Is nostalgia worth the extra cost? | Column

I currently own 3 cars from my youth. I always liked older cars (as old as me or older), so I own my first car a 1971 Opel GT, my high school dream car a 1974 914, and my high school dream home a 1985 Westfalia.

The Westy will be sold, and the other two restomodded.

A new car I wanted in high school was an e30 m3. I almost bought one 10 or 12 years ago but didn't want to pay the $16k asking price so I passed. Idiot.

When I was home a couple weeks ago I inquired about my late 1970s Kuahara BMX bike. Sadly my parents sold it a decade ago.

In reply to preach (dudeist priest) :

Bummer on the bike. A good friend rode for them back in the day–not factory but some kind of flow program. The bikes are gone, but she still has the jerseys and stickers. 

I recently found a way to itch the nostalgia bug with minimal cost (for now): Cassettes. 



I posted about it in another thread, but I had wanted to pick up a cassette deck for my office stereo rig for a while now. I ended up getting a broken unit for free recently and spent $7 on a bag of belts on Amazon to get it working again. Then, I grabbed all my old tapes out of storage:



This bin contains the literal soundtrack of my youth! I spent a lot of time as a kid listening to music; whether I was on car rides or riding my bike on my paper route after school, my Sony Sports Walkman was always hanging off my belt. While other formats are superior, the connection with cassettes tickles the nostalgia nerves the most. 

And when it comes to snagging new-to-me cassettes, there are a few shops in the area that have them CHEAP. 



These four classics set me back just $8. These will be cranked to the max in my Trans Am soon enough! 

In reply to Tony Sestito :

\m/

I had a Pioneer receiver that had a very similar look to that Kenwood you have and probably of the same vintage. One of the best sounding receivers I've ever had. They are pricey now so I went with a newer Yamaha setup that has actually blown me away in terms of bang/buck

In reply to DirtyBird222 :

All of my office components (except the speakers) were either freebies, Craigslist finds, or thrift store scores. Most expensive component is my Gemini D.J.Q1200 turntable, which is basically their version of the Technics SL-1200. That was $20 from a guy down the street on Craigslist. You don't have to spend megabucks to get good sound! The Kenwood and Pioneer components are from the mid-90's, and my Denon 5-CD changer is from the early 00's, and it has MP3 playback capability. I have some other components in storage, too. If I see it and it's cheap/decent, I grab it!

And Yamaha... I love Yamaha stuff. They make great... well... everything.  

Tony Sestito said:

In reply to DirtyBird222 :
And Yamaha... I love Yamaha stuff. They make great... well... everything.  

I've said about Yamaha many times, it's one company that, no matter what they do, they do it right. I wouldn't say their stuff is great, but almost all of it is good.

I flirt with nostalgia. I had a mini bike collection, I raced vintage motocross, but like most things, I'll do it for a while, then move on. I currently have a pretty decent vintage stereo setup with two mono blocks, preamp, and CD player, all of it early 90's NAD. But vintage audio, if you do it right, doesn't have to be expensive. I'd like another Swift GT, but would I pay a nostalgia premium for it? No, the reason I was attracted to them in the firs place was the cost of entry. They were cheap, and that's how I view them, as cheap cars

In reply to Peabody :

I've also been using Yamaha amps for years. So far, so good. 

And good point about how things we bought based on price of entry have gotten expensive. I bought a new SE-R because it was a terrific value–less expensive than a Civic Si yet more power, alloy wheels and a limited-slip diff. 

Today the Civic still commands the premium, but the SE-R also has a nostalgia tax. 

There is a big difference between having a seven year old 1969 Mustang in high school for $900 that impresses all the girls in school and having a 54 year old 1969 Mustang for $35,000 that requires a Classic Car Loan and a garage because your collector's car insurance requires it, that makes your wife think you are stupid and financially irresponsible.

Sometimes it is better to leave nostalgia alone. I guess if you didn't have one in high school it might be worth it. But the 69 was a rattletrap that was kind of scary to drive fast. My 2017 Mustang is actually faster, handles better, gets better gas mileage and has a better stereo and GPS. I have no fears about taking in on a long trip and then autocrossing it the next weekend. The horse on the grille is the same. Nostalgia enough for me.

In reply to Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) :

Yeah, I discovered that when I bought another VW corrado.  The 20 years since I'd owned my last one had definitely tinted the experience more rosy.  Don't get me wrong, the car I bought was a nice car that drove actually quite well, but nothing like the cars I've been driving since I'd gotten rid of my first one.

In reply to Tony Sestito :

My step-mother sold my Bose 901s for $20 at a yard sale thinking she did me a favor. berkeley.

In reply to preach (dudeist priest) :

I had a Colecovision with the Atari adaptor, and the racing wheel, and a bunch of games. $20 at a yard sale.

That hurts as much as losing my Hutch Trick Star.

preach (dudeist priest) said:

In reply to Tony Sestito :

My step-mother sold my Bose 901s for $20 at a yard sale thinking she did me a favor. berkeley.

Bose 901s? You can't even find those at the classic stereo shop for an inflated price any more. At a yard sale?

I remember when everybody had a cool stereo system instead of a smartphone and a bluetooth speaker. I few years ago I bought an old Marantz tuner, just to have the warm blue glow in my bedroom at night.

Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) said:

There is a big difference between having a seven year old 1969 Mustang in high school for $900 that impresses all the girls in school and having a 54 year old 1969 Mustang for $35,000 that requires a Classic Car Loan and a garage because your collector's car insurance requires it, that makes your wife think you are stupid and financially irresponsible.

Sometimes it is better to leave nostalgia alone. I guess if you didn't have one in high school it might be worth it. But the 69 was a rattletrap that was kind of scary to drive fast. My 2017 Mustang is actually faster, handles better, gets better gas mileage and has a better stereo and GPS. I have no fears about taking in on a long trip and then autocrossing it the next weekend. The horse on the grille is the same. Nostalgia enough for me.

I think there are shades of gray here and, yeah, why can't a newer Mustang scratch that older nostalgic itch? Sounds like you found the right answer for you. 

I love BMX. I still ride BMX. It's fun and also reminds me of the freedom that a bike brought me at 13.

But I don't ride my old bikes for the simple reason that the newer ones just fit me better. 

Nostalgia... I finally brought home (from storage at my mother's) my Middle school dream bike a GT Performer. I bought it shortly before really getting hooked on cars and it kinda got left behind. I guess I need to find periodish looking tires for it so I can ride around with my kids. 

In reply to LopRacer :

Rad. What color? 

In reply to David S. Wallens :

I shared this one before. I rode it today after work; worth every penny of the $1200 I spent on it.

Here's some nostalgia for you! 



I saw this a few months back at an antique mall and I had to have it. I never had this as a kid, but one of my cousins did. It's modeled after a C4 Corvette and the headlights even pop up! I way overpaid for it, and it's not entirely working right now (battery corrosion issues) but it should be an easy fix. Plus, you never see these with the original box!

My 4yo car-obsessed nephew loves playing with it, even though the electronics don't work, yet. I told him it's a "project car", and he wants to help me fix it. 

Well, I just jumped on the nostalgia train with the Mitsubishi version of the CTR, My Mirage Cyborg RS. I tinkered a lot with Mitsubishis in the mid 2000s and most of my knowledge is still there. 

Is it as fast as a new car? No. I find it pretty darn fun and it puts a smile on the face. So that is the key. All said and done, it was pretty cheap fun. I still enjoy the 90's cars I have more than the Golf R I sold last year. The Golf R did everything better except putting a smile on my face. 

Tom1200 said:

In reply to David S. Wallens :

I shared this one before. I rode it today after work; worth every penny of the $1200 I spent on it.

Very cool and glad to hear it's getting used.

Do I spy Maxy Cross cranks?

David S. Wallens said:

Tom1200 said:

In reply to David S. Wallens :

I shared this one before. I rode it today after work; worth every penny of the $1200 I spent on it.

Very cool and glad to hear it's getting used.

Do I spy Maxy Cross cranks?

Yes, you do indeed spy Maxy Cross cranks.

The best part of this bike is it was built for a friend of mine who was once AMA Women's Pro Motocross Champion. It pretty much has every trick part available in 1979.

In reply to Tom1200 :

Looks trick. The photo's not high-res, but do I also see KKT pedals, Oakley B1B grips, Araya 7X rims and Dia-Compe MX1000 brakes? 

In reply to David S. Wallens :

All of those parts plus the Shot Gun seat!

I'm not ashamed to admit I was seething with jealousy when my friend got it.  I talked about the bike for years and was completely shocked when I joked about buying it she actually agreed to sell it.

A HS friend has a collection of about 80 vintage BMX bikes...........it's a sight to behold.

In reply to Tom1200 :

You bike is a perfect period piece. 

And from the same era, my 1979 Team Mongoose.