There is something to be said for the feeling one gets from "saving" a hot rod, or "bringing one back from the dead". However, I am just like LowKat, in that the build is the primary reason for my entry into the hobby, I get kind of sad when the build is done as well. When I finish the build, I sell and buy another project, the length of time that i drive it around with a "for sale" sign on it is good enough for me. If you see yourself running short on time, and really want to be cruising instead of building and wiring, then why the hell not go and buy one to drive?!? Enjoy yourself, because if you cant enjoy yourself, what's the f#@%ing point, right?
Build it or buy it!!! Whatever you do, you better get in gear because the clock is tickin'... One of my friends bought a rollin' ch***is built to suit, put his body on it, bought a crate, added all the finishing touches himself with a little help and he's on the road already and it's just like he wanted it...
I am only two years younger than you. As a rodder more your age, I understand your concerns. Hospitals and graveyards are full of folks younger than we are ! One of the most fun old cars I ever owned ... I bought up and driving. I did change/update/improve a few things but it was basically the same vehicle the day I sold it to the day I bought it. I regret selling it everyday. I have a pair of 32's ... and I do enjoy both of them ( I put them together with some help ) and I enjoy the building process. But If I see a vehicle I really want ... it already being done will not STOP me ...from buying it. IF you find one you really like and can afford it ... BUY IT !!
If you're lucky enough to live another 40 years, you'll be amazed at how your priorities & philosophies change. I built my current ride at 60 & it took me about 4 years, give or take. As much as I would love to do it again, I will have more fun campaigning the one I have. That being said, I would have no problem with buying a turnkey car & unabashedly admitting people at shows that I bought it.
build it. driving a hot rod you didnt build yourself is like ****ing your buddys wife, its fun as hell while your doing it but you always feel like somethings wrong.
Some folks are in it for the "build" others like going to shows or driving them. For me I like both so I'd sooner buy a decent driver that needs some love and enjoy the build and driving it. That's what I'm doing with my Fleetline.
Buy it or build it .. Do both if you can. Nothing like driving one while the build goes on. Makes no difference to me as long as we are driving them.
I've built cars from the ground up and I've bought cars. I figure they were all different routes to the same end: having fun with an old car. As has been mentioned, right now you could probably buy one for less than it would cost to build. So if you can find a nice car that fits your taste and budget, I say buy it. Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first.
build it!!! buy it!!! do what ever it takes to get moving down the road behind the wheel of your dream car... i am kinnda young ( 60) but my health is not that great (docs gave me 5 years back in 99) but i fooled em....i just got done enough to use my 47 white bus..this will probably be my last build and they will most likely drag my sticking corpse out of it when the time comes.... i would love another 32 hot rod..but i know time is not on my side to build it, and finances not there anymore to buy either.. just do what you can to make yourself happy... who cares what anyone else thinks
contrary to the majority here, not every high dollar 32 that is for sale is a piece of ****. 3W Larry's comes to mind. If there was any **** work done on that one, it was hidden very well. There are alot of quality builds out there. Just know what you're looking at. Alot of pro built cars were built on second mortages, and that payment starts to get pretty big and that car in the garage starts to look pretty good as a way to stay in the homestead.
I never felt that way. I always felt i was doing him a favor by giving him that added time to build his hotrod.
If I had the money I'd buy it and drive the **** out of it. someone built it before you at one time so who cares, you can drive it and have fun because you have the money or you can build it in your garage for the next 30 years die and then someone else gets it
I am 70 years old and in the process of building a '40 Pickup exactly the way I want it. When I am finished with that my '40 Coupe is next. Every time I buy a car I spend more time fixing than driving.
Building your own car is more satisfying to me than buying. Like said before, you end up spending extra dollars rectifying or modifying someone else's mistakes. If you've got the time and skills, build it.
I've never bought anyone elses car, I've always built my own. Love a challenge, fortunately I have the ability to do so and don't have to pay others.
I'd like to buy one that's already built!... And make little changes here and there to make it the way you like it.. That way, there's hardly no down time and you get to enjoy driving it... Hope I don't catch hell for this..
Healthy, knowledgeable and with the facility to accomplish the build, the answer is easy..build it yourself. On the other hand, if your health is failing, age creeping up on you, do not have the skills, yet do have the desire to own..buy it. We should all be thankful, that there are the people who buy finished cars..who would we sell ours to otherwise? To each their own.
the older we get the slower and more difficult it might be to build... but build it with a kid or grandkid or couple good friends.... its the memories of the build and sharing that with people is always cool stuff...
If you are asking the question... odds are you don't have the gas in the tank to build one. Nothing wrong with that in my opinion. Buy one and enjoy it. If you try to build one without the proper motivation, it will be one of those famous incomplete projects.
If a guy wants a deuce its probably more important to find one than it is whether you build it or buy it I prefer to build my own cars but time is something you cant create more of . I bought my 32 3w, it looked good and had a cool engine but it still took me a year in the shop and enough cash to buy a new car to get it like I wanted . I saved a year or two over a scratch build , my overall cost was within reason and my end result is a great car that I can drive anywhere SO DID I BUY IT OR DID I BUILD IT I DID BOTH
I cant answer this without being bias because for me its an expression of art to build em. but im not going to lie saying that if i had the money to buy what I'd like to own, that i would p*** up the opportunity.
Me, personally, I prefer to build. I'm 57, and I've owned 67 vehicles at last count and only a handful were finished, running, driving machines at the time of purchase. Like LowKat said, half the fun is building 'em and when you're done there is sadness even though you get to drive 'em. It drives my wife crazy that I only keep a vehicle a short time after it's done and I'm usually looking for the next project before the current one is done. I know, it's a sickness, but I hope they never find a cure for it.
I bought my 61 Cadillac with the fullest intentions of building it, but as the last three years have p***ed, I find less time to build it. I bought my 52 Chevy in May because I wanted something that was running and driving, and I am very glad I did. You will be completely satisfied with your buy if you try to find one built with the same general ideas you have.
buy a cheap one to drive and build the one you want. i am building one right now and sometimes wish I could just get in something and drive. hope to be on the road by the spring, but I said that last year too. If I can't get it done in the next few months I plan to have a local builder do the finishing touches that I can't seem to find the time/ability to finish myself.
I think either way is O.K but I do enjoy driving the ones I built, more ? That way when the ***** dies on me I usually know why. (Sorry car I really didn't mean that )
To me it has always been the build, the engineering, the problem solving, so buying doesn't fulfill my needs. Not saying I wouldn't do it if a car really spoke to me, but I get most of my driving pleasure from my 1962 Triumph.
This kind of thread is started every few months and it's really not an "either/or" question. It's more of a continuum. First of all, even it one gets a "project" car, it was still bought, right? I mean, you didn't steal it, did you? Secondly, no matter how finished a car is, the new owner typically does things to make it his/her own, whether a complete rebuild or tweaking it to fit one's taste. I bought my Nomad 21 years ago as a finished car. I've put over 300,000 miles on it. Over the years I've rebuilt the complete front suspension, brakes, engine, transmission, radiator, windshield, some side gl***, had seats re-upholstered and probably other things I've forgotten. The car is now in need of some body work and a paint job. The only reason I haven't done it is because I enjoy driving it too much to take it off the road long enough to get the job done. Now, the question is, did I "buy it" or did I "build it?"
My next car will be a clean mild kustom of sorts. I'm getting too used to the comfort of an old crusier after years bouncing around in T buckets and being ****** cold and wet. Modding a stocker into a mild kustom is hardly a build so i think in that case its a "Buy Em" and i'll do the work myself with some guidance. If it was a rod i'd want to build i'd probably buy a solid one, built here and in the 80/90's, Registered with a correct logbook showing engine size etc i'd then mod it to suit. In the UK they now don't like you messing with cars too much and tests are getting alot tougher. Building a new traditional styled rod from scratch to BIVA test specs and getting it registered isn't easy plus you won't have such a traditional looking hot rod. People do pull it off don't get me wrong but hard work. With new builds BIVA tests likes street rods, not fenderless hot rods. That's what being part of the fu**ing EU does for you!!! If the car has a good logbook and been modded years ago apart from p*** the usual test your good to go. Probably why cars like this sell so well. Bought, ripped apart, IFS/IRS sold on, totally rebuilt and you have a traditional rod with very little paperwork to worry about. All you've done is modify something thats already registered as being modified. Thats the route i'd go, buy some god awful 80/90's street rod and turn it into a hot rod.
The Jalopy Journal
