Projects Project guidance Needed...Help me Choose

So projects have been sold, parts have been consolidated and I am down to 3 possibilities to spend my newly freed up money on. After about 2 1/2 weeks I still can't decide what direction I want to go in, so I guess i'll open up the floor to your comments and suggestions.

Choice #1 is my '53 Dodge 1/2 ton.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=814956

Choice #2 is one of my Dodge roadsters.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=713058

Choice #3 is my '65 Coronet.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=653595


The Pickup currently runs "OK" with the flat six but I would like to swap in a small block (318, 340, 360) and it needs 100% of the brakes replaced as it sat in the mud for almost 40 years. Drums are cracked, wheel cylinders are frozen, master is bad and the brake pads lost the liners 1st time I tried to drive it. All the lines are rotted also. It is SLOW and needs a lot to be highway friendly beyond the brake work.

The roadster obviously needs everything, but I have everything squirrled away to put the chassis together with an 8in rear, speedway dropped tube axle with disc brakes. A couple long busy weekends would get the body together enough to resemble something...which only leaves me needing a vintage engine, trans and everything else needed to build a complete car.

The coronet isn't pretty but is very solid, I have a '67 440 and 727 sitting in the shop waiting to be rebuilt for it. With an engine, trans and interior work this would be a quick street car that still looks respectable.

So there you have it....give me you input, opinions and suggestions. I have about $6500 to play with and with a tight budget and doing the majority of the work myself I figure I can make one of the 3 a driver by late spring/early summer. I just can't choose which...So help me out people.

 

I would build the Coronet, pretty easy to sell to fund the other projects. Otherwise just send it to me and that will narrow down your selections.

 

I should note....These are my "Keeper" cars.....I have kept them stored away while better cars were built and sold off. None of these are going to be a quick flip to make money, as I plan to get a few years of hot rodding out of them.

 

Yep, the late Dodge.... Better all-weather car than the roadster (important in Washington! LOL) and will likely be a quicker build. Better touring car too....

 

We get the cold on the eastern side of the state, but actually don't get near the rain the west side gets. Im not all that worried about an all weather car, my daily driver is a jeep with a cloth top that only has the top and doors installed five or six months out of the year.

As far as a quick throw together and go project goes, the Coronet is by far the easiest of the 3 to get on the road as parts are available, they came with a big block option from the factory, and the only real body work is the poorly rolled rear wheels lips and the rust on the front fenders. I would still need to rebuild the front end, probably go to superstock spings in the rear and the interior needs to be completly redone. Also needs wheels and tires, all 4 on the car are different sizes and styles.

 

I'd go with the Coronet. I've always liked the looks of those cars. I saw your '53 pickup and it reminded me of a deal I saw on CL tonight..........................
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/4217870760.html

 

Thats actually a lot of truck for the price. If I needed another project I would be looking at that one. To bad its further than I usually travel for a rig.

 

Coronet. I took drivers ed in a '66 Coronet. One of my friends had a '64 Coronet with the 426 and 4 speed. I loved that car.

 

Alter the wheelbase on the Coronet! Injectors through the hood. Yea! That's the ticket! John

 

scoot the rear floor forward on the coronet, make it go fast, and take it on Drag Week...then there will bet two of us with altered wheelbase cars.

 

Coronet for sure. Fairly easy build and you can pile up a ton of miles on it until you get to the other projects. Plus, they're cool & an easy sell if ever need be.

 

Ha, sounds like its all for the Coronet.....though its not really right for this site. Might have to look for a new forum.

I am just kidding of course. Lets hear some build ideas for all the choices, what if they were yours and you had my budget. What would you do?

I know the Coronet will be easiest, biggest bang for the buck, but what would you do if you only had the truck or roadster?

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The Coronet is safely within the confines. Ryan's posted it several times. Although the mass's continue to blirb the "pre-'64" rule incorrectly.

From the intro page:

"The HAMB is dedicated to spreading the gospel of traditional hot rods and kustoms to hoodlums world wide. That’s right – TRADITIONAL. If you've come here to discuss anything other than Hot Rods or Customs built in a style representative of 1965 or before, you've come to the wrong forum."

 

Aside from the body being a '65, everything else I've planned for it has come straight from the muscle car forums.
If it ends up being the project that wins, I will post all the upgrades here until im told not to.

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I thought I would be the first to vote Coroner. It looks like I was too slow.

 

I was actually a little surprised, I didn't expect the Coronet to get this much attention on a traditional hot rod site.

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The roadster is too far gone, and the truck is just plain ugly.

At least that's my take

 

I would put the 727 in the Roadster! But I am old and crazy

 

The roadster plan calls for a stroked poly 318 and a 4 speed. The body looks a lot worse than it really is.

The pickup is very ugly....but they are kinda cool when fixed up....and it's 55K original miles....the yellow wheel is one of the 5 originals it came with and has the original spare tire on it. Was a one owner family.

I like the opinions from everyone....now I want to hear some "fantasy builds"

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yup, what he said .

 

Well, everyone would expect the Coronet to be 'muscled up', why not buck the trend and do it as a mild custom? By all means use the 440/727, who says a custom can't go? But a mild lowering, wheel covers/skinny whites instead of custom wheels, maybe some conservative scallops, tube grill, and a roll/pleated interior with vintage buckets would set it apart and look sleek at the same time. If done right, these could all be reversible changes so you don't kill the resale value if that's a concern.

The truck will need a complete running gear transplant to make it 'highway friendly', and I just don't have much love for the early Dodge roadsters... and as rough as the roadster is, it will be more work.

 

Build the Coronet, you can build the truck later. HRP

 

If you like patina I would think you should be able to at least put brakes on the truck and a few other "small" odds and ends (500?) and also make something cool out of the coronet If you are doing the work yourself and depending on how far you want to go with it for 6500.

 

You said hotrod so why not take the 440,put it in the truck,change the suspension and hotrod that. Yopu would have enough left in the budget to work on the Coronet.

 

ok, I'll be different and say go for the Dodge roadster - build a T-bucket style hot rod.

 

I'm torn...I LOVE pickups, and yours is no exception. Throw in an 8 3/4 rear, a T5, and it'll be highway worthy in no time, although not a tire burner.

Now that I think about it, I'd get the pickup to the point where it's reliable, then use it to fetch parts for the Coronet. Really, a brake/rear/tranny upgrade is not that hard, and the parts aren't that spendy.

That's me. If you said one or the other, I'd have to go with the Coronet.

Chris

 

As one farm boy to another I would recommend the Pickup. Whatever project you choose, bring it down to wheeling weekend after you get it running.

B

 

2x to what barsteel said.

 

Ugly or not, that truck is cool. Get the brakes done and make it road friendly with running gear upgrades.I just love basic trucks that get the job done.

 

I would go with the Truck and keep it as stock looking as possible. Don't see many of these trucks anymore and it would stand out no matter where you were.