Features Traditional Track T or Bucket Build Cost Under $5000??

I gotta say, you really should stay away from the 4 lug wheels.

Tons of wheels were made for that mopar rear.

 

http://charlottesville.craigslist.org/pts/3836628632.html

These are the wheels and I have not called about them. I didn't think Mustang II's came with these type of wheels but I would have to look. Maybe these are not Ansen wheels.

 

Mustang II, definitely.

 

Thank you. I guess I need to look and see if they still make the Ansen type of wheels. If not I will go with my first idea of black truck wheels.

 

Late 60's-early 70's everybody & their great - sainted aunt Harriet made "slot -mags" . 10-15 years ago there was plenty of 'em at swap meets dirt cheap . Haven't been to a swap in 7-8 years but I bet there still out there.... Let others chime in..

dave

 

Swap meets and garage sales are what you have to do if you want to come in under your 5K. They were my hobby when I was building my roadster before ebay. You would be surprised what I've bought rod related at garage sales. In fact the T body that started me was bought at an estate sale for $20 in '79.

 

I will have to look into these. I have not been to a show or swap meet in ten years. We used to have some nice cruise in shows here and word of mouth would find parts and cars all the time.

I used to go to Carlisle show a lot and wish I was more into building hot rods back then and not so much muscle cars. My area used to have a lot of car guys around and word of mouth would lead to good parts. I know this area could take the fair grounds and make a great swap meet and show field.

I will look around and see what all I can find.

 

I found a good running 350 on craigslist for $400. It's out of a '79 pickup. I heard it run and it seems great. The seller delivered the greasy mess to me Friday..






I degreased it and cleaned it up...it doesn't look much different, but it's a lot cleaner...




I stripped it down and it actually looks pretty clean inside and the plugs look pretty good. I think I'll install some new plugs, wires, gaskets, valve stem seals, etc., pretty it up and run it!




Got the front wheels painted too...I'll get tires this week...

 

Another great place to look for aluminum wheels is if you have a metals recycling place nearby that doesn't just shed and crush everything right away. Aluminum slots are getting a bit harder to find than they once were simply because there was no interest in them at the time of the last great rise in aluminum prices. I know several small independently owned LLANTERA shops around Phoenix that at one time had literal "walls" made of stacks of ANSENS, US INDYS, and such that suddenly got scrapped out and melted down when aluminum went nuts in the mid 2000s. They all went through scrap metal traders, keep your eyes open there...

 

Roger that louvers. We have a yard here that wont let you take anything they scrap it all. I had to fight with him to get two challengers one was an R/T the other was an SE picked both up for 350.00 bucks.

 

Those wheels look great and that motor run it until it needs a rebuild man. You are one step closser to have a car with a running motor for sure.

Awesome score too.

 

Yeah, I'm sure the engine has tons of miles on it, but it runs so smooth and quiet. And it didn't smoke and the plugs looked great. As long as it's not using oil, I don't see any reason to rebuild it yet. For as many miles as this Bucket will see, it will probably last the rest of my life...

 

Cool score on the motor and I like the red steelies. I am off to the swap meet tomorrow I will let you know how it goes. Oh and CornetRTGuy I am planning on using Mopar drive train as well.

 

Very cool man! What drive train are thinking of using? Also is it for the truck you have or are you doing a T also? I have talked to so many people as of late I can't keep everyone straight lol.

What swap meet? I have been on ebay all day looking at headlights I want a tear drop light for my bucket build and I found a pair no one was bidding on for two days and now they are at 40.00 lol.

I found a nice set of 32 Ford chrome lights I'm watching as well.

Hey OP any new word on the build?

 

Well, it turns out the great deal on the engine wasn't so great after all. While checking it out, I found an exhaust valve leaking bad when I pressurized the cylinder. It looks burnt or almost there. I dropped the heads off at the machinist yesterday for a valve job. And a lobe on the cam was wiped. Soooo, the engine now sits in a pile and there goes the budget. Fortunately the pistons and cylinders look pretty good with almost no wear apparent, so I should be able to get away with a quick hone, rings, bearings, cam lifters....

Fortunately, SBC stuff is cheap!

 

Man sorry to hear about that. I hope it dont cost to much and you get it running again soon. That is one thing that worries me about buying a motor. I will go into it expecting the worse and hoping for the best.

You going to paint it back to chevy orange?

 

Wheeling and dealing and making most of it myself, right around $1500 into this, ad actually if you reverse count the money I made off of parting out the parts car I bought for the engine, I have zero dollars into it.

 

Now that is the way to get it done! Finding parts cars selling them off to get the car money.

Looks like you are off to a good start.

 

Wow! Zero dollars. Now THAT'S the ultimate budget build!

 

Cornet its for a t-build the Truck has a 360 and runs like a top. Bob at least now you can build the motor like you want. The cheaper aspect of a SBC would be the only reason I would use one not that I dislike chevy just a Mopar guy is all. I'm still planning mine out but this is a great inspiration to me to get things moving along. I didn't get to make the swapmeet I had to work .

 

Hazegry there is a 74 or 76 Dart on craigslist in my area (not sure what part of VA you are in) that has a running 360 and a 904. I'm sure could be had for less then his 2K asking price with a lot of parts like the rear, breaks and some other things. Then part the dart out.

 

that's to far I'm about 300 miles from there down in Va beach, I did pickup my truck from Middletown last month though. Bob hows the build going?

 

I know a guy (talk on boards) from VA beach and is into mopars. he has a 72 Roadrunner and some other cars as well. He might know of some good parts for the build.


Yeah whats the word oo your bucket build? How is the 350?

 

If I get around to building a "T" ---

 

Is that a 360 or a 340? I'm not sure what motor it is. Looks good and will look good in a T Bucket!

 

Northern Autoparts has a rering kit for 80.00 and a stock cam, lifters and timing set for 80.00 or a full master engine kit for 200 that would give you a new oil pump plus a lot of other pieces You can even upgrade the cam for a bit of rump rump for about 30 bucks extra.

I ran one of their rering kits in the 350 in my 71 GMC for about seven years including towing my 5500 lb boat to the coast every August since I put the truck together. A lot of miles for what I spent.

 

Proof that a guy can build a damned decent looking car and not break the bank.

And a guy can wheel and deal a few upgrades as time and opportunity provides.

 

I started out to build a 65 Cuda but got bored with the project and figured the paint and bodywork would cost more than the deluxe T kit from CCR and I could have somthing on the road a lot quicker.

The engine is a 360 and the only used parts are the block and crank

 

You picked a really hard year of Cuda to restore or mod. I wish mother Mopar would do parts for the 62-67 cars. The 65 Coronets and Chargers are based off the same body but the quarters are a few inches different.

You made a good choice! Keep the Cuda tho you may end up doing it later and those with a small tub can be made into a monster car.

You got an awesome looking kit then from CCR. How do you like it?

Oh and how much more did you have to add to the frame? I know the 360 is a small block but just wondering if anything else had to be done. I know a lot of these are set for SBC and SBF.

 

I dont have any kit yet and have been parting out the cuda project because I dont have the 20g needed to finnish it the way I want too, besides the 14g I already had into it.I have the engine, 904 trans, and a 8 3/4(drum to drum).
My choice towards a CCR is influenced by the fact they are about a 45 minute drive (or 6 hrs with traffic) from me.
My deal is this, I have a full fab shop and could build everything myself, what I dont have is the time to do it, If I did it would be over-the-top, but it would also interfier with my work here and dont want to spend the next 2 years building it (my way). CCR does not have any placement fixtures for the 360/904 combo, but is not really any different then 350/350 version. They will give me the recommended crank hight dim off the top frame rail and just slide the motor/tranny back into the body and build the mounts from there.