Posted by Matt Wilson on Saturday, January 20, 2001 at 10:24PM :
In Reply to: Info from buyers? posted by Anthony 78/68PW on Friday, January 19, 2001 at 11:51PM :
Hi Anthony,
I enjoy working on these old vehicles, and even the newer ones, to the extent I'm capable of, with all the electronics and such. It gives me a sense of pride and I usually learn something that I didn't know before. On newer vehicles, you can save a lot of money buying one that only needs occasional work, and then doing the repairs yourself. That is the main reason I perform my own repairs on my daily driver.
If you buy something that needs a lot of work (for example some Power Wagons), you can end up spending a lot of money and never get the money out of it, and you must consider this. But to me, that is not the main point. For me, the point is to enjoy the process. When I work on my '49 flat-fender, I take each component apart, touch it, inspect it, become one with it. I envision what the component does as it operates. I observe the workmanship, quality, etc. I imagine what must have taken place in the engineers' offices as the components were designed and analyzed, what must have taken place in the test labs and proving grounds as the components and entire trucks were put through grueling tests, and what must have taken place on the factory floors as machine operators and assemblymen brought together the trucks we now admire.
As I operate my truck, I imagine the kind of honest hard work performed by American workers, and the kinds of heavy tasks carried out by these beasts back in the 40's-70's, when they were in common use.
To me this truck represents the kind of mechanical ingenuity born of necessity during WWII, when the U.S. was up against some of the most horrific forces ever encountered. Servicemen like my father relied upon this ingenuity to bring them home safely from the battlefront, and civilians at home relied upon those servicemen to guard their freedom.
Maybe I'm making too much of it all, but those are some of the many things that I get out of owning and rebuilding a Power Wagon.
To sum it up, I feel that when it comes to purchasing a hobby vehicle, there should be much more to consider than whether or not you'll be able to turn a profit when you are done with it. Of course, you do have to stay within your financial means, and only you can decide what approach will let you do this. You don't want to go too far out on a limb!
In the end, whatever you do, just make sure you enjoy your trucks and take good care of them, and don't overextend yourself financially.
Have fun,
Matt
|
This board is powered by the Mr. Fong Device from Cyberarmy.com |