Looks like a sport coupe with the door tops and windshield cut off to me? Still probably worth $2500 though, especially if it's got a title.
so you think he cut off the tops of the doors and the windshield? he said the frame was homemade and it has ten bolt rear end and coil overs. sport coupe huh. i dont know much about these. is the body worth 2500?
I don't see $2500 worth of body sitting there in the one pic you supplied, and without more pics of the rest of its' condition, I'd be wary. Homemade frame ain't worth nothing...neither is a coil sprung 10 bolt rear...junkyard wheels/tires. You asked.
There's nothing nicer than a 1928-29 roadster running a '32 grill & rails. But what you have there is a cut up coupe. It would take some effort to make it presentable. Offer less if you still want it. But I'd wait for a real one. Good thing you asked for advice here before jumping all-in on that project. You'd have figured out eventually that you had a coupe and probably would have been pretty disappointed with the "deal" you got.
Does it have a trunklid? A title? Both of those things are pricy items to buy later. Looks like an aftermarket louvered hood, that looks good. Homemade frame with coilovers is junk although you might be able to sell some parts off of it. Body looks nice, like it has good door bottoms and quarters, but that's only assuming they aren't patched up and full of mud. I'd definitely check that if the guy built a homemade frame, he might have been cobbling on that body as well. Could be a sweet deal, could be a dud, depending on details. I like a well done "coupester" but some guys frown on that stuff.
I beg to differ with you, not all home made frames are worthless, I have seen plenty of good ones, and mine is certainly far from worthless. And I'll add my vote to pass if you want a real roadster.
If I bought it I would make a cool little drag roadster out of it. It has that look. A tonneau cover over the cockpit and a roll cage would look pretty trick on there. If you bought it for $2500 you could put a simple sbc in there with a stronger rear and some other work, and be racing cheap. Tell me that car doesn't remind you of this one: Don
Some of those pics are tiny, or at least, they don't show up full size on my computer. A converted coupe to roadster body isn't worth as much as a real roadster, although it was done fairly often back in the day so it still qualifies as traditional. When they're done well, they can look great, but the key areas to rework are the cowl top and the tops of the doors. Super thick door tops or awkward windshield mounting is what ruins the looks of the bad ones. A well done conversion can actually have really good proportions with the bigger doors. The body looks nice, if it's nice around the bottoms of the doors/cowl/quarters and not butchered up I think this is still a really good deal. You can buy stock bare A frames for $200 and some of the frame and suspension stuff on this one might transfer over. If this frame is really well built, you could run it, but homemade frames scare me a bit, and often don't have the nice looks of a Ford frame. EDIT I see you mentioned it has a title. I'd say that's a pretty darned good deal considering what's all there. Even if there is some hidden bodywork, all that can be sorted out.
You probably knew when you asked opinions here they would be all over the place. Do you have the tools & equipment & skills to finish the car the way you want it to be? If you do & that's what you want then go for it.
Believe me, if this car wasn't so far away it would be in my garage. $2500 may buy more in some parts of the country, but not in mine. It is very saveable. Having a title is a $500 plus IMO. Don
This is my '28 roadster from basically the same angle as your first pic. compare the differences. $2500 is a good deal in my part of the country for what you are looking at.
My '29 is a coupster much like yours can be. The wide doors make getting in and out much easier and the interior is huge compared to a real roadster. And frankly I think they have very nice proportions if done well. I'd go for it, then find an A or Deuce frame to put it on.
No matter what you're into , $2500. won't get you much these days.BUT that being said, based on the pics you supplied AND the fact that it DOES have a title, I don't see how you can go wrong.Get some coupe parts and re-construct the top?? Whatever you decide, stay positive and have some fun( a rare commodity these days at any price.) Maybe get a trailer for it and go on vacation?