What's a reasonable budget?

I'm starting the process of obtaining a Model A coupe possibly a tudor. Worse case, I find a clean straight stock car. What would be a reasonable budget to get the car running, in this state(me doing most of the work)? Fenderless, V8(preferably not chevy, not ford unless it's a flat head), 4 speed manual, steel wheels, juice brakes? Just trying to get a handle on what this might cost.

Thanks,
Dean

 

I don't think there is a way to answer your question. You could spend a thousand or you could spend a hundred thousand.

 

Depends on what you can and cant do yourself, New or old parts, paint color, and lots of other things

 

There are too many variables for a real estimate. I have 2 grand into my A and it runs and drives everywhere I want. It still has the original banger motor for now though. You can spend 7 to 15 thousand dollars on just a nice driver car depending on the body style.

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3 times whatever you initially think it will cost, and will take 4 times as long to do it.

Don

 

^^^What he said. LOL

 

Collecting coins is fun!

 

When i lived in the Colorado mountains at 9000 ft elevation, I asked an old timer "how much firewood should I cut to heat my cabin for the winter? He told me that i needed to fill the volume of the cabin with wood.....that's how much it would take. Similarly, fill the car with $$, that's how much. Roadsters are simpler so less$$. Too many variables in the equation but, IF you can do all the labor and the engine is decent, I would start at $7K-$10K


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How much are you planning to do yourself and how much hired out?


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YES! No really, we're serious. I started out with a budget and a schedule. There's this thing called scope-creep. Yeah.

Aaron


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A third of my checks go to tools and parts and future parts.... The rest goes to the girlfriend...

 

Sorry bud but how long is a piece of string. Think of a number and double it ,or if you can be frugal stick to what you can afford.

 

sell the 911, that should be enough

 

A big factor to consider is how much power you want to make. A stock drivetrain is fairly inexpensive, even for a nailhead or early hemi. On the other hand, you can have every bit of 5k in a well built engine, 2k in a good trans and clutch, and 2k in a narrowed 9" with 31 spline axles, detroit locker, nodular case, etc. Or you can get a running 350, stock 4 speed, and stock 9" for under a grand total.

Figure 20k +/- 10k for most builds.

 

$127.38

 

I got my tweed deluxe mailed to me by a buddy in N.Y. for free. The '58 pontiac? Not so much. Good luck!

 

Hey, I was gonna say the same amount. How freaky is that?

 

standard quoate"big bucks,lotsa hours"

 

About 2000 hours labor and set a budget of $10 K. When you reach $10 K stop counting. Don't bother counting labor if you start changing your direction half way through.

 

Make a list of all the goodies you want, {bare bones is cheaper}, Assume you pick up a nice stocker without the need for paint, and add from there. Chassis work, in your intro you said you dont weld, so you will need to trade out some work for boxing your frame, suspension and brakes cost a lot too, but you need a safe ride whatever you decide. Add the engine/tranny combo, which you dismissed the two most economical choices by the way, and you have wiring, glass, steering, and interior unless you can live with the original. I have a rule of thumb when I buy a stocker. Do it all myself and add 10k-12k to the price I paid for it. Your best bet may be to buy an unfinished , running , QUALITY project that you can live with. Let us know when you buy it, whatever it is.

 

haha, words to live by. just buy the car, worry about the rest later.

 

That's like askin
"How big is a loaf of bread?"

 

Make a list of every part you think you'll need. Watch the classifieds, C/L, selling prices (not listing prices) on ebay and assign a value to each item on your list. Add it up, then double or triple it. That should get you close...unless you change the scope of work or style of build once the project is underway.

 

If you actually knew the cost you most likely wouldn't do it.
I always try to find a abandoned project that has already had most of the parts and they just want out

 

Do yourself a favor. Buy yourself a car that is basically what you want then change it to suit your taste. Initial cost maybe more but the time you save and the heartache will be worth it. Another though is to find an unfinished project that has the motor, trans, rear end and juice brakes, then finish.

 

Pops1532 has the right idea.

If you buy out an abandoned project with a clean body and parts you actually want to use, at a good price, you'll be ahead of the game. OTOH, don't buy a parts lot with tons of things you don't want but "could sell to someone else" to recoup your money. You'll just trip over it enough to want to give it away.

As far as figuring out a budget goes, try to figure out what you can afford for initial startup or the purchase of the body at least. From there, try to figure out how much you can comfortably afford to spend on the car (and tools) each month. That's much more realistic and useful than trying to put a number on the whole thing.

It seems that you're in a fairly urban area, so you're kinda screwed for finding anything old locally to begin with let alone getting a good deal on it. Figure out where you can and are willing to travel to with at least a truck to haul back parts. You're going to have to get out into the country a bit. 150 miles in any direction is a good radius I've found.

 

"Dons Hot Rods" answered your quetion on the money. My experience tells you, budget and hot rods don't mix, Some people can do that I'm told, NEVER met one. If you have to sub any work out, you'll be better off shopping around, With all the model A Hot Rods for sale you can buy one and change it a little to your taste. If your heart is set on building your ride, Good Luck, best wishes and forget "budget" AND thats my 2 cents worth. John

 

It's good to see New people just getting into the Hobby. 2 big give away's. You think you can build your dream with a Budget and a 4 Speed behind a Flat Head. Oh Ya,,, Let us know how that works out.
The Wizzard

 

Yeah, 4 speeds tend to remand big moneys. I went with a $75.00 3.03 3 spd rather than a $1000.00 4 spd toploader for that reason. It's probably cheaper to do a T5 conversion for a flathead than a 4 spd.

 

How far away is the sky?


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