HELP!!! 4door hot rod?! yeah or neah?

Mine started out as a 4 door...



...and it's still a 4 door. I like it like that.

 

More door... YES! Ratrod... NO! Nuff said

 

I like 4 doors. They're practical, they're great for going places with a bunch of people, and they are affordable. Re-read what Shifty said, and the "affordable", and think about your buying it for a song. I just sold the nicest '62 Chev Impala 4 door hardtop on the planet, and struggled to get 4500 bucks for it. What's an '62 Impala 2 door hardtop, or even a 2 dr. post worth? You'll NEVER, repeat, NEVER get your money back.

I'd look for a 2dr and use the 4 dr. for a donormobile. Apologies to those who love their 4 doors, but as Shifty said, get ready to die with it or lose your shirt.

Brian

 

I am with John on this!!!!!!!! Leave the body alone. White wall and steelies
for me.Car looks to good!!!!!

 

Parts car. No exceptions.

 

I was never really into 4 doors myself. But when this one came up in good running condition with the continental kit included for $900, well what would you do? Still a minimal investment compared to a 2 door and LOVING IT! It's new from one end to the other including a complete new engine at just 4 K total. I have over 12 grand in my 2 door of the same make and year and not finished yet.

 

I love 39 chevys period. 2 dr , 4 dr, stock, custom whatever I love them. Just wondering if John Denich thinks mine looks like shit ?

 

Hell yes 4 doors. I'm doing one and that way i have room for two more of my ass-hole buddies.

 

To every rule there's an exception, and your car is it. You're into it super cheap, you didn't have to do much (evidently), it's a swoopy, sexy, mid 50's GM hardtop. It doesn't cost any more for chrome, bodywork, mechanical restoration for a 2 door than a 4 door, so we can only assume your coupe needed everything, was expensive to buy, 'cause the 3,400 you spent on the 4 dr won't go any further on it than a 2 dr. The car in question here is a late 30's car, it's styling is, ahh, how to be kind, not a high water mark in automotive style, it's probably going to need a lot of work to make it presentable, or even driveable.

Maybe 4 door sedans will take off like station wagons did, if people start to yearn for family sedans to hark back to their childhoods. Then again, maybe not. If the guy has to do a total rebuild/restoration, a 4 dr sedan is going to be a major loser. Money isn't everything, but it counts when and if you need to turn a car into money.

Brian

 

Of course you'r jivin' us by tossing in the rat-rod talk, but........
You have the choice of making a moderate hot rod or a screaming hot rod. 4 dr or 2 dr, either............
Since the top is chopped already, I would consider chopping it up even more, maybe even all the way to making it a king-cab pickup truck, even shortening the wheelbase to about 107 or so wouldn't hurt.

 

Bah 4 doors can be just as cool.. think about it the look people try to achieve is low and long (think about what a chop does for a car.) Some 4 doors tend to look a little hokey sometimes because they just added a second set of doors. the proportions just don't look right. think about a 64 lincoln vs torino 4 door.

 

Well said, and so true. There's nothing wrong with a 4 door as long as you buy someone else's finished car "for a song", and just drive it, then they're great.

 

If it's in better shape than this one I'd build it. This 39 Chevy 4 door has been resting in the woods near here for as long as I can remember. I pulled the frame out from under it 20 years ago for a coupe I was building at the time. This is how it looks today.

 

Build it the way you want. I'd keep it 4-door, if it were mine, and make a comfortable daily driver out of it. Anybody who is in this to "recoup the investment" needs to have his or her head examined.

 

A couple from my album ...............

 

How bout when it's not even done yet and i already have a buyer, for a profit. Some times rules get broken or i have a horseshoe up my a#@ and just got lucky.

 

There is a guy who comes up here every spring for the old time drags from northern Wash State I believe that runs a 4 dr 39 with a big block that runs low 11's high 10's and pulls the front wheels......the car looks bitchin and goes like stink.....and he drives it on the street.
Gasser style, straight axle ,nose high would be a cool way to go .....just my dos pesos

 

I generally do not like 4 door hot rods. Though I have seen some cool ones, I generally consider them grocery getters and nose donors. If your unsure about the car, sell it. If you love it, build it and reap the rewards of having a different car with the unique factor. Unfortunately down the line those rewards probably will not be financial. I do like 4 door stockers and bombs. Thirties more doors have some real classy interiors and I can appreciate that. I'd never ever build one myself but do it right and I'd be the first one to shake your hand.

 

I've seen the way you walk.. you have a horeshoe up there... lol j/k also 2 doors are commanding huge ass price tags. which is bad if ya don't have alotta dough

 

OK. I'm wrong. 4 door sedans are worth every bit as much as a coupe or convert, and I need my head examined because once in a while, I need to sell a car to go on to the next project...

 

my 4 dr. runs low 11.00s...

 

Had to make it so fast that nobody would be able to get a good look at it huh? I'm kidding, I swear.

 

I think i figured it out as to which 4 doors look "right" to me as opposed to ugly. i think the good looking ones have the C or D pillar pointing to the center of the rear wheel.

 

they're on to me...

 

Build it and drive it. If you have a family, there is no better solution.

I did this photoshop about 7 years ago for a friend. At the time, they needed a family cruiser... until they got divorced that is a couple years later.

 

I'm in this to build, drive, and own cool hardware.

But the cold reality is........

If I'd spent the last 20 years dumping money into deuces, tri 5 chevies, and cobras, I'd be sitting on a million dollars worth of hardware today.

Instead, I'm sitting on a lot of memories of V8 vegas, corvairs, and all kinds of built-up 70s cars that aren't worth shit, and were never worth shit.

Ya know what? I like deuces and tri-fives just as much as V8 vegas and corvairs. There would be just as much enjoyment in my memory if that's what I'd been building......and I'd be sitting on a million dollars of hardware today.

Why lose your ass if you also love cars that won't make you lose your ass?

Money is woven thru this car thing we love. Embrace it or deny it, it's still there.

 

Hey you need your head examined too? We got something in common !

 

Do it!

 

You know, theres always gonna be nuts like me into 4 doors and odd cars/trucks. So whats this talk about dyin with it? There definately isnt as big of a buying audience, but theres still plenty of people into 4 doors.

 

There's nothing wrong with four doors, they're cheaper and a lot of fun. I personally like them just because I don't have a fortune to spend on projects and you can pick them up cheap.