makes owning an older car a real hassle. If not for a couple of guys that have been real help with this, the Model A might have gone on to another home long ago.

I think that even more important than introducing kids to old cars is that people go out of their way to help the young people who have old cars. Imagine how enthusiastic younger people would be to own and use antique cars if they had actual help from the older guys. I don't mean keyboard help either. I mean REAL help- The kind where you get off your retired butt and drive to the guy's house and help him fix his car.

So, that's my 2 cents. You want young people today to get involved and excited about antique cars? Get off your butt and go help them. Don't just say "well I emailed him with instructions what to do" or "he can rent a trailer, load up his car and bring it over here and work on it". I mean go to them and HELP!

Yea, I'm young compared to most of you guys reading this, but whenever someone needs help with their old car's electrical system, I load up the truck and go to them and fix it, no questions asked. THAT is the real kind of help that will keep the young guys interested and eventually, they will become the old guys helping the young ones that are yet to be born, so set a good example!
 
P.S. said:
I'm in the same age bracket as you, and agree with what you said completely. The big barrier for me was with a lack of mechanical skill, no shops that will work on it, and not much help nearby, it just makes owning an older car a real hassle. If not for a couple of guys that have been real help with this, the Model A might have gone on to another home long ago.

I think that even more important than introducing kids to old cars is that people go out of their way to help the young people who have old cars. Imagine how enthusiastic younger people would be to own and use antique cars if they had actual help from the older guys. I don't mean keyboard help either. I mean REAL help- The kind where you get off your retired butt and drive to the guy's house and help him fix his car.

So, that's my 2 cents. You want young people today to get involved and excited about antique cars? Get off your butt and go help them. Don't just say "well I emailed him with instructions what to do" or "he can rent a trailer, load up his car and bring it over here and work on it". I mean go to them and HELP!

Yea, I'm young compared to most of you guys reading this, but whenever someone needs help with their old car's electrical system, I load up the truck and go to them and fix it, no questions asked. THAT is the real kind of help that will keep the young guys interested and eventually, they will become the old guys helping the young ones that are yet to be born, so set a good example!
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You are very right on those points also. I was very lucky to have support of an excellent bunch of guys in my local club that have helped me out quite a bit so I can't discount that either. While I've done much of the work myself they've been there when it counts. I'm pretty certain that I could have accomplished what I have on my own but not without sending stuff out (I'm lacking a press, gas setup and welder at this point - hopefully I will acquire those when funds allow) or spending A LOT more money in the process due to ignorance without their advice. In fact with those variables factored in it would have been cost prohibitive to have my car back on the road in the time frame that I have achieved and we're probably talking adding YEARS especially without the motivation and excitement about the hobby which, as we all know can be contagious.

Some examples would include: rather than find a new axle for instance I had a club member help me straighten mine and provide me with a new wishbone since mine was bent beyond repair. The same person also has a fixture for installing hubs on new drums and a press with enough grunt to do the job - this sort of work he did for me at a price much more reasonable than sending off a hub and drum, or buying a new assembled hub and drum from the parts suppliers. I also relied on this persons experience (and supply of parts like axles/housings) to help me rebuild my rear end assembly. The same goes for the work welding the roller tracks. I've gone to another club members house that helped me use his press to install new transmission bearings and sandblasted my transmission tower to clean it up. (the rest like the bellhousing, axle housings etc. I took to a business to be blasted) I also borrowed several tools from my club and individuals in my club which helped in the process and saved me a bundle. On top of all this shortly after getting my car driving I lost a rod bearing and I had a couple club members show up offering to loan me (and install) a spare engine of theirs so I can participate in club events until I get my own engine rebuilt so I'm forever grateful for all who helped me along the way - and I'm sure I'll pay it forward in any ways I can!

The fordbarn is also a great resource for anyone who needs to knock on the experience or resources of others especially when you aren't fortunate enough to live near an active model A club. Its amazing who you might discover who lives nearby and is into Model A's as well or knows a thing or two about vintage cars. The closest club to the town I grew up in has only formed within the last decade or so and is over 100 miles away so that kind of support is tougher to come by but I've found people on this forum who live in that area.
 
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