I am talking as CHEAP as possible, otherwise it just ain't gonna happen. I posted something similar before, but my focus has narrowed. I'd like to build a T bucket or a Model A. I've got a book on "How to build a Traditional Ford Hot Rod," but the parts he recommends using are probably out of my price range at the moment. Here's what I have so far: - plans to build a frame out of 2x3 rectangular steel (unless I find a rolling chassis close by) - drum brakes supposedly off of a early 50's F-100 (chrome backing plates) - old 2 bbl carb - 225/75-15 radials - possibly a running 307 Chevy (not exactly trad., but it will work for me for now) I know this sounds like a pitiful hodge-podge of crap, but it's a start. What I am looking for is advice on what rearend to be scouring for? What I-beam is preferred?
I've got less than $4000 in my bucket. Ford beams are plentiful and cheap. Almost any rearend will work...whatcha got available cheap? SBC are really cheap and plentiful and if that's whatcha have, use it. Your brakes will work fine but depending on the spindles you use, might need work. Steering set ups are limited. Side steer works fine and is prolly cheaper. I use a donated Model A box and a homemade link. Anyway, hope this is help...Pete
The best strategy I can say so far is just plain luck. My T project so far is chiming in at around 75 bucks (rear, frame, front axle, engine, tranny, add 15 for a partial body if I use it). Mostly because of the generosity of people giving me parts, and finding guys needing to get rid of parts. The engine and tranny came as a free bonus when I bought my Stude truck. Best policy just spend too much time looking on the internet and talk to too many people. Seriously, stack the probability of being in the right place at the right time in your favor. And don't try to be in a hurry on getting it done. Just my $.01 (My opinions aren't worth much)
The I beam you should be looking for is any one that can be had cheap or free - and complete as possible with wishbone, spring, etc. Any year beam can be made to work and look decent. It's only metal - cut it up and reconfigure to fit your car. And I think you can adapt those brakes to any spindle '28 and up. If you can adapt '39 to '48 juicers with a spacer kit then you should be able to get the F-100 pieces to fit with a spacer kit and bearing change, right? Someone jump in here if my logic is flawed. If you can find a cheap Ford rolling chassis you could be set. I drug a seemingly roached '39 chassis out a of a field and got my money's worth from it. axles spindles backing plates and core parts tie rods crossmembers pedal assembly master cylinder core various pieces of old ford hardware and plenty of pieces to cut up and fab my own brackets. And the best one: Intricate knowledge of how all of this stuff fits and works together as I spent many hours lovingly prying, beating, and knawing it apart.
Plan on at least $5000 to get one on the road. Now, I'm aware that you can do it cheaper, but you have to have some kick ass connections with some pretty decent parts piles. My bastard jeep truck hot rod project is going to be hovering right around $5000 when it hits the street. FWIW....and its being done cheaply. I think Samiyam even said he had something like $3000 in the Roach Rod when it was all said and done. Clark and company built the 999 roadster and their goal was $999...I can't remember if they met it or not. Anyone?
I have $1900 in my T as you see it. Forget fancy, forget chrome, forget ultra-tradional, keep your ears open, get to know a junkyard owner. 1979 350 and TH350=free, 9 inch Ford rear end=free, MAS t-bucket body=$500 including fiberglassing in wood floor and inner structure. etc... My biggest expenditure was refurbishing the free F-100 brakes. I think I had 300-400 in front and rear wheel cyls, shoes, hardware, etc... Figure out a plan and stick with it. Karl
Nobux, First off, I dig that T, but I think I'm going to respectfully have to call bullshit on that $1900 as it sets. Those Cragars cost $100 + each new. Even if you already had them, you still had to buy them. What about all your tie rods and ends and stuff. Those aren't free. Front axle? how much was that? Is it a tube axle. Those are $200 new. Springs? Oil for the engine? paint? Glass? plug wires? plugs? etc etc etc...... It all adds up. Even with a FREE engine tranny and rearend.... I think you may be cooking the books a little
im at $450 on my progect. im selling my frame for 100 and making a new one out of steel tubing. so i should still be around the same price. only thing i have left to buy is the engine gasket set, and the front brake drums. only thing i got for free was the body parts, y to make one i had 31 ford pickup, and a 29 coupe back panels.(didnt want the pickup.... and no room after channeling and chopping it.(i want it on the ground) im pretty much sick of gas welding.... let me tell you.... but thats what free gets you... more work in the long run!
"Nobux, First off, I dig that T, but I think I'm going to respectfully have to call bullshit on that $1900 as it sets" Tingler, you must have faith!!! A friend of mine put his 53 F100 on a Ranger frame. He gave me the original, into which someone and installed a 9 inch. That is where the front brakes, rearend, and a lot of misc came from. Front suspension is a 37 axle, wishbone, and spindles, which I bought from Windy Hill for $50(Some kid told me the price, and the old man was furious, but honored the price). Front springs are 1/4 elliptics cut from the above mentioned F100. Steering is a $15 Corvair box that I reversed myself. Drag link, tie rod ends were stuff I had laying around. 7 tie rod ends@$10 a pop=$70. One 5/8 rod end=$10. Front shocks are $50 Total Performance bolted to free F-1 shock mounts. Rear susp is the above mentioned 9 inch, hooked to 36 Ford rear wishbones(free, found them in a scrap pile) hung with a $10 Model T rear spring. Rear shocks are $10 lever actions. The Cragars....$45 for the front 15x4s $40 for the rear 15x8s at the swapmeet. Tires I had laying around. Steering column=free. It's a stripped Saturn column slid inside a 2" exhaust pipe connected to a $15 coupler, which is hooked to the Corvair box. Seat is a NOS 1969 Heald Hauler(3 wheeler) seat=free.. Carpeting $30 at Home depot. Side panels are leftover paneling covered with Carpet. Wiring , fuse block, switches $65 Tail lights Model A=$30. Headlights are back up lights from a wrecker with auto bulbs installed on homemade stands=free. Chassis is $295 worth of steel from the local steel supply. Battery is a $19 lawn mower battery. Gas tank is a $18 GALLON air tank held down with $8 universal gas tank straps. I could go on and on, but you get the point. I did a LOT of scrounging and fabricating! The good part is that you start digging up more and more stuff along the way that you can sell for more money. 2 years ago I had a T bucket body and a clean garage. Now I have crap stacked and stashed everywhere. I did build this car for $1900, and I have the receipts to prove it! Karl
Here we go again... True, Mike Bishop's book "How to Build A Traditional Ford Hot Rod" requires some parts that are now getting expensive... so he, along with Vern, are doing another book... how to build a hot rod on the cheap! I've been asked to help out... and have been acquiring parts for a super secret project... expect some low down stuff, along the lines of a Model T... Should be fun! Sam.
Yup, exactly. That's why you didn't see any sort of dollar figure in my reply. Hey, why don't you let me in on a few key parts mentioned in this new book so I can stock up now and unload after the book's release to finance my new project?
My car is a long way from done but here are some prices T touring backhalf (from HAMB) $60 A 4 door cowl $100- way too much T doors with latches and hinges $35 ebay T coupe top irons $30 ebay A frame $80 swap meet. Econoline front axle and steering $10 Ranger 8.8(?) rear end 3.73 gears $35 368 Caddy engine and turbo 400- Free Welding supplys approx $200 so far I still need springs, radiator, hoses, wiring ect. And tires/wheels but I can for sure have it shod for under $100 with decent used rubber and some dogdish caps. But I do plan to have this thing snorting for well under 2 grand.
The format isn't going to follow a single build, like Mike and Vern's first book... it'll more or less show you how to scrounge parts, where to buy stuff, how to build cool stuff out of otherwise overlooked parts (chicken soup from chicken shit) and show you some alternative rods. A prefect car to do in the spirit of the book would be a fiberglass T... but not all up T-bucket style... or traditional needle nose track T style. It also will cover what is cheap... as in, to some... 5k may be cheap, and others, 20k may be cheap... but I don't think it'll go "2k is a cheap hot rod". Sam.
TINGLAR,i think hit the magic figure, i have 4700 in my coupe and finally road worthy, that was with alot of horse trading ,building my frame and swap meet bargins.What killed my build was the cost of the walker rad,rims and tires,gauges,stainless four bar(should have made painted ones)could have cut costs.
The budget for my super low buck roadster is only $1600.... and using up a bunch of parts I have around. The inventory is the key to my low budget. The body, itnterior tub, frame, grille shell and 8" rear end were purchased for $600 over Easter weekend. The 151 inch S10 engine and T5 trans were $150. The front axle, spindles, brakes, springs, metal for modifiing the frame and building the suspension some of the things from the stash. I have had much of the stuff for over 10 years. Basic metal working skills will stretch a budget a very long way. If you can cut, fold, form, bend, weld and finish parts, you will find the materials you need everywhere you look. Then, of course, you won't be able to go anywhere without "seeing" parts and possibilities. A complete donor car can keep the budget within reach, too.
NOBUX.....O.k. I guess I believe you. ...those $45 Cragars ARE making me jealous. mutters under breath (but how much did you spend on gas getting those parts). Samiyam, what do you mean by "here we go again"? I think that one thing that a lot of people don't take into account is the re-buying of parts. I.E. a hypothetical hot rodder buys a $25 radiator....slaps it on their cheapo rod, so they can brag about how much they saved....only to have it spring a few leaks. They take it to a shop...shop fixes it for $xxx...later it springs another leak, so they buy a new one, or have it fixed again....more $$$. A $25 radiator can become a $300 radiator quick. I say to hell with all that headache. Just plop down a little more in the beginning and buy a new radiator. Again, this is just hypothetical and not aimed at anyone in particular. I'm just saying I bet it happens quite a bit...and I bet the RE-BUYING or the extra $$$ spent doesn't get added to the initial build cost.
my 22 dodge owes me $300. I scrapped a 49 dodge for brakes wheels, engine gear box diff steering etc. dodges are normal free to pull out of padocks. the motor is all good
Sorry Tingler - My car was cheap, but I forgot to factor in all of the calories I burned when I was working on it. I think the value of my car just increased by a couple grand - someone had to pay for all of those tacos. Sam was saying here we go again because we've hashed this all out before - and no one ever fully agrees on cost. That's all.
What Grim said, do a search with my name and the word Price. We have hashed this over. Lots of liberties with costs.
I love hearing about the freebies ansd great deals guys get when building their rods - Youd make MacGuyver proud - you know the stories, fellas whittling a 3x2 intake outa a piece steel they had lying around or thge guy whose granny had a hali quick change she didnt need for her Honda anymore. Seriously though, someone needs to work out a list of market / swap meet rates for everything from bolts and washers to wiring, seats, lights etc etc - I dont think youd get change out of 5K - and tahts doing all the work yourself. I did it once but stopped at around 7K - thats here in Australia where decent real bits are harder to find(= $$$). But there's the challenge I guess...beg, borrow or steal Steve
Actually you could build a nice rod for nothing. Take a thousand dollars and buy stuff cheap, keep what you need and resell the rest for a profit on ebay. And still have the grand left when you are done. Works for me. But I don't have a radiator yet either.
i agree with the protest to the ultra low budget claims.. I am building my T coupe on a strict budget and will probably come in around to 4 to 5k mark. Even if you get half of the crap for free between the price of steel, paint, glass, tires, wiring, and mechanicals (rear end parts, brakes, gaskets, water pumps, alternators, etc, etc, etc) it is really hard to stay within that mark.. i got my body for 900, built my frame (200 bucks in steel), pulled my motor out of a tow truck, got my rear for free on a favor and fabricated EVERYTHING ELSE. I have 500 buck of steel in the car alone!!! I'm sure you could throw "something" together for 1 or 2 grand but you will definitely be sacrificing quality. that or your spending soo much time hunting down free or abandoned parts it's just crazy... I'm not being negative, just realistic.. I think if you read tardels book he puts a budget in the 7 to 10k range for a traditional car. If you think about it that's really a bargain... He makes a comparison to those high dollar street rods can run you in the 30k to 100k range easy. And you will definitey have more fun and turn more heads in the cheaper traditional car.
To only spend $4,000, did you get the blue paint free from C9? That blue color looks strangely similar to the blue C9 has on his wheels. Or is my over 40 memory striking me stupid again?
Nope...$8 worth of leftover engine paint from the Flatty. BTW...That's all I have into my wheels...$8.
Wow, thanks for all the information guys. Flattiesteve makes a good point. I don't know what a decent price is for most of these parts...I know that comes with time and experience. I have been going to the Model T Club's swapmeet for a couple years now, just looking around, trying to soak in the parts I see and the prices. I am going to keep my eyes out for a rolling chassis or anything I can scrounge parts off of... I know this is going to be a slow process (it has to be ). Again, thanks for the advice everyone.
Ok ,here's my .02 cents. If I am to believe that someone twists their stock rod chevy 9500 rpm all the time and someone else is getting 750 h.p. out of a 307 with stock heads at least I can believe the $ claims on building a car. I am building a low buck modified. Do I count the two pop rivets that I use to hold the steering column on? no, probably not. Do I count the gas to go pick up an axle 20 miles away ? .no. If I help a guy shingle his garage and he gives me a donor car ,how much do I have invested in the car? Is it $200 for the days work or do I figure I could have stayed home and watched Pam Anderson tapes and fondled myself so the day would have been wasted anyway. I have a pop machine that makes about $125 a year. That money is used for welding wire ,welding gas, saw blades ect. I consider it FREEBIES. You may not. It is OK to have a cheap car, it's OK to have an expensive car, I can find things I like about every car I see. It's Ok if someone with a cheap car is proud of it. Whether his cost is %100 accurate or not it's still his car. Why can't we all just get along.
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