Over here in the Australian country side there is piles of stuff still lying about you just have to get off your bum and go for a drive. You will also need to be willing to cold knock on doors and just ask, I find most people are happy to have a quick chat and if they want there treasure they probably have a mate who doesn’t.
However we do not have very many Ian’s about who take on challenges as a 20 year old. I feel that western society demographics are changing rapidly; far fewer people are working in manufacturing or building trades, even fewer people aspire to owning a decent toolbox. Those who undertake trade training receive far less education in component manufacture, today its all unit change out. Our cities have reached out too far for practical travel and we now understand environmentally that we can’t just keep building on bush and farm land. Twenty years ago housing blocks averaged 900m2 these days they are down to 450m2. We are seeing huge amounts of urban infill going on with old homes coming down for town house development; people no longer have the skills or space to undertake a restoration. The cost of living is literally through the roof young people if they want a place in a major city these days will have a $500,000 mortgage for 30 years.
I think there will always be a few who take up the restoration challenge but numbers will dwindle. I think we will see the market for smaller fully restored vehicle types increase in value further as those who become High Income earners seek out a nice toy. But then again all our trucks may be up on blocks in a shed in 20 years because we cant afford to run them as fuel will become a very expensive commodity as former third world countries increase demand well beyond supply.
Agh?
