Really don't know which way to go. Bought a 1927 Model T Roadster project and the body is beyond my ability to repair. My questions are: What is this worth? How much might it cost to get the body ready for paint? I believe I have the ability for everything but body work. 350 cu in engine, 700r4 trans., Chev 10 bolt rear end and Speedway frame. Y'all's help is surely appreciated.
Man that’s a nice one for my part of the world Paint? **** no Make it go and stop and drive the **** out of it A can of rustoleum is around $50
Sure looks like a good project to learn the skills of body work and painting. Compared to the cost of paying someone or selling it. You’d be missing out on the best part of this hobby. Get to work and read read and read.
From up here in the rust belt that looks dang nice. Talk to some local hot rodders. Somebody near you can do the needed body work in a weekend
Most guys would love to start with something in that condition. What are your plans? Do you want a perfect body with show quality paint, or just something that looks nice as a car you will drive. With Hot Rods, you make your own rules.
My goal is a safe daily driver that looks nice. Not a show car but nice. Future plan is for a bigger engine with supercharger and 200 MPH at the Texas Mile.
Do you have a tech school that has a body shop cl***? It is a small body. They should be able to get it done by the end of the school year.
That is a damn sight better than I started with on my long term project. Go buy a decent 115 volt welder. Great for panel welding. You just about can’t go wrong with a hot metal glue gun. You would be surprised what you can do with just some will power. I only saw one picture with rusting through. If you can’t make that piece, have somebody make it for you. You will make mistakes. You can fix them
Watch Carter Auto Restyling on YouTube, he does so much metal work without much equipment. He will encourage you a lot.
That body is in excellent shape... But.. Body work isn't for everyone, Being in TX. There's a **** load of talent there, Sniff around an find someone that can get it in primer..., An Rock & Roll !
I'd also encourage you to take a shot at fixing it. I used a Hobart 140 to do all of the body work on the very very rusty Studebaker in my avatar. Had I known what I was getting into I probably wouldn't have bought the car. I replaced the floors, part of the trunk floor, bottoms of the doors and trailing edge of the fenders plus more. I learned a lot. Lots of YouTube videos to help you along if you don't have a mentor.
Here is the deal. If you think you have the ability to do everything except the body work, start there. The body work on that ride is not where you need to start, it is in good enough shape, you can build around what you have. Start with what you know, and build everything you are capable of doing. Seek help along the way when you reach a point you don't know how to do something. There are many here will be willing to help you learn, step by step. There are plenty of guys in Texas that would be willing to come along side of you and teach you the stuff you don't know how to do. The more you do, the more confident you will become. I've always told my son to get out into the shop and do something. Make mistakes, learn how to fix them, but get started, and get after it. If you need help, ask, I'll show you what I know and we will both learn what I don't know together. As you move forward building everything you can, you may discover that the body work that car needs may not be so far out of reach by the time the body needs to be done. Maybe it just becomes another thing you might learn how to do. I'm the kind of guy that wants to know I can safely drive it across town before I start thinking about doing any body work or paint.
Martin Bumping Metal book Cheap H-F body hammer set H-F purple gun when on sale $15-20 Good body fillers Or Lead work Get a beat up fender practice on with hammers & dolly ,,, filler , lead , Then paint Or Old way Brush paint & sand then wet sand .
Now that the body is on the floor and not up against the wall anymore make a timber frame with 4 decent size swivel wheels and give it a go.
Listen to @gene-koning . I will mention that a nice street driver roadster is an attainable goal with normal skills and a budget. A Texas mile run at 200 MPH is a whole huge leap.
Play with body work later,build the rod{ if it's the style rod you'd like best. Learning to weld an grind rust hole up,is fairly EZ,after a short time,slow goes it an less heat thing kicks in. You will be using filler to smooth out/ or some do it the harder way,put in panels.
1 mile run , I have not Not looked into what it takes , maybe doable with Quick change rear , 500 hp & easier with OD or 5-6 speed 5,700 to 6,500 rpms ?
You don't own a welder and feel that you can build a 200 MPH car? You need to buy one and get a few hundred hours of practice in before you start welding the roll cage you need to go that fast.
I don't mean to be rude....but... Just have a go at it !.. Buy a basic welder (they're cheap) & TRY.. It's only metal & you can always do it over. That body is 10 times better than the chit I've started with. What happened to hot rodders !
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