There's a lot of wisdom here. A large percentage of the "affordable" restored cars I've looked at fall into the "horror story" catagory by way of poor workmanship. Pay special attention next time you go to the "auto corral" at your local swap meet and you'll see more ill-fitting sheet metal, wavy quarters, rusty rockers, holey floors, musty interiors and tired power plants than you'd think...all for stupid high prices because the car is "restored"! Looks good at 20 feet, but shiny paint can hide a multitude of ills...all of which you'll have to deal with later. There are plenty of threads here about guys who got burned on eBay because they fell in love with a car long distance and failed to do their homework, and about the sellers who short-changed them in an endless number of creative ways. Ryan's concept is sound, but doesn't take human nature into account...on both sides, buyer and seller. I'd much prefer to find an "honest" car that's never been touched and be able to see what will be required to build it, than to buy a "restoration" and get the bad news later on. Just my $.02
Lots of pics of the car on this thread... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=347601 last time I talked to anyone about it, It was still for sale. I called it "Salome"
Feel for ya Ryan...we've had the same bug hit us here this past week...nobody knows what it is except that it packs a knockout punch...mild customs are bitchin' in that they confuse the onlooker as they try to figure out what's different about it and they slowly gain focus and see all of the subtle mods that have been done...way better than the over the top full customs for me...20K is doable for sure especially with the right foundation from the onset...get well
Never tried this myself but is it possible to have the fury trim airbrushed onto a belvedere or savoy and get the fury look without the initial purchase price. Maybe could use lace to get the look of the aluminum anodized fury trim but in paint. These mopars seem to show up in fairly decent shape for under $3000. I am looking for one to build and hope to use the whole front clip of a Chrysler fifth avenue to give me disc breaks, modern suspension and a bullet proof 318 V8. The fifth ave can be bought for $500 - $1000 depending on condition and should offer plenty of other parts as well. I hope to have a 2 door sedan on the road for fun for under $5000. I love the factory kustom look of these cars and can't wait to get started. I plan on doing as much as I can myself to keep the price down and am hpoing to get my 9 year old son hooked on cars as bad as I am. The look of those caddy tail lights on a '56 rear is really cool.
Old studebakers seem to reasonable. Maybe a Loewe designed car could be had well, or maybe an Avanti mild custom would be cool.
Good post Ryan, Why not take the amount of cash you have and customize that cool wagon of yours? Might not be what Zach is building but could be really cool. Give it some flavor of Kirk's car maybe. I think you could hang with the Jone's in that.
If you like the 56 Mopars I have a friend of mine that has a 56 Coronet More door 99% complete & solid $1500 He is hurtin right now
I'm building a 63 Coupe deville, and on pace for a $12k budget, plus plating. Not bad. Going for the look of a relatively new car, mildly customized just a couple years out of the showroom. I may try bumper swaps, etc. We'll see where it ends up, but I'm happy so far.
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