Folks, Without getting to deep into my mind. I'd like to understand something about folks that have similar interests in cars as myself.. Lately I've been ripping through cars averaging more than one a year. 65 f250, 74j10, 71vette, 69 chevelle, 63 sunbeam, 63 patrol, 69 bronco, and 71 LC thats just in the last 10 yrs and that's not counting the jeeps or the daily drivers..... So I'm looking agian for another "toy" and I'd like to keep this one for more than a few years.... I found a nice original 52 f1 ,a 58 bel air, 63 linc, my main goal is to make it reliable, a few comfort and safety upgrades, and drive it 2-5 times a week. I love car shows and cruises but I don;t participate... I can't say I like one style or era... I'm drawn mostly to 50's and 60's I'm really loving the ideal of another truck to cruise and use(trucks are for work ) But then I think a clean 4 door would be great to take the family around town soccer games, pizza ect... That's my background, so why do you have your ride? bob
Here's my 2 cents- The cars that you have rambled off to me are ordinary cars that if you wanted one you just look in the local paper and go out and purchase the car of choice. This is the point I'm trying to make, they don't have any soul. Any true hotrod is full of soul & has character. Would you rather drive a belly button or drive some personality?
because it rules and i love it. same reason you have blown through so many in the last ten years. find one that's really special and you'll hold onto it.
Or just do both. I will have my 53 Chev and my 59 T-bird forever, they are special to me. On the other hand, I can't even register my Ranchero right now because the government says that if you go through 6 or more vehicles in a year you are a car dealer.
Well said. If I would've said something like that it would go something like this; "I think I know why you switch cars every year, it's because you're buying boring cars all the time. You only think in "Chevies and Fords". You have no taste! Not even 1 Mopar is in that list! So therefore I'm glad Kirk Hanning has already posted something similar, so I don't have to...
All good points, suppose it could be a commitment issue. Thy generally go when I've finished what I intended to do with them. I do miss my 65 f250 It was lowered a bit with a warm 390 4spd OD a set of 8 lug slots. I had a 60gal fuel call in the bed, PS and brakes... The F1 I'd like to do something close. It's got a flathead, and the body is clean. I'd like to lower a little (can't go to far, bad roads...) flat maroon and black, safe'n up the brakes, dual exhaust. PS I have nothing against dodge, as a matter of fact I seriously considered the 50 coronet FS on this board..unfortunately many a dodge have returned to the earth in my neck of the woods. I think I just have to many choices to many cars appeal to me. I just looked at a 52 chevy with a nice clean body, for $2200? bob
I wouldn't call the '63 Sunbeam or the '63 Patrol "ordinary". Neither are really HAMB friendly, but rare vehicles in their own circles. I have had my OT non HAMB friendly '73 FJ40 for 10 years, and it has always been in some form of change, be it suspension, body, engine, whatever. Not because it was a hunk of junk, but because each change made it do different things off-road. I have kept it for so long because of the circle of friends/acquaintances that I have met through owning it. Much like hitting up the big car shows, I thought nothing of loading it up on the trailer and going wheeling with like minded guys across this great nation (Paragon, Katemcy, Rubicon, Telico, etc....). I don't see that changing anytime in the near future. Now to my new project. My 1940 Ford Coupe should be arriving within the next month. I have wanted one since I was a teen. I even looked at a runner as my 1st car, but my parents would have none of it. Now I will be building what I have always wanted, and do not intend on selling it off for another project. It is not that I dislike any of the other options out there, it is that I have always been partial to the 1940 Coupe. Once it's drivable I will do the same with the Coupe that I still do with the wheeler, but no trailer involved. The same as in going to different events across the country, but no off-roading involved IMHO I say lock in on a vehicle and set a specific finish goal for that and see it through to the end. Once there get out and meet people at the shows, cruises, club meetings, etc..... No matter what HAVE FUN! with whatever you do! Send me a pic or 2 of the Patrol if you have any. You don't see those very often. I helped get one back on the road when I lived in Alaska. Way different than any Jeep or Land Cruiser I ever messed with.
A man of few but very big words. Anyone can buy a car, Some can re-build a car like a Vette. At least then it can be called yours but its not until you have built a car from a pile of mismatched parts that you can really say its yours, or maybe your its? I thought we were all pretty bad ass building our own cars......... Then you run into the few people in the world like John Britten (O/T he built bikes) but I bet he looks at us hot rodders and says, you never really own something until you build it ALL yourself. We are all just different levels if insane that look at the next level down as just that little 'behind' us. I limit my spending by being poor, one car a decade looks good right now. Hell yeah I want as much as I can have to do with it being built. Doc.
2 + ^^^^^^^.............there is a ride that you'll find that just won't let ya turn it loose...........something that has soul???? something that becomes part of YOU..... a dream...a vision...and the stamping that your soul adds to it's soul...........
Once you have touched every nut and bolt, bled on everything, know every part by feel, spent enough time on it to have a relationship, then you know why some keep a car for decades. The car is YOU. A trait to be admired. Hope you get there.
Build one as a daily driver, build one as a fun cruiser (2-5 times a week), build one as a truck for use, have one as a project in the garage, and have one waiting out back. That will keep you both busy and satisfied for quite awhile. Gotta start somewhere, lol.
The funny thing is, the one car that will ALWAYS be the most important car in my life doesn't really belong to me. I guess by common law it does but this one car was built by my father, EVERY good memory I have of my childhood has something to do with that car. I spent more time working, cleaning, polishing on that car in the garage with my dad than I spent at school! I cant think of a bad time associated with that car, other than the pain of seeing it drive away on its way back to my dad. I bought it from him, he has it back now but it will be mine again in time. I could mine the ore from the ground to build my next car and it will never have the emotional value the family's 38 has. You see, there are some things that make a car more than what it is or ever could be physically. That is its soul. Build one that matches yours. Doc.
Good posts by everybody. I love the HAMB already... A car a year has been about right for me, too. This is my first old car kustom build. When I picked my shoebox I chose carefully based on "what I've always wanted." If you "feel" the car, nothing else matters. It should be a driver next month...and I'm finding the joy is in the building... my other custom builds I did most of the mods I wanted & got bored. I have a nice long list of mods for this one that I'm very excited about, and that should keep me busy for a few years. I'm already preparing to fight the temptation to start another project if a good offer is thrown my way (even another, "better" shoebox!) . This time I'm determined to make it a long ride. (Famous last words? Hahaha...) Once mine's a daily I intend to do the next couple of builds for my wife & kids... they have a few oldies they want...that should keep me occupied & satisfied!
The cars that I've kept the longest were cars that I felt connected to and just liked. I've never kept a car that I didn't enjoy driving. Working on them is a big part of it for me but I've also busted my butt on a couple of cars that I ended up not even liking, one in particular. When you find the right car you'll know it, kinda like finding the right woman. Of course mistakes are made there too!
I used to build a car every couple of years. I'd sell it off to finance the next one. I have had my coupe for ten years now. I have the urge to build another car but my arthritis will probably keep that from happening.
we all like pics. The vette is pre-digital camera I can't find the chevelle pics.. I looked at the ford F1 today. Very clean, very original. Only spot of rot I can find is in the pass, side kick panel/door jam area. amazing! The flat head fired right up, no smoke. The interior is nice and looks original. I've alway's loved this era of truck but could never fins a decent truck. maybe this is it or maybe I'll play with it for a while and sell it off. I envy folks that have generational cars my father was never into cars..Although he did go with me today and he always encourages me. Don't get me wrong it took me a while to scrape together the funds I have now for a vehicle. that's also why I usually only have one at a time. I'm poor thanks all for the input. bob
JMHO, after building a kustom, simply maintaining a factory car is tedious. I think it kinda depends on what your definition of a challenge is.
I've stuck with two, but I have history with both, and the desire for the specific vehicle fermented in my brain a long time before I made a move to own them. I drove my F1 for the first time in 1965 when I was 14. It belonged to the man who owned the ranch where I had my first real job. I used it to haul hay out to the cows. In 1993 I went back to the same ranch, found the F1 where it rested for years under a big oak tree, and made a deal for it with the owner. Every time I climb in that truck part of me feels 14 again. No other truck makes me feel that way. I first saw my Model A years ago behind my brother's garage. It was a hacked up mess, a sad pile of parts in faded washington blue. I tried my best to ignore it every time I went to his place, but one day I couldn't stand seeing it there any longer and finally made a deal with him to bring it home. I can't wait for the day it rolls out of my garage under it's own power. That car just spoke to me and begged for adoption.
For me, I just want to experience certain things, but also gain experience from them. I too move through cars pretty often. Sometimes I buy just because I think I can make a buck or two, or just have the satisfaction knowing that I let the car go back into the wild, so to speak, better than it was when I got it, or because I have a vision for what the car should look and sound like. In other cases, there are cars I just want to own someday. I always wanted an F-1, so I bought what I could afford, and have learned a ton fixing it, and wouldn't consider selling it for anything.
They say you can't save them all, but sometimes it can be hard to walk past a deal, or one that's headed to a crusher, even if it's not the absolute coolest car. I'm guilty, but have gotten some of that out of my system, learned a lot from them, and now feel more focused in what I really want to do. And after re-reading that, I see I'm full of crap. If I had a the space I would try to save them all!
That's the biggest pile of crap I think I've ever read here. My '68 R/T Charger was my first car, still have it, was our family car growing up in AK, wrecked it, rebuilt it.....it's got more SOUL and personallity than any recently-built hotrod.... You can go buy a Charger, or a hotrod, or custom, whatever....but soul and personality come with time spent with said car, regardless of what the year of car is. And any yahoo can go a buy a hotrod too....trad hotrods are BELLYBUTTON's of the past.
HaHaHaHa! Yeah me too. I'm limited to 2 projects because of my 2 car garage... and even that has a couple of extra frames in it. I'm hoping for a 3-4 car garage in our next move this summer... and if the math holds up, well... that's ok because my daughter needs a 54 caddy & my wife needs a 49-50 chevy fastback....
The Jalopy Journal
