Bought my 64 Olds F-85 wagon for $900. Have it legal and running in Sweden for under $5000 and that´s including shipping overe here.
WOW... I cant believe it.... You did ALL the work yourself from Junk Yard Parts (except interior done by friend) and you only have $21,000 in it. Cool
You can do it, but I know you have to be a fabricator, you cannot build a "Check Book" car for cheap. You must have some knowlege on chassis set up to make the end result safe, safe for you and everyone on the road, which brings up the subject of welding. There are a lot of people "who think" they can weld but the actual end results are far from it. #1 rule..if you own a 110 volt A/C buzz box don't even start, these things do not have enough duty cycle to weld anything, what ever you choose.. wire feed, manual arc or heli-arc it should be min 220 volt D/C capable this will make your life much easier and save a few cuss words.. #2 rule..know how to use it (welder) or have a buddy that can. I have seen some of these projects that I would not go around the block in. Shop the swaps, craigslist, garage sales, ebay and the wrecking yards for deals, they are out there. Have an idea of what you want or can make work safely and collect the majority of the parts first is what works best for me. Keep you eyes and ears open a lot of times you'll get something free just to make it gone from someone's yard.
All the welding on my truck was done by a friend of mine who has been welding for over 15 yrs. we used a Lincoln 220 welder at my palce. I was lucky & the main panel was in the garage for the 220 source. I can weld thin metal doing body work.
I have a (vary off topic) 1967 Plymouth Valiant from California that is lowered as a pre low-rider post kustom build with a few period kustom tricks under 2 grand. But now I have always wanted a open beater fun rod but wont deal with the $$$$ guys. I'm vary pig headed to my own detriment as I believe the hobby should be fun first and foremost. I dont do investment cars and build what I like and usually drive them until there is nothing left to resell so I dont flip cars for $$$$ and seam to rub that kind of new world $$ car guys the wrong way. I know I have a bad attitude but Ive been into the car thing since hot rods were looked down on as antisocial and kind of out law. And still think hot rods at Pebble Beach is like Harleys at the opera. They just shouldn't be there.
Your car is killer I have a frame front and rear end motor and trans just looking like I said before a decent affordable (to me) cowl and doors. I am in no rush it will happen.
Wrecking yard parts: Engine & Trans $500. Cost to rebuild both $2100 Rear End with Driveshaft $150 Narrowed rear end Free Cost of (new) axles $400 Cut Driveshaft & U joints $150 Gas Tank & Gas Tank Door $75 Front Suspension $100 Cost to rebuild front suspension $250 Rebuilt 4 wheel Disc Brakes & Bearings $500 Glass $800 (new) Tilt Hood Kit $400 (new) Bed: wood, stainless strips & bolts $1000 (new) Interior Material $400 Dakota Digital Dash $600 Cost of 2 trucks $3500 Total $10,925 Plus metal, roll pan, primer, paint, clear coat, painless wiring, plunbing, bolt on engine parts, wheels & tires, stereo. Plus redos & mistakes. LOL Total Cost $21,000 Still not bad considering if I had it built by a shop the cost would of been well over $40,000.
In the late fifties, early sixties, we had Earl Shiebe(sp?) and $19.95 paint jobs that were embellished with rattle can flames and scallops. I couldn't buy a pint of DP 90 for that money today!
I just got my body for $400, andf landed a good running Y block for $275, with a new clutch and bagged tranny. I'm with everyone, you need friends, you need stuff lying around, and patience. I waited for what seemed like forever to get my body, and another month for an engine. I just found a diff for $100, and I'm wheelin and dealin for some wheels/tires, and a drop axle. I don't know what the end total will be, but i got $1500 to spend to get me started, and I have to pass inspection out here too, so it can't be a rusted P.O.S. when I take it in. I figure I need about $400 in replacement outer panels, and whatever it will cost for sheetmetal for floors and a firewall. Patience..........
hi I did a couple of builds for about 7,000. a 66 wildcat and a 62 lincoln convertable. you have to do a lot of the work yourself and have a line on a parts car or two. they might not be showroom but they pass in a dark alley .ray
I'm just a little over $5k right now, have paint and interior left. Just about everything except the brakes and tires was used, scavenged from the local junkyard, or friend's garages as a horse trade for something I had and couldn't use
Most guys around here are $$ guys who buy and sell every thing they think they can make a buck off. Ask koolkemp why he left Ottawa lots of eBay and hemming motor news dreamers. Not many do it yourself guys. I dont fit todays main stream. Steve was one of the last guys I hung with and the other died last summer.
I keep reading and I still aint beliving, Im a CHEAP SOB, and I cant see how you guys are coming up with these totals. Just going back a few posts I see 26Tudor stating that he has 5K all in. Im not calling him out on this, but I just find it VERY hard to swallow, maybe its and east coast/west coast thing. You can't find a pre 40's ANYTHING that resembles a buildable body for under a grand. any running motor thats not an SBC your looking at a base of $750 thats about half the budget new rubber there is $5-700 a rear diff, I'm happy I scored a pretty complete 9" for $100. front caliper master and rear brakes what $300??, still dont have shocks, wheels,wiring,plumbing or steering,trans. or frame. I would love to see a real build book on some of these cars, I have one on my 1941 Chevy PU, Im damn near $2000 and that includes the FREE front suspension and the SBC I have in the corner and I'm NOT EVEN CLOSE to sitting in it and making vroom vroom noises. If you can still find decent steel out west, I need to move. I been looking for a pre-war car for about a year on the east coast and am striking out left and right. Keith
There is lots of buildable tin out west at real cheap affordable prices but to get them 2000 miles to my place is the killer. I may be heading to Calgary for a wedding this Sept. and come hell or high water Im bringing a body back this time. But for the stuff around here the rot is way to bad on any of the stuff I have dragged out of the bush.
I paid under $2k for my old Austin, and probably have around $4k more into the car as it stands. I wont be doing anything really fancy for interior and paint, so I don't expect to put a lot more into it.
I only do budget builds since I don't have a ton of cash. My rust bucket 55' Chev 2 dr wagon would have been around $4k until I decided to go nuts with the motor, cage, and rest of the driveline. I recently picked up a pretty solid 57' plymouth that my friend is doing all the metal work on for me in trade for some other stuff I have. I hope to have it on the road and driving in primer for well under $5k with a new interior, rims, tires, etc.
Hey Keith, there's a few way to skin this one. First, most of these guys are telling the truth about cash outlay. We never count our labor, of course, but lots of horse trading gets us what we need. Second, a guy may have an old 283 that's been sitting in the corner for 10 years that he used in his build. He may have bought it for $500 back then, but it's been sitting there so long he forgot where he got it, let alone that he even paid money for it. I think that happens to a lot of us. Third, do we really count all of the little nickle and dime stuff that we throw into our builds? Probably not. I bought 20 lug nuts for my T when I was at the parts store a few months ago and never considered that $16.34 should be accounted for in my build. I can give you two "real world" scenarios: 1. My wife's truck is a '48 Chevy 5 window. Paid $500 for it, it had $500 worth of sheet metal in the bed! I sold that stuff as one lot for $200. A friend GAVE us the Camaro clip, but I spent just over $600 in parts to rebuild every single wearable part. Another friend GAVE us a disc brake GM 10 bolt, it's fitted under the truck but I haven't torn into it yet. Probably need another $250 to resurrect it. GM tilt column with shifter on it, bought a friend a $25 dinner for it. Sandblasted the front clip and rear axle before tearing into them, $30. Rustoleum primer and paint from Wal-Mart for said clip/axle, $32 and change. FREE TH350 from my dad. Motor being built right now, will probably be about $1400 when finished. Still need wiring harness, four good used radial tires (cheap), a radiator and I'll build my own exhaust. NO PAINT OR BODY WORK, she likes the patina! 2. I bought a '27 T roadster a few months back for $2000. Its on an A chassis, it's a COMPLETE roller with paint and body. Mind you, its not the best car, but the body is perfectly solid, the paint has a few chips and very small dents. This car LITERALLY needs the following... motor/trans (just got a 350/350 from a buddy for $500 for it), floor, driveshaft and radiator. The wiring is still in the car, but I'll re-do it. It has a seat and windshield, usable tires and everything. It WILL be on the road for less than $4000, but I'll probably have to kill screaming yellow paint job with something before too long! The brakes will also be completely rebuilt for my peace of mind, although they probably don't need it. It's really about being in the right place at the right time, being patient for the right parts, being flexible about what you get, and doing the majority of the work yourself. It CAN be done! I remember building my 31 Tudor thinking, "How in the world can ANYONE have a car on the road for less than $5000!?" Of course, while building that car I kept taking everything to the next level and never compromised. I never regretted it, but I ended up putting about $25K in the car before it was on the road and I never put an interior in it. Stay with the basics, don't get distracted. Devise a plan and budget for your build and STICK TO IT! First and most importantly, make the car SAFE, then make the car roadworthy and reliable. The better car you start with the more money you'll save in the long run... usually.
still around $1000 now in paint heres what it looks like today it can be done 305 4 spd runs & drives. I put the body on a 1987 full size chev p/u frame I got for $450 the body is out of a feld in barrie ont did all the body work myself and painted for around $100 The truck will not be show but will be a blast to drive
Here's my piece of garbage Bondo-sculpture that I built from another person's poorly done abondoned project. It is a real '27 body on a improperly (UGLY) boxed and butchered Model A frame. I had to re-weld and re-locate, but with cheap scroungy garbage and little trinkets from Speedway, I built this cute little buggy for right at $5,000. The tires, wheels and hubcaps were the most expensive new stuff I bought. The abandoned hulk was the single most expensive at $3,000. And even though I make a lot of fun of it, the car is exactly how I wanted it to be. I was concerned with proportions first and foremost, which required lots of mock up. But hey, Jimmy Shine said I did a good job when I showed him a little cell-phone picture of it!! (I was touring the So-Cal Speed Shop this spring). Now I deserve respect right...? Quit laughing! And yes, I get told "nice rat rod" all the time (ouch). Also, necessity IS the mother of invention! I needed a little roadster, and this kept me searching down the obsessive road, even though my budget was tiny. I scrounged garbage here and there, always thinking how I might be able to retrofit (or recycle) the junk in a way that would work on my little T.
Sorry about my little rant there. I hope I did not offend anybody, I just hear these claims and look at the few cars I've built out of my own wallet and I pay close attention to safety. I guess that I coil get a rod on the road for a cash outlay of about $5K but I'm still thinking that a LOT of $5-$10 trips to the parts store are forgotten about. I always said that the best way to hate your car was to know how much it cost. That's why on this build I am keeping a very detailed cost book. Of course no charges for labor, not counting argon and mig wire. I may hit that magic number but I won't let the $ shape the build. Of course it will have the ugly Q-Jet on it with stock intake and valve covers. The budget will be shot after it's driving, as I have a 3x2 offy intake cal custom covers and breathers and some 2G carbs. Any enough rambling back on topic and thanks for listening. Keith
I'm building a budget Model t coupe. Only collecting parts at this point. I bought 2 bodies, one was $500, and the other was $800. Busted them both apart, kept the best bits, and reassembled the rest. Sold the extra body for $300, and 30' of 2x4 square tubing. I got a 40 Ford 4 door for free, was on its way to the crusher. Got the complete front end, pedal assembly, steering stuff,and a few other bits from it. The I bought a '51 Olds for $25. Took tons of parts from that, rearend, dash etc. Took it to the crusher and got $200 for it. got a 283 for $200, got front and rear crossmembers for $50. All I'm missing now is a transmission, and that will be all the big bits. I'm into the project for only a few hundred now. I'm sure it will nickel and dime me to death in the home stretch, but I think it will come in around $5000 when complete.
By those last two paragraphs you are lying to yourself and everyone else then! And so are the fools that say they built a car for pennies, they forgot to count the nickes and dimes!
Here is a good thread with real world 2004 prices http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=22106&highlight=little+bits
My point exactly. What I'm stating is that we tend to add up all of the big ticket items and forget about "this relay," "that horn," "those tires" and more. As hot rodders it seems we'd rather discuss how 'practical' our cars are. Let the gold chainers tell about the checks they write and include professional gas fill-ups, oil changes, and tire rotations in their "I paid" resumes.
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