'56 Ford barn find - am I crazy?

Ok so 1 mile from my house here in the country I've run across a '56 customline 4-door. It has some typical rust issues in various places, no ***le, no back seat, late model seat in front, later model inline 6 that did run, needs everything. The main areas I'm concerned about are the rot under the body moulding. Needs patches in floor pan too. The asking price is $750, but the seller is very negotiable. I want a '56, but I'm not sure I want a 4-door this bad given the patches on body that will have to be managed. Am I crazy if I don't get it? I'm thinking in this condition with no ***le it's a $500 car.

 

I'll add the body is surprisingly straight aside from the cancer issues.

 

Ought to be worth that much in parts if you decide not to fix it up...

 

Rule # 1: ALWAYS get the car you REALLY want.

 

If you find a 2 door minus front fenders you will wish you had it. Front suspension cross members rust out on those cars as well, if I remember right.

 

That's what I keep going back to. The only problem is 2-doors whether in post or hardtop flavors tend to be pricy. Surely I'll be able to find one eventually that's affordable. I would almost trade my low mileage 2 owner '65 Satellite.....almost. Weighing some options.

 

Yeah it needs the front cross member. Damn engineers!

 

A lot depends on how much h***le is involved in the missing ***le in your state. If this was in Califunny, I wouldn't consider it.

 

You can do a bonded ***le very easily here in Texas. Only cost about $100 if I remember correctly. Had to do one about 2 years ago. Zero risk in doing so.

 

I'm almost of the mind to get it and sit on it (Potsy) for a little while. Might come across a good 2-door body project.

 

This.....gasp of air.....is really what I want!

 

Unless you can get it dirt cheap , I'd wait till you get the car you really want to end up with . On the other hand , being from the northeast , that car looks pretty nice to me !

 

2 door sedan conversion on this car is very do-able if you have donor doors and door posts, the roof and wheelbase are identical. Not as pretty as the hardtop, but still nice looking. However, you need a donor, and it pays to start with a nice solid 4 door. It's about a 100 hour job to do it nice.

If you can buy this for $500 and you have a spot to stash it, seems like a good buy, lots of good parts on it if nothing else. You won't lose money on it at that price, if you decide not to build it, it'll part out for a nice profit.

As mentioned, front A arm crossmembers like to rot out on these, as do the inner fenders and the body mounts that attach to them, so check those areas out. If they are good, it's probably a worthwhile project. If it's not, it's still worth 5 bones as a donor.

 

A rusty 6-cylinder 4-door is a three-time loser. Unless you can do all the rust work and body work yourself you'll be upside down in that car in no time. Wait for a nearly rust-free 2-door V8 car if you want to get out alive and solvent.

 

If you ask on here, that tells me you have some doubts, like maybe it's the right year but wrong car.
S**** price..... $363.00 So $250-300 is fair IMHO.

If you have to ask...maybe it's not a good idea.

 

That thing will get you closer to what you want, part it out and you'll meet all kind of folks with similar desires.

It's good horse trading material but don't do it to fix it or fall in love with it

 

$300 tops, otherwise keep looking - figure the rust you can see is going to double once you get to the unseen.

 

Well, then, buy your parts car first!

 

Buy it and join up here: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/social-forums/1952-59-ford-social-group.282/ We have plenty of members with more doors that will show you some love Just imagine a finished product.

 

I'm 4 years into what I thought would be a 1 year build and my car wasn't that rough. If you have lots of time, skill, patience and vision, money, parts cars and a VERY patient, understanding spouse then go for it. Otherwise, walk away.

 

I've learned the hard way. Rust is not your friend! As was said before, get what you want. Don't waste your time or space storing a parts car. There are plenty of them out there for the time when you get your dream car. Chase the dream! That's what cars are all about anyway.

 

I would offer $300-$400 and use it as a parts car. Two doors aren't really that bad in this part of the country. I watched a 56 2 door sedan with a solid body sell at auction a few months ago for $700. Build what you want. Too much time and money to spend on something you might not really like in the end.

 

A 4 door "hardtop" victoria is one of, if not the best looking "4 door" cl***ics ever built.
(They do look better with all the windows down and cruisin)

 

When you posted that picture of the blue and white hardtop it stopped me in my tracks. I owed one that looked exactly like that in about 1963 and have wanted another since but they have gotten PRICEY ! One of the prettiest styles Ford ever came up with IMO.

You can't go wrong for $750, even as a parts car.

Don

 

I'd be more interested in the Stepdown next to it!

 

Are you talking about the car next to it? What is it? I cant tell.

 

It's a Hudson. Not sure what year. It's a little rough.

 

I've had 5 Fifty sixes, 2 Customline 2 dr. hardtops (I like the thin chrome side trim on those) a '56 Sunliner (convert) a '56 Victoria, and a '56 Crown Vic (with a '53 Caddy/Hydro in it!)

Love to have another '56, but got into my '54 Coupe that my son Rich bought me for Father's Day. (rich son?) Thanks, Sonny...Love that coupe!

 

I would not put any money into a car without a ***le. It's a parts car to me. To me 4drs are all parts cars. I love having a parts car for any of my builds. You can sink a bunch of money into a 4 dr and never be able to recover your investment. I say pay extra up front for a good rust free body to sink your money. It's hard to keep up the enthusiasm for a long term build. Make it easy on yourself.

 

On the other hand, if you have room to keep it, time to part it out, and nothing else to work on, get it and part it out and learn a good deal about your dream car. When the right 56 comes along you will be better prepared to know what it is worth. I "messed with" several "parts" cars before I was able to buy one worth keeping. I learned from each of them, sometimes just how to doctor busted knuckles and rust in my eyes, but I learned.