Is Every Old Car Worth Preserving?

"Boxer_4" (Boxer_4) 03/24/2015 at 12:57 • Filed to: None

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When the topic of preserving an old car is brought up, almost everyone jumps straight to the high profile, popular cars. Cars that we are supposed to see as "special". Muscle cars, pony cars, light-weight British sports cars, and high-class European luxury cars, just to name a few. But, what makes an old car "special"? Is "special" really something that can be given a strict definition?

Hemmings Daily recently !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! about a new acquisition by the AACA Museum in Hershey, PA. This acquisition, pictured above, was one of the stretched 1962 Chevrolet Biscayne wagons used to transport students at the Milton Hershey School. A !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! on that article argued that, while it is an interest piece of history, it only needed to be preserved in pictures. Effectively saying that it was not worth saving, or, that it was not "special".

The problem is, "special" can mean a lot of things to a lot of people. Some people take "special" to mean "good". However, "good", another very difficult term to define, is really only one metric that can make a car "special". For others, it's the memories of the car or the time period it represents. Just because a car is not "good", does not mean it cannot bring back fond memories of either. Others may see the historical value, museums especially. Every car designed and built is a piece of history, whether good or bad. It is important to not forget the bad while remembering the good. These are only some of the ways of how a car can be considered "special", and there are certainly many more.

I have !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! about this subject before, and am a firm believer that any old car can be considered "special". Every old car deserves the chance of being preserved. Whether it gets that chance is another story, but it shouldn't be passed over by default.

What are your thoughts? Is every old car worth preserving?

yamahog > Boxer_4 03/24/2015 at 13:01

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Nah.

*eyeballs own XJ, holding gas can and lighter*

Thing isn't even 18 yet, either.

505Turbeaux > Boxer_4 03/24/2015 at 13:02

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myself being a fan of unloved models, and of originality, the chances I would find a car to my liking in a decent price range is much higher than finding the coupe model or the like. Desirability is highly subjective

And I am a weirdo. Save all the cars

CB > Boxer_4 03/24/2015 at 13:04

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I think an old car is worth preserving if it means something to someone. So not every old car. But if you want to preserve it, even if it's a Lada or a Yugo, I say go for it.

HammerheadFistpunch > Boxer_4 03/24/2015 at 13:06

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I'm on the fence about this. Now that parts are getting harder to get and low mile examples of fzj80's harder to come by its got me thinking what my break point will be on it. Obviously I want to keep it as long as I still want it, but the though came to a head when I asked the forum guys what they would buy from a similar cruiser being parted out near me and the veterans all said "all of it" as in...buy an entire spare truck for parts. It dawned on me that eventually that is exactly what its going to take to keep this things going and at the same time I realized I can't make that commitment right now...I mean so long as I desire to stay married.

At the end of the day, I don't think I could justify keeping it alive past a certain point of parts rarity.

thebigbossyboss > Boxer_4 03/24/2015 at 13:07

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Not really. But there was a piece up on here years ago that was written by some guy who was in charge of acquistions for Hemmings motor museum or some such place, and he talked about easy cars to find and hard cars to find. Lamborghini's are always preserved, they are all special. Same with ferrari's, corvette's and a lot of sports cars. But cars that were really hard to find are things like mint condition Ford Tempos. They weren't special, they weren't particularly good in any way or remarkable and thus they are very very hard to find in good nick.

I plan on keeping my regular car (a cavalier) for a long time if I can. I currently DD it, and when it gets to a point that that's not practiable I will try not to immediately scrap it or trade for $500 but keep it to tinker with. Hopefully someday I can get a house and put it in there. Sure it's not the best at any one thing (except being extremely loud) but I enjoy working on cars...and wouldn't it be fun in 30 years to have the only one left!!

It's weird, I get almost as excited as seeing a 1980 Honda Accord as I do by the latest and greatest super car. My name is thebigbossyboss....Ilove cars. Good, bad, indifferent, old and new alike.

Coty > Boxer_4 03/24/2015 at 13:09

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NEED

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Boxer_4 03/24/2015 at 13:10

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Probably not, but you have to account for sentimental value. Cars that look like horrible junk even new, might get kept on the road out of nostalgia.

thebigbossyboss > HammerheadFistpunch 03/24/2015 at 13:12

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This of course is the other half of the coin. Some cars (even desireable ones) usually have to sacrifice themselves so others can live. There is no shame in parting out your car that is clearly gone in order to help out other owners with the unobtainable parts.

HammerheadFistpunch > thebigbossyboss 03/24/2015 at 13:14

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yup, its survival of those who can afford the most parts cars.

Coty > yamahog 03/24/2015 at 13:14

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Eyeballs.

Cherry_man1 > Boxer_4 03/24/2015 at 13:17

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I'm still working on my Gran Torino, I mean the car in 1972 and 1973 outsold the Chevelle SS but no one works on them but when ever anyone sees mine they have a story or two about someone who owned one. I'm like then why arnt there more out there being saved!

Boxer_4 > thebigbossyboss 03/24/2015 at 13:17

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Well said. There was a person on here a while ago who was really into Ford Tempos. He must have seen something in them that most other enthusiasts didn't.

Realistically, not every model is going to survive in the long run. However, just because a car isn't "desirable", doesn't mean it shouldn't get the chance to be preserved if someone is willing.

KnowsAboutCars > Boxer_4 03/24/2015 at 13:18

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I think this has been asked here before and I provide the same answer as then: all cars tell something about motoring history. I think it's important to save at least few examples of every car. Even the mundane and unloved ones.

thebigbossyboss > Boxer_4 03/24/2015 at 13:19

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Thank you. It might have been me. I used to have a Ford Tempo. It was my first, so that's why I like them. It's not right or correct, but it helps make me who I am haha.

I think old undesriable cars personally offer the most fun per the dollar. Yeah your 1988 Box caprice isn't going to turn heads, but you bet it turns heads on the streets these days. At least here in the northern climates!

jariten1781 > Boxer_4 03/24/2015 at 13:23

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On the macro level...no, not every old car is worth saving. Hell, the vast majority don't have the historical or cultural significance to keep them alive.

On an individual level, anything can be worth preserving. It may not have monetary or historical value, but there's much more than that in something so emotional to so many.

Boxer_4 > HammerheadFistpunch 03/24/2015 at 13:27

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Not every car of a particular model is going to survive. However, I don't think any generation of the Land Cruiser will have a risk of disappearing completely. Some will get scrapped, but hopefully, their parts will allow others to carry on.

One of the cars the comment in the Hemmings article targeted in addition to the stretched wagon was the Shelby Chrysler cars of the '80s, arguing that they didn't need to be preserved. As in, there was no need to save any of them. Not every single '80s Shelby Chrysler ever made needs to be saved, but I think it's a little extreme to say that not even one is worth saving.

Boxer_4 > thebigbossyboss 03/24/2015 at 13:36

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The poster is named Ford Tempo Fanatic. I believe I saw him around on the front page a week or two ago.

I'd love to get a first generation Geo Prizm, preferably a 5 speed GSi. My dad had a 1990 automatic base model when I was a lot younger, and we both have fond memories of that car. There are almost none around now, with most having literally dissolved at this point.

thebigbossyboss > Boxer_4 03/24/2015 at 13:39

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Oh ok I've seen him too. Also I meant that you 1988 Caprice won't win any drag races but will turn heads down on the street. Apparently that thought was not clear in my previous post lol.

55CX5 > Boxer_4 03/24/2015 at 14:12

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As a teen in the early 70's while looking for some 55 Chevy windows in a junk yard, I came across a stretched 55 Chevy that was used as a hotel bus in South America. It had f0ur or five doors per side and a roof top luggage carrier with signage for the hotel. I still wish I'd had the money and storage space for it at the time.

stuttgartobsessed > CB 03/24/2015 at 14:25

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Came here to say exactly this.

Jonee > Boxer_4 03/24/2015 at 14:28

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Basically, yes. Old cars are the best. It's wonderful that that Biscayne is being saved. It's fascinating. Now, it's impossible to save every old car, but every car has someone who loves it and something that is loved, even by just one lonely soul, is worth preserving. We should have at least one of every car model saved for posterity so future generations can laugh at us, or be amazed at our ingenuity or stupidity.