Is it just my age?

[rpoz-29]

The other day I cleared some brush on my property with a small tractor. I then graded it with a 1966 Sears Custom Six tractor I resurrected from spare parts. Is it my age that makes me enjoy using old stuff like this? Or is this not an age related phenomenon? Old cars, tractors, tools, toys, I love them all. BTW, I'm 64.

[Wizeguyrc]

I think it’s generational.
30 years from now, (if societies glue is able to hold together), my son will be my age, (50), and may reminisce about how simplistic life was at age 20 while playing a vintage Xbox.
Toys,machinery, etc, represent a snap shot from our time when things weren’t as complicated. I’m fairly confident that older adults looked at a fairly new 69 Camaro with Cragars, and a tunnel rammed big block and made the statement.....”what’s the world coming to. I’m sure glad to have my 33 Chevrolet and grand dads horse carriage”.
I can remember older people saying my generation wasn’t going to have anything to be nostalgic about.
Which may be why our youth and ignorance was so precious. We were living in the moment.

[hammerdown7]

Great description Wize, my son is 53.

Dick

[classic_cruiser]

I feel like it is generational too, related in this case to how a generation looks at possessions. I remember as a kid how little we had, and how important it was just to keep things running and working, because there was no money to keep buying new (or used). Even 'disposable' cars like the h-body and j-body are worthy to be saved. As an aside, even now I still have trouble parting with a heap of parts I have from an 87 cavalier that rotted out in 2013... I can't get myself to toss these, even though I can't even give them away. I have my candy bar cell phone from 1999, my first flip phone, and the phone after that, stored neatly in it's original box and I charge them every 2 years or so. Maybe that's the sign of a hoarder.... no, I don't keep piles of newspapers or have tunnels in my house....

But I think in the US these days, now there is plenty of stuff to go around - so keeping old things working is not as culturally important to the more recent generations as other things are. I'm not saying that's right or wrong, it's just that each generation develops it's own personality and priorities. Like was said, I'm sure there were things done in the generation from the 1930's that were not picked up by the 1970's generations too. I never developed an itch to have a home garden, dance, or play board games for example.

[hammerdown7]

The biggest change we have all lived through is electronics and their continued advancement as they get faster, smaller and in most cases, less expensive.

Dick

[jim327monza]

part of the issue is that so much of the things that we have today are cheaper to replace than to repair. It cost less to buy a new lawn mower or pressure washer than to fix one. Finding a good repair shop is another issue. I have two pressure washers and one lawn mower that i got when people were going to the dump with them because they did not want to mess with trying to fix them. I like old stuff and some of the new stuff. I have tools that I got from grandparents and some that are new. It's a matter of what you are comfortable with.
Jim H

[Monza Harry]

Yes to all of above! I have a small garden tractor (and no desire for a vegetable garden) a 1964 made by Magna Corp. for Ford so they had a tractor for the small lawn/garden market, and i still have my first cell phone came in a bag and I made a wooden case for it. Too neat/cool/different to throw away but it uses an unsupported "Operating System" now (analog) so it can't even be used, I'll post pic's from my phone later. I can't picture many of the modern cars being desired let alone repaired in the future, I'm having issues finding some parts for my 01 Sonoma, Hell they only made like 25 million of these, there must be another 3 or 4 people still driving one around. Harry

[jim327monza]

My father-in law had a large garden that he tilled twice a year with a Troy Built tiller. In 84 or 85 the Clinton motor gave out and their were some minor drive train problems. This was the Pony model, and was a late 50's model. The warranty allowed the owner to return the tiller to Troy Built and for 1/2 the price of a new tiller, they would tear it down, repair or replace any bad parts and ship it back. When we got it back, it had a new Kohler 10 HP motor (the Clinton was an New tires new paint and a note explaining all the internal work done.My father in law used it into the late 90's, gave it to me, I traded it to a friend for a smaller one. It is still being used to date. They don't make them like that any more. And yes, I like to garden. I had BLT's for breakfast with tomatoes picked first thing this morning.
Jim H

[283vega]

Ive been looking for a new mower. I wanted something a little better than the cheapest you can buy. The cheapy was what I always got and they worked just fine for me. I dont want self propelled but any nice mower is self propelled. Is it just my age?

[rpoz-29]

That old stuff was BUILT. Grease fittings, no "hidden" bolts, absolutely overbuilt. I bought a mid '50's David Bradley sickle bar mower that needed work. It originally had a Continental engine, but that was long gone. I bought a HF 3.5 engine for it. A couple of tires and belts, and it was up and running. It's as dangerous as a flame thrower. No kill switch, no guards, just start it up, engage the cutter, and hang on! Weeded out a lot of dummies in the old days, I bet.

[jim327monza]

Amen, Brother. This is part of the reason the shallow end of the gene pool is so crowded

[Wizeguyrc]

Amen, Brother. This is part of the reason the shallow end of the gene pool is so crowded

Safe or unsafe machines doesn’t matter, you can’t get those lazy bastards to turn them on, let alone get hurt using them.

[Monza Harry]

Amen, Brother. This is part of the reason the shallow end of the gene pool is so crowded

Safe or unsafe machines doesn’t matter, you can’t get those lazy bastards to turn them on, let alone get hurt using them.

TFS! (True F#_&- Story) LOL LOL LOL! Harry