Old car clubs???

[gasman826]

I hesitate to bring up this subject for fear that I?ll be diagnosed with depression.  But?whatever happened to car clubs.  I know there are a few around that do good things like have meetings, dinners, and sponsor quality events.  No, I?m talking about the little, no budget kind of club that got together and shared work.  There was an opportunity to learn and share knowledge and experience?to share resources like tools and spare parts?to lend an unused building for a duel purpose club house/garage.  Maybe some of us lived in a magic time and poof?now it is gone.  I have older cousins that were members of such a club, Ann Arbor Road Aces.  They had a club house where parts, model cars, support, work, and BS were freely swapped.  There were few meetings?at least no organized.  Sometimes there were dances scheduled for dates and fund raising.  Sometimes, Bob Seger would play a little.

So now, every kid has a car with a garage and tools to work on it.  There is no need to share and struggle.  If they need knowledge and experience, they just get out the smart phone and Google.  There is no need for social interaction.  Have we really progressed?

Several times I?ve seen written on this website that there are no new questions to be answered about ?57 Fords.  Maybe we need to seek out people that don?t yet even know the question.  Occasionally, I volunteer at the local University.  I really enjoy it.  I?m thinking about volunteering at the community college where they have auto related classes.

[57 Ford Kustom]

Gasman,
   On the back of my Dad's (mine) 57' hangs his car club plaque "The Rutland Road Angels". He would tell us boy's about how they would swear an oath to join. The club was dedicated to serving their community, they each carried cards, like business cards that they would hand out to people if they helped them, on the side of the road, or where ever. The card had the club's pledge, and at the bottom it said "I was helped by a Road Angel". One of my brothers has one of those hand out cards. I don't or I'd Quote the pledge. I loved sitting in the garage and listen for hours of my Dad's stories of that "Magical Time". Even though I didn't grow up then, I wish I was, you are absolutely right, we are a disconnected society now,it's sad! I miss my Dad and the stories of the good ole day's, But I have his car, and his stories to pass down to my boy's. Thanks for the memories Gasman!
Thanks, Tim      

[RICH MUISE]

LOL...wait a little bit..I'll have all kinds of questions coming up when I start the drivetrain...like you said I just don't know what they are yet. They'll be really simple questions, like: ok...I've got this engine, where do I start?
I met a local guy last year who was trying to get a gathering every Saturday night on old 66 in my neighborhood. Didn't work out too well for me, turns out they were either ratrodders or guys who just stopped by to show their new Barrett Jackson aquisition. They had no interest in my project, and for sure part of the problem was I didn't actually have a car there to talk about. Three weeks in a row I  had someone just walk away from me, while I was in mid sentence, to go talk ratrod with someone else...so I said screw it.
I figure it's kinda futile trying to join one of the local clubs until I get mine up and running, then I'll see what transpires. In the meantime, I've met lots of good guys at swap meets...shows, not so much. I think the kind of guy that will sit at a swap meet with some stuff to sell is probably more into the grease under the fingernails than those at shows....and those are usually the guys that like to talk about their projects.

[JPotter57]

I have 6 boys and 2 girls. We homeschool.  3 of my kids are little guys ranging from 1 week old to a 3 year old little boy who lives and breathes cars.  My current plan is to try and buy a cheap(?) race car to use as a teaching tool.  I want to find something like a Pinto, Maverick or Mustang II to put my 351 Cleveland in.  I want someting easy to work on, something to get my kids excited about cars.  My oldest two sons really dont care anything about cars.  My oldest daughter loves it, my second two boys like it ok I guess, enough to show promise.  I believe a dragster would get them all interested, just not sure I could justify it to the wife, unless I volunteered to make this a homeschool co-op, available to other kids in our area that homeschool.  See, all of our friends homeschool, we dont have any friends in public schools.  I dont know if I have the patience for that ir not, my older boys and the other several boys who I am sure would want to participate.  THAT, is the only way I know to get a young generation interested.  You see, the car hobby has a lot of competition for the younger guys attention now.  There's always been females, now there's music, video games, other sports, stuff like that.  Not to mention a lot of kids are the offspring of a liberal hippy generation that does not like cars, or at least only see them as a tool, an appliance.  Instead of car clubs, they have gamer clubs, book clubs, etc.  The car hobby is seen by most of them, even those interested in cars to be a large outlay of cash, and most just dont have it.  Really, have you seriously looked at the going price for almost any American two door anything?  If some of us hadnt bought junk to start with, we couldnt be involved with this hobby.  I do feel your pain gasman, I wish it was different, but it looks like the best of the good life is behind us.  I plan to make the best of what I will call the real golden years.

[JPotter57]

Hey. Rich,  thats why I like it here.  I've not. Had a running 57 since 2006, but I'm here, sometimes helping sometimes asking questions.  You never stop learning, and besides my dad, there's no one else I'd rather learn from.

[57 Ford Kustom]

Amen James,
   Since my Dad passed away, this is the closest thing to talking in the garage that I've had. I have two girls and two boys, the girls are older and busy making my grandchildren, and raising their families. They loved their grandpa, and alway's grew up with old cars. My boys are polar opposites, my older son doesn't hunt, fish, or care much about the car, other than it was gramps. The youngest hunts, fishes, and is with me all the time in the garage. He reads car books that his grandfather read for school reports, like "Boy gets car" written by Henry Felsen and "Hot Rod" written by the same. I guess all we can do is keep fighting the good fight!
Thanks,
Tim

[JimNolan]

   The only car club in our town was clickish and they didn't drive 25 miles from home. They used to be a big concern but as the school buddies got older they got more clickish and the club dwindled to almost nothing.
  Me and my buddy Al would go together to events everywhere and we picked up two more guys along the way. Four of us went like that for years. Al died last year and his son got the car and started going with us. He wanted to bring more guys into the group. We said OK, just as long as we don't have meetings and we just go to shows that the majority wants to go to. We ended up with 12 people in the group, forming a club and getting stickers with the clubs name. Events are planned by people I don't know that well, meetings every Tuesday night, the three or four that want to meet every week plan the events to their schedule. If the scheduled event starts at 9am, they want to be there at 8am, we put on one car show and they're planning to have three car shows next year.
  I don't plan on being a part of it anymore, I expect the other two of the original group will be bailing eventually too. It's turned out to be a job keeping up with them and their schedules. I think clubs are OK, but I think I'm too old and tired to run like a race horse with my hair on fire. Much less get to an event at 8am in the morning with " trophies at 4pm ".  Jim  
   

[57 Ford Kustom]

Jim,
   Much of the same happened to my Dad when I was growing up. Just a couple of guy's hanging out, turned into a car club of over a hundred, the politics were so bad, that the old dog's backed out, and let the others have the club that started out not a club!
Thanks,
Tim

[Zapato]

Many years ago used to buy early ford parts for my 41 panel. Owner of the place and a few of his buddies would trek to Bonneville every year for Speed Week. In jest they formed a car club very exclusive by invitation only. Only one rule you had to go to Bonneville every year. They liked the group size so no one to my knowledge was ever invited to join. Believe there were 4 maybe 5 members ever. Club name was Formula Armchair Race Team or F.A.R.T. for short. One rule and one yearly meeting at the SALT.  Now that's my kind of club.

Most clubs start out with good intentions then someone gets trophy hungry and all kinds of crazy things start happening. Soon someone figures out if 10-15 guys show up at a small run the club walks away with a club participation trophy. So they find 2-3 small local cruises to hit on a saturday. Then  someone figures out if they all vote for one guy  he'll win participants choice. One thing leads to another and the last thing you want is to even see these clowns show up.

i've helped a lot of guys with time , parts and loaned tools. Doesn't seem to reciprocate too often. Not sure there are many clubs like you'd like gasman.  Seems lots of those were around after WW2 and full of vets. Most of them coming together and sharing everything they had. From what I've read and seen in magazines a club was doing great if they had a Lincoln arc welder. Hell I just gave away a Miller arc welder couldn't see hanging on to it as I have always liked using my Linde arc welder much more. Sad to say times are different after having lost tools and parts to thieves a couple of times don't find myself welcoming as many people into my shop.

A friends' wife explained to me that the only reason i wouldn't join or stay in a club was that most ,according to her, that my service time soured me on rules. And would not tolerate them in my free time. Maybe she was right truly do hate been told to be somewhere and do anything that will bring me little pleasure just to be part of a group.

Zap-

[JimNolan]

Zap,
   You got my new club down to a " T ". The voting for one person, the club participation and the worst that happened was that I went to the Club Car Show and after telling them I wouldn't put up with club members getting trophy's they had walk-in-judging. One guy had 20 family members there. I figured out that I just don't play well with others. I'm going by myself unless some feel like I do. If not, I'll meet another friend that isn't involved with a club and I'll start it all over again. Jim

[57 Ford Kustom]

   I guess we are the car club of today. Corrosponding via the internet, only a few of us ever meeting another. Boy it's lonely up here in the Green mtn state. I guess we all have adapted, but long for day's gone by!
Tim

[glen b henderson]

Tom, if I remember correctly, your dad was putting together a list of members with location, phone numbers ect just so that as we traveled around the country, we could drop in for a visit. We are a club here, but located through out the country. This is our club house!

[geraldchainsaw]

i agree with what most have said,   i gave up on a high end car club in dearborn mi,   they expected u to partispate in everything,    i rather just go and leave when i wanted,  and yes,  alot of them would get trophys because of friends,  not for a car that someone else build and u claim is yours,  i enjoy a car more when the person that owns it did the work,  went to cobo hall in detroit for a car show,  stopped an talked to a guy about his car,  asked him how long he owned it,  said he had it for 3 months and payed 30 or 40 g for it,   i usally walk on by,  i enjoy cars the person has woked on,  period.  but theres so many of them out there,   1 more story,    i knew this hardware owner,  went by with my 57,  we talked,  next at a car show he shows up with a, i don't know what year vet,   its like a points car,  perfect, (alto i don't like vets),   and he ends up withj best of show trophy,   we talked, and he says he just bought the car,  didn't even polish it,    those guys turn me off.      just my opinion,   jerry

[lowrider]

Growing up in 50's Detroit I cant really recall local clubs doing any shows or charitable events (or I wasnt paying attention). Recall seeing clubs hanging around Rouge Park in Detroit & the traditional club plate hanging down from the rear bumper. By the time I started driving in the mid 60's I cant recall seeing any clubs around. Everyone seemed to be in a motorcycle club. About 10 of us got together and started a "club". U.S.24 Eliminators. About all we did was meet up on sunday nite at Big Boys on Telegraph (U.S.24). Had some cool cars. 56 Ford Vicky, 67 Fairlane GTA, Boss 302 Mustang, off-brand 396 Chevelle, and a 34 3window coupe. Of course I had the fastest one, 63 Ford 406. We didnt do much but we had fun. Kind of like a continous American Graffiti. It broke up after I got drafted in 69. Ive thought about it but I dont think I could join a club now. Just toooo busy doing "stuff".

[JimNolan]

Growing up in 50's Detroit I cant really recall local clubs doing any shows or charitable events (or I wasnt paying attention). Recall seeing clubs hanging around Rouge Park in Detroit & the traditional club plate hanging down from the rear bumper. By the time I started driving in the mid 60's I cant recall seeing any clubs around. Everyone seemed to be in a motorcycle club. About 10 of us got together and started a "club". U.S.24 Eliminators. About all we did was meet up on sunday nite at Big Boys on Telegraph (U.S.24). Had some cool cars. 56 Ford Vicky, 67 Fairlane GTA, Boss 302 Mustang, off-brand 396 Chevelle, and a 34 3window coupe. Of course I had the fastest one, 63 Ford 406. We didnt do much but we had fun. Kind of like a continous American Graffiti. It broke up after I got drafted in 69. Ive thought about it but I dont think I could join a club now. Just toooo busy doing "stuff".

I used to work in Warren, Mich when I was 18. I remember racing a Ford Mustang on Telegraph Rd. for miles and miles. It used to be a great place to race. 75 hadn't made it any farther than Toledo at that time and Telegraph Rd. was a race track. Jim