| 37 Coupe | -- 10-18-2018 @ 7:19 AM |
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On reading Dale Graham's opinion about the state of the V8 Club membership and the changing of times in general I have no answer but do have a question. Not so much as the decline in membership numbers due to attrition but the value of the early Ford V8. He states they have not increased in value,I only wish that some of the sellers would get this message. I don't know if some of the asking prices are realized but I do know that myself after over 45 years of V8 Club membership that most cars I have had or worked on in the past are now out of my reach.I have had for instance two 1939 ford convertible coupes and I just saw a very nice one on Ebay for starting out bid of $75,000 with a "reserve not met" attached. V8 Fords are still my first choice but to keep busy in my garage I just went back to a Model A Ford roadster to work with and before that a '32 convertible coupe,no not Ford but Plymouth.A lot of Model A Fords are coming on the market mostly out of an estate and very reasonable.I wonder if the two big Model A Clubs are dealing with membership lows?
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| trjford8 | -- 10-18-2018 @ 8:54 AM |
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Many of the cars on e-Bay are overpriced and are being sold through brokers. It's quite obvious that they are not selling as many have been listed for months. If people would shop around and not be in a hurry there are some decent fair priced cars out there. Dave Graham brought up some valid points and it's up to the membership to "sell' the club to younger people. We definitely need to advertise our big events(national meets) in more publications besides the V-8 Times and on our website. How many times have you been somewhere and talked about the V-8 Club and people will say" I didn't know there was a V-8 Club". It's also up to us to try to make our cars affordable to interested younger people, so they can get in to the hobby and carry out the mission of the club. I believe there are younger people out there that would like to be in the hobby, but with mortgages, kids in school, and not a lot of spare time it can be tough to participate. I see a lot of young guys playing with flatheads in Model A's and old custom built cars. We need to get these guys involved and not be critical of what they build or drive. Just because they drive a modified car with a flathead does not mean they won't want a bone stock Ford V-8 in the future. If each current member of this club brought in just one new member we could double the size of this club overnight. As I say it's up to us to do the recruiting and the best tool we have is the V-8 Times magazine.
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| TonyM | -- 10-18-2018 @ 9:16 PM |
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First of all, someone ought to tell Mr. Graham that the stock market crashed in October 1929, not 1932 as he asserts. Second, I joined this club because of its dedication to stock / original early Fords, not despite of it. If the club is diluted in a fashion that breaks from that, it will certainly lose me as a member. I am in my early 50s and have been a member since 2010. I know that there are others who feel the same way I do. . . . 78-730B
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| FrankM-RG5 | -- 10-19-2018 @ 6:38 AM |
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So what is your suggestion to maintain membership? Participation in national meets? The display class is crazy big at some meets and a lot of those people own nice original Fords and are still a wealth of help and information. I believe there is a way to maintain the historical aspect of the club and make hot rods welcome. We need to remember that Ford hot rods are a big part of Ford history even though Ford did not promote it. Their car was iconic for providing the base for the hot rod culture to happen. There was no better designed and mass produced car at the time to support that. That being said here are a few ideas. If a member sells his V8 to a non member then he should be able to fill out a form to give the new owner a one year membership. Let the person with their new acquisition see what we are about. I doubt we would give away 100 in a year but every dollar spent would be aimed at our target audience. The next idea would be the national picking up the registration for any member who has never been to a national meet providing they sign up for a few events or enter a car or something similar. Old Ford guys will spend all kinds of money for free stuff. Exploit that. As president of my region they gave me a few dollars to represent them at a national meet and I have not looked back. Every one has been a unique experience where I made new friends. Those threatening to leave the club if we become diverse should take a look around and realize nothing stays the same forever and those insisting it should be set themselves up for failure. My two cents and open to other opinions.
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| woodiewagon46 | -- 10-19-2018 @ 6:55 AM |
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Every antique auto related club is loosing many members. It's just a fact of life that as we age things change. Last week at Hershey the HPOF Class probably had more cars then the entire rest of the field. The V-8 Class had about 10 or 12 cars, in fact not one '32 Ford was on the field. What's the solution/answer, I don't know. Perhaps allow modified cars with flatheads to be shown in a separate class to try to bring in new members? I know the charter of the Club is perfectly restored cars but in this day, not many young people can afford what it takes to restore a car. It's a very complex situation.
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| TonyM | -- 10-19-2018 @ 4:03 PM |
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Who says we have to have 10,000 members? The club did not start out with 10,000 members. We should have as many members as are interested in being in the club. Why alienate hard core members to get a few people to join for a year or two? Let's not repeat the heartache that the Vintage Chevrolet Club of America went through just a few years ago. . . . . . . 78-730B This message was edited by TonyM on 10-19-18 @ 4:05 PM
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| trjford8 | -- 10-19-2018 @ 4:29 PM |
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Tony, you sound like the guys who threatened to quit the club when the 41-48 cars were let in. Then the BIG BATTLE was when the 49-53 cars were let in. I knew several guys who quit the club on that one issue and then came back because they missed the fun and friends. They were then upset that they missed out on several issues of the V-8 times and there were no back issues for them. Eventually all returned and they realized that they didn't have to own a 49-53 car and there were no big changes to the club. If you quit over an issue where are you going to go? There's only one V-8 Club .What if the club decided to let in later cars like the '54-'57 cars? Suppose the T-Bird Club or the Crown Victoria Club decided to hook up with the V-8 Club and join forces to increase membership in all three clubs, would you quit? There's one thing that is constant in this world and that is "change" and it happens every day. Just for information the club's modified classes which are Touring and Touring A far outnumber the restored cars at national meets. That situation has evolved over time all on it's own. If you are that hardcore I'm surprised you are still with us. I've always viewed this club as a place where everyone is welcome. If you read the by-laws you will find that you don't even need to own a Ford V-8 to be a member. It's all about fun with our old Fords and the friendships we make with other Ford owners. I don't car what a person drives as long as they support the Early Ford V-8 Club. This message was edited by trjford8 on 10-19-18 @ 4:42 PM
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| TonyM | -- 10-19-2018 @ 5:01 PM |
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trjford, Please re -read my original posting. I am referring to "stock / original" cars. I never said I was against letting in different years of Fords. Please re-read my original post. Yes, I understand about the Touring classes. Fine with it. Just don't want SBC with pearl paint jobs. My point is this: once we start veering away from where the club is now, then the club becomes something else and loses its original appeal. The way the club is now makes sense: 1932-1953 is the Flathead era-makes sense to be set up this way. Touring classes make sense---some cars modified for safer driving and some guys like hopped up ford engines. Part of the character of Old Ford culture as stated above. But once we start letting the heavily modified on our field, then we become something else entirely. And that only encourages folks who feel that they absolutely must to modify, chop and molest these cars even more. I like the club the way it is whether it has 10,000 members, 8,000 members or 4,000 members. I respect all of your opinions and thought hard about what you and the others have posted. I am not quitting any time soon. I love going to the National Meets when I can make them. I really enjoy the Ford friends that I have made. Thanks. . . . 78-730B This message was edited by TonyM on 10-19-18 @ 5:50 PM
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| carcrazy | -- 10-19-2018 @ 8:18 PM |
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We could legitimately keep our "Early Ford V-8 Club" title while adding 1954 to 1962 Ford cars and trucks into the club. These cars equipped with the Y-Block V-8 would be especially appropriate as this engine was the natural successor to our favorite V-8. The advantages of including the Y-Block powered cars and trucks are numerous: More modern cars that younger folks can identify with, less expensive cars that more people can afford, and more reliable cars that are easier to work on. More of these cars could be driven to distant Grand National events, other Nationals, and tours without the need for and expense of having to own trailers and tow vehicles.
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| FrankM-RG5 | -- 10-20-2018 @ 5:43 AM |
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Our members are more likely to own a hot rod than a y block. The Shoebox with the 8ba is the most easily maintained, dependable and affordable vehicle you will find. Yes the club did not start with 10,00 members but it was not a goal to stay under 100 either. If our membership is steadily declining we need to take a look at that and throw a few solutions at it. Having a large display class at a national meet shows where our membership is headed. If you look at the Early Ford V8 forum on fordbarn you'll see an awful lot of posts about modifying the flathead.
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| Dad'sOld'36 | -- 10-20-2018 @ 6:38 PM |
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As non-member (not yet), I am hesitant to post my opinion on this issue. That said I feel that I may represent a portion of the groups of people that the club is concerned with regarding potential membership. I am under 45 years of age, love old cars (esp. Fords), still raising a family and will be for some time. I have limited resources, both time and financial, to endulge my hobby. In my fantasies, the more original a car is the better. That lies in stark contrast to what I can afford and need in a car. Any car I own must be capable of daily service on an interim basis. This means that it must be capable of highway speeds and stopping from such speeds. While I consider the early V8 cars reasonably capable of this duty, I am by far an exception from the typical car enthusiast. I don't need to elaborate on the driving conditions on our modern roads. I can speak to the perception of younger drivers. Imagine having little experience with a manual transmission vehicle, let alone one that is 50-80 years old, and for the first time attempting to accelerate a 70-90 hp car onto a freeway or worse onto a 6-lane highway and cross 3 lanes of traffic to turn left at the next intersection. This perspective is one reason why bone stock cars of great age are not very attractive to younger generations. I said earlier that I am an exception. I've logged hundreds of thousands of miles in pre-1972 American vehicles. My current semi-daily driver is a near stock 1954 Willys CJ3B. It's still 6V and completely unmodified with the exception of turn signals and a planetary overdrive in the transfer case. I drive it on 30 miles of secondary highway on a near daily basis and have driven it as far as St. Louis, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh and more from my home in Pensacola on multiple occasions. My point in all of this is that while I agree that this or any other club that promotes the preservation/use/enjoyment of a particular classification of vehicles should never abandon its original focus, such a club should not render itself irrelevant by shunning those that would participate at the fringes and making full participation impossible or undesirable to those individuals. From a personal perspective, the things that make the club somewhat less attractive are the lack of a local presence (in my area at least) and the lack of a readily evident comradery between participants on this forum. That said, I will be joining the club as I view it as an invaluable resource for my future plans for my father's '36 sedan. Were my plans to modify the car for touring or cruising, I probably wouldn't feel welcome and would move along. Another thing I've noticed is that the club is not well known. I've met several flathead owners in the last couple of years. Only two had even heard of this club and neither were members.
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| trjford8 | -- 10-21-2018 @ 7:34 AM |
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Dad'sOld'36, thank you for responding to this post. You have said it well regarding joining the club. Much of what you have said echoes my comments in my first post regarding recruiting younger members. We certainly welcome you to the club with your dad's '36. The V-8 Times magazine is worth the price of the dues. You will also find that the club roster will give you access to fellow club members in your area. There is actually a lot of comradery in this club and I think that once you join and are able to talk with other members you will find a lot of help when you are ready to work on your '36. Your comments are appreciated on this forum. If we don't hear from younger members it's hard to know what changes should be made for the future of the club..
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| kirkstad | -- 10-21-2018 @ 2:42 PM |
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Our car club has about 100 members with cars ranging from model Ts to 90's cars of all description.One of the men in the club who has a restored 36 plymouth sedan just got his 41 ford done that he had been talking about for many months.When I saw him and his 41 at a recent show, I gave him a copy of the V8 times and an application.I hope he joins and I think he will,but that's the best I can do. There is no regional group near me that I can join,but I really enjoy the V8 times,and being a member.hopefully there is a solution to our membership problem because I really love old fords and those who own them.
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