Projects Do you still use a parts car or is everyone building the parts car now?

I remember a time when guys would commonly have a ongoing project and have a parts car or two just like it or maybe a 4 door or rougher one that was similar for a parts resource.
Is that as common anymore?
Are we building the parts car back now?
Got any pics of your parts car and/or stories about em?

 

I almost always buy a parts car.

 

I’m just using the parts I found in my barn...
r


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I almost always still end up with parts cars (or trucks)... These are a couple I have to help support my boys projects. Still less money then buying just parts.

 

I have a parts car for my current project.
After taking off what I needed I cut up the rusted junk and am hoping to sell off the decent pieces to help pay for the parts that I don't have yet.

 

Funny.........That you bring that up. I bought a 56’Chevy 2dr. Belair Sedan off of eBay in 2013 for $22,500. Pictures showed new paint, new interior, fresh engine, new chrome,ect. I asked for pictures of underneath, he said he couldn’t do it (RED FLAG!!!! Right? I sent the money Certified Check. Had the car shipped to me via enclosed trailer. Beautiful black paint, polished stainless. Long story short............ it was a “Pig With Lipstick “ underneath rusty with cobbled dual exhaust. Still thought I could save it, wrong again, bondo 1/2” thick on whole car, lots of dents and rust also. Car was cut up and parts that could be used on my 57’ Chevy are being used. End result, $22,000 Parts Car.

 

I paid more for my parts truck than I did the project. Picked up the 35 high cab as parts for my 36. The 35 was a near mint original truck until some genius tore it apart, lost half the pieces and used it to make a mould for a fibreglass body, then dumped it outside and let it rot. I am using the mint original boxsides, running boards, leaf springs, chrome headlights with og lenses and a bunch of other parts on the 36 lowcab.
When I was done I bolted the remains together and sold it for half what I paid to a guy that plans to build it into a street rod. All the parts I got off it would have cost more than the original purchase price so I made out pretty good, and the new owner seemed happy with what he got and it sounds like it has a good chance of actually getting built into a running vehicle, so its a win, win, win.

 

OlSkool57......... If your going to spend that much money go look at it or have someone you trust look at it before you buy a 22,000 dollar parts car.... I only spent 3500 dollars on a truck to learn that lesson...lol

 

I find it hard to locate a 65 Corvette parts car....

 

In the 80’s it wasn’t that hard

 

I built mine from all new parts...

 

Have three two door parts cars for my 65s..... and looking for more!






Bones

 

Everything I have ever driven was a parts car to somebody else.

 

I love having a parts car or truck, especially one that may be completely worn out or rusted, but otherwise untouched, and sometimes I will have more than one. I must also say that most of my stuff leans more to the restored side than say, a chopped '33 five window, but even then, I would like to have one to pick over. In the end, for me, it comes down to how complete and how nice the project is to start with.

 

My current car was being parted out at some point in it's life so most of anything that would be hard to find and possibly expensive was sold off. so i ended up with the leftovers, everything has price tags on it and the floors, rockers, doors, etc all had pretty big holes in it, but it was affordable and had a title

Price tags

 

Hope you gave that thief a bad review, fricken scum

 

Parts car? Hell Yes! I always buy a parts car for my projects. I’m currently working on an O/T Ford pickup to drive into the city for work. This way my big Dodge diesel can sit on the farm and not get broken into. The pickup had a bad engine, truck belonged to my father in law and he loaned it to his cousin who blew a head gasket and ruined the engine. Anyway, found a running Ford with a great sounding engine and bad transmission for $250! Beats the shit out of spending a Saturday in the salvage yard pulling a questionable engine.


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I have a parts car, actually my 2nd one for my current project. The First one I scrapped already (before my project was done) and when I got every imaginable part off it. Always easier to get that small clamp or just see how things go together on a model you have not done before. When I am done with the project ...I take what ever is left to the recycling center for a few bucks.

 

My next project is a 58 Chevy big window and I just picked up another with a rusty cab...

 

I am starting with a parts car for my 39 Ford Deluxe coupe with an eye on a better 39 Deluxe coupe that I can build and use the initial parts car to finish it if any of that makes any sense.

 

I found an ugly 42k mile '57 New Yorker 4dr hardtop with a very nice running 392 Hemi, a clean interior, and a trunk full of parts - but with the bottom eight inches of it rusted away. I didn't even have to feel bad about cutting up a solid survivor. Could not have asked for a better parts car!

 

Think parts cars are for 1935 and newer projects, it was very common in the 1960's to have a parts car when doing a restoration or build. Bob

 

Hell, parts cars are $5 grand now

 

HotRod33
I have always looked at any project car or complete car before purchasing. This was one time that I trusted the person. When he said he could not take pictures of “under the car”, I should have cancelled my bid and moved on. I knew better but I was hoping to have a somewhat decent ride to drive and not be trying to build one. “Lesson Learned “, i’m Back to building mine.

 

Since I am 47 years old, the cars I have are either original, or were someone else's parts cars. I have been getting "parts of parts cars" to put enough together to make a build...

 

lately it seems everyone wants restorable car money, for parts cars. I haven't had one for quite a while.

 

My last A-D pickup was not much better than this one when I got it.

 

I have a couple of parts cars for my Sedan Delivery project.

 

Depends. I usually seek out parts cars if its something that the repop market doesn't support much, like Cadillacs. They are gaining ground though. My 57 Chevies are a different deal. I know a few guys locally with several parts cars I can buy stuff off of if need be. This is fine for a beater, but for a nice car what's the point when Danchuck or Cars Inc. is just a click away. I know some guys will only go for the OG stuff, and that's fine, but there's no way in hell that I'm going to pay $50 a pop for 57 bumper bullet guards that I'm going to have to send to the platers and spend another $200 a piece on to get shiny when I can get em new for $140 pr. and no one will ever know the difference. My 58 Impala convertible was actually purchased by the previous owner to be used as a parts car for another 58 convert. but nothing ever really became of it and eventually the owner decided to let it go (after 50 yrs.) The car he kept really isn't any better than the "parts car." So now I am building the parts car. It needs floors and I'm not willing to patch them because I do not want them to look like a quilt. They do not repop one piece floors for 58's so my only option is to cut up a nice, solid, donor.

 

Yes and yes and yes....can't buy them cheap like we did back in the day........last long trip was to Houston to pick a nice 1966 car....from Kansas.........got the 1956 cheap enough as I needed the grille.......and the Hemi was long gone........