Off topic sorta, Retiring from a Hobby?

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Model T Ford Forum: Forum 2012: Off topic sorta, Retiring from a Hobby?
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mack Cole ---- Earth on Monday, July 30, 2012 - 05:34 pm:

I read another thread that a fellow bought a car from someone who was retiring. I aint sure but I reckon that implied he retired from "T"s?
How do you retire from a hobby? I have heard it before over the years but as i get older that is just 1 of the things I aint never understood.
If it is really fun and enjoyable to you,why quit?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Tom Miller, Mostly in Dearborn on Monday, July 30, 2012 - 05:54 pm:

As for me, it means cutting down on the collection someday . I've been collecting cars for over 40 years now and almost every one that I've sold, I've regretted. I know someday I will have less cars only because my son and son-in-law will not be able to keep up with my collection.

That said, I recently took a walk with my wife around the garage and pointed out my favorite and what cars I could sell someday with a minimum of grief. I did this because years ago, my late father appointed her to "pull the plug" if his health ever neccessatated it. So, when the time comes, I know my wife will enlist my son and my kid brother to sort things out. In the mean time, I'm alive and well and cannot think of many things better than laying under a Model T.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Charlie B actually in Toms River N.J. on Monday, July 30, 2012 - 06:02 pm:

Some things just get old to some folks. The T is a constant maintenance car. There's always some thing to do. After 40+ years in the trade I don't even change the oil on my moderns anymore. What's the point? After doing the work and buying the parts even going to the dealership for an oil & filter actually runs about $8 to 10 and I'm not stuck with properly disposing of the "left overs". I've been too dirty too long and it got old for me. I recently up-graded to a 40 year old Ford and truthfully I'm much happier. Not that nothing can go wrong there's just less to do on a regular basis. Lazy? A bit but you've got to do what's right for you. If it's nothing so be it.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Craig Anderson, central Wisconsin on Monday, July 30, 2012 - 06:22 pm:

It's easy to "retire" from A hobby but most often means shifting gears....... :-)
I was born tractor crazy and over the years went through a pile of them.
One of them started with the crankcase in the photo.
After doing a number of "less than" basket cases I got burned out on rebuilding tractors and fulfilled my NEED for A Model T instead.......which has grown to 4 Model T's.
Collecting is a disease.......the thing that changes is what you collect.

Mogul crankcase


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Hap Tucker on Monday, July 30, 2012 - 06:26 pm:

Mack,

Good question. And "exit interviews" might help us figure out if there are any practical things we could do to reduce the number of folks that drop out/retire out.

I do not know the details for most cases. But in one case I do know of, a really great Model T guy Mr. Ed Meloan sold his 1912 touring about 5 or 6 years ago. The Model T is known as a “hard ride” (ok smoother than a wagon with no springs on the axles). His arthritis or something similar had gotten worse and it was just really uncomfortable for him to drive or even ride in his T. He had done a great job supporting the club and hobby. He won awards for his work on the club web site and his technical articles are still great and available at: http://scmodeltford.org/MainTech.html He graciously donated the bulk of his books and CDs to the South Carolina Model T Ford club which really got the club’s library going strong. He is also always welcomed as a hero anytime he drops by one of the meetings or tours. He kept his Model A Ford as it was easier riding car, but his days of loving to drive or ride in the T had come to an end. And no, he was not interested in installing a modified coil spring suspension with tubular shocks for a smoother ride. Although some combination of Hassler shocks or friction shocks may have helped?

And of course there are some Ts that are easier to get into than others – which as we get older can sometimes be a factor. A lucky owner of a Mercury bodied speedster without the doors would probably need to stop driving his Mercury before he stopped driving one of the easier to enter Ts like a touring etc with doors or a an open speedster with no doors but no body to have to climb over. And I know my Dad was no longer able to crank the Ts due to his health for several years before he could no longer drive them. And since they were all Armstrong starters – he was always happy to go for a ride or drive when I came home [see: http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/29/10844.html for why he and I both enjoyed the Ts so much.]

Oh – and as a backup, I’m thinking there is a good chance we can continue to do research even after we can no longer drive the cars.

Respectfully submitted,

Hap l9l5 cut off


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Orlando Ortega Jr. on Monday, July 30, 2012 - 11:27 pm:

I know a wonderful man who is in our local car club that has been involved in collecting, driving and showing antique and classic cars and tractors for much of his 80 plus years. He has some beauties, many different years and models.

He recently began giving his cars and tractors to his kids. He said he and his wife would like to take care of giving these possessions to the kids now that they are able to. He is a man of much integrity and values.

On July 13th, we celebrated National Collector Car Appreciation Day with a nice show in the town square. He and his wife brought their Model A Ford in for the last show with that particular car.

I'm sure his next course in life is to help his kids in maintaining and their newly acquired cars.

I understand what he is doing and have great respect for him. I'm honored to have been able to be around him enjoying our cars.

Orlando


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By mike_black on Monday, July 30, 2012 - 11:34 pm:

I called an ad about 10 years ago for a 1914 T. When the lady answered the phone I asked to speak to her husband. She told me he'd been dead for 10 years! The car was hers that she drove, but, she had had to have a leg amputated and couldn't work the pedals with the artificial leg! SO, sometimes people do "retire" from T's.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Danial - Veneta OR US Earth Solar System on Monday, July 30, 2012 - 11:46 pm:

I have had a multitude of hobbies come and go over the years, all of them very interesting and most still hold at least an armchair fascination for me.

But cars have been the one constant since I can remember, and owning a Model T has been part of that constant for most of that time.

Hard to imagine not having one now or not ever being into having one, but I suppose anything is possible.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ed in California on Monday, July 30, 2012 - 11:50 pm:

Unfortunately, I know several older members that simply do not drive their T's anymore. They sometimes just hang onto their T's until the end, or they come to the conclusion its time to part with the hobby. I was told once, that when the car begins to own you, its time to let it go.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Danial - Veneta OR US Earth Solar System on Tuesday, July 31, 2012 - 12:03 am:

Ed, that is so true. I have owned literally dozens of "muscle" cars in my life. The last 69 GTO I had was the one that owned me.

I won't bore you with the reasons, but that car, as beautiful as it was, maybe got 200 miles put on it in the 4-1/2 years that I owned it. I couldn't wait to get that one out of the barn and down the road.

It most definitely owned me.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mike Garrison on Tuesday, July 31, 2012 - 12:21 am:

I get a kick out of guys who just don't know which one of their cars they'd get rid of. I would never have that problem. Being able to only afford one of them makes it very simple for me. I happen to own two but I can only afford one. If I tried to budget for the repairs on both I'd have to give up food and some of the other luxuries in life.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Russell Day on Tuesday, July 31, 2012 - 04:07 am:

Sometimes it is life that just catches up to some people. I inherited mine (I grew up in it until it died when I was 11). It floundered in the garage and became a place to store other junk, there are other things that often take precedence such as leaking roofs, rotting bathroom floors, septic systems, paying for kids to go to college, etc. that keep the T off the road. I took this car apart in 1980 with my brother and it has moved a few times since and I happened to start my family just after I decided to get serious in restoring it. I would never recommend this route, it has been tough. I had hoped to have it done and run my kids around in it as our dad had done. My youngest at 15 still sees a running chassis and a bare wood skeleton awaiting body panels. The running joke is It will need to be restored just after I finish it. Had I not grown up in it and bought it on a whim, I'd have passed it on to the next guy nary a thought. I'm also afflicted with crapitis which renders my workspace... Well, it's a sh*t hole. I've hit critical mass and have been trying to turn back the clock at least twelve years in terms of junk. Digging out the car and trying to free up the room to work on it again. I would have been better off buying a runner and enjoying it with my kids. More to the story than I have space to write but that's just life. I'm stubborn as they get and my car (still standing on 1962 wards riverside tires) will be complete again one day. Intent on making it a daily driver.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Seth H. Spratlin on Tuesday, July 31, 2012 - 07:04 am:

For any considering retiring from the hobby, I would like to humbly offer my "Painless T Removal Service" where you tell me where the car is and I painlessly extract it from you. Don't let that car or cars bother you anymore! Call me today and have those pesky T's gone this week! I'm only 26 with a lifetime of auto affliction ahead of me. But being young and strong the least I can do is take these torturous antiques off your hands and bear their burdenous weight for you. =P

Respectfully (and facetiously)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Fred Dimock, Newfields NH, USA on Tuesday, July 31, 2012 - 08:15 am:

Retire from the hobby?

If the vehicle is just another thing in the garage -- Maybe but to some the Model T is more than a hobby ---

When my dad got sick in 1964 he put the T we restored in the mid 50’s and used for family outings in the barn.
We were blessed to know the original owner and its full history.

It was special to them and they could not part with it even though time was attacking it.
When Dad died Mom would not let it go because it was a reminder of past good times and something Dad cherished.

Finally a few years ago she wanted to ensure that it stayed in the family so it came to my garage with the understanding that I would not sell it while she was alive.

Although time had taken its toll, it was in good shape.
I got it running and it was a thrill for all the family – grand children, great grandchildren, nieces, nephews, kids, spouses, neighbors, etc. - when she rode in it for the first time in over 40 years.

Now I am the caretaker of the family air loom and can't think about selling it or what should be done with it when my body becomes fertilizer.

All this to say that I can understand how someone would want to hold onto a T that has been in the family for years.
The T is like grandma’s diamond ring, or set of china, or the silver set.

It may not mean much to outsiders but it has sentimental value that can’t be put into words.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Luke Dahlinger on Tuesday, July 31, 2012 - 10:06 am:

I deal with several people who have large collections of cars, but they never drive them anymore. I'll go over and keep them running perhaps take one or two for a short drive, but for the most part- they are retired from the hobby.

There's a multi-make car club a couple counties over. They show membership of over 200, but at the meetings attendance is around 40 people. The editor of the newsletter told me, "Most of the people in the club can't drive anymore or are too old to do anything. They just keep the dues paid so they get the newsletter.

I suspect this will be the scenario in more clubs as the years pass.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dennis Halpin on Tuesday, July 31, 2012 - 10:52 am:

I'm a very lucky man, my son in law is a confirmed 'gear head' and my young grandson is a 'gear head' in training. I may someday 'retire' from the car hobby but the hobby isn't going to retire from my family when I'm gone. :-)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Steve Jelf, Parkerfield KS on Tuesday, July 31, 2012 - 11:43 am:

Different strokes. Some drop out, and some keep going right up to the end. A local T and A guy who died in May at age 92 was visited by a T tour that stopped at his house a week before he died. He was out in his wheel chair looking at the cars and visiting. Just last year he bought another T to work on. Even when he couldn't see details anymore, he did a lot of work by feel. For some people, doing what you're still able to do is more interesting than not doing it.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bob McDonald-Federal Way, Wa. on Tuesday, July 31, 2012 - 12:32 pm:

You'll never retire from the hobby, just move on to another phase of it and keep on enjoying the camaraderie with your friends and fellow hobbyist.

Bob


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jerry VanOoteghem on Tuesday, July 31, 2012 - 12:59 pm:

O.K., let's be honest. Who opened this topic to see what might be coming up for sale? ;>)


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