Are some Die Hard H Body Guys Dying out??????

[Bonzai]

(Just curious). We finally get this kick ass board and it seems as though some maybe calling it quits???? Doyle selling his remarkable stash and the car?, which he has painfully collected forever, Eaglefish selling off some very interesting pieces, haven't seen or heard from Mitcher in quite a while, also am seeing quite a bit of cars popping up in the for sale section......What's Up?????????

[ColinOpseth]

If I had the dough I'd be all over these nice cars for sale, dude..

I think the community is in a state of transition right now. For one, it's getting harder and harder to find parts so some guys are just giving up after having so much trouble. Another possibility is that the guys are just tired of working on their cars after years and years.

Maybe I'm just super interested in the cars because I got into them a few years ago but I have a lot of respect for cars that are so simple and easy to work on.

I hope you aren't right. I hope the community stays alive.
Later,
Colin

[starfire383]

It's rare that any one person stays a collector of one type of car for their whole life. There comes a point where you've "been there, done that".

The real question I see is if the monza will be picked up by future enthusiasts. V8 vegas will always be a part of hot rodding folklore, but the monza doesn't have the same reputation, and is rapidly falling away.

[HotfootGT]

I have always been a fan of the oddball cars.

I do get frustrated and never have a super clean ride. No where to store or work on them but just play with them when I can. I currently have 3 "hard to find parts for" vehicles. 2 run, 1 should, can only drive 1 (Little Buddy). My 71 Dodge truck runs but has no wiring for anything other than the starter and coil. Parts are next to impossible to find. Also have a 62 Skylark with the Aluminum 215 that hasn't been started in 5 years. (Fuel problem)

No time or money to work on them due to 2 little girls and family obligations. Considered selling them all but still fiddling with them when I can.

Learned to drive in a 72 GT Hatchback!

[75_2+2]

For me it is a money and time thing too. I have my Monza, but I do not have the money to buy it what it needs or the time to install what I already own into it. My Monza runs and is still the most reliable car that I have ever owned. The financial issue is what is keeping the car stock. It is not getting better, but I try to not let it get worse.

[EagleFish]

While I have made it known that I am thinning my herd, I will still have PLENTY of HBody cars around to be active in h-body org.

Richard (John and Richard)

[Bonzai]

I can understand everyones financial issues and the hard to find the right parts problem.
If you are short on cash, need a break, please, e-mail me, if I have it, chances are, you'll get it reasonable or for next to nothing, if it's not on ebay, most times I tell people to make an honest offer, you know what you can afford and what you can't. I just hate to see people give up on these cars, I know to some it's a novelty, but for those of us that truely love them, it's a way of life. I can't tell you how many times I have sold every H-Body part that I've had, even gave some away, and still, the yard keeps filling up with them and I can't resist buying them on ebay just to have that one part I want and the rest goes to others who are trying to preserve the cars worthy of it. I just don't want the guys that been doing this forever to give up, it would be a shame.

[mymirage77]

I made what turned out to be a big mistake when I sold my Mirage years ago. I regretted it immediately (still remember seeing the new owner drive my Mirage away) and it wasn't until almost a decade later while I was sitting down having a beer that the "lightbulb" went off and I realized all I had to do was track my car down and buy her back. To make a long story short, I found the guy and my car, bought her back and I'll keep her until I die.

[fyrftr50]

Monzas were my first 2 cars. The first one went to car heaven and I sold the second, a decision I regretted big time, but had little choice at the time. I found it again years later but it was little more than a parts car. A few years after that, I got the itch again, to have a Monza, this time a Spyder. Found one in California (the black Spyder I now have) and drove it 2,500+ miles home and intend on keeping it forever. Anyways, I have to stay in the hobby for good now, I've made a couple comprehensive website about them, have a huge collection of 2nd Gen H-Body lit so I'm stuck, and that means your stuck with me too!!!
Bryan

[barebonesracecars]

I made what turned out to be a big mistake when I sold my Mirage years ago.

Been there. Sold it simply because I was tired of washing a car all winter long in Ohio.....bought a rusty hulk that didn't need to be washed. Dumb move. Bought the Skyhawk back 6 months later, right after the new owner had blown and removed the 231. Luckily, he didn't own it long enough to destroy it, like every other car he's owned.

All that washing paid of, though. 27 years old and rust-free. I kept it just because I liked it, thinking for years that I had to be the only guy who cared about these cars, tinkering here and there when time and $$ permitted. Then I found you guys, and my enthusiasm jumped considerably. All of you probably have as much to do with the shape of my SkyHawk as I do, as far as inspiration goes. I'll freely admit, though, that had I had to search and scrimp and beg for every single little factory piece to get it where it is now, like many of you have, I don't know if I could have maintained my enthusiasm for 20 years.

Marco and I had a talk at Quaker this year on this subject. I said I was never what I would call an H-body fanatic, I just happened to own one. But I've thought about that statement since then, and although I may still never fill my head with every little historical factory nugget about them, I do feel that I'm part of an exclusive fraternity here. I've enjoyed seeing all of your cars, regardless of their current condition, and I think I'd have to be on the verge of bancruptcy (or beyond) before I ever sold the SkyHawk again. It's even in my will, left to my son, who I know will appreciate it.

[stage169]

I will have a hard time getting out of the H bodies. It will not be by choice. I just hope the economy doesn't go for sh_t. I think the parts thing will only get harder. It still blows me away that a stock 77 Mercury Comet with 27k original miles got over 10k at the Barrett/Jackson auction. It was in Hot Rod and they didn't say if it had a 302 or not. It did have a scoop on the hood. If the market stays good it may help us some. But if it dies just be happy. I hope to be turning wrenches as long as I can so hopefully thats a long time. Brian

[djv8ga]

I love early V8 Vegas. I wanted one when I was 8 yrs. old. They are so "outlaw". What ever it costs...I will own one.