Ok i didn't explain what i wanted to do in full i love the rusted look and faded paint but i dont want to rig it up like some rr are you know? Itll be more like a sleeper maybe? Look like shit but runs good? Ill have interior in it etc...i hope i got the idea sorta out there
Nice buy for $25.. Oh to be new to the H.A.M.B again and how i remember o so well how it was, and how my views and ideas about my car have changed since then...thank god! Good luck buddy!
Why would anyone discourage a FNG who gets his hands on a car for a super low price? Almost a gift. Yes, it may, or may not, be beyond his capabilities, but he's into the scene and it's definitely HAMB friendly. So, give a little encouragement and he'll enjoy having it, digging around. learning. So, I'll add my "have fun" along with the others who didn't pee on his parade.
Rat rod , camaro clip, s 10 frame all the dirty words! Where are the guys who chopped one and it looked bitchion without the roof? p.s. Rust is not patina..........it's rust.
I hope so.. for everyones sake.. Afterall, if all these 'cool' cars stay in rust like the cool kids are doing, my guess is we wont have many cars around as they'll fall apart from metal not being treated and 'saved'.. f*ck it.. i'll never understand
Cool bargain awesome car looks like it has potential. Welcome to the hamb you will have to be carefull with your wording on here its a traditional place first and foremost here and people get a bit funny about things that don't fit that style. Stick around and check out the place lots of good stuff on here.
Oh, yeah, a post script........"rat rod, S-10 chassis and so on". ARGGGHH!! Those words DO deserve a slap down. But, my initial post to this thread still stands....typed before I completely read his plans. Maybe we can save him from himself.
hey, you can barely buy a shirt for 25 bucks anymore. So if it's too much for you i'll take it off your hands for 30 bucks . Just kidding. Anyway, good luck and nice find...keep us posted
I can see why you'd ask about another frame. Buicks are tough because they're torque tube drive and that's what keeps the rearend located in the car. So to update the drivetrain you have to come up with a new rear suspension. I've seen them where someone hacked up the frame to splice in a clip from some other car, but I think what I would do is use the crossmembers and trailing arm mounts only from some car where it will slip inside the width of the stock frame rails. You'll have to measure about 1000 times before welding it up, but that should be nice and clean and not compromise the stock frame, which is way stronger and better than any late model frame will be. Up front I'd look at a Jaguar IFS install. The only rough part of that will be cutting the stock suspension and crossmember out, but once that's done the Jag is relatively easy to install - you can unbolt it from the Jag and make it so it bolts on the Buick - but that way again you're not cutting the frame and having to screw around with new mounts, new front radiator support, and so on.
That looks like fun Now that you got your bitchslappin' Welcome. Once you get that mutha home and pressurewash the funk and hanta virus out of it, evaluate what you have and what you need. THEN will be the time to talk transplants. I have had a few cars and trucks of that vintage, and find they are not bad in stock form as daily drivers. If you are indeed sold on making a hot rod though, good idea to have a good general plan before jumping on the IFS action. As for the beater look, I get it. I don't always like it, especially on cars (trucks seem to look acceptable) If you can't bring yourself to splash a little paint on it consider preserving it so your beauty doesn't rust away before your eyes. There was a cool thread here about scrubbing a car down with a scotchbrite and CLR then clear coating it. Some guys will maintain that ain't traditional either.. and it isn't.. but it will save your car from treturning to the soil. I have had cars disintigrate very quickly once they got to the stage yours is already in. I rustoleumed my car cheap and it actually makes it nicer.. easier to work on. Cheers! Have fun.
do you know how to weld and do basic fabrication? a third generation camaro rear axle fits in it perfect. You can decide whether to use the factory mount points or not. The buick coil spring pocket is very close to the camaro coil spring mount. You can use the stock trailing arms and panhard bar too.
This may be a "non-traditional" fix for your suspension problems, but I used a 1980 Malibu front frame section and rear crossmember/arms/axle under my '55 Buick, after measuring a dozen or so different GM cars. They fit up very well to the original frame. The only thing I would change would be to go with the full-size Chev spindles and brakes for better stopping. Good luck with your Buick, they are great cars.
Honestly, from the pictures you've shown, that car doesn't look too bad. I would bet there are at least 50 builds on the HAMB that started with less. No one is saying you have to go full on custom or concours restoration. Show pride in your work and if you want to post it here, finish it in a traditional rod and custom style. Good luck, it's got great lines.
you could have that on the road with a good used engine, nice new tires and wheels for WELL under 10 K. no problem. and make it cool with a good stance as well.
i bought a 45 GMC off a farm where it had set in a shed for 15 years, everything was seized, i towed it onto my trailer with the farmers tractor all the wheels draging, a friend gave me a 250 he had no use for, i had a 3-speed sag. trans, shifter and bellhousing from another project, i got lucky on the front and rear end, a guy 10 min away had just pulled the front and rear end out of a 46 chevy pickup and was selling it for $200, springs, shocks and good brakes, front and back both were upgraded to 5 stud, so i about two weeks and $500 on top of what i paid for the truck i was on the road, so if you do the work yourself and do a little scrounging you can be driving a reliable safe vehicle.
FNG or not, some guys have all the luck. Dude, truct me on this one....learn to word your posts as to not sound like a Kill*&%$$ web member. you'll get so much further. Welcome and good luck.
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