G'day, Ive been drooling over this site for a couple of years now, so i thought its about time i joined as im into anything trad built, well built and a bit over the top. Up till now ive been messing around with old holden street machines including a WB Caprice fronted panel van, HJ GTS Monaro clone, and a style side ute with HZ statesman front. Currently i am finishing off my HZ front, blown 308CI, tonna ute burn out beastie. Ive been buisy making a custom tray, fat **** wheel tubs (28x12 MT's) and a sheet metal interior with flat floors. I'm on the home stretch now so i am pondering my next "suicide booth" and l think its about time I grew up and built either a trad T bucket, a blown Fuel Alterd lookalike or a 120 inch wheel base full body FED. Any thoughts?
G'day Wilko, Good old GM products from the 70's are not quite the tradition here on the HAMB, but don't worry about that - that's the kinda place many of us are from anyway. My second car was a HQ one-tonner with a HX Statesman front and a 350 4 bolt, fuelie heads/Turbo 400. It was a 13 second car - that was back in 1978, after I left uni. Each of the cars you have suggested that you are thinking about would fit the bill of being traditional, but don't p*** on a model A - they're a little bigger and less 'cartoony' than the others, plus there's still plenty of them around and they aren;t all THAT expensive, even in Oz. Good luck, enjoy your time here and make sure you post us up some pics when you get your car. Cheers.
howdy wilko welcome, mate if it was me i would be going the hotrod direction as you can get in the thing and drive it all year round, without trying to fit into any set category for racing, i think the more you get to use your toys the better for our hobby. For me seeing a hotrod just cruising around is what it's all about. but that's just my opinion. Don't get me wrong i would love to see a fuel altered or fed at the track but there isn't enough events for them to be showcased and enjoyed enough yet.
13's in 78 thats impressive, My thing would maby, just mab do that, its mostly just for smoke and noise, so ill be avoiding drag racing and dyno comps like a fat bloke dodges salad. I've had a good run with the 70's stuff, still love it, but now its time for some less bogany material. I had a look at some Model A photos, they look the goods, cl***y lines, where do you usually look to find this type of thing in Oz thats worth salvaging? I'd even be happy with a cowl. I like this look below.
Thanks Jimbo, i didnt think any one would care about this type of thing on here. Any how here are some shots from about 3 months ago.
Yeah I hear ya, its a very valid point. i'd love to be able to take the tunna out on the street but cant so I know how frustrating that can be, though I love the extremety of the FED and Fuel altered. Maby a compromise is in order. I like the obtainability and looks of the model A suggestion from dad-bud, if i could find a body/body parts i could fabricate the rest from there. Perhaps a model A version of this with a bug catcher hat.....And those stupid looking whimpy cycle fenders for the street.
Welcome to this site Wilko. I too am from down under and have been here for almost 6 months now and have enjoyed every minute of it. A group of members who are happy to help with any questions you may have. Mtw fdu.
G'day Wilko, like just about everything, you can get almost anything in the US for a fair price. Model A's - body only, will start arund $1K - 2K. You can get a whole, complete, kinda resto-style running tudor or coupe for around $10K for a fair one. There are a few here on the HAMB - check out the Cl***ifieds, but for ease of viewing, lots of pics and 'live' prices, go to good old (hated) eBay - not the Oz one, try US eBay - look for Collector Cars, then look for Cars up to '39 or the main Ford one. There are plenty of buys in Qld importing them into Australia - you should be able to get a quote for under $4K if you get one near to SoCal, and the Feds won't hit you too much for GST, etc. If its running, you may be able to get it registered and that will then make it reeeeall easy for you to rod it as you see fit. Anyway, good luck with it - spend some time checking out all the stuff here. Cheers.
Thanks mate, I have learned heaps of stuff off this site. im still a bit dodgy on spotting the different makes and models. I can Identify the stuff I like and thats about it at the moment.
2K thats encouraging, i have been looking mostly in Oz at the moment, thanks for the tips. I dont think I could bring myself to cut up a decent old girl, for what I want to end up with a body will be perfect. Thanks again.
Gidday bud , there's lotsa choices these days with tin or plastic versions of all models , perhaps get y'self one of the old ford model books , spells out all the differences that sometimes gets new fellas confused , especially when it come to the later 30,s DELUXE and STANDARD models , my fav's are all the 35.thru to 40's !! luv 'em and of co**** the 50's ,aveagoodarvo cheers RK57