Projects Can I build a 1950 Buick Custom in Less than 1 year?

Hello HAMB,
I bought a 1950 Buick back in June of this year 2023 and for some reason I have decided I want to build this pile of junk into a custom in under a year.

Little bit of background I already had 2 1950 Buicks when I bought this one. I have another 4 door Special and I have a Super Convertible. Both those cars are far from being road worthy, but are pretty complete and put together compared to this one. I love the grille and body style of the '50 Buicks, and you hardly see anyone building them around my area.

I bought this car because it was well priced and I thought I could just put the basket case together and then sell it for a little profit. Then I got to thinking... why not make a daily driver out of it. So I brought half of it home in the back of my truck and a tow truck delivered the body and frame.

 

How much time, money and how modified will determine that.

 

I would say it all depends on your skill set, what your plan entails and if you can put the time and hours into it.
Good luck, I’ll keep an eye out for it on my way to and from work in Stockton!

 

If you are asking permission, yes, you may!

Now get busy and take lots of pics and post them here!

 

Not very likely

 

Sure they do it in two one hour segments on TV ! Good luck !

 

So you are upgrading the Motor tranny driveshaft rearend brakes steering (?) wiring tires fuel system windshield wipers and the ability to throw cash at it when needed. And have the tools and space. And knowledge to do it. And the time. Then here`s the availabillity of parts. But if you thought you could buy this and flip it and make money, then no you can`t.

 

I agree with you, but the OP mentioned his first thought was just put it together and sell it and make a few bucks.
But now he’s looking at it as a keeper and wants to have it like he wants it on a year.
@Franco51merc is that correct?

 

Not sure what you paid for it .

Basket case cars up here sell for very little ( unless it’s a desirable model) while your car is cool it’s not in the top 5 of wanted cars .


Saying that , if you have all the parts to put it back together so it actually looks like a car and can roll . You should be able to turn a profit .

building a running and driving car out of that in a year is a tall feat , it can be done but will be a lot of late night and week end burns to get it done .


I say giv’er and keep us in the loop.

 

Yes...
If you do what you're knowing.

 

In a word “ NO “ !!!

 

I'd spend that year and money on the super convertible.

 

I should have put that statement first about flipping it, thinking
He could put it together and make money.

 

Agreed.

 

Yeah, me too. The four doors, no matter how much YOU like them, will never be worth what a well done convertible would be. The four doors make good parts cars.

We don’t know your skill set , time available, or financial situation. With enough of each, it would be possible to build a killer vehicle, without one of the three, it will take much longer.

 

I say go for it. Look at all the naysayers here who you could prove wrong!

 

Yes. Go for it! Keep us posted.
You bought it in June. What have you done on it in the last 4 months or so? 8 months to go.

 

I am building this car to test my skill set. My other project car is a '51 Merc that has taken 10 years to get where it's at(still not done) and I don't want this one to take that long. So this is a test of my dedication and a learning experience to gain more skills. The convertible is gonna take 30 grand to do the way it should be, so I am not touching that car for a while.

I am no longer looking to make money off of this car. I only paid $1,200 as you see it all taken apart. I am doing this out of my garage at home, I have a welder (Hobart 190), I have paint skills, and I'm willing to learn.

So here are my criteria for the build.
- Less than 1 year build
- Keep it under 10k
- Reliable daily driver

The particulars
- Camaro front clip (already tack welded in place) will post pictures soon
- 4 link rear suspension (currently looking into that)
- I want air suspension
- probably small block v8 with automatic
- Satin paint job
- The chrome is decent enough, no money in the budget for new chrome

Based on these criteria, let me know if I'm setting myself up for failure. I think I've got a shot if I can get my time managed properly and not slack off.

 

Cut the top off, make it a 2 Door 50 Skylark and take advantage of that dip in the side.

 

Yes it can be done providing you are up to the Job. I say that based on projects behind Myself and my Brother as a team. This car was built in 12 weeks between the 2 of us in a small 35'x35' shop plus an upholstery room.


We had parts on hand and a Coffee can full of Cash and 50 years of working together behind us. This project needed little body repairs but started totally dismantled by prior owner that probably shouldn't have even had a tool box in reach, (heck maybe he didn't). I think his best tool used was a large crescent wrench, several hammers and chisels and a pipe wrench. Oh ya, and that Damn acetylene torch! There was plenty of repairs needed but there was No Rust at all and that in itself was the driving force. It did get hand striped to bare metal (2 repaint jobs) and the game was on. I clipped the frame being it was just much easier and a smart move. No, it isn't M-2! Got a 9" in the rear. A later V-8 and AOD. All new glass, total rewire front to back. Exhaust was done in house. Several body mods though kept simple. The Grill treatment was the most challenging. The dash was kept stock though connecting Stock 51 steering and shift unit to the new stuff underneath was no simple chore, (bring in 50 years of experience). We also had a Chrome shop giving me special treatment with turnaround in Days instead of Months and Months.
So if 2 Old Guys can get this done in 12 weeks 1 young guy that knows what he's doing with good tools on hand and at least 1 friend that can lend a hand I think a Full Year should be more than enough time to get it finished. All ya gotta do is Do It!

 

My 49 Buick only took 30 years, so go for it!

 

You can do anything you want to as long as you have the time and the money to do so

 

you better quit typing and get to work.

 

Ok well I lowered the car in front and eliminated the drum brakes

And I am working on installing an open rear diff (out of a 67 Skylark).

There Now you guys are up to date

 

If by "build a car" you mean that it is finished, then it is a strong and definate "NO".
It is a very wide spectrum, but we all know that they are never really finished.........

 

While a small part of it depends on the level of finish an extremely large part of it is an actual build plan and sticking hardcore and focused on it. That was an issue I had on my 53 Bel Air. Started strong(though without a hard set plan) but got distracted very early on. Bought it in spring of 2020 and didn't get it running and driving till February of this year. Kept buying stuff that didn't matter towards getting it running etc. Like a hydraulic clutch kit when I didn't even have a four speed lined up. Bought dog dish caps before even bothering to double check that I had a matching set of wheels (thought I had 4 15" Caprice wheels....turn out I had three and one 57 Chevy 14" wheel lol). That sort of thing. Wasn't till I sat down and made a list of what it actually needed and what I actually knew of i could get for parts. Like I remembered at my old job my old boss had a 1976 four bolt main 350 with 80k miles since 2018.....I had actually tried to sell it for him for several years. Quick message and it was mine for $500. Grabbed a th350 off marketplace. Checked my front drums to see if I actually needed a $400 disc brake conversion to have brakes....turns out the 1969 installed shows and hardware were mint so all they needed were wheel cylinders. Literally knocked thousands of my get it running and driving tally with one sheet of paper. I Will be doing stuff like the disc conversion but the car is currently city drivable till I get higher priority stuff done.

 

Why make a deadline? Sounds like all those car shows on the tube. Well my guess no you cant/ wont do it in a year.....

 

Sure, ya can. How many guys do you have on your crew?(Laughs as the peanut gallery spits coffee out of their noses)

 

In a year, you will need dedicated help. My plan with the Ford was also under $10k and a year to complete. Actually it was double on both fronts plus a lot of lunches I picked up on Saturdays. Glad these guys did not drink...

I had 2 guys on the team, both good hands that did what I asked of them. We generally worked Monday evenings, Saturdays most of the day even in the cold months. I did a lot of odds and ends on my own during the week.