Hot Rods Questions for Florida car guys

I decided I would like to move to Florida potentially I been down there a couple times for a look , I will be going down again in a few weeks I’m considering Pensacola or Palm coast but open to other areas .

where are some car collector heavy areas?, I will have a small private shop and would like to stay busy doing repair and small projects. Possibly working for another shop or mfg

any input welcome , thanks

 

I moved from NY to northeast FL about 5 years ago. In my area, there is a decent amount of classic car activity. Most of the car shows require a registration fee of about $20 or so. The few cruises are free but have mild attendance. St. Augustine area has a regular run of classic car activity. A friend moved from NY to Ormond Beach, FL outside of Daytona and the classic car activity is much heavier. I am 45 mins. from Gainesville Raceway which I frequent. I hear Orlando has a good presence of classic car activity but I have not attended in that area yet. Hope this helps.

 

Up in pan Handel off I 10 50ish miles be for Pensacola , Fort Walton drag strip.
Off I 10 Pensacola Fair grounds ?
Theres a Oval , They run a race there I believe in December , Snow Bird Race
Its a big deal .
Most of car stuff that I am aware of
Is off / on 75 south west side
Starting around Gainesville south ,
& east side on/off I 95 starting little north of Daytona & then south ,
Same Rt 1 south along coast .
Orlando ,
From pretty much
Using Gainesville & Daytona as points
& South Heaver car Area's

 

We're in Sarasota, there are great shops in town and in Tampa. From my (strictly subjective) observation, the "car scene" in our area is heavy focused on exotics, then late muscle cars, then tuners, then 60's muscle cars, then hot rods and traditional customs a very distant last. There's heavy money, but it seems to be spent on Lambos, Ferraris and Corvettes. Not that there's anything wrong with that...

 

I sent you a PM.

 

I'm right outside Fernandina Beach, lots of opportunity in the NE FL area for folks that don't want to go into Jax. Ive had a really hard time finding a paint and body guy in my area. Doesn't hurt that the Amelia Island Concours is here also, good networking opportunity.

 

I have been in Ft. Lauderdale area since 1970 and have seen the actual car show peak during the 1980's and then gradually decline to become small venues.

Here's the South Florida outlook:
South Floida Car shows - Search

 

im a bit of everything.. everyone always seems to be looking for a paint guy unfortunately Im somewhat allergic to materials, I do a lot of my own stuff but im not fast / good enough to charge for it

 

I like the smaller shows , I’m hoping maybe I can just do small stuff for people to keep their existing car or maybe get an heirloom running that someone inherited or maybe even correcting some bad chassis fab from days past and make them safer for next generation to enjoy

 

We are devoid of good shops here in Southeast Florida. Come down and open up. You will definitely stay busy.

 

I would recommend attending a Turkey Run at Daytona and do some networking.
Take into consideration what all you will have to put up with to live there. Crime, costs, weather protection, and traffic.

 

California is quite a mess these days with the high crime, high cost of living, weather (drought, fires) and yes god awful traffic. It's a shame because it's such a beautiful state.

 

Thanks , my plan was more of an area where I can buy an acre or more and put up a building and work from home to keep the overhead down

I been in the dry west coast too long might take some getting used to climate down there but I’m open to it

 

yes kinda the reason for the two areas mentioned probably going to try to stay somewhat rural but yet close to a bigger city and short trip to the beach

 

California was my home for many years , I sold my house a few years ago and in transition I can’t afford to move back even if I wanted to , the vibe there has changed , I arrived first in the late 90s car culture still in full swing was still the kinda thing The Beach Boys sung about , still a beautiful state but I don’t think they will get it together in my lifetime

 

Coastal locations in Florida are mostly concrete and crowded until you get inland a ways, central counties easier to find suitable land but then you might end up remote from your customer base. I second the Daytona Turkey Run as an excuse for a Florida visit.
My bro-in-law moved to New Smyrna near I-95, just south of Daytona, big house wife happy, big shop man cave for him. I was in Palm Beach County until retirement 3 years ago, had a big house I bought 40 years ago when waterfront was still affordable. I did look at multi-acre properties which already had suitable size outbuildings, found them affordable mostly between Ocala and Georgia. Ended up moving just a little north, now in Fort Pierce which is at the north end of St. Lucie County. Got a small house on 0.9 acres, lot big enough to put up a shop for all my junk. Before you buy land, check with the county to confirm what they allow for outbuildings. Where I bought, east of US-1, county said I couldn't have an outbuilding larger than the main house, so I had the concrete back patio enclosed, screen enclosure with a hard roof, after which they included that square footage and now I have a 2400sq ft metal bldg, with 2 mezzanines providing 750 sq ft of elevated storage. When the driveway gets finished next month I can start emptying out my rental storage unit, bring everything home. Looking forward to no more commuting to get to my stuff.

 

I think weather wise you'll find it more hospitable in the NE to central east coast of FL also. I like it hot but south florida is a different heat, especially coming from the dry west!

 

I been Miami Fla. from 1942,,,,have done shows all over Fla.
Now days,some times My 28A is the only ture hotrod cat a few. Now an then we get about 10 rods along with a wide group of guys that just love there cars,no matter the year.
You can find a number of places on the net; Here's one.
https://flacarshows.com/events/category/southeast-florida/

 

Be sure to check out the cost of living including home insurance, flood insurance, health insurance, property taxes, sales taxes, school taxes if you decide to move to FL. Lots of folks from the midwest USA move to the west coast of FL while the east coast of FL is popular to those moving from the northeast, like NY and NJ.
Also:
Florida is notorious for its uninsured motorist problem, with rates estimated between 20-25%. The state’s no-fault insurance system and high rates of uninsured drivers contribute to consistent issues. Legislative efforts, such as reforms aimed at reducing fraud in insurance claims, have been introduced but have yet to resolve the core issue effectively.

 

Beware the cost of bringing out of state cars into Florida; each one is going to cost at least $400 in fees/taxes.
AND everything down here rusts like nobody's business. Top down, inside out, front to back.

 

Santa Rosa Beach in panhandle here. Definitely active car scene. The spring and fall Emerald Coast Cruizin car shows in Panama City are huge with around 2000 cars.

 

Yikes! That seems dumber than California?! I have amassed a small collection of cars/ junk depending on who you talk to that’s a pretty big set back!

rust still an issue inland a bit? Stuff rusts pretty good in coastal California to but I lived 25 miles inland was better but not as good as desert

 

I lived in Arizona a short time my insurance tripled in 3 years , my opinion is what Floridians are seeing now is probably going to be a country wide problem soon

 

I drove down to key west a couple years ago in October and back up I had heard there is almost a invisible line around Orlando I think I could feel it in humidity that is going to be a tough one to overcome

 

I did check with Flagler county , they are good with barndominums , looks like you got a nice shop there do you mind if I ask costs and contractors?, you can PM me trying to educate myself on having one built

 

Thank you

 

I've gone to look at cars and they will be rusted through the roof, header panels, cowls, floors will be gone, and the seller thinks they're restorable. Ford dentsides and bumpsides are the worst I've ever seen. It's so damn humid all year that if you leave something out from under cover it will literally disintegrate.

 

thirtytwo, somewhere I do have a spreadsheet with my building costs, havent updated it since having the floor done. I will look for it and PM you later. [edit: OK, found it, sent you PM. ]

I started out with lowest cost in mind, then got hurt (imadoofus fell off the mezzanine) and had to hire contractors to do more. Grew up here so I am used to the heat with humidity. I intend to partition off one air-conditioned area of the new shop with a big sliding door, just so I can keep that work area cool on the worst days. So far it hasnt been awful, I have pine trees shading two sides, get a little breeze through when I open the OH doors, turn on a fan when I need it.

Down here, rust can be managed if cars kept indoors. If you park your cars outdoors on grass, forget it. Previous house was 15 min walk from the Atlantic, if you were cutting or welding or working some bare metal in the garage you had better antirust prep it the same day, no bare metal left overnight. Had a couple of 60s British project cars, at night you could hear them rust.

 

As for transferring out of state vehicles into the state of Florida. I was able to register my classics as "Street Rod, Custom Vehicle and Antique" which significantly lowered the "$400.00 import tax" on each vehicle.

 

Its gets blown out of proportion a lot down here, my homeowners insurance would be about the same as it was in VA had my home been built a little newer than 1957. I live about 1/4 mile from one river and about 5 miles from the coast as the crow flies so I'm pretty exposed.

Nassau county in my experience has been very lenient as far as building restrictions go as well. They have a garage vs. dwelling sq. ft. ratio written into the permitting but as my building guy told me, "they've been rubber stamping all the permits, you can build it as big as you want"!!

I like that!