whats to be done about this?

Cool, dignified old car--ridiculously wrong in every way for most rodding approaches, IMHO...big, heavy, and dignified is not what rods are, nohow.
Resto rod would look OK...in a boring sort of way. Chopped would just look wrong. I think this is a car that belongs stock.
And that engine--if you pulled the head and slowly turned it over, most observers' heads would just LOCK UP!! That thing is virtually alien technology...like nothing most people can even imagine. There's a Knight booth at Hershey that has a cutaway cylinder operated by a handcrank--one pull on that crank is a mind altering experience.
How about stock--with one or two mods to annoy restorers? I'm thinking dual carbs and exhausts...would you soup one of these like a two-stroke, filing the port slots bigger?? "yes, it's a factory special, ordered for a wealthy bootlegger in Chicago..."
Get into the slow, rich, and dignified thing--drive it to 7-11, and ask the clerk to carry your slurpy out to your car after tipping him $20...park it next to a hummer and watch the owner seethe as passersby look at YOUR toy...
And screw the restorers--oddball old sedans ain't worth nothin nohow, and if they're not willing to get out there wallets, annoy them--no matter what you do, make sure you tell the club you scrapped the engine for $12, put the dash in your Model A, and sold the rest to a kid who wanted to build a ratrod to match his girlfriend's rearmost tattoo.
Old car values are driven by demand, not supply--there are probably a hundred Deuce roadsters extant for every '39 Desoto, but compare those values...

 

Scott,ugly is ugly.(but you know that)
Build another hot rod truck.
Where is the "Bone Shaker"!!??

 

Bruce, I like you.
Eric, the shaker is sitting next to 2 other racers, a track car from the thirties and a 28 roadster lakester, which have all been worked on together and are at the same point of being finished- can't figure out which one to focus on, oh and a bunch more motorcyles, you ready yet.....kick, kick....sputtter....vroom

 

So you have a coupe body for this thing? Let's see it.

If you rebody it as a coupe, although rare, is it still worth much less than if you kept it together?

Do you want to keep it enough to but the work into it? I agree that it will never look like a hot rod... it's just too big and classic.

Maybe Leno would be interested.

Who would you even find to work on that motor?

 

I really like that. Very cool thought.

 

This is exactly why I cringe when I see a streetrod that has been so totally altered to fit some brief fad that it could never realistically be rebuilt in any other way. There's modification and then there's destruction...

 

Pickup w/ coachbuilt quality to haul bikes with.

 

"Pickup w/ coachbuilt quality to haul bikes with"

That's interesting--I was just thinking "Wrecker".
Most depression wreckers were big classic sedans with the rear roofage cut away and a primitive boom installed rather than trucks. The old sedans were powerful, sturdy, and once the "status symbol" value had aged away, worthless. The ones I have seen generally kept the sidewalls of the original rear body as the sides for the bed and moved the original rear window up front as the cab rear, a sort of el Camino effect.

 

I'm with these guy's on this. Find a donor car, put it together and drive it.

 

Then they have nothing to bitch about after you turn it into an awesome cruiser. Chop it, drop it, put a reliable drive train underneath, and drive it everywhere.

 

DON'T chop it. But do small-block it and make the other necessary changes as minimal as possible.

 

turn it into a boat and rescue cubans.

 

Rod it and chop the shit out of it and hang a spotted owl from the rear view....................I doubt if we'll REALLY miss either one.

Cool ole car tho', but what a monster!

 

Here's an idea:

Unless it's FREE, leave it there and use your money to buy something you like.

If it is free, get it running as-is, and either drive it or wait for someone who would buy it for a price that would make you happy.

 

I say do with it what you want. This is an example of something that is rare(1 of 8 known to exist) that is more fun to drive the way it is now that it would be if it were original. As enjenjo is known to say anyone can restore a car it takes a real man to cut one up.

 

I've never met a restorer who'd give you a dime for a dollar. If it isn't practically free, they don't want it. Screw what they think. What do YOU think.

Having said that, I wouldn't rod it. Fix it up so you can bring it out for the 4th of July parade and your grandkids will have the only one. If you swap engines, don't butcher anything when you do. There's nothing wrong with history. And nothing wrong with having just a neat old car. Some cars are hotrods and some aren't. That one isn't.

 

It looks interesting just the way it is. If it were mine, I'd upgrade the drivetrain and electricial, add some wheels and tires and drive it. But if you want to hot rod it, here's some food for thought....a friend's '30 Packard 4 door hiboy with a radical chop and a 392 Hemi!!

 

[QUOTE='29MurrayTub]There was a story a coupld of years back in SRM on how some guy took a rare $400k Chrysler Airflow and customized the body just to piss-off the restorers. I love brash radical chopped hot rods, but that article made me sick to my stomach. I guess it was a combination of a gold-chainers attitude and the fact that the finished vehicle was pretty ugly anyway. It was a waste of a rare car and a waste of money and time. All for some guy's ego.


.[/QUOTE]

That is not quite the correct story, even if it sounds good. It was a restored Coupe, a rare body style, but not one off by any means. It was offered to the members of the Airflow club for $22,000, restored mind you, and none of them stepped up. So it was sold to a hot rodder. And he had it built to his vision. It sold at auction for over $400,000 a couple years ago. I just saw another nice unrestored Chrysler Airflow coupe sell for $8,000. I built a 34 Desoto Airflow coupe hot rod, one of less than 20 in the world. It still has the original black paint with red wheels on it. I have been offered over $100,000 for it as it sets, it would be worth about $25,000 restored. You can't do a top notch restoration for $25,000

 

Very well said Joe.

 

Scott, This is a hoot. You have these guys all riled up over nothing. Show them a picture of your pickup so they know you have a sense of humor for Christ sake. They're all reeling here like you don't have a brain in your head and are truelly looking for advise. Let 'um off the hook will you.

 

F T F.......
Fuck the future..... Upgrade the drivetrain-Soft leather innards- A/C 502" Chevy with the 575 horse rating with a 6 speed-Modern suspension and brakes- leave the outside bone stock other than lowering and wheels.....basic black.
Let the workin class drive a model A.

 

I'm with the restore crowd. Only 5 left? Be a shame to lose one more especially when its so complete and straight. my $0.02

 

Scott, look what you started...you are sitting in front of your PC out there in Tarnation with a cocktail in your hand having a good chuckle, aren't you ?

 

heheheheh, cars are safe in secret storage........you never know, I get real bored out here

 

maybe it is like restoring a pinto, when you are a done you still have a pinto.

or like...what do ugly houses, scary whores, and crooked politicians all have in common...

 

My thoughts...
Build a big ass 5 window.

 

I like this one..

 

thats the idea

 

If you decide to street rod it, sell me the drive train! Love those sleeve valve motors.

 

Track down and buy the remaining four. Bury them all nose down in a row near an interstate. "Knight Ranch." You'll be famous in no time.