[shoddy_F-body]

Hey everyone. I haven't been around here much since I finished my cars resto. It seems everyone has left. This place used to be really buzzing with dozens of new posts a day. If you posted a question you'd have an answer in minutes.Seems it's a ghost town now. Where did everyone go? Don't see many regulars around anymore.
Anyway here's a few pics of my 68 finished. It was a ground up resto that took me 10 years. Every nut,bolt and screw, done all by myself, paint, body, interior, suspension, alone in my 2 car garage.

 

[allanjs]

Nice work Chris. Beautiful car. I remember when you were a regular here. Like you I think
a lot of guys have finished their cars and just don't have a reason to visit the site. We've seen a
lot of people post a few questions, get their answers and disappear. Also so many questions have
been answered over the last 5 or more years I think people are searching for the answers rather than
posting which I think is good. A few years ago there were a number of builds going on where the
guys (myself included) were bouncing questions and answers off each other. I haven't seen much
at all for new builds in a long time. The build and body shop forums were a buzz at that time. I
question just how many builds are really going on anymore. There seems to be a lot of engine
ignition and suspension questions most recently. I finished my build (if they're ever finished) earlier
this year but still hang around trying to help and continue to learn.

 

[ilikeike]

I asked you some questions a few years ago in my build thread, but you never answered...
Just kidding,

but that’s what happened, everyone went to the gossip page. forums are done. although I prefer forums over facebook . I don’t do facebook didn’t do MySpace either. i just don’t get it, F-book just doesn’t work for me, it just seems like a rambling post like this...:]
,

 

[anguilla1980]

Yeah, I don't get why people try and use a site like FB as forums, it makes zero sense. You can't search a forum archive for info, it's nearly impossible to browse so the same question must be asked over and over again. Plus it's only been around 1/3 as long as forums.

That said, it is happening.

 

[ZLP955]

Chris, your car turned out awesome - well done!
You may need to change your user name now though, that car's far from shoddy

 

[buenymayor]

I'm still here. There comes a point in every forums life where most of the regulars get a thorough education and just don't have as many questions as before. Plus about every conceivable question that can be asked about a first gen has already been asked and answered.

 

[350sshugger]

Beautiful job Chris. I remember your build going on here.

I think like has been stated above that the number of massive build projects has dwindled. Seems like there were about 10 of us working big projects for a while, and some of us are completed or nearing completion. Others disappeared; possibly getting burned out for a bit. I also do a lot of searching before posting for an answer. There is a ton of information on here.....if you can find it.

I think the other big problem was the photosuckit disaster. That destroyed a lot of good information. If I have any gripes with this site, it is the picture sharing. To preserve information the picture sharing needs to be corrected.

 

[dhutton]

The need to have a paid membership to post pics is slowly killing this forum imho. New members get discouraged right out of the gate when they can’t post a pic. I belong to quite a few forums and this is the only one that has this restriction on pic posting. Forum owners are killing their own forums.

Don

 

[bondora68]

My god Chris, that car is beautiful..
Just speaking for myself, I took a step back from Camaro building to get recharged and to do some home improvements and to heal from an accident. Ready to get back to work...!

 

[Andrew69]

Chris, your car looks great. Well done!

I remember the past discussions of how to replace a quarter panel and other detailed concerns. Those rarely happen anymore, as I guess anyone needing this info now finds it with a search. Also, many members are getting older and may be losing interest. I surf the contents daily but find I post much less frequently than I used to.

 

[shoddy_F-body]

Thanks guys. Nice to see some familiar names! I'm Friends with Jim Mellema on Facebook. He was a regular, He sold his blue 68 and travels the country in a motorhome which is pretty awesome.I do wonder if a lot of the die hards of this hobby are aging out. I was in my late 20's early 30's when I discovered this site and Chevelles.com ( I have a 70 Chevelle also) I actually bought my Camaro from a member on there, Maiden70 or something like that up in Poukeepsie NY. Not sure if he's still around. Now I'm nearing 50 and don't know if I have it it me for any more restorations. I'm enjoying tinkering with my completed cars. Although I have been watching a 67 convertible Camaro that's for sale locally that would be a very big project.
Anyway here is a before pic from the Ebay ad that I bought my car from. Quite amazing to me to see it now!

and an "in progress" pic

 

[rogerh]

Personally I get discouraged in answering post because the OP doesn’t give us the information we need. I have went to the garage and taken pictures of a part on my 67 to answer a post just to find they are working on a 69. Then you can knock yourself out finding the information and get no reply at all.

Roger

 

[Nantooch]

Nicely done Chris, So true, not alot of the a$$ busters here that used to be. I think alot left after pdq67 got thrown out the door.

 

[allanjs]

Personally I get discouraged in answering post because the OP doesn’t give us the information we need. I have when to the garage and taken pictures of a part on my 67 to answer a post just to find they are working on a 69. Then to you can knock yourself out finding the information and get no reply at all.

Roger

I don't go to the lengths I once did either for these same reasons. It gets rather irritating when the OP
doesn't acknowledge an answer or reply to a question (more info needed). Often I link a previous thread
that answers the question. No need to beat a dead horse reiterating the info. Also as Matt said the Photobucket
crap has hurt. And to Dons point not being able to simply drag and drop a pic is a pita especially for those
that have never had to work around that. Wait until the the ad blockers stop working and the site will virtually
die. That's already happened to me on another site. That will drive people to facebook or similar.

 

[SoCal805]

OP, very nice build

Well I may be considered a FNG as I have only been a member about a year now. Have been a forum member on another car type site for 20 years and it is a shell of what it once was. Seems they all have a life compared to their fast & furious days. I still cruise a few car forums daily and enjoy it

Seems FB is the go to for car chat but I don't do SM

I would be lost without the help of those who do still reply/post on several things with my 67

Also disappointed on the picture post thing and photopuke has killed countless photos on this and other forums. For this and other forums with restrictive pic post policy I use https://postimages.org/login which works well but is a PIA as you first need to post the pic on that site them copy/paste a thumbnail link on this one but at least it works.

 

[1stgenCR]

I think other's have covered it. Social media plus the Photobucket money grab started the downward spiral of all forums. Social media just makes it so easy to share pictures compared to forums. I'm guilty of it myself. Forums are still my number #1 source for researching just about anything, not just car related items. But I post about my Camaro and car related stuff on social media daily whereas forums are a pain. And i evven have my own website to host pics on! It just is far more time consuming to upload a pic and share it on forums.

Some forums I'm own allow you to host pics directly which helps a bit. I don't think forums will completely die but I also don't think they will be the mecca they were in the late 2000's.

Personally, I don't think it has as much to do with the age of the typical owner population. Even forums geared towards younger audiences have slowed way down.

 

[shoddy_F-body]

For photos I use flickr. If you have a Yahoo account you may already have it. I have the app on my phone so I can snap a pic share it to the flickr app and grab a link for posting pretty easily.

 

[Everett#2390]

Nice ride, Chris, and as others have said, 'Nice job.'
Enjoy the ride. Yes, less traffic as history has shown.

 

[stevo camaro]

So it's not just me noticing the decline. I was gone for awhile to. I blame a crappy computer for most of it. I think everyone has said it. I agree. I also notice, it seems like there isn't any young guy's coming up behind us to do what we've done. Maybe a few, but..... I had 3 parts washers at my shop, couldn't give them away. Guy's looked at me like I had 3 heads. They aren't going to clean parts that dirty, they'll just order new. LOL OK. That's what I kept hearing, that and, I can just buy one cheaper. I also think there are alot more cars out there than there were 20 years ago that are done. That's it guy's, we saved them all, now we can go home. LOL
Chris, NICE job on the car.
It is nice to see some old names still around. I've been here almost 20 years now. Yep, I'm getting old too.

 

[scblucam]

Superb ride Chris. I am not really partial to Verts and am partial to blue but that paint POPS.
Lately I have seen some newcomers with only a few posts which is good if they will join and participate. People who use this site for the most part have gotten older, some have passed, some don't have time. These cars are expensive as you know, some younger guys may not have the $$$$ to participate, and you can buy a serious HP car for somewhat reasonable price. (I cant). I can still crawl under my cars but might need serious help getting vertical again. I try to show up every day and mostly just check "Recent Discussions" and always check Everett's Wednesday Humor. If I have something to say I will add but refrain is it has already been said adequately.