what to do what to do!?!?!?!

ok so few weeks ago i traded my daily driver (gay bagged truck) for 2 1953 ford customlines! one was really close to being on the road. has 239 flattie in it and was pretty stright. My wife (farrah lane on here) has been wanting a classic car for a veryyyyy long time so i gave that one to her. I got the "project" one. So here is my question.... i dunno what to build. i have a 1932 packard cowl and planed on building a roadster pickup out of it... kinda bare bones alot like this one but more finished


i did some planning out and it wouldnt cost to much to get it to that point. this is what i have so far


anyway my other option is to build the 53.... which would take a little more time and money... i kinda allready started striping it. The plan is 2 door conversion, 5" chop using a shoebox rear glass. bagged shaved exc.... and the Prez of my club im prospecting for is selling me a 302 and rebuilt c4 for $250 smoking deal! but i cant decied which project should i shoot for first?

the 53 needs pretty much new front end since most of the good parts went onto wifes car.motor trans, but the inside is really not that back of shape at all just few rust spots in the floor need to be replaced and some carpet.

but this is the 53


next to the wifes



and what i would be going for (the chop with shoebox glass)


anyway ya thats my two options and just trying to decied what i should do. if i want to build the packard i would probly sell the 53 to help found it.

btw sorry for all the bad spelling im dyslexic lol

 

In my personal opinion, since you have told me you would rather have a hot rod over a sled, but your sled is muuuuch closer to running, I think you should throw the engine you're getting from your Prez into the Ford and fix it up a lil.

It's gonna be a while before you have enough for the Packard to be road worthy but later on when you are ready for engine/tranny in the packard, pull it from the ford and sell the ford.

This allows you a driver while you're waiting on the Packard to be finished.

If you decide at that point you like the Ford more than the Packard, you can just keep it where it is and go from there. If not, you made the Ford nicer and it'll be easier to sell.

 

I like the fact that you and your wife are hashing this out on a forum LOL

 

I was about to suggest that you two actually speak, but Don beat me to it!

 

makes it funny as hell IMO. Honestly dude, the ford isn't that bad. And besides, you have a title for the ford and NOT for the packard. That is a huge herdle in this state. SOMETIMES. Stick to the ford. Besiedes, this way you have a cool kustom and a kick ass hotrod. And who knows, a cool little trailer for the kustom to haul the hot rod to shows would be cool as hell. There was a kat at the kkoa show that had a 54 s door hardtop that towed his hot rod. Cool little package.

 

I would definitely do the hot rod, but that's just me!! Curious to know if your wife has an opinion. That might push you one way or the other. (or is talking to the wife over-rated?!?)

 

guess im going to build the 53 then

 

screw it. just do both lol.

 

That's what I'm doin'. Jenny drives the '51 Ford while I work on my T sedan.

 

heres my take on the situation. the hotrod will be alot quicker, cheaper, potentially easyer to build. its simple straightforward and minimal. between you and your wife you already have a running driving ford with a roof. so rainy day cruizing is covered. build the hotrod. the 53 4 door to 2 door conversion is going to be a process.

 

Use your 53 for parts for them both.

 

Build the '53. I'm biased, I own one. If its too much to do the conversion right now, just make it a nice mild custom, drive it for awhile, and sell it to fund the Packard build- or keep it and have fun.

 

have you seen what he has for the packard? It is only a cowl. Cheaper? Quicker? Minimal? It is a complete build. And again, title work in this state can be murderous. Some times you have to purchase a bond for twice the appraised value of the car and it has to be valued at at least $500 or you cannot even purchase a bond. So quickly you are up to a grand and that is just for the title. $100 on that mainline and he will have most everything he needs already. And the 4 door swap aint that bad. Did it on mine. Besides, he wants a 2 door hardtop with a shoebox rear window. Even easier.

 

yea good point.... i thought about it and if i do the 53 i might just do the the chop and 2 door swap. as for as it being a process im lucky and the prez of my club has allready done a 2 door swap so wont be a complete pain! all the hard lessons have been learnd lol
this is his



i think it came out pretty clean!

anyway im thinking of doing that and just doing the motor swap and just driving it while i collect parts. if not..... then i guess the packard!

 

i saw the one pic, and i saw the other pic of the 53 that needs a full front clip, the suspension totally redone (cause he wants airbags) the interior will need to be all done, engine and tranny swap, glass rubbers, trim, electrical, and we havent even go to the sheetmetal yet.

its simple math, measure out the square footage of that 53 and figure how many feet of welding you have to do, then figure you got the same ammount to grind, and then do bodywork on, paint, sand, and not to mention the floor sheetmetal work on a huge car thats getting BAGGED! hookin up the airbag system is a job in itself!

and that isnt even counting the fact that with a roadster you need ONE piece of glass, not a custom cut windshield, and 6 side windows. front and rear seats upholstered, a headliner! fuck that man customs are HUGE jobs compared to roadster pickups. that packard aint even 4 feet wide! suspension and framework is all straightforward and simple, no bells and whistles. its common sense!

 

hey, you guys do what you want im not here to argue, but that merc in my avitar was a 4 door conversion and it was no walk in the park. the one you have pictured looks real good, im not talkin trash here, but i have to question the rear doors being welded, its prone to cracking, unless the inner structure of the rear door jamb is completely cut out and a new one piece quarter panel is constructed so there is no vertical atatchment to the outer skin. if the door jamb is left in place it wil not allow the quarter to flex as one solid piece when the car is driven and it will show up eventually.

but the car does look nice.

 

good points! as for the whole airbag setup i would wait. alltho it wouldnt cost more then 500 to get parts and steel. it allso wouldnt be hard at all to bag. im not trying to argue with you or anything in fact i agree in my eyes it would be much easyer to build the packard the only thing holding me back is the whole title thing and the fact i really like what i have planned for the 53. I truly think im just going to strighting out the body and doing the patch pannels, doing the 2 door swap and chop, put the motor in and just drive it for rest of summer.

 

Why redone? I have the stock suspension with very little mods. Even rebuilt it with new bushings. Poly ones even.Rear would have to be hand built but what about the roadster? Buy it all bolt-on? I have less than 4k in my car. Everything is new or rebuilt. Everything. Including interior. Extensive floor mods? Mine didn't take hardly anything. No frame mods either.



Again, the title is a big issue. He has to time it right cuz if the car is finished and it appraises at over 4k he just tripled the investment of his roadster and it wouldn't even sell for that. And keep in mind that if the roadster is not driveable, they will not even do an appraisal in this state.

 

not arguing at all bro. I did the job right. Did almost exactly as you said. Not much different.

 

hey, go for it man! i think itd be a badass car and it sounds like you have some good plans for it, im just saying, ive been there, taking on a huge project and getting 80% done and just being overwhelmed. standing back and thinkin, fuck, for all the countless hours ive poured into this car i could have finished 2 roadsters, and im still not done!

shit i keep talkin like this im gonna quit workin on cars all together and just build bikes.

 

hahaha yea man! bikes are sick to! i wanna try building a bobber after these cars!

 

I am with ya! Takes less room, less material, less frustration, less money. Shit. I think I am going to do it! HA HA!

It really isn't the time, but the money. I am broke as shit and the only reason I have the money I have into it is from 4 kids on tax refunds. Now if only I could get it sold to build the next one....

 

no, i wouldnt buy the suspension for the roadster bolt on, personally, id dig up some early straight axle and wishbones and split them, early brakes, cheap rear end and make my own rear suspension, build a frame quick and have a roller.

but hey, im impressed, 4 g's in your car, it looks good. shit, sounds like you guys got thee 53 fords down to a science, so go for it, time for me to sit back and watch the magic happen.

 

off topic, but this was what kept me from eating a bullet this winter, 6 months to build from the crank pin up.

 

not sure if you would call it magic.... but yeah. I made all of the mistakes so he won't have to.

 

I didn't read the whole thread but why not buy the 302 and trans and slip them in the 53 and get it running and driving. Swap front end sheet metal so it is presentable and drive it with four doors while you put the roadster together and find all the needed pieces to convert it to a two door. That way when you go to do the conversion you have a running and driving car that is all sorted out mechanically ready for the door swap.

And you won't be slapping the roadster together in a rush and haphazard fashion to get it on the street.

 

Smartest answer so far!!
May I just point out that the Hot Rod world does not need another one of those fucking non traditional ugly fucking monstrocitys like the RPU you want to build.
Put the 53 together, drive it, build a real Hot Rod, then go hell for leather on the 53 at a latter date.

Doc.

 

HA HA! You are fukn funny! You do not even know what he has planned do you? That pic was an idea of what he has in mind. He wants it all painted and finished right. Maybe you should ask questions before spouting off like that?

 

JESUS!!?? Paint the fucker and finish it any way you want its as traditional as a KIA with wide whites!

Doc.

 

I don't generally like 4 door cars. That being said, I once saw a 53 ford 4 door right here on the HAMB that was totally cool. Been kinda looking for one ever since. It was very understated but tasteful IMHO...
It was in a flat light green paint, all handles shaved, nosed, decked, wide whites, steelies painted body color with dog dish caps and it was SLAMMED! Don't remember if it was bagged but I'm sure it was to get it that low. Headlights and tailights were frenched and it had rechromed stock bumpers with a chrome tube grille and pencil-tips under the shiny chrome bumper.
The flat paint covered the guy's home-brewed body work so he saved some $$$ there to help pay his bumper-chroming bill and it looked GOOD! The 4 doors actually enhanced the look of this car. I don't think a guy could get away with the same approach using a 53-54 chevy 4 door....they're not near as cool looking as the "rocket ship" ford styling.
I'd have to go with the 53 for now....302 automatic would be just fine.