Best Deal on a Body?
- Thread starter Spdwy808
- Start date
I bought one of these bodies a long time ago at "Back to the 50's" in St. Paul. It was a very nice one. I didn't run into that quality again 'til I got one from Speedway.
Rod N Race
I didn't know 'til just now that Ai is now Rod and Race. I will be taking another look at their products.
As for the MAS body, The one you buy from them today is basicly the same one they produced 30 years ago. It was developed as a competition body. That accounts for the thickness of the body and the unstable dimentions. They can be used if you don't mind the extra work to square them up. If you pay $400 for a body, that's what you get. If you want to spend another $70 and get a better one, than go to Speedway. And so it goes. Ya get what ya pay for it seems.
Ron
Rod N Race
I didn't know 'til just now that Ai is now Rod and Race. I will be taking another look at their products.
As for the MAS body, The one you buy from them today is basicly the same one they produced 30 years ago. It was developed as a competition body. That accounts for the thickness of the body and the unstable dimentions. They can be used if you don't mind the extra work to square them up. If you pay $400 for a body, that's what you get. If you want to spend another $70 and get a better one, than go to Speedway. And so it goes. Ya get what ya pay for it seems.
Ron
all-world1
Member
Oh-oh....back to the drawing board.....again. Thanks Ron...lol
I was considering a MAS body, but maybe I should rethink this. Anyone have any issues with Speedway bodies?
I'll have you guys know that I'm teetering on a nervous breakdown at this point, but I guess it's better to get it right the first time.
Craig
I was considering a MAS body, but maybe I should rethink this. Anyone have any issues with Speedway bodies?
I'll have you guys know that I'm teetering on a nervous breakdown at this point, but I guess it's better to get it right the first time.
Craig
all-world1
Member
Duke said:
Yup, I hear you.
der Spieler
Member
all-world1 said:
My only issue with the Speedway was that it was labor-intensive. I had to do a lot of cutting on the firewall for the bellhousing and cuts on the front and back of the body to channel the body so I could get it to sit over the frame. I had to make a plywood floor and then cut it out for the
bellhousing. I also had to put a piece of plywood behind the firewall, cutting it to match the firewall, and I put firring strips between the floor and the lip around the top of the body to provide support for the floor. The bottom line is that there was a lot of trial and error in the building process, it was a ton of work and it's a job I won't tackle again. When I finished the car I was proud of my efforts, flaws and all. I asked in an earlier post how members felt about being asked if their T was from a kit. The Speedway body is about as far removed from being a kit component as you can get. My next one will be a Spirit (99% sure) or one that has the floor molded in.
I understand what you are saying. Lots of people don't like the itchy stuff. I've done several for myself and for other folks. I don't mind it if I can do most of it outside. I have a body that needs to be done and plan on doing it in a couple of months. Kinda lookin' forward to it.
Ron
Ron
der Spieler
Member
The Speedway body is strong and well made but for someone building their first T I would stay away from it. From what I've seen in photos of people's Ts most of them are very similar in how the body sits on the frame and the cars stance. They all pretty much have a 3" channel and they all have a similar rake. Bodies like Spirit and K&S have the floor molded in and the channel is there. A newbie is going to have enough to figure out during the build without having to go to the hassle of 'creating' a floor and do all of the reinforcing. Unless your vision is of something more radical than the norm like a deeper channel or something I would go with the more complete body and save the headaches for the other issues you will run into.
donsrods
Member
I have to agree with all of the comments made. You really do get what you pay for when it comes to any fiberglass body. As an example, there is a reason a Wescott '32 body costs more than some others, but in the final analysis it might end up saving you time and money because the fit and finish are so good right out of the box. T bucket bodies are the same.
Like most of you, I have heard good things about Spirit, but have no personal experience with them. I think because T bucket bodies have traditionally been sort of low priced/entry level cars the manufacturers have been forced to keep the prices competitive, and that kept the quality down somewhat. Fiberglass related products have taken a real jump in recent years because of being tied to the petroleum industry, and yet the manufacturers haven't been able to really increase their prices that much.
I have also seen some horrible examples of T bucket bodies at the bigger car shows. You will see vendors all the time with bodies sitting there that have huge parting lines and rough edges. The amount of work involved in getting these bodies to be somewhat usable must be tremendous. A person would be better off buying a quality body up front and not having to go through all the work and money to make it close to being right.
Don
Like most of you, I have heard good things about Spirit, but have no personal experience with them. I think because T bucket bodies have traditionally been sort of low priced/entry level cars the manufacturers have been forced to keep the prices competitive, and that kept the quality down somewhat. Fiberglass related products have taken a real jump in recent years because of being tied to the petroleum industry, and yet the manufacturers haven't been able to really increase their prices that much.
I have also seen some horrible examples of T bucket bodies at the bigger car shows. You will see vendors all the time with bodies sitting there that have huge parting lines and rough edges. The amount of work involved in getting these bodies to be somewhat usable must be tremendous. A person would be better off buying a quality body up front and not having to go through all the work and money to make it close to being right.
Don
all-world1
Member
Thanks everyone for relating your experiences with different bodies. You never really know what you're buying unless you talk to guys that have actually worked with these things. It would sure be nice to be able to line them up side by side and do a instant comparison, but that's just wishful thinking.
Here's a question to anyone who has purchased a body from a long distance supplier. What kind of shipping costs did you incur and did you receive the body with any damage?
Here's a question to anyone who has purchased a body from a long distance supplier. What kind of shipping costs did you incur and did you receive the body with any damage?
donsrods
Member
Generally, we used to figure about $ 150 for truck freight, but since diesel has gotten nuts, shipping costs are going significantly higher too. I have had vendors bring big stuff to a show with them and I pick it up there sometimes. They will usually do it free, and it shows up in good condition that way.
Don
Don
benT
Active Member
Here's my $.02:
I bought a Spirit 23 track body about 6 years ago. It was my first body. I went and picked it up at Spirit and was happy with it for the price. It was a bit tweaked and needed a bit of body work...I ended up selling it as I decided that I wanted something a bit bigger--so I bought a poliform 27 stretched body. Man what a difference! Like others have said, you get what you pay for. I still had plenty of fiberglass work and body work, but I realized that with the Spirit body I would have had much more time in it. With that being said, I still think Spirit bodies a a great value. I think they are definitely better than the speedway bodies, and they have great service. If you are the "I'd rather save $200 and spend another 20 hours" type guy, go with Spirit. If you have a few more bucks and less time (or want less frustration) go with one of the others that make a premium body.
As for MAS, I've heard all the bad things about their bodies...I've never seen on in person, but I did buy some 4 link bushings from them and was very happy. I'll be in the Twin Cities later this fall and plan on dropping by their store. We're planning a "beer-budget" T and want to check out their axles and bodies. I'll give a full report!
Oh, one last thing: from my experience, if you want a door(s) for your T, pay to have the body mfgr hang them...I couldn't have been more frustrated and spent more time dealing with that than anything else!
I bought a Spirit 23 track body about 6 years ago. It was my first body. I went and picked it up at Spirit and was happy with it for the price. It was a bit tweaked and needed a bit of body work...I ended up selling it as I decided that I wanted something a bit bigger--so I bought a poliform 27 stretched body. Man what a difference! Like others have said, you get what you pay for. I still had plenty of fiberglass work and body work, but I realized that with the Spirit body I would have had much more time in it. With that being said, I still think Spirit bodies a a great value. I think they are definitely better than the speedway bodies, and they have great service. If you are the "I'd rather save $200 and spend another 20 hours" type guy, go with Spirit. If you have a few more bucks and less time (or want less frustration) go with one of the others that make a premium body.
As for MAS, I've heard all the bad things about their bodies...I've never seen on in person, but I did buy some 4 link bushings from them and was very happy. I'll be in the Twin Cities later this fall and plan on dropping by their store. We're planning a "beer-budget" T and want to check out their axles and bodies. I'll give a full report!
Oh, one last thing: from my experience, if you want a door(s) for your T, pay to have the body mfgr hang them...I couldn't have been more frustrated and spent more time dealing with that than anything else!
Studebucket
New Member
Who builds the biggest, IE wide and long? I need space cuz I'm a biggun.
tbucketlar
New Member
Studebucket, Hey I'm right over here in Portage, maybe I'll run into you sometime. I am still in the slow process of building my bucket. Lar
Hermas is good. They have the stuff in stock and you can pick it up any time. Rick the owner lives next to the shop so he can meet you on a Saturday afternoon or a Sunday even if he knows you are coming. He is great to deal with. Here is his # 865-577-1941
der Spieler
Member
The only problem I would have ordering from Herman is his reluctance to give up information. By that I mean his website gives products and prices but no pictures. I would like to have a better idea of what I'm getting. If any of you know him pass that on to him. I'll be looking in the spring and I would consider his products with a little more information.
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