In over my head...regret setting in...any advice?

This may be kind of long and I am going in a few different directions, please feel free to add any opinions or advice.

I bought a 1950 Shoebox in April of this year in the thought of building my dream car, I am not the most auto savy person. I did not see any issues with the car when I bought it but have since only driven it 3 times. The guy I bought it from I believe built it and sold it, there is no way he really drove this thing around given the issues I have had. It remains in the shop with one issue or another that I wish I could have seen coming. There are a few things I would still like to do to it like chop, bag, maybe rack and pinion and such but at some point I need to learn to do these things if they are ever going to happen.

My point being I feel I am in over my head with this and will not be able to afford taking it somewhere to get done. (now have a beautiful baby girl)
Debating on selling it, or quickly learning how to do these things on my own. Car has some things that would need to get done before I get to my wish list of items.

I guess I am at the point of selling it or looking for ways to learn how to do the things I want to do.
Anyone in the San Diego area working on a car currently?
Maybe I can come along and learn some welding or bag installation and such.
Is there anywhere locally I can rent a garage and necessary tools to work on it?
Anyone bored and want to help show me how to do some of these things?

I would be up for buying some beers and picking your brain.

Apologies for the long rant / questionnaire

 

Shoebox Fords will be available for years and years to come. The days.....weeks.....months you spend with your new baby daughter will be the greatest times of your life. And those great times will be gone in the blink of an eye as they seem to become teenagers overnight. Get rid of the piece of crap car. Be the greatest dad ever.

 

How about keeping the front end stock? Replace tie-rod ends and redo wheel bearings and brakes.

Doing fancy front end things only costs money and time.
Once you have the car running smooth, THEN consider modifications.

 

I would suggest that you take it one problem at a time. Prioritize the problems and decide which one is the most dangerous, not what you want changed, and concentrate on fixing that one problem. Good luck.
Mark

 

No rack or bags, just get what it needs done to be road worthy and enjoy it. As far as choping and lowering, that can come at a later date if you still want to. If you want it abit lower use blocks in the rear or get/have some new springs made. The front can come down with dropped spindles. As far as a chop, if you are not a
confident metal worker/fabber don't try it. Many people try to do this and the car soon ends up sold, never finished or worse scrapped.

There are many detailed threads on here about chopping your car, read and study the pics, you will see how much work it takes. If you do decide to do it, maybe someone local who has experiance can help and give you pointers...good luck.

 

Theres never a wrong time to start learning how to do stuff on your car. Ask around your area for some help or mentoring. Take it one problem at a time so it doesn't overwhelm you.

 

Unfortunately, your story is one we see all too often. A guy with little experience, few tools, and nowhere to work on a car takes on a project or what he feels is a done car, only to find it overwhelming. Anyone who thinks building or owning a custom car is easy is nuts........they are hard work and damn frustrating at times.

I am not beating up on you, just the opposite, I know exactly where you are coming from. ALL of us were in your shoes at one time..........young, with a family to support, no experience yet, only a box of wrenches, and yet this burning desire to own a cool custom or hot rod like we see all the other guys driving around in.

My advice is to take it one step at a time. You are NOT going to have that bagged, chopped, custom painted, big motored car the first go round...........you just aren't............none of us did. Take the car you have and leave it SIMPLE. Learn to fix what is there to make it safe and dependable. You will make a bunch of mistakes but those will be lessons you won't forget.

Most off all, keep remembering this is a HOBBY, not a JOB. It is supposed to be fun. When the fun stops, move away for a while and then go back to it when you feel like it again. You are not feeling anything all of us have felt at least once in our lives. And I can tell you from experience, life does get easier as you get older.

Don

 

Set up a long term plan and you may not seem so overwhelmed with it. I've taught myself everything I know with my current project. When I first bought it I told myself "it's a five year plan", so far I am on 3.5 years and am about a year ahead of schedule. Go one step at a time. When you start to get overwhelmed take a few months off.

 

I agree with this advice. There will be a time when you can do this again. Even though you think this go around was a disaster you have already learned a lot. You will take that knowledge into the next project when you are in a better position to do it.

 

Brakes, tires and steering. That's what my dad always said. Those are the important things. Once those are good, just drive it and enjoy. The other stuff will come eventually. When the time is right and your money situation allows. I would love to have bags on my truck and a new paint job, but I just can't afford it right now. Doesn't mean I'm gonna sell my truck. It'll happen eventually. I have two young kids, so my rod does spend a lot of time in the garage since time with the family comes first. It just makes the time I do get to spend with it that much more enjoyable.

You'd be suprised at the mods you can do here and there that cost little to no money. Hang on to it and just do what you can, when you can.

EDIT- By the way, stock 1950 brakes, steering and suspension, so long as they're in good shape, will do you just fine.

If you want to go low, cutting the coils is free and works just fine until you can afford to do it right. It's not the best way to go, but I've done it on plenty 50's and 60's cars. You'll be fine.

 

You don't learn chopping cars overnight or any major body or suspension modifications,,so it's gonna take some time.

Concentrate on the things you can do or your friends can help you with,,with young children hot rods are secondary.

If the car needs a ton of work,,it my be prudent to send it down the road and save your extra cash to buy what you want in the future. HRP

 

Well xtent, I guess you're getting the message - fix the mainenance things so you can get it driving and enjoy it, or at least you can sell it and get a few bucks more.
I definitely agree with spending time with your kids, but maybe you don't need to seel the car just because of your daughter.
If you are considering looking for a shed or garage to store it so you can fix it, you can probably afford to keep the car.
50 Fords are cool - even stockers, so don't sweat it that it ain't chopped - you can always look at doing that some day.
Enjoy the car, that's what you bought it for.
Just my $0.02.
Cheers.

 

X2

You need time talent and treasure to take on that shoebox project.
Your daughter and her mother need that too.

The skills you are talking about developing are a skill set. Each is its own discipline its not a easy thing to just ”learn".

Sell it or put it on the back burner for a while while you enjoy the family

 

Well, looks to me like you've passed the hazing process. Now you can officially call yourself a car guy. These things happen, deal with it and move onward & upward. If it were easy everyone would be doing it.

We've all been there one time or another.

 

If you want some help to learn about cars, maybe go help SOMEONE ELSE work on theirs, and they will probably help you in the future, but even if they dont, you will still learn a lot.
You can also take an auto shop class or welding class at community college.
If you dont have a garage at all, that can be a problem, as renting a place will eat up your funds.
But you live in sunny SD, maybe just a tent in a backyard would do?

 

I think you can do both.........be a good Father and still have a hobby. I am not saying take food off the table to build a car, not at all, but you can still be there for your Wife and baby and yet get a few minutes or hours away occasionally to recharge yourself. Just like Mom needs some "Me time" to get away from things at times, so does Dad. It helps the relationship too.

Lord knows I sold enough half finished projects over the years when some family emergency came up, but that is just what you do. However, I also had my two Sons sitting in their little chairs next to me in the garage every chance I got so I could baby sit and still get some relaxation myself. Doing that kept me sane and allowed me to go back to work the next Monday refreshed and ready to tackle the next week.

Don

 

Start small. Fix some minor problems first, that'll give you confidence to move on to other things. Fix the safety issues FIRST after that.

Back when Ford built that car, there was nothing called 'planned obsolescence'...it was built to last a long time (and since you have it, they succeeded). Ford also built it with safety in mind and there's absolutely nothing wrong with the front suspension once it's rebuilt. There's absolutely nothing wrong with factory drum brakes and it all probability,nothing wrong with the steering if rebuilt properly...all of these things will NOT cost a fortune.

Yes they will cost, but redoing all that is something you can learn on...chopping, air bags, R & P steering are something that even hardened knowledgeable guys find tuff to do,even I wouldn't attempt to, and I've built a lot of cars...

Go slow, take your time...if you can't afford it right now -wait til you can. Be a Dad...FIRST...a hubby second and a car guy when the time is right...

R-

 

ditto...Ive been building my buick since april....getting close to body work and engine swap. Time and money are a mutha! Patience is the best skill to learn if you really want the car.
I have hopes of having my car on the road driving and painted, but if it takes longer oh well. I enjoy spending time with my son more than spending time and money on my car. Wow....never thought I would ever say that!!

 

The main issues with the car at the moment seem to be the upper control arm hitting the brake caliper and after about an hour of driving, I lose the ability to brake.
I know I will not become a welder or mechanic overnight, but would like to learn some of the basics if possible.
I am very much up for learning and helping someone else work on their car, even provide some beverages to learn a few things.
I do spend lots of time with my daughter and watch her frequently when the wife goes out, looking to use the free time I have to get this car in the right direction.

 

Great advice, my wife and I are working on having a baby. I know damn well that as soon as we have a kid my projects will come 2nd. Sucks now that my stepdaughter just turned 11 and I bought her an iPod touch for her bday. Now all she does is lock herself in her bedroom. Have to drag her out to my garage. Breaks my heart

Exactly why all I plan to do is get my '61 running. Drive that bad boy around until I have the resources to really get to work on it! (hopefully with my new kid old enough to fetch me tools and beer! )

 

I disagree with the folks who are saying you should sell it. Unless buying it literally is taking food out of your family's mouth, stick with it and since you're new at this, use this car to learn on. Just set your sights a little lower. Forget about chopping it and airbags. Go for a "mild custom" look. Cut the springs, throw on some spinner caps, a mexican blanket interior, paint or grind some whitewalls if you have to (or do skinny whites if you're into the 60's look, way cheaper than wide whites), and try to lay some scallops yourself. All cheap things that you can do by yourself on the weekends here and there when you have time.

You don't need 20 years experience as a mechanic and tons of money to enjoy this hobby.

 

Your father was a smart man, it's easy to want to do this to your car and do that, I have soo many things I would like to do with my shoebox, to turn into my "dream car" however, just getting her running so I can enjoy her and do little things here and there...I'd take that any day over what I am dealing with now...which is a non-running, sitting in storage sad little Shoebox...

 

^^^I agree with Harv. Keep it simple.

We all learn skills over a long period of time, mostly by doing things and knowledge is built on knowledge. You'll have to learn the same way. I understand you are overwhelmed and frustrated. We have all been there, man.

If I were in your shoes, the first thing I would do is make your car safe and driveable. That way you can enjoy it. Then work on customizing as you can afford the time and money. You will gain knowledge through the process.

How do you eat an elephant? One freakin' bite at a time, my brother! We're here to help with advice and encouragement.

 

Everyone is pretty close to agreeing here: either sell the car and take another crack at your dream car in the future OR put his car aside for a couple years until you can tackle it OR fix what needs fixing and just drive it the way it is for now.

I have sold plenty of cars in my life because I lacked something (time, money, or expertise) to do it the way I wanted. I don't really regret any of them, and I am happy with the two cars that I do have now. One is "nice" and I've been driving it for years (my avatar), the other one is my "dream car" and it is in pieces all over my garage and has been for a few years and will be for a few more years until my recent baby is older. That's just life. There are always more cars, and shoebox Fords are not hard to find.

Sell, store, or drive as-is. Those are your three options. If you really need the money, sell it. If it's just a matter of not having the time and expertise to build it the way you want, drive it or store it until you have more time and you've learned a few more things.

 

I also found myself way in over my head when I did an impulse buy of my car (total basket case, gutted junk full of holes, drug out of a field) and soon realized it needed EVERYTHING - not one single tiny piece was ok as-is, and I had no knowledge, skill, patience, money, etc. to get it done.
I was way too cheap to pay someone to do all the stuff I wanted, so I bought a welder and a bigger air compressor and started learning. Bought more tools along the way, and just kept plugging away and learning stuff.

It was a huge challenge and I felt very overwhelmed many, many times, but I just kept plugging away and eventually got that f'r on the road almost entirely by myself, and I am very proud of it.
I am still working on it more than a dozen years later, but also have been driving and enjoying it for the last ten. I like having a project more than I like having a finished car anyway. I have since had some things better sorted out by people who know what they're doing, and also have gone back and re-done many of the things I did early-on before I knew any better, but I've never regretted doing as much as I could by myself and learning from it.

I'll never sell it because of what it represents to me - perseverance - something I never had before.

 

^^Now that right there is inspiring! Good for you, man!!

 

I agree with a lot of advice here, the overwhelming factor can be a bummer. Just go with a simple plan that allows you to keep the car as you spend your car bucks on a child. It is a great reward. A lot of people panic and dump a nice car that is very hard to replace, slow down and live. ~sololobo~

 

First thing to learn is managing expectations to avoid disappointment. As a self-described novice, you obviously underestimated what it takes to build a custom car. Don't fret over it, we all do it. I took on a project convertible last April with intent of driving it this past summer. The snow is getting ready to fly and I'm still not driving it.

Chopping, bagging, and even steering modifications are serious stuff and not for the feint of heart or those light in the wallet.

Get it running mechanically safe and sound, which is also the best plan if you decide to sell it. Meanwhile drive it and enjoy it for what it is right now. It takes years, not months, for the best projects to be built. This ain't Overhaulin' for goodness sake.

 

Awesome advice.. if anything maybe make a shoebox savings account and put extra cash in there over the next say 6 years or so... and buy a nice driver when your daughter can hand you a wrench to change the oil. You can find another car. You wont have time for it and you wont miss it either.