quote:

Originally posted by adv ET 266:
I think in today’s dollars, a late model hot rod is way more expensive than a new one back in the day. Wages have not proportional stayed up.
Even with financing, buying a late model hot rod, (with your money), is for the few. But, not that long ago the 5.0 mustang in the late 80’s early 90’s, was a tremendous deal. Considered by most the ‘57 Chevy of our time. That’s exactly how I got addicted again, after years of nothing.

I was about 17-18 and in love with a new 1966 GTO on the showroom floor of a dealership I worked at some years later...

Red, maybe a white interior and 4 speed tri power 389......I could drive that car home for right around $3000....Needed a co-signer and wisely my father said NO.....

I made probably $100 a week or less at the time...

There is definitely a young car culture. They are just not all into drag racing. The C10 truck scene is huge on the west coast. The off road deal and mud bogging is very popular. The import scene is very healthy. 50's style rat rods and rockabilly bands are doing okay. And lots of young guys love the new Mopar Hellcats and everything that resembles them.
I go to lots of cars shows, and so do lots of young car enthusiasts

quote:

Originally posted by Mike Rietow:
The dollar is in DEEP trouble. Buy gold and silver.

LMAO. If you were half as smart as you think you are, you'd be dangerous.

SC I have sitting in my garage a 65 tri power 4spd GTO that I have had since new. $2950 out the door. Kid today can't buy something today comparable (Hellcat, COPO, Mustang) for under $100K and head for the track like we did.

I bought a '67 GTO around 1970.

A Heavily optioned car that I grew to hate for various mechanical issues....

400, Q-Jet, turbo 400, Hurst Dual Gate shifter....AC, Disc front brakes.....AM/FM radio.....Fathom Blue....I put Cragars and nice tires on it and they hit bad up front....had to use wheel spacers to clear the calipers.

My wife rammed it into a curb and blew a tire and wrecked a wheel.......she was terrible driver and wrecked 2 other cars....

I sure wish I had it today ! Just to have some fun with....It was pretty fast for back then....

I think I paid $1800 for it used with under 20,000 on the odometer....

Pulled the engine to put a new "rope" seal in it to fix the bad oil leak, new cam and lifters and sold it to a young guy and his father.....The young guy pitched for the NY Yankees for a short time...

Sold it for $1000....Today that's a 50 grand car if its nice...


64's and 65's were nice....The bucket seats were really nice....My friend's brother had a '64 Tri Power and we nearly wrecked it on a joy ride.....Would have been hell to pay if we did...

quote:

Originally posted by SCDIV1:
You may consider yourself old but not many people can keep up with what you and your son do.....way to ambitious for my old self....even years ago....

My son can't keep up. Thanks for noticing. It's a lot of work, time and $ but we make a good Team and it has paid off.

Sportsman drag racing is as good as gold, know why? Because we all have 50 oz's each and it's going to $30k eventually.

18 year old couldn't afford 1970 Hemi 'Cuda. 18 year old can't afford 2020 Hellcat Challenger. Nothing has changed.

EXACTLY, I've been saying the same for decades, racing was always expensive.

Further, HP has never been so readily available and affordable.

What cost $1 dollar in 1970, cost's $6 dollars in 2020.

It's not that racing is more expensive, it's that the dollar has lost purchasing power.

Wait till the hyperinflation from all the bailouts hit. America will be turned into a shooting range. A game of Cowboys and satanist Lefty's.

Another observation.

Back when I started racing most cars had names or sponsors of some sort. It was easy to tell who was who as a spectator and you could cheer for your favorite a car and driver.

Now, its just another dragster, just another Camaro, just another Vega and my god, enough with the S-10s already. You can't tell one car from another, even as a racer.

Property values where we live have essentially doubled in the past 20 years. I think part of the decline in certain areas has to with real estate costs and horrible HOA's. Alot of the racer demographic is blue collar and most affordable homes reside in HOA neighborhoods nowadays. These neighborhoods generally don't allow residents to store trailers or rv's. Alot of folks would like to race but simply don't live somewhere that allows it. Or at least the level of dedication and added work to race is too much.

Yes you can have a storage lot but your stuff will eventually get broken into or messed with. Its inevitable (ask me how I know).

The pulse of drag racing is according to whatever Dr. Fauci says it is.

The same as the pulse of everything else is.

50 million jobs destroyed so far!

Fatality rate based on conflated statistics .026%

Anyone seen or heard from the Americans yet?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Mike Rietow, August 05, 2020 11:48 AM

One thing I think needs to be mentioned here. Locally, test and tune and grudge racing has never been more popular. Standing room only popular. The track doesn't have to provide any sort of purse for any of it. Just open the gates and collect the money.

The cars going down the tracks at these "events" are no cheaper than bracket cars. Somehow, the participants have been able to find the funds to purchase and/or modify these vehicles. These participants do not seem phased by the devalued American dollar. And both these participants and spectators have apparently not heard about how there is no more car culture.

At the same time, the local bracket race attendance is fading. The big buck bracket races are doing just fine. Many of the traveling participants at those huge purse events are quite young too. Bracket racers have made their choice. They are only going to go where the stakes (both in costs and potential reward) are the very highest. It's what the majority of bracket racers have said they wanted and it's exactly what they have gotten. I don't see them having any right to complain about it now. Take care. Tom Worthington

quote:

Originally posted by Tom396:
Bracket racers have made their choice. They are only going to go where the stakes (both in costs and potential reward) are the very highest. It's what the majority of bracket racers have said they wanted and it's exactly what they have gotten.

Not sure I agree - for every one "big money" race on a given weekend, there are dozens of local Summit Series events that have smaller turnouts on a site-by-site basis, but collectively more participants than the so-called "big money" races. JMHO

Kind of goes back to what I was saying.

Grudge race and test-n-tune are cheap entry, no payout events. When it was cheap entry and small payouts for bracket racing, the lanes were always full (around here anyway) As the purses increased, the car counts decreased. Cater to few who want to race for big money and see the majority who could care less stop racing or find something else to do.

quote:

Originally posted by Tom R:
Kind of goes back to what I was saying.

Grudge race and test-n-tune are cheap entry, no payout events. When it was cheap entry and small payouts for bracket racing, the lanes were always full (around here anyway) As the purses increased, the car counts decreased. Cater to few who want to race for big money and see the majority who could care less stop racing or find something else to do.

Imagine that. Take care. Tom Worthington

Fuel cost is insane 140 for 55 gallon drums of methanol and why i switched fuels. That said i will never run Race Gas again.

If you think the drag racing is bad here. Australia is on solitary confinement curfew from 8pm to 5am. 108 fatalities total LoL! These people have no problem bending over, holding their azz cheeks wide open submissive for officials. GEEZ!!!


https://youtu.be/vtbv_iNUlvk

I just saw this on FB.

quote:

Originally posted by Mike Rietow:
If you think the drag racing is bad here. Australia is on solitary confinement curfew from 8pm to 5am. 108 fatalities total LoL! These people have no problem bending over, holding their azz cheeks wide open for officials.

https://youtu.be/vtbv_iNUlvk

I just saw this on FB.

So much crap there can kill you and they are worried about Covid LOL