Bought a really bad project- so now what?

Wow! that is special... Almost as special as the '36 Ford PU I found with the X frame cut out for a 4 speed...but that was free...

Maybe you could find a old frame to box & put it on that? Going to be a lot of work no matter what...unless you part it out.

Might be a good oppty to " learn by doing" ..

Cheers!

Matt

 

I dont see anything here that cant be fixed and brought in driving condition ...

 

Hey AGGIEFORESTER... Ive got a good buddy over in Orange, VA. hes been building old cars for more than 40 years. If you are interested PM me and I will get you his contact info. From what ive seen from the Pics you have a fairly good start, but if you try to sell you will probably lose your ass. Go dig up the parts and fix it yourself all it takes is a little bit of skill and a whole lot of patience. Also just south of Culpeper is Leons Auto Salvage. He has tons of old cars. Hang in there, You can do it! Big Jim!!!

 

I skipped a couple pages at the end so I don't know if anyone has mentioned actually trying to salvage this install?? I wonder what it would take to pull the front end off the car and try to mount that crossmember better?? sure it will still look like crap but if he could get it solid it might work?? that rear needs a complete rethink though for sure. cheapest solution is probably some coilovers and a 4 bar/panhard bar setup. looks to me like the entire running gear/suspension came out of that aerostar?? probably used it as a donor car. I'm starting to cringe now as I think how they probably did things like brakes and steering......


if it was me and I was stuck with it, I would blow it apart and put the early ford I beam gear back in it and probably a SBC to save some dough. with the frame so intact it would take someone with experience very little time to get the chassis in order.

 

W-O-W! But I do think it is salvageable and if you take your time you can prob do it.

Just think though - how many jobs like this share the road with us everyday...

 

if you like the car, fix it

if you don't, get rid of it

anything can be fixed, take a look at what alot of people start with, you just have newer parts put in poorly (horribly better word) as opposed to the normal just older parts worn out

 

My thoughts exactly.

 

crack ! ! ! Wtf .... He is asking for help not bullshit.
Just like hellonwheels said start the shit over & do it right & learn as you go . Or ....you could just go and kill the smack.

 

Maybe the DOT inspector that issued a title/VIN for this pile is the person that needs to be hung by their bits and pieces.

 

Aggieforester,

That frame can be put back together. I am with many here, that is a very bad assembly job and DO NOT drive it. Get it back to your shop and get it up on jack stands. The frame looks in quite good shape besides the obvious modifications. Remove everything that was attached. Examine the front and rear cross-members for damage, if they look in good condition, use the frame.
Start looking for and buying 33-34 parts

Front
32-34 front straight axle.
32-34 front spring or aftermarket.
37-48 spindles with matching Hydraulic brakes.
32-34 wishbones.
Spring clamps, spring to front cross member- aftermarket
Perch Bolts-after market
Spring shackles-after market
steering box, F-1 ford 48-53 with pitman arm

Rear
32-34 rear spring or after market
Spring clamps, spring to rear cross member- aftermarket
Spring shackles.
Most likey can use the same rear axle currently in car, need new brackets welded in for spring

Go online to MAC's and request an Early V-8 Ford Catalog. That will give you some idea of what it would cost to buy and then bolt it all back together as Ford built it.

 

Never seen rear upper arms held in place by shelving channel ! thats pretty scary all around. Fix it and run over the guy that cobbled that together !!

 

I guess if it were mine I would start by getting the body off what is left of the chassis and start teaching myself to weld.

From the pics the chassis looks unrepairable but I'll bet if you get the body off and get it on its feet you can see what and where it can be revamped.

There are a lot of easier ways to make it right than the whole street rod route. You can remove everything that isn't early ford and put a straight axle back under it and a cross leaf out back. Patch up the X member and revamp the tranny mount so it is correct and sturdy.

Or you could just keep your eye open for another frame on here. I see chassis that are doable for that project on here all the time for way less than 10K. Granted it won't be some ultra zoot custom manufactured chassis, but we are not street rodders here and we don't need that high zoot car show stuff.

If the Aerostar engine isn't in good shape that are plentiful in the wrecking yards. Or you could actually find a better engine here and get it home.

The car has possibilities and it could be a good learning experience for you.

yea you are in deep but you are not going to die from it. Just bite the bullet and build it.

Oh and make sure that everyone that you care about knows who the ass was that took you to the cleaners.

 

I can't beleive that car was actually driven on the street for 10 miles and did not fall apart

 

you my freind are lucky to be alive after that journey in my book you have won the prize for worst installs ive ever seen but all is not lost as others have said itll go again with the right parts find the right freinds in you neighberhood and enlist their help.

 

I kinda skipped thru thos thread, has the name of the person responsible been mentioned? That is the first thing that needs to happen.
I am in agreement with others in that i could see substantial parts of the existing frame and i wonder if the traditional stuff can be put back under there. Nothing at this point is going to be a boltin. The body should come off, you have fixated on the front end and the person responsible worked on a great deal more than that. I would go over every inch of the car and do it proper, spend a couple years in your own shop with help and advice from people on the hamb and you'll have a car you can be proud of.
make sure you give us a followup, good luck oj

 

I agree, Even installing a mustangII kit still looks possible; once all the crap is removed. Looks like front crossmember might have been trimmed and the rear also, but if not the buggy spring suspension would be cost effective. You need someone local and experienced to give estimates on cost and time,if you can't do it yourself. good luck.

 

I don't know how much DC has regarding the applicability of "lemon laws" to privately sold used vehicles (I'm assuming you bought this private party). You might likely have a legitimate complaint under these two car sales laws, that do apply in DC:

Warrant of Merchantability - A warrant of merchantability is an implied warranty and says that a vehicle will run like it's supposed to. While it doesn't cover every component of a vehicle, it does apply to its basic functions. In this instance, the buyer has to prove that the defect was present at the time of sale.

Unfair and Deceptive Acts and Practices - Every state has an Unfair and Deceptive Acts and Practices (UDAP) law. These laws can often be used even if the used car is sold "as is," as long as the dealer is guilty of a verbal deception or a failure to disclose information about the vehicle.

Again, notice the word "dealer". That can be broad, depending on the state, or is simply limited to "licensed dealer"...if this person sells many cars, they may have a dealer's license...if so, you have a lot of rights regarding getting your money back on this sad thing.

As said before-fortunately, the original frame appears somewhat intact (and the welds look so terrible, that it's doubtful they had any impact on the frame).

This build isn't just amaturish and shoddy, this should be considered criminal due to how dangerous these poorly done modifications are.

We need to round up a HAMB brute squad...for the purpose of "educating" hacks like this.

 

I'm usually available. I don't know how brutish ya gotta be but I do crazy well and I'm ashamed to say that I still enjoy a good beef.

There is another option. It won't help Mr A...forester learn anything but you can pull the body off and ship me the chassis. I'll repair it for the cost of materials. So it'll cost you shipping twice and whatever an axle and sprigs etc are worth. I will not put it back in street rod form, that should be understood. But if you want a good traditional chassis I would be willing to do that for ya.


Like I said you won't learn anything from it and I still think you should do it yourself but if you are not comfortable with it send it this way and we'll get it put back right. its just a damned old chassis.

 

I really dont think its as bad as it looks, well the work is but the original frame is all there and looks basically (except the x frame) un modified, the front crossemember is still there.

pick up a posies parallel leaf spring kit for the rear suspension, it only takes some minor welding to install and is very easy to do. its a $400 or so kit, use the rear thats with it just strip all the stock suspenion mounts off of it.

the front end i would say dig into a speedway catolog and get a dropped axle and 4 bar front suspension for it, with even a disc brake kit or something, itll probably set you back about $1000 but that also would only take minor welding for the 4 bar mounts etc etc.

hard to see the motor mounts in the pics but of the motors is in the realm of where it needs to be get your self some 3/16 steel and redo one motor mount at a time, after the motor mounts are done you can address the trans crossmember, it looks as if most of the x frame is still there so just remove all the ugly shit and clean up whats there and start cutting and making some new stuff, it proably would come together rather fast also, and a shet of 3/16 wont cost a ton, that part would basically be labor.

i wish you were closer, id be all over fixin this thing!

my 2 cents

 

Don't panic, you just get to learn a bit more and have a more complete experience. The first thing you did right is getting on this site, these guys are as a group the best, can you imagine not having them? I pity the fool who did that original work almost as much as i would feel bad for anyone driving within a !000 feet of one of his creations

 

If it's a private seller then UCC Article 2 rules don't apply. As taken from the UCC

§ 2-104. Definitions: "Merchant"; "Between Merchants"; "Financing Agency".

(1) "Merchant" means a person that deals in goods of the kind or otherwise holds itself out by occupation as having knowledge or skill peculiar to the practices or goods involved in the transaction or to which the knowledge or skill may be attributed by the person's employment of an agent or broker or other intermediary that holds itself out by occupation as having the knowledge or skill.

Also, if you sought legal counsel to fight the builder/seller, even of you won, by the time you covered your legal and court costs you could have fixed the car 3 times. Caveat Emptor (let the buyer beware) is still the way most of these transactions are looked upon. And given that you could look under the car and see how shoddy the work is, you'd have a helluva time persuading a court that you were duped somehow. Live and learn

 

Largely I agree with the live and learn rule. I provided the above simply on the chance that the buyer purchased this from a "rod shop", or someone who has a sellers license (sometimes even amatures have a dealer's license). This forum is for info-the more the better.

I think that the OP should just pull the body off (as others keep encouraging) and put the right parts under it. I think that everyone on here has probably had a worse project at some point in time.

 

The good people on here are the reason I so enjoy this forum!

 

Boy, this thing really whacked open a Hornet's nest...but that's why I love the HAMB..coming to the aid of a fellow rodder..d32

 

You've got a perfect opportunity to borrow on the experience of some of the great people here on the HAMB . Porknbeaner has offered fix it for you essentially for FREE with all you have to do is get it to him.

Something *I* would do if I were in this situation would be to see if there was a way to take off work, hook a tow-bar to the chassis, and flat tow it to him. You're looking in the neighborhood of 12-16 hours max to drag it there. While you're there, you might be able to help and learn how to solve some of these issues as well. Who knows - once you get it there you might find out that it is a 2-4 day fix, then be able to turn around and drag the chassis home with you.

The people here are the greatest. Take advantage of the offer, and come out waaaaaay ahead of where you would be. Imagine what you'd have to pay someone to fix it?

 

It's fixable...

You can do it...

But I think you can get to that $10k threshold in the frame real quick if you're not careful...

If it was me...
I would NOT pull the body off the frame... people say that like it's no big deal in a 70+ year old car, but it can take big money and tons of time to get back to the point where you can put the body back on the car.
I WOULD tear all the suspension out of the car front and back and see where you are.

If there looks like there's more damage than what we see in the pics and you still don't feel like working on it, sell it as a basically complete body and frame with lots of pictures... It still has some value for bot the restorers and rodders that way.

If it looks like there's enough to work with and you feel like tackling it... Go back to a beam front end and a bolt on parallel kit in the rear... If you go Mustang II money can pile up quick...

I think it's a big project but it's doable... But you got to WANT to do it too...

 

im with the fix it crowd. heres your chance to really learn stuff. do lots of reading here on the hamb. trad hot rodding will set you free!

 

Wow, I can't believe that. I was worried my welds weren't that pretty, but geez. If you can't afford a new chassis, you can't afford to fix that!

 

Holy shiaaaat! And I thought I did bad work.

 

Pork'n'Beaner, I appreciate the offer- that's mighty nice of ya. I'm going to take a couple of the local guys up on offers and figure out which parts to pull off in what sequence. I've got to figure out what mods to make to get which parts installed on a clean chassis, maybe box it in and go from there.