How do YOU decide what project to build?

You don't pick projects, they pick you!
Kinda like puppies!
Honey, guess what followed me home!
Can we keep it?
It won't eat much and I promise I'll clean up after it!

 

Over the years, I've owned and built both cars-of-opportunity and those I really wanted, and I favor the latter, hands down. In recent years it's become my pattern, my creed.

Those cars I loved best were those that were uncompromised first-choices. My absolute favorites -- so far -- were my '68 Chevelle SS396 coupe that I drove and restored during the '80s and my blue roadster we put together at Tardel's in the mid '90s. Both cars were covered with my fingerprints; the work on the SS over a period of seve years was all mine except for paint and interior; of the 2200-plus manhours spent building the blue roadster 1400 of them were mine. Both cars were exactly what I wanted and wanted them to be -- no holding back, no compromises.

I'm back on track with a project that I want very much to do, and have wanted to do it for at least the last 25 years -- build and enjoy the bext possible Ford F-1 daily driver. In those 25 years I've owned a couple of F-1s and a half-dozen early F-100s, trying to work my way to that great daily driver. The F-100s were compromises, even the '56 big window with a 428, and a super-low metal- and paint-perfect '55 I bought from one of my best pals, only to lose interest in it -- and its L79 motor -- because, well, it wasn't an F-1.

I struggled along half-heartedly with a couple of F-1s that were many, many hours of sheet-metal work away from being acceptable. I don't do sheet metal. Rather than tough it out, struggling along with projects of frustration and unplanned-for expense, I chose to let them go and start thinking about other want-to-do hot rods.

I parted with the last of the non-promising truck projects last year, late Spring, in time to concentrate on helping with Bonneville preparation. Then, a couple of weeks after Speed Week, Tadel heard about a really sweet original '48 F-1 for sale in Sebastopol. The asking price was super righteous, and Tardel could have made an instant thou or more with just a phone call. Instead, he phoned me, recalling the conversations we had about F-1s and the knowledge that it was my most favorite pickup. As most folks here know by now, I went, I saw, and I bought what has to be one of the sweetest original F-1s on the planet -- hardly perfect, but not so's you could tell from 20 feet away.

I've been driving and steadily upgrading it ever since. I have a full year's worth and more of added upgrades in mind, small improvements, little touches of extra convenience, more evolutionary than revolutionary, something I can live with and live for for lots of years.

Best of all, now that I have a long-term hot rod of choice to live with every day, I can spend mental energy on creating a from-scratch racecar I've had in my head and on my drawing pad for the last couple of years.

 

One problem I have noticed as I get older is, I like SO many more cars now. I mean ones that I thought could never be cool or were just plain UGLY!. So now its even harder to choose.Im a horsepower junkie first, then the car next.
I like to know first its gonna haul ass, then I start lookin and thinkin about bodies. --FEDER

 

Wanted a 50s chevy, for long as i can remember.. but..

Been fooling around with a modified RPU idea, and since i blu all my cash on a new S-10 truck, its better to learn and experience building a car from the scratch up, rather than trying to find a project close around here..

Its for the better, and ill learn alot more.. hopefully alot cheeper!!

 

I decided to build my T-Bucket for a few reasons.
1. I knew I could do it affordably. ($3,000 and it drives)
2. Isky has the coolest one on the planet, why can't I?
3. Not everyone around here has a 'hot rod'. Alot of street rods. That's odd, huh?
And last but not least it was affordable. (did I mention $3,000?)

 

Wow, I forgot what an s-10 looks like. . .

 

I've always tried to live a 'less is more' style car life. Deals are everywhere. That 60 Olds in the classifieds is a steal @ $5500 etc. etc. People stop by my house and offer me old cars for killer deals because I would obviously be into "fixing" them.

I think most of us manage with limited resources to some degree. I mean, nobody on here strikes me as a D'Agostino type. Seems a lot of people spread their money out buying 3-4 projects when they still drive a Mazda to work.

I just don't have the money to do two builds simultaneously, nor do I have the time.

NO MORE THAN 1 NON-RUNNING PROJECT AT A TIME. That's my motto. So far I've stuck to it. Then again, no one's offered me something SUPER cool for free.

-r

 

I agree with Randy ,people have a yard full of unfinished projects and not enough money to work on any of them . As far as me asking myself if I can get rid of it when it's done,thats the way I finance the next project.I do not have the room or the desire to own several cars at a time.The folks who says thats not a hobby, thats a business,well thats their opinion,but I know my project savings account has plenty of money in it for anything I want to take on.If thats a business then so be it.

 

I kinda pick what I want and then go search for it. Not in any hurry when the deal comes along I'll take it. Right now though all has been put on hold cause I'm trying to buy a house. Then I'll have a good place to build that next project. I've got plenty of time.

 

Geeeeze! That F-1 is nice! Must belong to Mikey!
One of these days I'll get to meet you. Oh! And I'm slowly workin on a 48 F-1.

 

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Right now my choice is based on whatever someone will give me for a '67 VW Bus or what someone will trade me for the same.

-Taylor

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Someone hook this guy up.

That's too cool Tayler. I like your attitude.

 

Someone already tried to give him '55 Buick for free. Damn if it would have been on this coast it woulda been mine....

 

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It seems the "Deals" come like rapid fire when you are not looking, and sometimes you have to buy them because the price is so right, even when you really don't need it or can't really afford it, or don't even have a place to put it. But the bottom line is you bought it so it's gonna be a project in the future or you will resell it down the road and Hopefully make a buck or two.

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This is so true. I got my 32 roadster, re-purchased my 64 Plymouth and bought 2 1956 F100's, while working on my 57 Cadillac (and not needing another project), just because they were smokin' deals and because they were on "The List".

"Opportunity" cars can be fun if you stumble into something that you end up really liking (like my Model A) but if you're opportunity is something that doesn't give you wood then it can end up being something you hate.

I'm old enough to realize I don't have time to waste on any project cars that aren't on "The List" (my list of about 25 cars that I'd like to own some time in my life).

With the heaps that I have, I won't have to worry about buying any more project cars for a while. In fact I'll be lucky if I finish these before I croak. But then again, I know where there's a bitchin' 39 deluxe convertible in a barn...

 

right place, right time... a certain feeling i get when i see it and all the planets are lined up just right... oh, amd SEMOLIANS...
nic