Jive-Bomber submitted a new blog post: The Order of the Kustom... Continue reading the Original Blog Post
He reminds me of those guys with beater Hondas and 10K worth of wheels, tires and stereo! Not to nit-pick, but ***le, tags and insurance before any other mods - less get you too distracted from reality. A job would be good, too! Gary
And start gathering photo of similar vehicles, to study how and why someone else did theirs. What works, what missed the mark, body colors. And a network of friends to tell you when you might be heading down the wrong direction.... Most important, keep it running and drive it....
I've been building hot rods & customs since I was in my early teens and have gotten old and cynical,but reading this reminds me of the exuberance of youth. Obtaining that car is the main hurdle,the money to make the major modifications are out of sight and mind,the dream of having a car that you modified yourself is first and foremost and later the reality that comes when the finances are part of the equation. The rattle can red spray paint is good for some instant gratification that a kid low on funds can see instant gratification although the wisdom that Jive-Bomber offered should be embraced also. HRP
With the possible exception of a couple of kustom cosmetic steps, your advice is equally sound for a pre-war hot rod. When my son and I are working on a project, I am forever preaching safety to him. Good steering and brakes are absolute top priority, no settling for compromises. If it won't go, get out and fix it. But if it won't stop or won't steer, ya got some big trouble. And yes, stance is everything. A $5K car that sits right will look way better every time IMO than a $50K car that sits all wrong.
The guy that taught me, said the same thing make it run and stop, after that you can do what you want. Has worked over and over....
looking at his new pride & joy through the eyes of the young doing a few "tricks" and hit the streets would be the priority. especially if he has not been around other cl***ic car owners/builders. watching the new reality TV shows that build a whole car in an hour with no budget limits do not help either. great that he has someone around to help with some guidance, and hopefully hands on help.
I agree with the planning and getting it running... but something comes to mind for me on this topic and its that every time i TRY to do this... I take it COMPLETELY apart! I've been doing this since i was a kid. Sometimes the love of a machine wins and it comes apart just to see how it works.
Oh, you California guys make me smile sometimes. Step 0.5 is 300 hours of rust repair. THEN you can start doing the fun stuff.
Do not agree 100% with "typo41" - build to suit yourself, advice OK but you have to live with it & enjoy. Some may not like color or whatever - it is your car; love it & drive it ( like u stole it ).
That's a great order. It cracks me up when I see a build thread and the very first thing that gets done is a chopped top. Before any ch***is work gets done or even before the rocker panels and missing floor get replaced. No fair doing the fun stuff before the grungy jobs get done.
As has been said already, safety and mechanical reliability are most important. The stance is the next move and it is very important. It pretty much dictates the path of construction. Use common sense. Make it driveable. Look at the car from about a 100 feet instead of 10 feet, as you're working on it, and see how you're doing. The rest is pretty much easy. Interior last.
Also,on your first build you should have a mentor.Anytime I go into uncharted waters,I make sure I'm getting good advice from a trusted source.Case in point,my best friends neighbor was undertaking a MAJOR project.I gave him some advice,but he's an I.T. guy and they're all smarter than us So far he's sunk 35k into this 62 Ford long box and he still doesn't have it on the road.He could have bought a nice,Kustom short box for less than half that,but what do I know. BTW,whenever I do a project,I use all of the steps above.And every project needs a beginning,a middle,and an end.Always factor in cost overruns and if everything goes perfect,use the extra on a "want" item for the car.Or save it for that day that something bad happens,because as we know the old saying "If it has ***s or tires,you're gonna have trouble."
Get a runner and keep it on the road as much as possible. If you have to thrash all Saturday to get it back together for a date Saturday night, then so be it. Being able to drive it as you do it up is a great boost....
I am keeping to your order pretty good on my '39. First though, lets call it step -1, is to save your money and wait to buy the 'right' car. Too many times I have rushed into a purchase with rose-tinted gl***es, only to realize after the ***le was transferred, that it was too much, too far gone, or wasn't a great candidate for the build I envisioned. When I bought my Tudor, I made sure that it was a runner first and foremost, and I drive it. It keeps my motivation up, and anything I do to it I try to do in a weekend, so I can get behind the wheel during the week. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for my Model A, which snowballed and has remained a work in progress for far too long.
I can empathize with your friend's exuberance, I was there. I can vividly remember painting the rims red on my 4 door '57 Chevy when I was 16 years old, and then getting headers and dual exhaust. It was all new and very exciting for me. Time has taught me many lessons. To begin, I totally agree with your order. Get it running right and stopping right. Nobody wants to be the best looking car on the side of the road. I will say this though; I'm tired of building cars piecemeal. That's how my mine was built, not out of choice, but out of necessity and cir***stance. Time, skill and monetary limitations made it so that things were done, then redone later, then done just as a patch together on a temporary basis that some ended up being permanent. My next build will be from the ground up and I don't care how long it's going to take me. Engine and trans will be fresh, all suspension and brakes will be new/rebuilt. Then we'll move to paint and body, chrome and interior. When it rolls out the first time, it's done done.
I think having a plan of attack(sometimes just an outline, sometimes a complete order of operations) is always the best first step to building something. Saves so much time and frustration down the road!
I've had it both ways, starting from a shell of a body and starting with a driver that needed tuning up and fresh brakes and tires. Having said that, I only plan on doing one or two more ground up builds in my life, and they're sure to be long term projects. From now on, if possible, I'm going to save up for twice as long and get a nicer car to start with. Pertronix, belts, hoses, brakes, and exhaust are much more fun than rockers, rust replacement, more patches, bondo, sanding, bondo, blech!
This is exactly the way I have been doing my car. Started just getting it running and driving safely. Then got it sounding good and low. Then started smoothing it out. Now Im currently doing an engine swap/full engine compartment rebuild.
IMHO typo41 got it VERY right, especially as advice to a young or novice builder. Exploring what's been done before does not put you in a straight jacket. On the contrary, it opens your eyes to the many possibilities (of which you may not be aware) for your ride. You can then "***emble" as many mods as you can afford or do to provide a harmonious outcome. One HAMBer has the signature line - "Just because you can doesn't mean you should". A HAMB thread is dedicated to the "ugliest" customs of a given period. Researching prior builds is the best way to avoid total disaster. In terms of setting realistic goals, a recurring theme in Henry Gregor Felsen books is the teen rodder who acquires a shabby stock sedan and chatting with his pals sees himself driving an over-the-top custom equivalent to the Hirohata Mercury. The only obstacles being: time, money, talent, etc. The very best option - whenever possible - is a beater for transportation while the builder is under construction. Progress is always faster when you're not concerned with slobbering it back together so you can drive to school or work. (Yeah, yeah - I KNOW the story about Doug Rice's Bonneville Boomer "over the weekend" channel job. But darn few of us have Doug's focus and talent.) I had the great fortune to acquire my avatar in almost finished condition. But it took me forever to reach that goal. Others are in the wings, however, and I will follow my own advice. Just saying.
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