Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[clan chieftain]

Following on from another topic,it is very true what Jim Walker and Pigtin have stated. It is an investment and depreciation doesnt really come into it.
Other then being an investment we all must agree that it is great fun and being able to restore and run a form of transport where in a lot of cases has almost but disappeared from our roads.
I enjoy the looks and comments from other road users...some good and some bad.
But it gives me the satisfaction of driving my estate on the road knowing that I may not see another one. Okay its not really a classic car but its fun for me....plus its easy to fix.
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The Clan Chieftain

[D4B]

For me it is another excuse to get out in the garage and do some
tinkering!! Also it is because I loath paying garages to plug their
diagnostic equipment into a modern (my daily driver is a 1990 Mitsubishi ~
which is also without cat / ecu etc)

Finally I think that most modern cars are pig ugly

[Journer]

I think that the styling is one thing that older cars have in spades over modern cars. In addition, the fact that most where hand made gives another dimension.
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'Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another'

[welshrover]

me and my wife drive classics not as an investment but to let the younger generations know what britain was all about, and give a little nostalgia to the older generation too.weve been married for twenty years and there has never been a modern/foriegn car on or near our drive. and im afraid there wont be .i know weve had foreign cars here for years, but then we had a choice. to buy other makers cars or buy british.

[Peter_L]

At the risk of being ostracised, I will put my hand up and say I got weary of owning one.

From the age of about 10 I would help my Dad on Saturdays to do what seemed like a weekly maintenance routine, so on Sunday we could drive the 60 miles to Cleethorpes. As I got older I really enjoyed "tinkering".

Armed with little more than worn Mole grips, a screwdriver that had the wooden handle bound with black fabric tape and a loose headed axe that doubled as a hammer, I seem to remember repairing everything from a broken lay shaft to a petrol gauge.

Over the years, the tool kit and garage facilities improved and I enjoyed hundreds if not thousands of hours with a range of vehicles. I am sure I have forgotten more than others know.

I still do the routine maintenance and cleaning on our moderns, although most of the work only involves changing the oil, wiper blades and checking brake wear.

Now I view the classics, take interest in their history and admire those who strive to maintain them. Today my prefered mode of transport is the modern, but I am glad that I have been there done that and have the T shirt, (several).

[Rick]

Dad has always been a tinkerer, so I guess I can blame him, although he wasn't "in" to classic or vintage cars, just a home maintainer always with a non-new family car to keep on top of.

In the mid 1980s I learnt to drive in mum's 1960s Mini estate (tweaked), then started messing about with the '67 Spitfire that dad bought for £25 before passing it on to me to get on with.

Ever since I've always been keen on the character, history, driving charactistics and foibles associated with older cars. Despite having moderns to ensure that we can do the school run, and commute as necessary, I only ever enjoy driving when behind the wheel of something interesting and old.

RJ
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Rick - Admin
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[Riley Blue]

Simple - modern cars are so boring!

[welshrover]

[pigtin]

Pure nostalgia, for the happy and carefree days of the 50s and early 60s. They really were happy and carefree for me.
The girls: well wrapped up against the cold in a heaterless car… there was always a challenge to overcome. The time seven of us were in an Austin Colwyn Cabrio’ outside the nurse’s home after a dance, and the matron rollicked the guy we sat behind the wheel (he hadn’t pulled a bird.) for keeping the girls out late.
Nine people (three on the folded hood, three in the back seat, and three across the front) going in my Vauxhall 14/6 Martin Walter for a midnight swim at Camber Sands after an evening of drinking in Tenterden.
Driving up Challock Hill in my Morris 8 with no weather equipment and being almost knocked senseless by hailstones as it slowed to a walking pace. The same car breaking a crankshaft, outside aforementioned nurse’s home… remaining there two days and thus getting me an undeserved reputation as a stud.
The Rover 16 that purred like a Rolls and took us camping in Cornwall and was used to court my future wife.

Perhaps this nostalgia is unhealthy, but I am probably entering my last year of driving pre-war cars and don’t expect to pull anymore birds
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Due to the onset of my mid eighties I'm no longer sprightly and rarely seen in my Austin special. I have written a book though. https://amzn.eu/d/7rwRRqL

[ukdave2002]

For me its a number of reasons:

I'm not one of these that sits in the "I don't like moderns" camp; and I really don't agree that all modern cars are just boring..... If I need to drive 200 miles for a business meeting, I want reliability, comfort and yes all my modern gadgets...so why do I need a classic or 2 or 5!

I think its partly that my job requires absolutely zero hands on practical skills, and I am by nature a very practical person, I need an outlet! having had quite a practical initial training, there are probably loads of members in this category, practical with some common sense....arrr you should manage stuff!

There is a great deal of satisfaction in restoring and maintaining something to its former glory, accolades are nice from passers by and its nice to hear their own recollections of similar vehicles; the Z van seems to do this more than most, every where I go someone has a tail to tell about them

Nostalgia, plays its part, my happy carfree days were the 80's in to the early 90's......... we keep hearing that today's moderns will never be classics, but cars like early Golfs now command a second glance, MR2's are being restored, there is forum member restoring a MK1 Astra GTE and it made me think; when did you last see any Mk1 Astra's? I'd love a mk 1 Astra GTE....in red!!!

Probably deviating form the original question!! so to summarise its:

Hands on practical stuff
Satisfaction
Nostalgia

Dave

[peter scott]

A few reasons for me:

I've always been obsessed by the 1930s every since I was a boy.

I really liked seeing pre-war cars in everyday use back in the 1950s when I was a kid.

I enjoy dealing with the numerous engineering challenges especially since there is no compulsion to find a solution to a tight deadline.

Peter
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https://www.nostalgiatech.co.uk
1939 SS Jaguar 2 1/2 litre saloon

[Jason]

I just wanted to be a bit 'different'....in my 'boyracer' days, my run of the mill cars had to have alloy wheels and body kits, just so they'd stand out from the rest.

I always wanted an old car as you don't see many around and they are certainly different......and now with the Alvis, its a great feeling when driving her, when everyone stops to stare.

I must confess I also enjoy older people telling me how exclusive and expensive, Alvis cars were in their day
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"people with money buy a Rolls Royce, people with taste buy an Alvis".

[ukdave2002]

[Ironhead]

i love driving old motors! it's nice to be out in something different amongst the sea of moderns.i drive a brand new lorry for a living,but i'd much prefer to be out in a Daf or Volvo we had in the '80's.