Customs Never built a car....

OK... I didn't read all the rest of the responses (I got shit to do on my car!), but it sounds like a few guys got a little sand in their vaginas...

You just said what I was gonna say; $4000 is a GREAT starting place and will get you LOTS of work to do, by the time you need something else major it'll be far enough down the line that you'll have a bit more cashola. Let me go thru a bit of mine that is more than enough of a starting point, as I'm building an '30 A sedan:

1. $2300 or so got me complete (running!) '30 sedan. No soft parts left, but who cares anyway. They don't come any simpler than a Model A, anything newer starts adding difficulty. A Tudor is basically a big metal tub with essentially vertical sides.

2. $200 got me a wonderful standard bore '49 Mercury flatty (albiet this was a find and a half, but an engine for $200 ain't exactly hard to find)

3. I had a 4 speed Toploader. Call that $500

So right there, $3000, I have the body, the frame, the engine, and the transmission (and various other Model A parts that can be used or sold). Lots of the body and frame work is exactly that - work. You can do alot of frame/body work with very little monitary investment, just man hours. Those 3 things are enough to last you a while in the labor department. Take your last $1000 and buy some used tools. Get a welder, an angle grinder, and a Sawz-All (assuming you already have at least some basic hand tools). Nothing much can't be fixed with a welder, a angle grinder, and a Sawz-All.

Just get started!

 

I got grinders, saws, hand tools, pretty much everything except a welder in my grandpas garage, and maybe sapce to built it there. I know a couple people who own pro welding stuff and know what there doing. Thanks for the good advice!


Cheers


-Crawford

 

My advice swap meets and Time. Ask alot of questions.Most of all have fun along the way. $4000 sounds like a start of some fun. Good luck and I hope to hear about you adventers.

 

For the record, I taught myself to MIG weld... Practice, lots of Googling, practice, some instructional videos on YouTube, practice, and a few books. And practice. I paid $425 for a complete Lincoln MIG giddyup with their biggest 120V unit (without the notched settings, the infinitely adjustable controls), bottle, cart, 2 big spools of wire, and some odds and ends. I wanna learn to gas weld, but that is gonna take someone to show me.

 

I'm not sure if 4k is even doable on an A....

But!! If you look for another make there are some other cool Tudors out there...Pontiac, Chevy, Willys, Dodge Bros, Essex, Olds, etc...

So here's what I would do..

Find an odd Tudor..

Find a cheap mill, (your choice, I'd choose something odd, but an SBC might be budget friendly)

As for a frame, some times you can build one from scratch (if you know how) cheaper than you can buy one...Or you could find an odd frame, alot of the "odd" makes were stronger than Fords anyway..

Then for a rear end, you could find a 9inch or an 8inch pretty cheap..

Trans is up to you, an auto might be cheaper (350 or 400)

And then for paint, I'd just do a simple single stage...

Interior, go simple...find a seat that fits and cover it in some cheap heavy vinyl...

Wheels are easy, steelies are cheap, and then get some black walls..

The budget for my project is just for some small misc. pieces, and then the main portion is for body work, paint, and interior.

I got a '26 Willys Whippet 2dr Sedan (I'm converting it to an RPU), Model T box, 248 Buick Straight 8 and manual trans, 52 Olds rear, Dodge Bros frame, '36 Olds Dash and Wheels, '36 Olds caps and trim rings, and lots of other odds and ends free...So I've got 8k sitting in the bank that was going to be the budget for an entire car, that's now for body and paint...I've got a grandma who can do great interior work, and I know a good chromer, I can weld, and have a place to build...so it'll be easy. I'm not sure building your A will be with no skill, parts, and a small budget...

I'd consider saving up for a bit longer, and just keep your eyes open at swap meets, and on the net for all your parts..

 

I got stacks of drawings, diagrams, plans, and stuff. I'd upoad em and see what needs improvement if my scanner worked. Thanks for the good advice!


Cheers

-Crawford

 

Cool, man.

Thats what I thought you were trying to say...

On my Roadster, I dont think I had $4000 to spend on it at any particular time.
But as my resources got better, the parts I bought for it got more expensive too.
( in the end, the supercharger alone would have blown that budget...)


And of all the things that are a challenge, IMO, the one that would trip you up is not having enough passion.
Seems to me, most of the rest is fixable...

 

I have never ever built a car myself until now and i'm not building it all by myself i am getting help but don"t let these guys dicourage you! I bought my 32 for 1500 i spent 400 for my engine, trans was free already built,i spent 1000 dollars and bought a polished stainless steel four link from speedway, brake lines, master cylinder and pedal,proportioning valve, and stainless steel panhard bar,residual valves,and a tranny crossmember and motor mounts and trans mount.I spent 600 dollars and bought a Model a frame with a pete and jakes parallel four bar,super bell dropped tube axle with disc brakes,and then spent 100 on a reverse eye spring, i spent 50 bucks for a 12 foot piece of 2x3 box square tube to z the rear end. 500 on a set of coker www tires and wheel vintiques chrome steelies,and another 200 on a set of 15x10 supremes.Me and a buddy of mine are building my car and neither of us have done this before but so far so good everything is straight and level and now a rolling chassis!With a grand total of 4350.00.....So for less than what i have in mine you could have a roller!!!!

 

Nice job for 4,000

 

LMAO that's exactly what I thought too...Seriously though $4000 is a good starting point..I wish I had 4k when I started screwing around with this stuff.....Just don't waste your money on the flashy stuff...Remember you can always upgrade later on when the pay roll gets a little better...Kevin Lee gave some of the best advise I have seen on here...Make your dream a reality..

 

4K is a great number to start with. you can gather all of the major needed parts for a cool rod for 4K, but you will need to do it yourself, and be patient. also, the little things will nickel and dime you to death, but that comes later. i say hell yeah-go for it. you're way further ahead in the money dept. than a lot of guys start out with, you just need to gather the skills to make it happen. you're young though so you have time to learn. it's cool man, you gotta start some place.
good luck and make your shit happen man!

 

Crawford, I know exactly what you're going through.

I'm 18, turning 19 in less than two weeks. Almost a year ago to the day, I had to sell my minivan and find another car for a tremendous number of reasons. I bought a car and decided to get a project car to fiddle with as so not to destroy my daily driver. Now, it took me almost 7 months (beginning of September to March 25th, 2009) of reading, researching, and searching to find a car in my price range I was confident I could keep interest in and get running.

Fast forward to today and my car is running and fairly properly tuned, waiting on insurance (which will probably be your single biggest obstacle, actually) from somewhere to get my 1955 Chevy Bel Air on the road. Not an ounce of rust, and arrow straight body. For an initial 4000 buy in and 200 dollars of additional parts, I got a car, a spare engine from a vette, new original wiring harness, and a slew of go-fast parts and books from the previous owner.

The moral here is, as much as we kids don't like to wait, biding your time for the "right" car while hitting up car shows and chatting to car people sympathetic to your plight ("Looking for hot antique, wanna help?") all as you hit up Barnes & Noble for a shelf-worth of books, prowling forums, hitting up Craigslist, and similar activities will pay off massively. Even though you lose time initially, you can potentially score a car with less rust and less painful or painfully expensive work needing to be done to it meaning your dollar will go further. With that comparatively small budget of yours, every dollar should be stretched to the limit. More importantly, the months if not years of research will mean that you'll be quite a bit less "green" when you get that car. Your mistakes will happen less and be less costly.

Good luck.

 

You can do it... and you can do it for $4000.

I used to say TIME + KNOWLEDGE + MONEY = Hot Rod

But you also have to add "DESIRE" into the equation (Kevin Lee taught me that)... because DESIRE can drive you to make the time, gain the knowledge and earn the money it takes to build the hot rod.

You have a lot to learn, but if you put yourself in the right position, the learning will be some of the most fun you have ever had...

Don't constrain yourself to the hot rod you have pictured in your mind... but at the same time, don't loose sight of that hot rod in your mind because it will motivate you to gain the knowledge, earn the money and make the time it takes to get it.

I wrote this a few or more years ago... and a lot of it is still true... don't read too much into it, and don't pass too much of it off as bull shit. This little essay could evolve, and if we were hanging out in my garage, I could explain, elaborate or even outright CHANGE some of the things in it...

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=61867&highlight=build+hot+rod+with+your+mind

Here's a few tips.

1. Learn as much as you can about the history of hot rods.

2. Learn as much as you can about how hot rods are built.

3. Know that often times you have to make mistakes in order to learn.

4. Have a plan

5. Don't get too frustrated when you have to take two steps back for every step forward.

6. Make time to work on it

7. Wait for smoking deals on parts. For instance, you may think you have to buy a good engine now... hell no... Buy a blown up engine for $25 from a machine shop, use it to make engine mounts etc, and then buy a running motor out of a wrecked car when you have the money...

8. Learn to weld and fabricate, it would be very challenging to get a car like that built if you have to always rely on someone else to weld stuff for you.

9. Know that if you are short on money and knowledge, you will have to spend more time to get the job done.

10. Don't loose sight of what you want... it's a long row to hoe, but well worth the effort.

Good luck, send me a PM if you need any advice along the way.

Sam

$2940 hot rod

 

$4000 is lots if you are not in a hurry and don't order everything out of a catalog. Think out side the box a little and you can do a nice,safe,fun car on the cheap. For example use a dana 44 out of an international scout insted of a spendy 9" rear. They use the same brakes and a WAY cheaper. Find a dead motor home for the BBC and whatever else you can get off it. Search high and low for a cheap A body. I know of one that needs a cowl and doors but is $100. Too many people get in a hurry and spend way too much. Some people just like to tell you how much everything costs because it makes them feel important. It is bull. If you are willing and able you can do it. Who knows you might find some old rodder who needs a house painted who will trade ya parts for labor.

 

start taking class through your community college.
most have autobody/paint,engine rebuilding,welding,alignment&suspension,and fabrication classes
cheaper than going to a tech school if you just need to learn the basics(keep in mind that most of the classes wont teach you about old cars/hot rods...but its a starting point and youll learn things you wont be able to build a car with out) as well as talking with local guy with rods
as for the budget part.....$4000 is really low but you never know....you might have great luck and find a good roller cheap/or not
if you want to go from the ground up do it and good luck

 

4K is a great start! I got my body for $50 by stopping and talking to a really cool old dude. Craigslist has had several killer deals on A stuff local to me. Also join a Hambers group in your region, those guys will share not only local stuff for sale, but also pass information on things they know about being available.

Stay away from bright shinies, use catalogs strictly for ideas when you hit the you pull it yards, but most of all: ask questions here, there are some pretty cool folks that are more than willing to help you

 

I've watched a friend of mine work on his truck for quite a while now. (years). He's done all the work himself and the project is almost complete. He already was great at welding but had to do a lot of reading and research to get this truck right. Combined two trucks he bought on ebay. Sold the body from the one and used the $$$ for other things on the build. All info you're getting here will be good. (all info is good info) DO take classes that have been suggested. You already know it's going to take time and as long as you have a plan I think you have a good start with the 4K. Good luck and you have an excellent source right here on the HAMB.

 

Of course it is. Scrounge for the parts. Don't wait. If I had been shopping for A chassis parts this summer alone; I saw a frame for $100. There was a complete front axle with spring for $250, hub to hub with wishbone attached. Running motors with tranny attached go for $250. Wheels with good servicable tires go all day long for $50 a pair. Sedan bodies are plentiful for about a grand.

Sounds like you're all tooled up, I would suggest you get started. If you want an A, don't settle for less, but if you aren't completely blind you'll come across a complete car, an orphan even, just needs going through brakes, gas tank and motor to get on the road for less, Nash Hot Rod is an example. Hit the swap meets. Prices quoted here on HAMB are inflated, by business, speculators. Find the guys with extra parts in the garage that they are getting rid of, you can have an A project driving down the road for less than 4k. Then you can work on a new motor, etc, with prioritizing the upgrades.

Keep on keepin' on.

 

Keep in mind, someday it might need upholstered;

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=385375

 

Eh, bomber bomber seats with pillows duct taped to em will work for me.

 

Glad this thread came up. I've been trying to sell my caddy... which I really DON'T want to do. Man I love that car. But, I REALLY want an 'A'. Really really really really want one. If it does sell for well.... near what I'd be willing to let go of it for, I'll find myself in about this same exact spot.

Then I thought... would that get me anywhere near a good start. I've gone back and forth with myself on that question over and over again.

Something to consume my time, spend all my extra money on, and be f'ing rad when i'm done with it. Along with the pride I'm sure you guys have for everything you've scratch built.

I've never full on built a car. I'm mechanically inclined, and have friends that know the stuff I don't etc. and I really want to.

Go for it man. GO FOR IT!

I want to watch the build thread!

Happy hunting.

 

Meh, there's a thread on here somewhere on how to build your own sweet looking bench...probably for a lot less than a pair of bombers! Come to think of it, there are threads on how to do lots of cheap stuff:

*using space saving spares for narrow wheels
*making your own wide whites
*making your own steering column and drop
*making your own frame (T, A, and even a sweet thread on a '32!)
*homemade gas pedal
*make your own kingpins
*homemade bomber seats

...and the thread to show you how to make all the tools you need to get the jobs done: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=235784&highlight=homemade

That was just barely a scratch on the surface. If you look hard enough there is enough information here, in the Hamb, to help you build the whole damn car by yourself! $4k may not be much money in the bigger scheme of things, but see how far you can make it stretch and you will be suprised at just what you can do.

Remember: "It's not hard, it's just new." If these guys can do it so can you.

 

Great people there he sits with all his balloons popped and the stings in his hand. Taylor keep your dream alive a hundred bucks at a time ,it maybe a long road but it will be worth it . I myself plan to drive my 9 year old son to his grad in my rod which WE will start next year. Take Care Rob

 

I paid $20 for mine.

Where? The guy I bought the front end from has a '29 Tudor he's using for yard art.......and the fucker wouldn't sell it to me

I'm still biding my time on an A. I have a cowl and a bunch of parts. Sold off a lot of the parts I had collected when times got tough.

My '47 Ford truck still has a long way to go, but the budget is really low so far....I'm into it for a touch under $1000 and it's a roller (Flintstone style til I get the floor bent up ).

I say go for it!

Tim D.

 

What some of us are trying to say here is hang in there. I'll tell ya my short story...

For over 20yrs I wanted a certain make and model car in a specific body style. I'd been out of 'the life' for over 10yrs and got back in just over 2yrs ago. Never gave up on the dream and was talkin with someone who had one that he wanted to cut up into something else and I couldn't let that happen. I had some deals in the fire and the confidence to force a price outta the guy so I committed to buy it. I own it as we speak and its never going away. I'd actually considered and even let some look at my current project to make room and $$$$ to start this one. Couldn't do it. I have a vision for it. And I'll no doubt sell it down the road for those dollar signs above. Since this one I've also gathered 2 more of the same marque, also life-long 'gotta have ones' with the last one having another opportunity to pay for itself since the guy has some stuff I can liquidate for him.

There's a point here and it's about being 'in the life' of what you want. Like Ryan said above there's the buyer, and you can sell to that guy. The more you learn about what it takes the more you'll catch on. Say you find 3 flattys for a decent price. Buy em all and sell off the ones you won't use...sometimes it's a free motor or trans, or even a whole car. Been there and done that many a time. Trade labor. Trade some 'found' parts for labor that you can't do. You're in fuckin California and you must have hundreds of folk you can network to and with to live your dream. Be patient but most of all be creative.

BTW, the junk I've gathered is all Packards. The 1st car, I could sell the taillights for a 3rd of what I paid for the whole gig, the complete driveline for more. Not the point of my purchase at all but if I see another opportunity...

 

get a second job and save $$$$$

 

The Z man is right.

I got a stude in my garage that is already past the 4K mark and I gave nothing for the car originally.

Most of us start with what we have and build a little at a time. I don't know you or where your appitude is but you can learn as you go, the learning curve is going to be huge but it is doable. If you watch there is always someone who has a stalled project or a good starting place that can be had, and my experience is if you don't think you need to start with everything that is already perfect you can get in at a reasonable price.

4K? Well I haven't had to start with that much yet, the day will come I don't doubt that.

As for not knowing how well there isn't a sould on this board that knew how to do anything at all the first time they attempted it, that goes for walking talking, computering . . . you catch my drift right? Just don't expect it to be instant, spend a lot of time learning and a little time doing and you should be alright.

As for your budget, it is a good starting place but it isn't going to be even a finished junk rod.

Like I said I got one in the garage that the intial price was nothing and I'm already past your budget. Never the less you can probably learn to build one, but its going to take a bit more than you have now.

OH BTW I'm at work and can't see your pic but I'm going to guess that it is an extreme example, right?

 

This was the first car I thought of when I read this post.

Are the the build up threads still around for the Roach Rod?
I think a lot could be learnt out of those old posts.
It was fun to watch.
Taylor you can learn a shit load out the build up of the Roach Rod.
This little car use to be a legendary around hear, unfortunatly 80% of the people around here now would not have ever know of it's existantance.

I've been collecting parts on and off for nearly 10years for my Model A, and I'm nearly ready to start building.

You can definately make it happen! It just depends how bad you want it!

 

I'll add my 2 cents later.