Question for you Shoebox guys

I'm looking at buying a 1951 ford business coupe 2dr (shoebox)

it is set up for small block ford,
mustang II front clip,
painless wire harness headers an side pipes.
he says the bodyworks been done.. no rust in floors or trunk.
no motor or trans. has hood and fenders..
missing bumpers and grill.

have not looked at it yet, he's asking $2500 .. i plan to trade a jeep wrangler for it.. need thoughts..

 

go to shoeboxford.com that guy has some stuff on his site that is better than what your looking at

 

went and looked..nice cars but lowest one is just under 5k..
and I'm in Ohio.. looking to do a budget build.. daily driver..

 

If it is what he says it is-----look carefully---it's worth the price. A M-II kit would cost half of the purchase price.

 

i think hes high but not too much if you can get it for 2K or alittle under i think youd be ok check the rear wheel wells for rust and the frame especailly around the rear leaf spring mounts and the body mounts

i bought my 50 for 3500 it was complete original flathead 3 speed overdrive had rusty floors inner rockers etc and the guy had started to do a12v converswion by cutting the original harness off at the firewall

my car came out of the mason ohio area (between hamilton and dayton)

 

he said it's his fathers car.. thats who did all the work..
well his father had a stroke and can no longer work on the car..
so they want it to go to someone who is going to fix it up and get it on the road..
also I'm told the history of the car is an x-moonshine runner from down South..
vary cool if true..

 

go for it, join the club!

 

If all is done which you say is done, and it's done well that's not really a bad price at all. If the hoods crap, I'd use that as a bargaining chip since it's a one year hood and good ones are hard to find....

 

did not know that about the hood..
thank you ..i will look at that..

 

Be very wary of unfinished projects. No telling how good or bad the body work is under the primer. The thing I would be most concerned with is the front suspension. Get it on flat level concrete and measure it. Cross measure it from several points. Should be within 1/4" Height and straight measurements should be within 1/8", but I wouldn't fret too much if they are 3/16" or so. Also cross measure the original area of the frame. Seems like a good deal. Check the sheet metal from the inside, If there aren't any huge dents or shoddy rust repair visible from inside the doors and quarters, I'd go for it.

 

Seems worth it to me. Lot of the hard work is already done.

 

Also, it's going to be hard finding good upper grill bars for a '51, unless you are going to do some custom work up front. Coupe quarter window frames in good shape are hard to come by also.

I don't think the price is too bad, but I'd check on what's missing first.

 

Thanks KrisKustomPaint ... i was planning on taking measurements to make sure it is squared and straight..