Guy up here (CENTRAL WIS) has a bootiful '41 Nash 600 coupe original paint body that he put on a Dodge minivan ch***is. Now it's sitting in the woods in the snow. My youngest kid (30) wants to try to buy it and built it. The Nash 600 is a part Unibody car. Anyone got any cool ideas for a ch***is and power train? Kid doesn't have much money.
It might be better to leave it in the woods unless you kid has a well equipped shop and can do most of the work on his own. Theses days building any type of car cost $$$ and if you dont have a bunch extra you may be disappointed.
WHAT ?????? Good thing all of us haven't followed this advice. This is the same thing our fathers might have said back in the day.
Cool then go for it. I have seen alot of dreams turn to nightmares these days by guys who thought they could just pull an old hulk out of the woods. The price of the hobbie is alot more than it used to be and if you dont have all the tools it can be a nightmare.
id say get it out of the woods and in the garage and go from there. if the PO didnt screw the body up to much, seperate it from the minivan setup and go from there and dont forget to post pics along the way
Go for it!! He can teach himself ...lottsa hard work but more than worth the satisfaction. If you have a welder ,a grinder, a tape measure,an aircompressor and a few air tools your good to go. Dont be afraid to ask friends for help/advice when required...lots of it here on hte HAMB! Good luck.
"These days", it's easier to build than it was twenty years ago. One can buy all the tools one could ever need to build a rod with my own two hands for less than a grand at Horbor Freight. What's wrong with doin' "most of the work on his own"? More 'rods are built with little money, it just takes dedication and time. The kid don't need a garage, the back yard will do. Very few people have a "well equipped shop". A car can be built with a basic $200 tool box, a $25 Harbor Freight grinder, hand drill, and a $150 flux core wire welder. Most 'rods take three, four years to build. It's an experience, not a goal. My advice to the kid? Tell him he can't do it. If he buys that, then life is going to be really tough on him.... If he accepts discouragement, he's in a minority. If he's normal, in any sense of the word, then telling he can't, will only light his fire!!
If it aint too rusty, why not use the original unibody construction and like caprice or camaro front and rear axles? I had a -46 amb***ador 4dr once, plan was to fit a cadillac seville -75 under the nash, but unfortunatly ive sold it.would have been a cool car.
John, welcome to the HAMB! I've enjoyed your work before, and look forward to your posts. The little Nash was originally designed to be a light, efficient car. It would be interesting to see how it'd match up to a modern undercarriage, like the RWD Merkur or even BMW. I realize this isn't so traditional, but the Nash 600 was ahead of its time and advanced running gear would fit the theme.
Hey, lots of great input and I hope Jesse gets the car and gets into it. Thanks for all the ideas and inspiration. Someone suggested posting photos and I haven't quite figured out how to post photos from my computer to a thread. I had no trouble putting photos on my album (check them out) but that was a totally click through process that was easy.
The Jalopy Journal
