It makes some sense to me to occasionaly buy a good-running car/truck to get an "instant" drive train for a future rod project. That way, (1) the hood protects the engine and tranny until you are ready to use them; (2) you can easily maintain them in good running condition simply by starting them up and running them every so often; (3) you keep the drive train parts all until you're ready to install them in your rod; and (4) the drive train is mobile --- you can just drive it to whereever you want/need it, rather than having to mess with cherry pickers or hoists everytime you need to re-arrange shop space. The obvious downside is airing up tires periodically, putting a battery in, and finding a place to park the cars. Anyway, I have driven home on the extreme cheap a Ford F-6 truck with 8BA Flatty; a'78 Merc with strong-running 351 Cleveland/C6; and some Chevys with nice-running 350/350 or 327/Powerglide combos. Now I'm considering doing the same with some Buick Riviera's, but finding the tariff to be quite a bit steeper: One candidate is a '66 Riv with a 425 Nailhead and really decent hard top body (approx $1200); another is '64 (more-door) Wildcat with 93K original miles on a single-quad 425 (approx $800). I have started both of these Nailheads up, and they both sound good and the trannys work, but I'm leaning toward the more-door because of the lower price tag. Do either of these sound like a good buy in view of what it would cost to put a non-running nailhead together for a rod? What say you Nailhead freaks?
Being a poor boy most of my cars were built this way. I always look at the car for body parts that can be sold to reduce the investment. I've even been able to sell the unused parts for more than my investment....a free drive line.
I second the motion. Chairman? Carried! Tho around here, there's fruitcakes who insist that if you're building a project on a budget(can I start THIS argument AGAIN!?), you must include the entire purchase price of said vehicle you grabbed parts from and NOT deduct any profit made from other useable parts sold from it. Otherwise you may simply be running a dismantling service. So, to THEIR theory, you're far wiser to let your friends buy the car and then sell YOU the useable peices at a lower price than the whole and deduct their profits from some other pie-chart... I say it's the BEST and possibly the ONLYEST way to produce results on a manageable budget...
I been preaching that religion forever!! "Donor cars" are really the best way to go when building a bucks-down project. Carefull shopping will almost always get you one for free or damn close to it...and unwanted parts can be sold off before the gutted hulk is hauled off for scrap (which you get paid for, too!). Sometimes you find what you need in obvious places, such as Caprices, LTDs, Thunderbirds, Cordobas, Volares, Novas, etc,etc,etc... Other times, it takes a little "creative thinking" to see the potential hidden in an unlikely suspect...
Donor cars ,yup the way ta go for sure !And when on a tight wallet a must have .This is a subject i talked about while getting some parts at a higher end store here .The guys there like the crate engine idea .But i don't have 10K for motors .A donor was used on one of my rides .After i was done taking what i needed i even got a big tax deduction .BONUS
I just purchased an entire complete '68 Nova for that reason...I get lots of stuff off it for use, including a sub-frame, then I'll sell the rest, get my some of my money back...BTW, I have a complete stick set-up: clutch, PP, fork, throw-out bearing and three-speed Chevy trans with Hurst shifter for sale! As well as engine, headers, body parts, glass, bumpers, wheels and tires... Is this SPAM??? R-
I am also doing exactly that. I bought a 60 Olds to pull the engine and trans. Remeber that there are also a lot of little parts that you can use from the donor car as well. So take what you need and then sell the rest to recoup some of your money. Just give HAM'ers the first crack at the parts and charge fair prices, don't rip off your friends.
Almost ALL of my project vehicles were built using the donor car strategy. It's the best way to go from a financial standpoint, and you'd be surprised at how many little 'incidentals' you'll rob off the car before scrapping it...wire, bulbs, sheet-metal, bolts, belts, brackets, switches, etc.... Donor cars ROCK!! <img src=http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid90/p2c46ebfaf96345257b46158a2a5c9a18/fa7622c1.jpg> Hey, wait a minute...how did THAT get in here??? SECURITY!!!!!..... Damn, what in da hell is da world comin' too??? Anyway, you get the idea...be creative!
Who knows???? Colorado, probably!!! (Just a generic photo...bears no relation to ACTUAL donor cars currently in my clutches!! )
Ive been doing a fair amount of early F-100 & 250 work this year. Customers want a 460/C6 generally since they will be highway cruisers as well as towing campers or boats. Nothing easier than finding a hulk Lincoln or TBird that some old coot or widow wants to get rid of for a few hundred bucks. I can pick and choose and hear them run which is a 1000% better than listening to junkyard owner BS. These luxury boats usually have low miles and were well maintained. The 9" pumpkin is also a keeper since those steep highway gears are rarely found under direct swap truck width 9" complete rears. Brake assemblies are always good when the customer wants a small bolt pattern to go with a new front end. By the time Im thru there aint much left to haul away. Even did a super easy swap into a 85 F250 that had a tired 300 inline.
Well, we've got snow here this morning. Nothing like what Tinbender's been shoveling tho... Only problem with donor cars is having room to store them and tear them down without neighbors whinning to the city. Southfork's got a yaard some of you guys back east would call a county. Me, I live in a neighborhood where I can leave a junker on the front lawn for a while.
Geeez, donor cars? Aren't they ALL donor cars? What 286Merc is describing is what my pal Ty is doing. Transplanting the entire drivetrain from a '74 Lincoln into my old '48 F2. I think he's using the truck frame and adapting the car suspension, steering, engine etc...to it. I don't know what else to add to this except to say YES. If you're on a budget, donors are the way to go - although I'm having a hard time finding proper MonteCarlos and Camaros as donors and having to turn to vans, trucks and lux-boats for scrap purposes. Those '70s cars are now OLD!
Yeah modernbeat, I thought those montes and tbirds and cordobas would be around forever... their getting pretty hard to find around here. Either total shit or really nice. I (we) must be getting old! Jay
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