Ford Barn Member Ages

Ford Barn Member ages

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ivoryjohn said:
The average age of the people in our hobby is getting older all the time and there may not be youngsters to carry on. People tend to want the car they admired when they were younger. My first two cars were Model A's and I am only 62. Where will my car be in 20 years? What are the kids today going to want in 2031? Think they are going to want to drive a 45mph car?

The average age of Ford Barn members is interesting but it better represents the average age of old Ford owners with computers. I bet if you could get a survey of the average age of Model A owners without limiting it to those who are computer literate we would find the vast majority in the 75 to 85 bracket. I wonder what is the average MARC member age?
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Thus a couple of previous statement of wondering what the average age of MARC and MAFCA members are.
 
While it is true that Model A Owners currently tend to be an older group, the demographics will continue to change. While many Model A Owners are those who remember the Model A from their youth. There is a growing next generation of Model A Owners too. From my experience, there are three different "subgroups" of Model A Owners that covers the majority of the Model A Owners that I have met.

1. Those who remember them from their youth (the oldest group).
2. Those who are the children and grandchildren of the oldest group and grew up
in the hobby or inherited the car.
3. Those who don't fit into the other two groups.

I am part of the third group. I was born in 1960. I was never exposed to Model A's in my youth. My parents both lived through the Great Depression and although they did not own Model A's during my lifetime, or talk about Model A's with me, I think the influence of that time frame still got passed along to me.

Another factor is how long it takes most people to develop the disposable income to be able to afford this hobby if you did not grow up in it or inherit a car. Most of those who are the youngest in the hobby probably inherited a car or grew up in the hobby. If you were not part of that group, while you may have been interested in these cars at a younger age, most probably could not afford a Model A until you were in your 40's or 50's. I was lucky enough to be able to afford one in my 30's.

I am only 50 and have owned a Model A for over 15 years. There will always be someone out there to continue the hobby as the oldest generation dies off. As long as we keep exposing youth to the cars, and some sort of fuel is available, the hobby will continue to be passed down from generation to generation.
 
Dad bought me my first Model A when I was 14 also. At 71 yrs. of age, I just can't stop working on Model A's and trying to encourage anyone that is interested in the hobby to get involved. Got a young lad coming up to the place this weekend, to look at aquiring a 28 pick-up that I have, for a full restoration, for him, his dad, and grandpa to work on together. Members from our local club will be constripted to help out as needed.
 
74 in April, got my first driveable A in 1958, and still have it, a wide bed. Also still run Bonneville with B power, 153 last year, looking for more this year.
 
I'm 46. I was exposed to Model As by my father when I was 12. Helped dad get his barn find As put together and running. I am also not worried about the hobby. The reason we don't see many youngsters in the A hobby is not because of lack of interest. I believe its has more to do with lack of funding. Unless you are given or inherit an A, the cost of admission is pretty high now. Add to that needing somewhere to keep the car and getting into the Model A (or any old car) hobby is something you have to wait until you can afford, the survey data pretty much supports that theory. The average age of the Model A enthusiast may be high, but that could be due to the fact the Model A has such a large range of ages actively involved. There just are not a lot of 70 and 80 year olds involved with tuner cars!
 
I am 55 and was born in 1955!!
Been interested in pre 1950 Fords for most of my life.
Now I seem to be gravitating towards the history of the cars, the company and the people involved in their making.

Manuel in Oz
 
I'm 17, born and raised in the model a hobby. I've driven almost 15,000 miles in the past 2 1/2 years. My car isn't a show winner, but it get's me everywhere i need to go (most of the time). My car's name is Josephine, names after Joe York who restored the car back in the 70's. If you know my car, you know it is cursed. And if you think i'm joking, i'm not. The car has a history of "surprises" it has left for me.
 
I got my car for graduation at 26 but have not had a chance to drive her much as the car was always at dad's house. I however, was not at dad's house-usually on another coast.

I have slowly pumped money into her and she is in the process of getting a new engine this year and I will finally get to bring her to my house. Then the fun will begin with me driving her different shows and trips.

And I am the youngest person in both of my clubs at 40.
 
Jim Brierley said:
74 in April, got my first driveable A in 1958, and still have it, a wide bed. Also still run Bonneville with B power, 153 last year, looking for more this year.
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Jim. Would like to meet you when you go to Bonneville and check out your B. I will be there in August with our streamliner team. 64 here by the way.
 
Hagertys has identified the trend of less interest in car collecting, antique cars, et al, as threats to the continuation of our hobby (or way of life for some).

Like all endeavors, new blood is necessary to maintain an avocation.

Will todays youngsters be interested in old Fords? Will it be The New Beetle, PT Cruiser, Fast and Furious Civics, or Smart Cars that they find enticing enough to hold onto and repair/restore/drive/collect/show? Will they even care?

I'm trying to interest my teens in at least having a notion of how the mechanical world works. Most kids are only interested in the world of electrons splattering on the back of a sheet of plasma and being connected to the rest of the world instantly.
 
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Jordan said:
I'm 17, born and raised in the model a hobby. I've driven almost 15,000 miles in the past 2 1/2 years. My car isn't a show winner, but it get's me everywhere i need to go (most of the time). My car's name is Josephine, names after Joe York who restored the car back in the 70's. If you know my car, you know it is cursed. And if you think i'm joking, i'm not. The car has a history of "surprises" it has left for me.
Click to expand...

oooohhhhhhh....

i'm a sucker for "haunted" or cursed car stories... you should start a thread for haunted cars and share some stories!
 
Got my one and only A (29 std coupe) in 1959 at the age of 16 and still own it. Became interested in A's when my uncle bought a dolomite mine in the Calif desert that had a couple of model T trucks that came with the mine. He told me then that A's were easier to drive so when I looked for my first car I bought an A for $175 and it had just had the engine rebuilt.
 
I am 64 and driving the 29 CCPU I bought in 1964. My neighbor accross the street used to give me a ride to school in it if I missed the bus.Sold it to me for $75 running and driving. My friend and I took it apart in '69 and I stored it (and moved it 4 times ) untill last year when another friend and I got it running again.Good things come to those who wait, and don't sell stuff: EVER!!!
 
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