jrn said:
Hey Don! I've read your t build on club hotrod.Twice actually!! You initially set out to build it under 3k. As you said it ended up about 5 times that. Looking back on it, what might be some things you would do differently to meet that 3k goal? I find it very interesting and thought it might make a cool discussion. I'd love to hear what everybody thinks.....Jason
You read it TWICE!! Man, you are a glutton for punishment! :lol::lol: But thank you.
Where I went wrong in sticking to that budget was in the little niceties I started buying to make it prettier than I originally planned. Like I mentioned, I really started to like the car and since I hadn't had a running hot rod for 7 years I wanted it to be a little more finished.
However, I still think a car can be done for about that amount if a person is very selective about how they go about it. A donor car would be a great start. If you purchased let's say a mid 70's Ford or Chevy that was hit in the rear but everything was still in good shape, you could salvage the engine, transmission and rear end. I say Ford or Chevy, but any other car could work too, including Buick, Dodge, etc.
Then you could simply clean up and rattle can paint the entire drivetrain to install in your new car. You could also pull a lot more parts off of the car like wiring, maybe the steering box, etc then scrap the rest or sell off parts to get some of your money back.
Steel tubing to build the frame is going to cost you a couple of hundred bucks, and if you are able to weld it up yourself or tack weld it so a pro can do the final welding you won't have too much tied up in the final frame.
For the front suspension with some shrewd shopping you could score a used t bucket style front end or maybe one from something like an Econoline van, to which you could add a cross spring setup.
I see guys all the time on some of the rat rod forums I am a member of who are building a car with very little money invested. Some of them live in States where this old stuff is laying around everywhere. Here in Florida we rarely see any old stuff like that.:sad: Some guys are also very good at dickering and bartering, so they save money that way too.
The key to doing it is to do it the way we did it in the '50's and '60......make most of your own parts and rely on deals you can find to get the parts you can't make. It also makes sense to buy someone else's unwanted project. Years ago we bought a T bucket project from a guy for $ 1500, and with it we got about $ 4000 worth of brand new parts he had bought for the project. He made the mistake so many people make, he started with a lousy frame and body then began ordering all these neat chrome parts to put on it. He should have gotten the frame and body right first, THEN started buying stuff he needed. He lost interest and just wanted it gone.
Good luck on your build, and if we can help, just let us know.
Don
