Hot Rods Who would rather start with a truely "rough"car?

I know it sounds stupid, but I truely enjoy the cars that I build from whithered, beat up hulks more than the ones that I have built from nicer beginnings. Is this just a mental illness of my own, or are there others out there that share my want for resurrecting junk?

 

In my particular case when I started building my F-100, I found the cab had more holes than a slice of Swiss cheese (danged rust). But I didn’t worry because I wasn’t after concours quality, I was just building a driver.


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I do.

 

Jim, the difference in this quantum question is that you finish what you start with. A rough car may be affordable to us both, but your talent, vision, and gumption****ets ..... far exceed the strengths of an empty wallet. You are the longtime HAMB stalwart. Thankfully watching you.

 

Beat up cars are cheaper to buy to start with . As long as some jack**** does not try and get good car prices .

 

I have built both and will admit that there is a greater sense of accomplishment when bringing a car back from what most would consider the dead. HRP

 

Rust buckets are all I can afford!

 

I'm pretty skilled at metalwork, I have a 32 Vicky that I built 80/ 90% from scratch using bits and pieces of discarded 32 parts (4 door cowl missing the bottom 6", clapped out tudor doors, ect). Something I wanted to try and accomplish and I'm real proud of how it came out now in paint with zero plastic filler. Never again will I do this.
Now days I spend the extra $$$ to get as nice a body as I can. Guess it's a matter of "been there, done that, don't need to do it again" thing. Plus my age and with my arthritis it would be tough to do it again, it is still a lot of hard work. Still, always enjoy seeing other guys like Jim that still have the want and the skills to pull off saving what most people consider junk.

 

Jim, I've seen your threads, you do amazing work!! Being 19, I have a long way to go to consider myself skilled in ANY area of car building. My first build, that I didn't do near enough myself, was my 1962 biscayne. We started it when I was 13 so I didn't get to do much at a young age but over the years I've taken more responsibility. It was a decently solid car but still took a complete rebuild, everything was redone.

That being said, I drug home a '62 chevy II that is ROUGH... I'm building an altered fx car... it's gonna be a long project but I should improve on every skill involved on this build...


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I would as I don't feel as bad about chopping things up

 

I'm a true rust-o-logist

I love doing them from pieces, that way I know what's been done.

 

Finally.....someone I can talk to......

As long as I can get a pattern from it, its still a good part.
I get tired of "you should have looked for a better car to start with type".
Believe me, I understand why they are saying it, but it just isn't why I do this. Personally.......

I always use what others throw away...takes longer, but I don't care. If I finish this project, I'll just have to start another.

 

I really enjoy seeing the builds that start with rough cars, but would start with a solid one myself. Bob

 

If I start with something really rough then I know I cant screw it up worse than it was

 

been there, did that. i would rather not start with a rough car. i want to start with something good.

 

I would rather start with a nice car. But starting with a rough one, I don't feel bad cutting it up even more.

 

Good to learn on...after that a waste of time and money....for me that is...

 

Well said and we save those also...

 

I believe the rough is cheap, and start with better posts are both correct. The old saying is start with the best you can afford, so I start with real rough projects. Jim, you are an inspiration to us, keep doing what you do.

 

NO NO AND HELL NO!

 

No. Junk belongs in a junk pile. Unless its my junk.******* has restored my junk.

 

I don't think you understand! Jim may start with what would be considered junk by most people, but when he finishes it most certainly isn't junk!

 

I edited that.It was offensive. I agree

 

I'd rather start with a concours perfect restoration but I'm a po boy. Besides, if I start with a junker, I feel no pressure to follow any pre-determined build plan. I can free style. I don't care how Henry built it, I'll build it to my own plan. Like using a 36 ford coupe back glass regulator and fab'ing up all the rain tray, channels etc etc. Who gives a***** how it was originally? In fact, when I saw an original 34 ford back window setup, my idea seemed much better than Henry's. His 34 setup used wood and had an angled rain tray with only one drain hose on one end. Great, what happens when you park the car in a slant away from the drain? The tray fills up with water. My setup has drains at both ends of the tray. Just a little thing but an example of how a guy can follow his own plan...same with door latches. Did I stick with original "iffy" 34 door latches? Nope, I've had first-person experiences with that worn out stuff. I used bear claws....better than original. I must have about a hunert different changes from original that I may have not done if I'd started with a really nice car. I believe they're changes for the better.

 

Note to self, win a big Lotto, haul two projects to Jim with large sack of money.
Between the truck cab that will be pieced together from at least two cabs if not three and the what the hell are you going to do with that? Model A Victoria I'm ready.
The truck project has been on the plans for over 20 years with parts being collected over that period of time and longer. This cab has the firewall I want for my truck but the back of the cab has serious "patina" issues. The other cab has a great roof and almost perfect back side. This pair of doors supplies the front half of the door while that pair supplies the back half as the cab and doors are going to be longer by 9-1/4 inches.
The Model A will have to make a trip somewhere for rust removal for all the pieces that don't fit in the sand blast cabinet. This is bad side and I already have a new drivers door for it.

 

Jim, if you ever get the desire to relocate to the sunny south I would be willing to let you work your magic on these.

 

I guess what I am saying is, when both cars are metal finished , made right and painted and back on the road, I actually like the car that was rough more than the one that wasn't. It's kind of like I have a better realationship with the one that I saved rather than the car that just needed a little work. I have a friend that does the same kind of builds as I do and he feels the same way. I am just wondering if anyone else gets this way with the cars they build?

 

Jim, I will never be able to build a car to your standards. For me, a car that started out in better shape would be a much better car when I get finished with it, the problem is, I seldom have the resources to begin with a better car.

That said, the one car I did do that started life as a car in better condition then any other I have built, I felt uncomfortable making modifications to, so it never really felt like it was my car. It felt like something I was suppose to preserve, rather then modify as I saw fit. With the rough ones, I'm not as concerned with preserving it, so it becomes more like its part of me because I was able to instill more of myself into it.

The rough one still exists because I have saved it, I am intimately involved with its survival. I didn't just preserve it for the next guy, I saved it for him. Part of its DNA is from me. The next guy may or may not like what I have done, but the reality is, had it not been for me, it may not have been around for him. Gene

 

It would depend on the vehicle.
Run of the mill '50's 2 door sedan, buy the best available.
A iconic car like a '32 Ford coupe,a Willys coupe or something with hot rod history then it can be a rough old cob.

 

That's what I'm talking about. Giving the old car a new chance, a little soul, and something that will be around, when it should have been scrapped.