Hot Rods SELL MY FIRST HOT ROD OR NOT?

So I'm thinkin about sellin my truck. The motor and trans are really tho only thing of value, so I can't sell just the shell. But I am coming to a point in my life where the lowered, flat black pickup truck with two bucket seats seems too adolescent for me. I'm 29, I have a daughter and a wife and we all can't go anywhere together in this truck. Not to mention safety. Since I was a kid I've had my eye on a 94-97 impala (or a clone) and I think if I were to get the truck running well I could sell it and buy one. A 12 second truck for a 15 second car... A semi-powerful family sedan with room for five, A/C, and power steering haha... I'm just frustrated with the constant attention of a hotrod. I know I'll regret it but I have a two year old and I work 50-60 hours a week. I'm a manager at an oil change and repair shop, I really like my job, and I don't think that will change anytime soon. So free time for maintenance and repair will likely be a problem until retirement. But, to sell my truck would be like sellin a kid. I could make it loads more reliable with an HEI and a new carb but I could still only have one passenger.... I know I'm not the first person to have to make this choice, you guys have any related experience/ advice?

 

Sounds like you need something that can seat 4 and bring you pleasure. I won't comment on the OT impala though.

 

Figure out a way to hang on to the truck, and get something else to cart the family around in for a few years. I guess I'm lucky, I still have my old truck, I swapped in the big block in 1979 when I was still in high school, and all these years later I still get to drive around in it like I'm a juvenile delinquent again.

 

Sell it. Then, in about 5 years, you can start a thread looking for it.

 

I understand but once you sell it it you can't replace it I wish I still had my first car & my first hot rod You can build one like it but it isn't it

 

Exactly how does one become frustrated at the constant attention of a hot rod?

Twenty-nine is a tad young for the rocking chair, Clyde.

 

Hopefully, he means, as in repairing it. Maintenance. I HOPE. Because, regardless what we tell others, we ALL know we're freakin' ATTENTION WHORES. There's no shame in it. The rock stars that say they do it for......"The ART" or "SOUL", they're liars too.. Whores........every one of us and I'm okay with that. End of sermon.

 

LOL. My thoughts exactly.

 

Your dilemma is not that big a deal, really. Human beings are built to make changes and keep on keepin' on. Personally, I've built and owned my share of righteous rods; but losing sleep over them, after I've sold them, is the least of my worries. I'm all about building stuff, and thinking about 'the next one' as much as anything. After you've gotten them running and driven them a while, and the 'new' wears off, they should be thought of as collateral to use for pushing the envelope in your next project, to cover expenses that come up because of things beyond our control that impact you personally or your family, as well as a learning process; the emphasis here is 'process'. Many will argue to the contrary but hot rods in and of themselves, while being wonderful physical specimens of our art, are only examples of what can be done, and are not the end-all and be-all of what we do. My advice is to move on, if you feel it's time. As one poster pointed out, you can always find your old rod in the future and perhaps buy it back, or clone what you've sold, when the old moola cache improves. As to a late model purchase from Government Motors, I'll leave that to others to advise you on. I wouldn't buy a newer vehicle. I like old stuff and suggest finding something to wrench on that has all the features you're looking for and build on that. There are many late fifties, and early sixties cars that can carry four to six adults that are HAMB friendly. Just take a look at the offering in the classifieds, here, and other places, and rethink your goal as to a 'new' piece of junk, when 'old' junk is more wrench friendly. No matter what you do with the latter choice, learning to move on is part of growing up. Family matters. If you do it for them, keep in mind you're part of the mix, and don't make sacrifices you'll regret because they tend to sour your outlook later on. Make yourself happy, too, and all that ends well, is well. When goodness prevails, everyone is happy.

 

I sold my first Hot Rod almost 50 years ago. Do you have any idea what I would pay for it now?

 

^ Thats just funny!! The frustration, I think, is from spending money on and replacing the same stuff over and over through the years. Three fuel pumps, four carb kits (no fuel regulator til yesterday), 5 or more sets of points, countless condensors (didn't know I needed one on the coil neg for five years), 3 sets of wires that got burnt on the headers (I think I finally have them routed right now), 2 pairs of motor mounts, a trans mount, then the normal stuff, oil/filter, clean k&n, plugs, ballasts... I could go on but that's most of it. In 30k miles over a 6 year period. That's frustrating yeah? I'm sure hei would help but I doubt there are many hei distributors that would be much less trouble with the way I drive. I don't just putt around. Most stuff I can afford just isn't meant to spin the rpm this thing does

And voodoo, what's OT impala? That body style?

 

My first hot rod was a Model A pickup,a wife and twin girls and I sold it hoping to buy a bigger hot rod...it took me almost 30 years to replace my hot rod pickup.

Do the smart thing and keep it. HRP

 

Would this be the 71 c10 in your profile? Or something else?

I still have my first car - 64 Malibu 283/4spd and I'm happy to have kept it but I didn't have kids till I was 34 and had a newer vehicle.

The "OT" would be Off Topic, as in a 96 chevy isn't what these fellas like to chat about.

 

OT means "off topic".

The newest car acceptable to this site left the assembly line in 1965.

 

Here are some of my cars that I had at different times in my life! High School, before wife, before kids, after kids and after retirement. And now new project!



So don't get all concerned. What goes around comes around. Just stay with it If it is in your blood you will always have something or be on your way to a new project.

 

Fortynut, that's great advice. I haven't built but one hotrod, so the process has been wicked fun but not without its "hard lessons". I don't know whether I can heed the wise words and sell it off, but thank you for a clear, developed argument for the "sell it" side of my dilemma.

 

Oh.... Off topic. I read the rules page but I thought since it was a 62 motor I could discuss it in the hamb, but not the other sites. In that case I've been making gray area posts since the motor is a 62 but the truck is later. My bad, hope I don't get banned.... This is the only site I've found that has any members with knowledge on 283s. So am I breakin the rules? Not tryin to be one of those...

 

As a repair center manager .....,

Three fuel pumps, four carb kits (no fuel regulator til yesterday), 5 or more sets of points, countless condensors (didn't know I needed one on the coil neg for five years), 3 sets of wires that got burnt on the headers (I think I finally have them routed right now), 2 pairs of motor mounts, a trans mount, then the normal stuff, oil/filter, clean k&n, plugs, ballasts...

This sounds like it should keep a good tech busy for about 1/2 of a week and a shitty tech every bit of that week.

So you've worked on your hot rod keeping up with this general stuff for about a weeks worth total in the last 6 years.
Or you can average that out to 1 day a year plus oil changes. Fair to say ? I think so.


Now why do you find this frustrating?

 

I have a son your age and this is what I would tell him. Find a way to buy the family vehicle you think you need and hang on to your truck for one year. At the end of that year see what you think .

 

keep the truck.. i regret selling my chopped 51 ford when i was about in same situation.. 18 years on and 6 kids later im just getting back to where i had got to.. but wow have things got a bunch more expensive!

 

Nice rods ct1932, I am really leaning toward selling it after reading these posts. I'm the type to regret either decision I make so screw it I want an new toy!

 

48ford, jimmy j, that really makes me second guess. Looks like I'm goin to have to flip a coin or somethin

 

Sell it and go shopping. Try to find what you really want. I never have.

 

I went thru what you are going thru back in'98. My first hotrod was a '40 Ford Deluxe coupe with a local history,but I knew I wasn't getting any younger and I had a list of other cars I wanted to own. I decided to sell it and look for another one of my dream rods. I'm on#3 and haven't looked back yet.Yes I miss my '40 but ,again, I'm not getting any younger.

 

Hey if you can afford to park it for a while and buy something else for a daily driver. Then do that. If not sell it and get what ya need. (take a couple pics of it first)
I don't wish I had all my old cars back. but I do wish I had pics of them all.
-Pat

 

Sold my first project car back in 1972.......and found it last month. Turned out the guy I sold it to did next to nothing with it, then he died. Looked at and thought about buying it back and finishing it, but desided life goes on and there are better things out there. Sell your truck, get something better, but be sure to take some photos the remember it by. Bob

 

anyone seen my old 58 impala ?

 

You couldn't possibly keep all the hot rods that you've ever wanted, but you can try to own them all for a little bit.

 

^^^ Yes!