Art & Inspiration Low Budget Builds

The Model T roadster that is linked in my signature is my budget build. Not into it for $1000 yet.

 

This was a pretty meager build

 

Over the years I've bought and sold parts for both my Model A Ford projects, if I buy a new MILLER TIG welder the total investment will be the cost of the TIG unit. Bob

 

Everything I do starts out as a budget build ........... but then something funny happens along the way..........

 

My avatar is my budget build. Did all the work myself. It was in field for 20 yrs plus and used as target practice. Gave 500.00 for it in 1988. Bought a 50 4 door parts car. Had a hopped up flatty with OD. Motor was stuck, but worked on it and got it running. Tear down revealed an Isky Cam, Jahns pistons(bored 125 over). Did a complete rebuild and drove it for a few years. Had less than 5 grand in at the time. Since then I have put some more in it by swapping and selling parts. Still had the original motor, so I sold the other one to finance the stroker that is in it now. I run the snot out of it and it takes me on some long trips. Have a lot of hours and not that much in it. It's more fun to do a budget build than a catalogue order. Might take longer but it is yours.

 

I built this pile the first year I started my company and had NO money. Ended up with under 5K in it.




-Abone.

 

My wagon was a low budget DIY, learn as you go project.
My avatar is the current, see the build for how it got there.
Here is the start, a "Monster truck" on a suburban frame, with a seized up SB.

 

I like that wagon, very cool.

 

That time doesn't count because I'm having fun. Lots of places charge by the hour to have fun. If you look at it that way, I actually made $167,550.

It's kind of like fishing. If I calculated how much all my time was worth that I spent fishing, I should have just gone to Walmart or Long John Silver's. But then I would have missed seeing a beaver, coyote puppies, and killing a cotton mouth with a fish in it's mouth. I also wouldn't have my 3 pet turtles or the experience of reeling in those great big fighting b***.

Working on the car is as fun to me as fishing.

It's fun to solve a difficult problem on the car or successfully bang a dent out for the first time. Some people spend thier time on video games. Keeping the cost low or free is just another way of keeping score.

It fun to read through a few tech forums on the HAMB, choose the best method you think will un-stick your froze-up engine and then hear it thunder for the first time in decides. You just can't buy or read about that kind of fun.

It's not for everyone. That's ok.

 

Quite a few years ago- 1939 bought as a driving car for $800.00- bought driving/running Nova SS for $350.00- merged them into this- one car garage built and driveway paint job-

 

My 56 was a 3200 dollar build at first..
Truck was 500 bucks..
motor and trans out of a 69 coronet for 300 bucks
Torque thrust 2 wheels whole set for 200 bucks..
rear axle out of grandfathers truck. free
brakes, exhaust, wires, fuel system etc..
fabbed up my own boxing plates up front, converted tons of stuff, notched firewall etc.
add in the liscense fee and getting ripped off by the local county on it for 900 bucks to register.
What I started with and the way it looked when I was done at that point..

Now she is totally different but the heart and soul is still the motor and trans. Motor has been gone through, trans has not. then lowered the truck down keeping the straight axle, now has ac for the woman. Along with added a decent paint job.

 

Dragged her ugly pink *** out of Memphis, TN...she is solid, came with both bumpers chromed, all trim (except the moustache bar and the front bumperette). Has the original 322 Nailhead with less then 40k miles. Pretty much have everything for it. However, she was sorely abused...to my knowledge she was a test dummy for an auto school out in Knoxville, so she's got mud in places she doesn't or even should have...mostly in the front and rear quarter panels. Also she was in an accident...lol...someone, I'm ***uming this school tore her completely down. So when I got it. She was stripped completely bare with a few buckets of parts...fun times. I am having to pretty much replace everything from tires, brakes, windshield, side gl***, headliner, carpet, gas tank, the list goes on and on and on...I'm starting to hate that list. So it's definitely a budget build and soon to be daily driver...god willing...

 

Nice Buick you got there Brooklyn girl!

 

I think that the real trick is not to build low budget but to build low budget and not have it look low budget. That takes planning and elbow grease.

 

All these projects are super cool. I guess the definition of "low budget" is subjective. Nads found this '64 Oldsmobile 98, for me. Price was basically free(plus a towtruck expense and ***le transfer)
I got around $5 to $6 G's into, right now. Quite sure after paint and interior, it will topple the $10k mark. Shhhh..don't tell ,my wife!!

 

I think you are correct leno thinks half a million is cheap.

 

Here is a little T roadster a buddy of mine is putting together on the cheap. You dont want to know what he paid for tge whole car and truck load of fenders and parts that cam with it. It made me cry that he found it and I didnt!!! First one is just getting the gears turning and second pic is tge day we dragged it out of the shed it was in.