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Sorry for the following rant, guys... I just have some things I need to get off my chest. I have a feeling I'm not the only one here who has thoughts on this subject, so feel free to chime in if you like.
Whenever I watch today's car shows and auctions like Barrett Jackson and I see people cheering when a '69 Hemi Road Runner sells for $500K or more, I just get disgusted. The billionaire who just bought that car will probably never even drive it, and it will sit with the rest of his vast collection in some warehouse only to be shown off to his wealthy buddies for bragging rights. Thanks to all these super-rich "investors", many of whom aren't even true car enthusiasts, the price of classic cars has been driven up to astronomical heights. Common folks like us can only dream of ever again owning a '71 Challenger 440 Six-Pack (I purchased one in 1980 for $4000, wish I'd never sold it!).
Even today's so-called Rat Rods being built by these high-priced celebrity 'custom builders' are selling for ridiculous amounts, often over $50K. Used to be a Rat Rod was put together by your average Joe in his garage, using whatever spare parts he had lying around. Now you can pay over $5000 just for a 'custom' faked rusty clear-coated paint job. 
It just saddens me that true enthusiasts of these classics, like us, who love owning and driving these cars and actually work on them with our own greasy hands, can no longer afford the same cars we used to buy as teenagers with our meager summer job savings. When I was 18 I bought a 64-1/2 Mustang Coupe with a 289 4v and factory 4-speed for 50 bucks! The rear frame rails and trunk floor were rusted through, so my gearhead Uncle Rick cut them out and welded some square stock in their place. I threw a piece of sheet metal in the trunk for a floor, held down by pop-rivets. It ran like a raped ape and I drove it for several years until I sold it to a buddy for $200.
Those were the days, my friends. Those were the days.
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So true. I have been to two Barrett Jackson sales, both it Las Vegas. Just an observer, could never afford to buy anything there. As I watched the bidding, I couldn't help notice the seriousness of that event. It seemed to be more of a business function than an opportunity to purchase a dream car. I don't recall seeing anyone truly excited about making a purchase of a beautiful car. It just seemed like another day at the office for many.
My neighbor purchased a 70 Boss 302 Mustang three years ago. It is a 4 speed original car, a real beauty. I have driven my car more in the last few weeks than he has in three years. Every event he attends with the car, he isn't driving it, he hauls the car on a trailer. What's the point? I asked him why he never drives the car. He replied, "to keep the value up, can't get any paint chips"What a shame!
So the way I see it. Go find a nice old car and restore or modify to your personal taste. Enjoy the restoration and one day when you are driving down the road and people are smiling, honking or giving you the thumbs up, I am pretty sure you will enjoy a pride that many that purchased a car from Barrett Jackson will not experience.
That's my rant.
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As more fall out from the auction-mania, everyone with a car for sale thinks they have a BJ quality car and price it so. Look at how much a '68 Mustang GT has skyrocketed as an example. Run of the mill Chevelles that were $15k five years ago are now $35k. They must be getting what they want for them.
I see lots of posers in the hobby, they have cars and don't drive them very much, just to shows or a cruise night now and then. I know one guy who had old funny cars and a even a rail dragster... those collect dust. He has one hot rod he bought a few years ago, never even registered it. He takes it out of the garage and washes it now and then. Most of these guys do no work on their cars, they have shops do it all.
My old Ford, close to being registered, has no great paint, but I'll drive it anywhere and have fun with it. And every nut and bolt on the car was turned by me or the others who help me with the car.
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Good posts, guys... I knew I wasn't alone! 
I was watching reruns of that show 'Bitchin' Rides' the other night and they had a '67 Fairlane converible they were turning into a resto-mod. Instead of rebuilding the original 390 engine (which ran fine and could have been hot-rodded with not much effort), they ditched it and ordered a hi-performance crate motor for it. The shop owner, a young kid with a long scraggly goatee, admitted he knew nothing about engines and nobody in his shop was an engine builder, so that's why they always went with HP crate motors. What? How can any self-resoecting hot rod builder not know how to rebuild a simple vintage V8? How did he become a 'celebrity' owner of a famous custom shop charging outrageous money for his cars without any hands-on experience buiding hot rods? Heck, most of us gearheads in high school could at least install hot cams, headers, 4 bbl intakes and the like.
Turns out many of these 'reality' TV custom car builders are the same way... they know nothing about the internal combustion engine, they just order them pre-built - plug & play. Many of them are relatively young and grew up in an era when the toy cars they played with were 'Hot Wheels'. So all the cars they build end up looking like life-sized versions of How Wheels cars... big huge wheels, lowered almost to the ground, garish graphics, paint jobs in glaringly loud colors. They stuff the trunks with $20K of stero equipment, giant bass speakers and million watt ampliifiers... they care more about the sound system than how the car actuallt perorms and handles.
I guess part of it is I'm getting old. But at least when we were kids, we built model cars from kits with our own hands, meticulously painting every detail of the engine, suspension, frame, etc... including layers of spray paint with glossy clear coats. So we basically knew how a car was built and how it functioned. As we came up through highschool we couldn't afford a newer car and no way our parents were going to spoil us. So we bought old 'jalopies', got some tools together, and built our own hot rods that were fast enough to compete on the mainstreet strip on Saturday night.
Nowadays... well, sorry but I just can't see paying $100K for a 'custom' Hot Wheels replica built by inexperienced "mechanics" from a drawing dreamed up by a 20-something kid... a big gaudy toy car that can't even go over a speed bump without bottoming out. 
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Good point on the car shows where they all use crate motors. More than likely those are free or steeply discounted. A rebuild could take a very long time... a crate is an instant 450 HP. And they look good.
I'm 60 and have been working on things all my life. Bicycles, lawn mowers... then combined those into motor bikes. Along came boats and outboard engines. We'd take 2 or 3 junk engines and make 1 good one. Cars.. we had to money so we did all the work ourselves. And at 15, I was helping the older kids with their cars. We street raced, blew up a lot of stuff. Due to losing my license a couple of this, I gravitated to stock cars. We built our own cars that always ran up front.
Most of these shows on TV are empty store-fronts. They can make the top side of the cars look good, turn them over and they're dirty and have caked on grease all over. My cars are clean on the bottom and have a painted chassis.
I was watching that one junkyard Mopar show... I pick up on things like a hood that doesn't close right, poor body panel gaps too. That one car had an obvious wheel alignment issue, camber was way too low on one side.
With my current build, I had an engine done for it. I tore it down, looked at the components, measured the crank and checked the bores for size and taper. Granted, I have better tools around than most shops. In the end, the shop built my short block, degreed the cam and balanced the clutch & flywheel. Most of those TV shops wouldn't have a clue on where to start.
Model cars, we learned a lot from those old AMT kits (BTW.. any engine fit any chassis in a Trophy Series kit...). I got back into it at age 40, realized I had to step up my game. Within a few years time, I was winning contests and had my cars featured in model magazines, think I was in 3 magazines for a total of 11 times.
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I think you're talking about 'Graveyard Cars'. I watch it sometimes but I can hardly stand the owner's big ego and mouth to go with it. He's constantly insulting his employees, he says it's all in fun but I couldn't work for a guy who called me a 'turd' and a 'moron'. Granted he seems to know his Mopars, down to the overspray under the hood from the factory and the chalk marks on the drivetrain. I 'like building original cars sometimes but that's just a little too 'by the book' for me. 
That's really cool that you build model cars to such a high degree of skill and craftsmanship. I used to be pretty meticulous as a kid, but my models didn't come close to that level of perfection. Any chance of you posting some pics of your model cars? Sure would like to see 'em!
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Yeah, Grave Yard Cars. He had a few I saw with hoods that closed poorly or big fender to door gaps. He had his daughter painting factory markings, looked pretty lame to me. I couldn't work for the guy, he'd be missing a few teeth if he talked to me that way.
I'll try to post a model picture... here goes..
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Wow, nice 5-windoe coupe... '38, '39? The detail is incredible. Nice work!
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Oh my gosh I post this exact same rant about once a month on Facebook.
I have always built all of my cars from junkers.
When I was 21, in 1985, I found a 1964 1/2 Barracuda. I had been seeing it for months on the side of this old guys house. One day I stopped to see if he wanted to sell it. Turns out he could not drive anymore because of his vision.
Got it for only $95.00!
When I was in high school, around 82, I bought a 1968 Impala SS from my buddies grandma for $100.00 and helping build her new brick BBQ
Now I cannot even find a basket case Impala SS for under 5 grand.
I hate those idiots at Barret Jackson! Writing a check does not make you a hot rodder or a car guy. I especially hate the freaking trailer queens! They are cars! The are meant to be driven!
In the last 35 years I have owned and worked on just about 300 cars.
In just 5 days I bring home my new 62 Mercury Monterey! It will be built, and a show stopper, because of my own two hands and hard work!
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Right on!