Customs Best All Around Car?

It doesn't matter what kind of car it is, what does matter is the condition it's in.

 

How's this for an idea? Take a Model A cowl profile, floor height, and rear wheel intrusions as fixes, and design a complete one-off coachbuilt body from there, incorporating all your unique personal requirements. I'd expect that it would be easier on a '28/'29 due to the visually separate cowl. There are all kinds of possibilities for materials (aluminium panelling, plywood, grp, fabric, framed timber, etc.) and for configurations.

One configuration that's been tickling me recently is something you might call a "cupboard-back" sedan, with a body that ends in a full-width storage locker that goes up just far enough to allow a small rear window and a short deck. For some reason I'm seeing a roller-shutter door like on a roll-top desk on the locker.

This may or may not be combined with a semi-tank or half-pontoon configuration of the sort manufacturers like Chenard et Walcker and Ariès (example here) were experimenting with in the late '20s, where the body expands from a conventional cowl to encompass the rear wheels entirely. That is, you'd have wheel-arch cut-outs in the body rather than rear fenders.

Start thinking in these terms and your problem becomes more an embarras de choix than anything else. But the weirder the body style, the harder it is to pull off visually. Even at best a taste for automotive weirdness, to which I fear I must admit, helps.

If you do end up going this route, be sure to post the result on the Coachbuilt early Ford thread.

 

I agree. The '68 - '72 F series Ford trucks are some of the coolest and most HD trucks made, even by todays standards. 390, C6, Dana 60

The restored original look with narrow wheels, hub caps, & 2 tone metalic paint = cool

 

Something that you can do just about anything with = that describes my '55 truck to a tee. Get yourself an old truck and have at it.

 

Ford or Mopar,,,check,no problem

If it's chopped,it has to be low and you will have problems see stoplights,,that goes with chopped cars.

Not a welder?,,find a tech school in your area and take night classes,,a lot of us have done that,as for easy chops,the Model A is probably the easiest but easy is a relative term,,none are easy and the later model rounder cars of the 50's are much harder to chop and get right.

Engine swaps and suspension is not to difficult,,most components can be had over the counter if you have the money to pay for ready made kits,,fabrication is the backbone of hot rods in my opinion,,it is a skill you need to learn.

My suggestion is to find something in your area and learn the simple skills like getting the car up and running before jumping in the deep end of the pool and start cutting the car up and losing interest before you ever get started because your enthusiasm exceeded you skills. HRP

 

Like others have said--there is no one perfect vehicle. That's why most of us have way too many sitting around and more in the planning stage. Look around, go to lots of shows, check out the many different great build threads here and find what trips your trigger.

 

Chevy products are awesome------especially when their engines are in a Ford hot rod. Almost as awesome as socialist presidents, fraudulent disability claims, kidney stones, and red 1984 Camaro driving mullet models.

 

I'm really seriously thinking about a truck, I'm wanting one anyways and I figure if I'm gonna get a truck I might as well get one that's cool. My uncle has a '55 Chevy 2-door post, and I really like it so I might go that route if I can find one fairly inexpensive around here. As for the F-250, it's technically my parents' and they won't let me do anything to it even though I'm the only one in my family who actually drives it.

Right now, I'm thinking a 53-56 truck or a 49-51 Ford or Chevy four-door sedan (somewhere along these lines http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=393531 ) I'd like a four door for road trips and plus they tend to be a little cheaper Keep the suggestions coming! I know it comes down to a matter of personal preference, and I apologize for it being kind of a stupid question, but I'm mainly looking for ideas that I might not have thought of before, and I've gotten quite a few.

 

Keep in mind that inexpensive cars are inexpensive for a reason...what could that reason be?

Trucks are ok, but it is nice to be able to fit a few more people in a vehicle, as well as having a convenient place to put groceries, etc. I have a couple pickups, but it's nice having a car, too

 

I had a '46 Ford coupe once that I really liked.

You can road trip in anything. I visited all the lower 48 and almost made it to Alaska in the '70s on a Hard Tail Harley. An A bone should be like a limo.

I you want an A bone that is versitile get a sedan. Ask FlamedAbone.

 

Judging from your listed skills, I have to go with one that's running / driving, cheap, and that you kind of like the looks of. If you go for your dream car, before you have the skill set, it'll probably end up being one of those long forgotten barn finds 20 or 30 years form now.

Don't take this the wrong way, I'm not trying to be mean. It's just that when youngsters ( i wuz one once) jump in over their head, most of the time, they end up with nothing more than a pile of parts, and dissapointment.

 

That's the idea. I don't want to get in over my head and have to do a lot of work, I want something that is either running and driving or that won't take much to get it there. My problem is there are so many options to choose from as far as what to get, which is why I'm asking for suggestions.

 

'60-'64 galaxie. Parts are easy to come by, they are easy to work on, doesn't take much to turn one into a mild custom and they ride nice. You can even drive one in the rain just in case you get caught out in a storm.

Or the same era chevy.

 

I'd be looking for something from the mid-50's to the mid-60's. Maybe not a chevy, those would probably be more expensive. These cars are a little more modern suspension and brakes wise, they make for good daily's with just regular maintenance, and if your not looking at the mainstream, most popular models, can usually be found pretty cheap. If you like tri 5 chevies, try finding a 54-57 Buick (I had one, a 55, great driving car) Pontiac, or Oldsmobile. 59 and 60 cars from pretty much every manufacturer were really out there in the styling department, and most of them, with the exception of Caddilac and Chevrolet can be found on the cheap. Another good thing about this era of car ( or truck ) is that most parts can still be found at a local parts store.

EDIT

Me and Beaner must be on the same page, so...the above goes for a simular era ford as well, I just happen to be a GM guy mostly.

 

A mid-50s Poncho is a pretty good call in my opinion as well. I am basing this mostly on the fact that when my dad was a young, poor immigrant kid just starting out, that's what he drove! They were cheap then, and they still are (relatively speaking). My dad never hopped up his car, but he and his friends used to pile in as many people as they could to get wherever they were going. Youth, optimism, personal freedom ... I think those are the things that make the 50s classics "classic"!

A drivable example found on eBay ... unknown how much it will go for, but you can see it's likely to stay in 4 figures.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1955...5988182?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item3f1c3225d6

 

Any model A or B.

 

Go look at a lot of cars, be willing to walk if the price ain't right. It'll find you.

 

you need to sit down and seriously think of what you REALLY want to own!!!

 

63 Thunderbird. Beautiful, powerful, comfortable and loves gasoline.

 

Man, this is a silly thread. We've hit a new low when I can suggest an S-10 without setting off a shitstorm...

 

*Grabs popcorn for the impending shit storm*

I'm going to have to agree with the Shoeboxes...but I'm partial...

 

I'm still leaning toward the shoebox...I found a picture of a chopped fordor and it's absolutely awesome... But I'm finding myself looking for early to mid 50's mopars as well. So who knows. As for the S-10, I'm not even dignifying that with a response (and I don't think anyone else is either )

 

I think we should just use the S-10 for target practice...

 

Or...

 

Naaw she is just getting ready for a yellow stream party! What a stupid question!

 

Maybe people started actually reading the text in your signature, and therefore ignored you?

 

Take your wallet to a car corral and buy what you can afford and drive home.

 

Iiieee yi yi!

 

Ehhhhh, could be...

 

55-56 Caddy.. Was good enough for Elvis.. Cash.. Holly... Yes.. a Caddy.. King of da' Road mon'.