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Originally Posted by Unit 5302
Today's youth market, as a general rule, has no interest in musclecars, and I don't see that interest changing. That means there is a finite and dwindling number of people even interested in the classic cars. How many people do you know that are actually interested in working on or building cars? I hardly know anybody with that kind of interest anymore. We're a rare and dying breed, and pretty much the only market for those old cars.
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Sad but true. I'm one of those guys that spent years tinkering with and street-racing muscle cars (a '71 Camaro 350 in the 80's and a '90 'Stang 5.0 in the 90's) - and I loved every minute of it. However, that was then, this is now. Been there, done that.
Today, you can buy a new Mustang with an honest 300 HP, every convenience and safety feature imaginable, neglible emissions to worry about and not have the reliability hassles of an old car. I still like the older muscle cars but prefer to see them at car shows these days.
I agree, too, that, judging from what I see at local car shows, it's mostly late-middle-aged guys that are buying these '60's/70's muscle cars - and they won't be doing it forever as we all age. Insurance and upkeep on an old car, especially to keep it pristine, is time consuming and gets old, eventually.
I had a friend (only 32 years old at the time) who had a restored '67 Camaro convertible that was very sharp. One day, he put a 'For Sale' sign on it. I asked him why. He said:
"every spring I pull it out of the garage and have to clean it all up and go through it for any rust, leaks, etc. Then, I only drive it about 100 miles or so because I don't want to add mileage to it (for resale). I finally realized that it was becoming pointless to keep a car I hardly used and that wasn't much fun anymore." That pretty much sums it up. I couldn't fault his logic - and he got $6,000. for his Camaro, which was a stock 350/4 speed.
There is still a market for old musclecars but, as you stated, it's finite and shrinking. Young guys today are all into foreign 4-bangers...if they are into 'cars' at all. Muscle cars are dinosaurs to most of them. A 40-year-old Mustang V-8 restomod (which are very common) has some value but the market is going to be sparse.