Hot Rods Which car would you like to see next?

"The point is it’s a segment of the hobby not the entire hobby"

Well said!

As long as we're wishing...
Someone needs to make an adjustable punch press. Just scan your fender into the computer and punch a couple copies out.

 

I would like to see a 1941 Willy’s. I tried working my way up bought a project model a couple right before I got married. 2000.00 built it sold it for 16000.00. Wanted a 1932 Ford 3 window. I was at the street rod nationals with my pregnant wife and 4 year old son. I was working 65 hours a week realizing this I bought a Hastings body. Took me 2 years to build raised my kids in that car. 10 times it was in a magazine. That’s 25 years ago do I wish it was steel sure but I don’t feel the need to apologize to anyone for it.Back when the Boyd cars were popular mine had door handles rubber running boards and bumpers it was considered traditional at the time. To me it’s a hot rod. Point is build what you want with what you can. Don’t settle a undesirable car because it’s old steel.

 

Here's where the inherent trouble with "work your way up to the car you want" rears it's ugly head: by the time many guys have raised a family, bought a house or two or three along the way, divorced and remarried, they don't (literally) have the TIME left to build and enjoy that dream rod. Either start off with the bones of what you want or wait until Springheel Jack is nipping at your heels. Your executor can get a good price for your car for your survivors.

 

(why so sarcastic, you might ask; and "where's YOUR rod, Reb?") Like everything else I've had since 1982, I've lost some of my good humor and all of my money. Do that enough times and you get a little scratchy.

 

I'd need to see a list of what's being made already, glass or steel. If it's a steel body, does it use any wood if the original body did, or has it been modified to be steeled out? (Makes for a safer body, IMHO). If it's glass, is it an accurate copy of OEM or a generic clone of somebody else's finished car? (Personally, I prefer as close to OEM as practical and possible. Difficult with certain cars.) Lastly, are replacement parts from other sources going to fit? In other words, suppose a guy lucks out and finds a forty foot trailer full of door handles and hinges for '34 Fords....

 

1961 chevy impala ss. And while we are at it, isn't it strange I can buy a new motorcycle with essentially no safety features, but any new car even an econobox has to have 10 air bags and a back up cameras? How about a 1961 SS hardtop with a LS engine but three point shoulder belts, disc brakes but no ABS or other things, gets registered as a collector or hobby car. Maybe it would not wind up at $38,000 like all the other new ones.

If an original in 1961 was $2800... that's 23, 000 today. You mean to tell me all the robots and improvements can't make that exact car cheaper today? $20,000 out the door! GM buys the whole interior from Year One. So no design costs.

 

Nothing without the support." One man's trash is another man's treasure." Boosting the number of '58 Plymouth hardtops would, in my opinion contribute to neaten the street with one of the best designs of the 50's. Piles of trim to go along with body assembly to bring that one to fruition.

 

I would have to be a pickup truck, nobody buys new cars anymore.

 

As Shania Twain says "So you got a car, that don't impress me much". I don't understand why anyone cares what someone else has or is driving. If a company wants to expend the time and effort to put one out there I say good for them. The best example of that I can think of is Dave Smith at Factory Five. I was a customer at the beginning and look where they are now, quite impressive to say the least and still a class act in my book. FFR has given many folks hours of enjoyment and the ability to drive something/replica they probably wouldn't have even been able to sit in before. Would you rather see that twenty-five year old working on a Prius in his driveway or a Brookville 32 while his dad is playing with the Henry 32 in his driveway. Young people are the future of this hobby and without an entry level opportunity they might never bother.

 

Imagine just a run of a hundred 1957 Fairlane hardtops, a hundred 1958 Furies and Coronets, all of them properly rustproofed, with no hidden rust traps we all know and look for on these cars....

 

A AD cab with corner windows would be pretty cool, affordable? I doubt it.

 

Is the 47-54 Chevy an AD ? if so then
https://www.classicindustries.com/product/4196101.html

 

Damn! I wish powerfully!

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I'm not a fan of replicas, and I think a complete 49 Merc coupe body would be incredibly expensive, but I would love to see just the basic repair panels made for the 49-51 Mercury again, so we can fix what's already out there. Mass-produced stamped rocker panels (inner and outer), floor pans, and 49-50 grille shells! The floor pans and rockers available now are complete homemade crap, and I know one guy was making them custom to order and they were supposed to be really nice but pretty pricey. Those grille shells would sell like crazy, and not just to Mercury guys.

Stamped steel 37-42 Willys coupe trunk lids, and the surrounding sheetmetal around the trunk lid, would be just enough to convert 4 doors into coupes and I think would also sell really well.

 

The Brits can rebody a rusted/wrecked E-type Jag with a brand new shell and bonnet. Same for Mini's, MGB's, and a slew of others. AND they took the time and effort to identify problem areas and correct them. Not particularly cheap, but it is an option that those owners have. Look at Dynacorn and the stuff they're producing. Wasn't there a '57 Chevy body out a while back, in steel? Our biggest issue is that we fought a world war from 1941 to 1945 and then another smaller war in 50-53.... when those nice, huge, steel alloy body dies for everything "pre-war" went into blast furnaces and turned into anything steel from Jeep lug nuts to battleship armor.... sometimes, gone is gone. sad but true. making new parts is the purview of the true specialists.

 

How about a steel repro of the 67 Corvette for those of us allergic to glass.

 

Agree on both subjects. They seem to be very high up on the list of popular cars, yet have almost zero for replacement panels. Most panels are hand made one at a time, vary in quality/accuracy and are expensive!

Sqaublow, I know you've done your fair share of really well done 2 dr. conversions. A company (United Pacific, Goodmark, etc.) could launch into this by starting with 2 dr. conversion stampings (quarters, etc) and then possibly eventually work their way into complete bodies much the way it was done with Brookville's and SAR's stuff and the 55-57 Chevy's.
For the Willys; add to the quarters and deck lid, a stamped Coupe roof or at least the back half of the roof to include the rear window, sail panel and tulip panel (door jamb to door jamb and rearward down to the trunk opening).

49/50, 51 Merc. Tool up first for these;

• Full 2 dr. outer quarters w/jambs
• 2 dr. outer skins, window frames
• 2 dr. rockers

This would be an adequate start to convert loads of 4 dr.'s to 2 dr.'s and definitely would be bought by folks that are building/saving 2 dr.'s.
Ramp up would be for them to stamp inner quarters, and doors to be able to offer a complete door.
Tailpan, inner rockers, grille opening, etc as you suggested would follow, possibly working their way up to a full body.

Something on par with the 55-57 full quarters ($900).

 

I wish AMD would make 1936-1938 Dodge Trucks and Humpbacks... Or at least the panels.

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I keep hearing people say how hard it is to find old cars. Must have something to do where you live because around here cars are plentiful.

 

There is nothing I would like to see reproduced, my favorite two are reproduced, 32's and 40 Fords. And I'm glad because they are just so beautiful to look at. I never bought cars to be different which is alright, I just seek out all the 32's and 40's at shows or cruises but that's me and it took me until I was 69 years old to get my dream 32 3w. I lost a lot of years of driving my favorite car but its just as thrilling at 69 as it would have been at 16. I started to build a Brookfield 32 roadster but the cost to build was enormous so I quit and sold off what I had accumulated in parts. So to me, there isn't any reason to have a car reproduced when there are still plenty of the same cars out there for sale.