low buck rod idea,looking for input

[singledownloop]

hey i said rat rod on here and got my ass kicked so bad i can still hardly sit down,so hoping low buck won't get me too much of a beating. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif I've been kicking around some low buck open car ideas.Wanted opinion or even a picture of a model a sedan with the top removed and maybe even a little taken out behind the doors to make a small open car that could carry around the family.Or would i be better to just find a cowl and make it whatever length that was decided?I've got Choprods as a friend and am working part time at a machine shop for a super talented guy that would help me out as well.Just looking from advice from those that have been there done that or know why not to try........

[Tman]

If I was going to do what you propose, I would look for some less desireable sedan to cut up. Essex, Willys,Nash, Buick etc.

[jub]

here is a bad picture of my 31

[singledownloop]

Tman good point,Jub your picture didn't fully load so i couldn't see the car

[zman]

[ QUOTE ]
If I was going to do what you propose, I would look for some less desireable sedan to cut up. Essex, Willys,Nash, Buick etc.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hey hey, hold on there with the Buick stuff. I find them more desireable. And much harder to find. Took me years to find a Buick Roadster body...

[burndup]

Model A body equals EXPENSIVE!

If you cant find a large ugly otherwise-undesireable sedan body to make a big tub out of, perhaps find some bastard cowl to start with, some new sheetmetal, and teach yourself metalwork in the process of wrapping the sheet around a telephone pole to make a tub...

Killer made the cowl of my car out of a truck rear fender, the tub out of the bed sides... but he's just krazy... hallucinagenic spores that blew in on the desert wind... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[singledownloop]

hey Jub picture worked after i reloaded the page,i'm kinda slow in the computer department.Is that pretty much a stock A with the top whacked off?Any details appreciated.I hear you guys about using alternative bodies,guessing a lot of them might be cheaper to score as well.

[singledownloop]

burndup where do i see a picture of your car,that sounds like some of the good old boy building going on around here.Course lot of them have the talent to make that pile of junk errrr i mean tin look good.I would really like to see a picture if you could direct me to one..........

[J Man]

You could allways get a 4 door, wack the top off and weld the rear doors shut.

[Fat Hack]

Model A Tudor with the top whacked off???

Ala Donzie's Tub, or "Donzie's Chick Magnet" as it is affectionately known?

<img src=http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid74/p24788ce8577ff4efee30dcfbe170680c/fb654129.jpg>

[Fat Hack]

Donzie's Tub is alive (well ALMOST alive!) and well these days...got a new owner and a new motor,

But it'll ALWAYS be "Donzie's Tub"! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Here's a cool rendering The Monster did of it...

[BARNETT]

I bought my 4 door, '27, already chopped down to 2 doors. Definitely a quirky cab, but I think we're on the right track with it...should get the thing on the road for less than $2000. It's on hold, again, until mid June...gotta pay some bills and work some shows and stuff. Stupid bills.
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

[jub]

Body is stock, just wacked off the top, welded the doors closed, chaneled width of frame, used 2" pipe for the perimeter where the top was cut off. Frame is about 5" off of the ground. This is a old picture more has benn done.

[Anderson]

Single...PM MarkX...I think he still has a couple sedan bodies for sale, one of which would make a perfect tub...

[Hellbilly_Buzzard]

[ QUOTE ]
If I was going to do what you propose, I would look for some less desireable sedan to cut up. Essex, Willys,Nash, Buick etc.

[/ QUOTE ]

I have found that if something is less desirable doesn't necessarily mean it is cheaper. It can be cheap to get the body and chassis. It can be difficult to find parts for an "undesirable" make, unless you don’t mind fabing everything.

[desertratrodder]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
If I was going to do what you propose, I would look for some less desireable sedan to cut up. Essex, Willys,Nash, Buick etc.

[/ QUOTE ]

I have found that if something is less desirable doesn't necessarily mean it is cheaper. It can be cheap to get the body and chassis. It can be difficult to find parts for an "undesirable" make, unless you don’t mind fabing everything.

[/ QUOTE ]

I definitely agree...I have a 32 Chrysler, and the bodies are more plentiful than the parts. Any parts I have found are way too expensive. The guys fighting for these rare parts are restoring cars that will be worth alot of money.
I have come to the realization that I will have to build a car out of different years and models if I want to make any progress with this particular car.
If I come across the right stuff later, I can always change those parts.

[slazzen]

buy a 28 29 cowl for like $25 like i did at the swaps I had a back of a cab left over from the slazzen 36 sheetmetal side you got a low buck body for about $75 is what I got in mine

[singledownloop]

a couple of years ago i went out to an old farmers house that had a bunch of model a parts for sale cheap.When i called about them he told me not to expect to come out and find an A sitting on blocks or anything.He did however have a nice frame in a barn and a bunch of various rusty old parts in a falling over shed he said he'd been collecting for years as he cleared his land and ditches.He wanted $200.00 for the whole mess then which i thought was a load but i might try to swing by in the near future to see what if anything is of value.It wasn't advertised a restorer told me about him......

[playin' hookie]

I find patience is the key. Alot of rumour chasin' and door knocking. Following up on leads and bringing up this old shit we're into with people that don't seem to fit "our" mold.

Most of my finds are from people not in the hobby. And why is that? Because the don't want it!

My T coupe is just about rolling now with about 3grand invested, but lotsa time chasing parts. I have a t touring cowl/rear panel waiting that cost me a set of 4 used 14" tires for some guys car trailer. Pick up a used engine here("please just take it away I need the space"), a swap meet A frame there( sunday-"gimme $50 for it, I don't wanna take it home"). Ya gotta wait for the right stuff and don't over pay just cause you lose patience.

My .02 on a cheap starter is either the t touring/lakester thing( getting a little over done recently though), or cutting up an A sedan making a chopped pick-up cab, fab up your own bed with some round tube and flat steel and a swap meet A frame(or your own rails) and away you go.

[Rocky]

I find the best deals on old cars/hotrods usually come to me by word of mouth. I heard about this shortened 31 Dodge from a fellow rodder. His uncle bought it for the title and found he couldn't sell the title! I think I paid $250 for it with ratty fenders and a good title. I toyed with the idea of cutting off the top but someone else wanted the car worser'n I did...after I built a frame from box tubing and installed a 318/automatic...
The image was chopped but the real car wasn't. My neighbor called it a shriner's car...