Hot Rods Did You Ever Save A Project From The Jaws Of Death?..

Have You Ever Saved A Project From Becoming A Parts Car?

 

Absolutely. Doing it currently with the worst car I've ever purchased as far as rot and rust is concerned. My '39 Chev belonged to a friend who always thought he'd fix it up, and put it on the road as a hotrod, just because it was too rotted to ever be a great car. Then he finally realized he'd never do it, and it had continued to rust away in the meantime.
I bought it as a parts car, full inside of spare parts, but none of the needed sheet metal parts to fix the rotted body. It did have a perfect frame, but most of the body from about 4"-6" down was rotted away. So badly that when I closed the doors the whole side of the car swung in and out like a garden gate. But I wanted a '39 Chev coupe, and the price was cheap enough that when I sold off the spare parts I didn't use, it made the purchase price free.
It was a daunting task to replace all the rotted steel, and I spent the first 6 months I owned it cutting out metal, and welding in everything new in the bottom of the body, doors, floors, tail panel, etc., etc., ... But once I got the body solid it started to come together, and I began to enjoy the build. But I sure don't enjoy replacing rotted sheet metal, and wont ever take on one that bad again!

 

I did put help build a '55 Stude Commander that was saved from the crusher. It was laying on its side in the line to be crushed when we found it and was a show winner when we were done.

I am helping a young guy save this one. Not much there to start with so i guess it was a parts car. LOL

 

I did a 55 Chevy for a customer that was a complete pos, I don't think there was much sheetmetal you would have pulled from it to use on another car.

 

LOL I helped on a '56 2 door hardtop that drove home. The guy stripped it back to metal and we replaced pretty much everything but the roof.

 

I repaired rust in the roof on both sides.

 

Sometimes The Project Doesn't Come Willingly......

 

Very Nice Save...

 

I saved my Cameo from an auto wrecker yard in 1968. The owner of the yard was so happy that I intended to get it on the road again, that he let me use an unheated building to do a lot of the work required to get it roadworthy. I was able to buy a 283, in the form of a complete 59 Canadian Pontiac, from another wrecker to do the swap. I was also allowed to have the run of the yard to get other parts I needed. I just kept a list for him of the parts I pulled, and he charged me peanuts for them.
I don't know if something like that could happen today, but I am forever grateful to him for his willingness to help me. It would not have been possible otherwise.
Bob

 

Saved a 47 Olds fastback from the crusher 25 years ago and put it in storage in a building on the farm. Last summer a local guy with the same car he built into a hot rod hit a deer and demolished the left front fender. He couldn't believe it when I told him I had him covered. Paid me a 1000.00 for that fender. guess it paid to save it.

 

Built my first car in 1958 from a carcass I found in my friend's wrecking yard. A 1940 Ford coupe body and frame with rear fenders. Ran all over L.A. looking for front fenders, grille, hood, and everything else. Actually had to trim a sedan door to fit. Found a worn out flattie in the yard and eventually got the whole mess running. Had to jump through some hoops to get it registered, but was driving it to school next semester.

 

there was not much that could have been salvaged, maybe the new MC. The lower 15inches were 98% bondo and 2% rust. Cowl and rearend even worse.


after... there are still too many compromises and bondo on this truck, but it was pretty much a no budget build ( my girlfriend´s suburban, and she seems to be happy)

 

A buddy saved my car from the junkyard. He saw nice looking o/t mussel car at McDonald’s and started talking to the guy, said he liked his car but was more of a hot rod guy and the other guy told him about an old Pontiac he had sitting in the woods and people were complaining and was going to call the junkyard to come and get it. So Dick looked at the car, it was way to nice to scrap out so he got it to save it. Now I own it.

 

Lemme guess, she insisted, didn’t she.


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The devil already took a big bite out of my old five window before I started on it.

 

Just picked this up last month with an OT Meyers Manx (a real one) that has a Corvair engine and transaxle. No plans yet, but they got saved.




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This '35 delivery was just a shell...no floors, very rotten around the bottom. I used a 4 door donor for the cowl, doors and floor pan. It's mostly together and waiting it's turn to become a hotrod.

 

I think my 48 was headed in that direction under it's own power if my father in law hadn't heard about it and told me about it. I bought it for 75.00 in 1973 and drove it to work the next day and the guy who had it was days from moving out of the state and seriously wanting to get rid of it. It was painted with a brush and didn't have one straight fender on it.

 

Saved my 46 Ford from being absorbed into the ground by nature. This was in 2012, the last tags on the plate were from 1971. Still in my shop now, I guess it is now my barn find, found it in my own barn. Will attach some photos when we dug it out it was almost bulldozed till it was saved.

 

Most of the junk I've converted into a car wasn't even a good parts car.

 

I had a save situation but I must admit it was intended as a parts car. I needed a rear right quarter panel for my 66 Monza.
I was at the state scrap yard and there was a Corvair with a perfect body and front suspension and that was it. I asked the guy if I could buy it. He said it was going to the crusher and I could have it if I showed him a title. OKAY, FUCK OFF.
I went back to the car and found a license plate laying in the back. I called the DMV and got the owners name. Turns out he was a friend of my dad. He transferred the title to me for 5 bucks.
I really enjoyed taking my car from that ASS HOLE.
Anyway, I finished my other build with the quarter and door. I still have the front suspension and crossmember from that car.

 

this one still in progress. build thread here:
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/fixing-a-smashed-31-model-a-pickup-cab.1143362/

 

I have several times, just didn’t know it when I bought it.........


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OT, but. 1970 Mach 1, disassembled, media blasted, guy was simultaneously getting a divorce. Wife pushed it out in the snow. I got a call from a friend that saw it being hauled into the scrap yard.

Bought it for 2x scrap weight from the recycling scrap yard ( not an auto salvage yard) they didnt want to deal with a car without a title. Went thru bonded title process.

I was 17, didnt have the means to keep it, restoration guy bought it, mostly complete car in parts, all the mach1 specific stuff was there, #'s match block too. 351W, auto, a/c, factory yellow. I stayed in contact, he sent pics when it was done, beautiful car.

 

Many Times When We Were Young The Projects Became Ours Because They Were Free ..

 

Have I saved a car from becoming a parts car. No, but I got what was left.

 

This 37 Chevy p/u would have been hauled off for scrap if my dad did not take it,would have liked to had the 53 Studebaker that was also on the farm but it was given to the local scrap man back in the early 702

 

My projects are usually parts cars before I get them. lol

 

I had to restore my 34 truck, there wasn't enough good usable parts on it to even be a parts car. I replaced 90% of it. What sheet metal that looked solid was paper thin.

 

Nothing like the 1st time!
When I was 19 (1975), I worked at the local gas station/repair shop. My boss had a really nice 65 Dodge Coronet he had bought new and it was really well taken care of. One day he went fishing, it was raining hard, and some guy in front of him slammed on his brakes. The boat trailer pulled my boss's car around and an oncoming car hit the rear quarter and folded it over.
One of our customers had a 65 Plymouth that had bad freeze plugs, that caused the rings to go bad because of the continual overheating. That customer bought my boss's Dodge. I was going to pull the motor out of the Dodge, and replace the motor in the Plymouth with it. I was going to get paid $100 + I got to keep the motor from the Plymouth, the guy was covering all the other expenses. One of the other employees towed the Dodge to the guy's house where the motor swap was suppose to take place, and he got the Dodge body as payment. The Dodge had the Poly 318, but the Plymouth had the "new" 273 motor, and we couldn't get the 318 to bolt to the 273 transmission. I offered to put new rings and bearings in the 273 if the guy paid for the parts and the specialty tools, the ring expander, the ring compressor, and the cylinder hone. The guy went for it, he even let me use the rented engine hoist to put the motor back in the Dodge, after I got the Plymouth running again. I bought the Dodge body from the other employee for $10.

When the deal was all done, the guy got new rings, bearings, and fresh gaskets for the 273 in his Plymouth. He was a happy guy. I got paid $100, $10 of which I used to buy the Dodge body, plus I got the poly 318, a brand new ring expander, ring compressor, and cylinder hone, and was able to put the 318 back into the Dodge I took it out of. I was a happy guy. The fellow employee got $10 for pulling the Dodge about 5 miles. He was happy.

The guy drove that Plymouth almost ten years after the motor work. I jacked the quarter panel back out close, installed a new tail light, and my wife and I drove the Dodge as a 2nd vehicle for over 5 years before I sold it to someone.
I've been doing this stuff ever since. Just some of my more HAMB friendly stuff.
A 35 Dodge 2 door sedan that was cut up, rusted in two, brought home in the box of a pickup, assembled and driven over 70,000 miles.
A 54 Dodge pickup from a barn, frame off, clipped, assembled and driven over 40,000 miles.
A 50 Dodge 2 ton truck bought from a junk yard, mounted on a 4x4 frame, and driven 12 years before it was totaled by someone that turned right in front of me.
A 39 Dodge business coupe bought as an unfinished project. I re positioned the motor & trans, updated the brakes, rebuilt the suspension, and drove it 4 years before I sold it.
My 48 Plymouth business coupe bought sitting behind a fence had been moved from one outside location to another outside location for more then 50 years. Had rust holes in the frame you could put your hand through. Any flat surface that could hold water was rotted away. Its been on the road nearly 10 years, and 70,000+ miles.
A 39 Dodge pickup bought at a swap meet as just sheetmetal for $400. Put it on a frame, installed a drive train, painted it and all, drove it for 2 years and sold it.
49 Dodge truck bought as a rolling body with a bent frame that came with another frame. I have it on the new frame, installed a drive train, and have it to the point it drives in and out of the shop. Expect to be driving it this summer.
Then there are all those projects my son has conned me into "helping" with, or my grandson's projects (and now his buddy's project). We won't go into the Muscle car era, or the 15 years of dirt track racing, or the projects for other people (though the modified class racing lawn mowers were fun, 3 new racers in 4 years). Gene