[fastball]

After reading all this I think Billy Joel had it right:

The good ole days weren't always good and tomorrow ain't as bad as it seems.

[Shultzy]

Originally Posted by RenegadeXR

I think we've all felt that way at one time or another. The 1960s and 1970s evoke a lot of strong emotions. Rock and roll was at its peak, people were expressing messages of peace and love, the cold war was spawning a ton of cool movies like James Bond, and performance cars were starting to come out set up from the factory for the everyday worker.

But here are the harsh realities of the time: Racism was still more alive than today, politicians were even more corrupt than today, places like New York City were slums, the internet's predecessor was nothing more than an experiment being ran by a few universities, and although cars looked cool, they were honestly very crappy. The quality of life was lower for most people than today, despite what some people claim through rose colored glasses when recalling the past.

I encourage you to find a place that sells cheap classics and take a test drive
with a car that has its original drum brakes. That's what I did. The handling is
horrible and you need to anticipate in advance when you want to stop. The engine sucks fuel like no tomorrow, making it impractical. The cars then are really not built for today's roads and driving styles.

You have to realize. All that freedom is what eventually led to the modern day we have now and we're kind of still living in the era that began then. We're in a golden age of automotive performance. We live in a world where you can embrace technology, but there's also more recently a movement to go back to
the basics and get out and about. Car culture is also not dead despite what people say. If you want to buy an old car and act out a hippie lifestyle, you wouldn't be the only one.

The only thing I will say that isn't as good as then is movies. They're consistently getting worse every year. Less plot, more CGI. I feel like movies peaked out in the 90's as an art form. One way I also remove bias from the equation is to watch period pieces (eg: westerns) where it's harder to tell what era a
movie was shot in. Just going by plot and overall effort alone, the old movies generally blow new ones away.

Very true. Especially about the movies lol! Thanks for the feedback

[RenegadeXR]

Originally Posted by Norm Peterson

All true. But those are all solve-able problems. Google "Pro-Touring".

Yep, but I was trying to address the OP's post as it was phrased: Literally living back in that era. I don't disagree that you could create a really nice restomod today and fix all those problems (except maybe structural safety things like crumple zones), but if we're literally talking about the 60's and 70's, I just wanted him to be aware what he'd be dealing with. I'm 27 so I didn't live through that era, but I made an honest effort to understand what it was like to drive an older car equipped with the technology of that era and ended up hating it. I came into the test drive with high expectations and left with a dose of reality.

We live in some very cool times. Ironically, as we make technological advancements, it's now very easy to relive the past if you want. Because of how cheap it is now to fabricate parts of almost any imaginable shape and size in small quantities, you can now have a 1970s era Camaro built brand new as a reproduction. It's obviously expensive, but that's just an example of some of the extremes that are possible. On a broader level, this opens the door to a lot of reproduction parts to keep the originals running for a very long time.

I'm optimistic about the future. I think we will get self driving cars, preservation of a lot of vintage vehicles, and the flexibility to be as disconnected or connected from digital life as you want. I don't picture a cold, dis-utopian future. I see one where technology sort of slips under the carpet and becomes less visible, empowers us to revisit the past, and integrates in our life to live the way we want without it being super obvious like it is in science fiction movies.

[Techn9cian805]

I used to drive an old IROC and I thought it was the coolest shit being the only pre-teen kid showing up to school in a muscle car, but now that I have had the privilege to drive a modern muscle car, I could say that I don't miss it and will never want to drive an old muscle car, not as a daily driver at least.

classic cars are cool to look at and cruise in on the weekends and what not, but like I've said, in the old eras, you would most likely have to daily drive those cars. the novelty would fade quickly if all you had was an uncomfortable car without Bluetooth and a good set up for music.

just another case of "the grass is always greener..." that will disappoint.

[Norm Peterson]

Originally Posted by RenegadeXR

Yep, but I was trying to address the OP's post as it was phrased: Literally living back in that era.

It wasn't all that long ago that I was driving a 1979 Chevy Malibu . . . though ultimately with a number of improvements (including aftermarket EFI). Technologically, it was kind of a baby step from 1960's Chevelle and today's SS sedan.

I'm optimistic about the future. I think we will get self driving cars, preservation of a lot of vintage vehicles, and the flexibility to be as disconnected or connected from digital life as you want. I don't picture a cold, dis-utopian future. I see one where technology sort of slips under the carpet and becomes less visible, empowers us to revisit the past, and integrates in our life to live the way we want without it being super obvious like it is in science fiction movies.

I'm afraid that I'm neither young enough to automatically assume that involving technology is inherently the best way to approach all problems, nor old enough or feeble enough to want to turn my driving fun over to computers. Technology has its place - engine control units probably being the best example - but I feel that it can be overdone to where things get lost along the way.


Norm

[LT4Greg]

Good luck Shultzy on your Air Force career!!

[Shultzy]

Originally Posted by LT1Greg

Good luck Shultzy on your Air Force career!!

Thank you!!

[BrianL]

Back in '74 I was 20 & worked at a gas station pumping gas. Gas prices basically doubled from when I started (all the way up to $0.62/gallon!), & supply sometimes ran low. People freaked & lined up for blocks waiting for gas. And of course were mad (like I had something to do with it). Anyway, another kid had a sweet '69 428 Cobra Jet Mach 1 fastback mustang I lusted after. He broke the timing chain & got tickets, lived at home (parents bought him that car), so he was looking to dump it. I swooped in & got it for a good price, put on headers & it was a bad ass car.

But it had drum brakes, all the weight was up front so couldn't handle corners well (back end was way loose), & got about 7 MPG with the 4.11 gears in it. Was a fun car for sure & I'm glad to have that experience. I traded it in for a 240Z after a few years basically due to the 7 MPG factor. Wish I would have kept it as they bring in big bucks now, bur really my '16 SS would have walked from that car in reality & drives so much better. And I don't get 7 MPG either!

[fastball]

Originally Posted by BrianL

I traded it in for a 240Z after a few years basically due to the 7 MPG factor. Wish I would have kept it as they bring in big bucks now

That right there is the collector car market in a nutshell. These cars that catch high 5 and 6 figure dollars were used cars nobody gave two hoots about when they were within 20 years after their production year.

Case in point now are the mid-late 1980s Fox body Mustangs. They've been governed by the used car market and up until the last couple years even fully loaded, low mileage, good condition Mustang GTs from 1988-90 were $5,000 cars all day. Now the prices have gone over $10,000 for good condition examples and are steadily increasing.

[CAM-FIFTY]

Only time I ever felt as if I'm in wrong era was after watching Mad Men

[midnightmerc]

I know that the performance numbers of today's cars exceed those of yesteryear but having driven my girlfriend's 2010 SS enthusiastically and having driven my dad's 1070 GS Stage 1 back in the early 80s, I can't say for sure that is the case. I remember back then that from about 20-30 mph then stomping on the Buick would have left my girlfriend's SS far behind.

[hotlap]

Originally Posted by CAM-FIFTY

Only time I ever felt as if I'm in wrong era was after watching Mad Men

I know what you mean

[RenegadeXR]

Originally Posted by midnightmerc

having driven my dad's 1070 GS Stage 1 back in the early 80s...

That sounds really rough. I'm assuming it was an early Buick GS Wagon?

[Heavymetal454]

Originally Posted by RenegadeXR

That sounds really rough. I'm assuming it was an early Buick GS Wagon?

Are those wheels forged or slow cast?