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Do your projects start with an engine or a car

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Bugsiegel, Jul 16, 2013.

  1. gasolinescream
    Joined: Sep 7, 2010
    Posts: 614

    gasolinescream
    Member

    This last time around it was collecting parts first which backfired on me a little. Ended up buying parts I didn't need as by the time I got the car, my plans for it had changed.

    I'll stick with getting the car first I think:cool:
     
  2. rld14
    Joined: Mar 30, 2011
    Posts: 1,609

    rld14
    Member

    I once bought a license plate...

    Then I realized I needed a car to attach it to......
     
  3. Bought a 364 Nailhead with the vision of building a 28 roadster, a 28 Tudor body turned up cheap so thats what im using, more room inside and its got a roof, gets bloody cold in the winter here.
     
  4. gnichols
    Joined: Mar 6, 2008
    Posts: 11,345

    gnichols
    Member
    from Tampa, FL

    The car is the dream for me, the basis for all the momentum, as in: I just HAVE to one of those! (insert your favorite make, model, style, purpose, etc. here)

    By the time the build starts, I think you need to have the engine, drive line parts, and especially the wheel and tire sizes nailed down. So much depends on track widths, axle and crankshaft heights, and oil pan / tranny clearances, eh? And if you have the wrong size "builder" wheels, you probably can't get where you want with an off-kilter start. Gary
     
  5. 57JoeFoMoPar
    Joined: Sep 14, 2004
    Posts: 6,138

    57JoeFoMoPar
    Member

    I start with the car. Different engines are more/less cool in different cars, so I've found it better to figure what I want in the car I want.

    Not to mention that cars are what they are. You can only change so much, so if there is a specific look you're looking for, the car needs to basically have it from the word "go". Obviously you can customize a lot, but if you want a 57 chevy, you can't start with a 48 dodge. Whereas if you really like 57 chevys, but you like mopar engines more, you can put a mopar engine in the 57 chevy. The running gear is an easier variable than the body.
     
  6. badshifter
    Joined: Apr 28, 2006
    Posts: 3,535

    badshifter
    Member

    Yes AMC. Gray Marine did the conversions.
     
  7. 73super
    Joined: Dec 14, 2007
    Posts: 778

    73super
    Member

    Either or. Sometimes one or the other. Number 1 or # 2... Yes and Yes.

    So there ya go.

    painted motor.jpg

    49 and 55.jpg
     
  8. barett
    Joined: Jul 1, 2012
    Posts: 468

    barett
    Member
    from Taylor TX

    My first build started with a door... Or most of one... I loved that door, in my mind it was the beginning. One part was enough excuse to dive in


    Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
     
  9. Mike VV
    Joined: Sep 28, 2010
    Posts: 3,029

    Mike VV
    Member
    from SoCal

    I've done it both ways..

    I built a 421inch, 409 to put into a 59 El Camino I had. I decided that I didn't do all that work on the engine to put it in the El Camino I had. Not that I didn't like the El Camino...it's just that it's a giant heavy car...

    So I wen't looking for a 61 or 62 Impala.
    I found a one owner 61 Impala, 283, 60ish thousand miles, very clean body but the owner didn't take care of the engine... He was very particular who he sold the car to. While I didn't lie about anything I said, I just didn't tell the whole truth. My friend had to walk away because he started to laugh at my answers to the guys questions...!

    Anyway, bought the car, had John Kilgore build me a Switch Pitch, T-400 trans., heavy springs and shocks, a set of NASCAR (Bassett as I recall) wheels, the series 60, B&M shifter installed backward, between the door and the seat, so as to not mess with the "look" of the OEM interior.

    That car was a lot of fun.

    Mike
     
  10. outlaw256
    Joined: Jun 26, 2008
    Posts: 2,022

    outlaw256
    Member

    ive got 19 engines and 4 more bodies.so I quess ill say engines this time. but its usually the car first.i don't know how the hell I ended up with all these engines...
     
  11. Barn Find
    Joined: Feb 2, 2013
    Posts: 2,312

    Barn Find
    Member
    from Missouri

    Yep. I need a bell housing, so I can put a transmission on it.
     
  12. wex65
    Joined: Dec 19, 2012
    Posts: 1,118

    wex65
    Member
    from WV

    This was me too. I got the 322 first, and a month later found a very original '30 coupe.
     
  13. coolbreeze1340
    Joined: Aug 18, 2009
    Posts: 1,340

    coolbreeze1340
    Member
    from Indiana

    I like to start with a engine and a car! There are so many "projects" out there for sale that it seems a shame to just let them sit and rot. Maybe one day I will be able to do a project from tires to carb but for now I just keep buying other people's failed dreams.
     
  14. stude54ht
    Joined: Dec 30, 2007
    Posts: 973

    stude54ht
    Member
    from Spokane WA

    My roadster started with a pair of Weber DCOE sidedrafts, the Studebaker with the car (it was my mothers).
     
  15. spooler41
    Joined: Feb 25, 2007
    Posts: 1,099

    spooler41
    Member

    My '26 Ford lakes modified, started out with picture I saw in a 1948 or 49 issue of HRM
    and a set of '33 Chev head lights found at a swap meet on a late sunday afternoon.
    It's been a roller for a few years now,but I'll be back on it again after some distraction.

    ...............Jack
     
  16. dreracecar
    Joined: Aug 27, 2009
    Posts: 3,476

    dreracecar
    Member
    from so-cal

    Every car I started I used a key

    I started with a car and then motor & drivetrain, got burned out with the car and sold it, so now I have an engine & drivetrain and looking at another car
     
  17. 1971BB427
    Joined: Mar 6, 2010
    Posts: 8,719

    1971BB427
    Member
    from Oregon

    Both! Most times with a car, but occasionally I start an engine build, and then look for a candidate car to drop the engine in.
     
  18. ironpile
    Joined: Jul 3, 2005
    Posts: 915

    ironpile
    Member

    Make a list of what you would like to have in your rod,the first thing you find is where you start.:D Dont be surprised if you change the list because you find something more interesting.:cool:
     
  19. Raven53
    Joined: Jan 12, 2009
    Posts: 442

    Raven53
    Member
    from Irwin Pa

    Lets face it we are all parts horders we all have stuff on the shelf in a drawer in a trunk thinking of the next project it will fit or be used on. I think that some of us have started a project just from 1 part and have built a car or truck around it, I know I have. You know the drill man one of these days I'm gonna......... so there is no wrong answer to this question.
     
  20. bubblesbacon
    Joined: Nov 12, 2011
    Posts: 269

    bubblesbacon
    Member
    from wisconsin

    mine started with engine, big block olds, bored, dual quad carbs, etc that I then got several 67 thru 70 chev trucks to build one hot rod, but then decided to trade/sell the trucks for the current project, the 49 packard which the olds motor will make it go!:D
     
  21. dynaflash
    Joined: Apr 1, 2008
    Posts: 506

    dynaflash
    Member
    from South

    Started with late teens Fordson tractor gas tank. Lakes modified 30 Model A


    Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
     
  22. racinman
    Joined: Dec 30, 2008
    Posts: 951

    racinman
    Member Emeritus

    Steering wheel
     
  23. need louvers ?
    Joined: Nov 20, 2008
    Posts: 12,903

    need louvers ?
    Member

    I have been accused of buying a single wheel at a swap meet, building an entire car around it, then getting rid of the original wheel...Won't mention who said that, but ElPolacko's probably right.
     
  24. 327Eric
    Joined: May 9, 2008
    Posts: 2,116

    327Eric
    Member

    I have always had engines, I am a big fan of 327's, and snatch them up when I can. All my projects have kind of come up, as suitable homes for my engines. I built my 427 For my Henry J, before I did any metal work, found the 59 ElCamino, shoved the 427 into it, and then found a 413, and am building my J around it. Both were pains in the ass, and I still have 2 327's searching for cars.
     
  25. mechanic58
    Joined: Mar 21, 2010
    Posts: 681

    mechanic58
    Member

    I had a project once that started with a pair of those. Intriguing, aren't they? lol
     

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