Hot Rods What kind of car should a young guy start on?

The best car is anything your parents don't finance

 

If you can get 48 - 53 Chevy trucks for $1500 I'd say to buy every one you can and bring them out to CA and triple your money on them.

 

The worst thing you can have is a female who don't like old cars or race cars. How do I know? 3 ex-wives can be a hard learned lesson.
I lucked out on number 4 . She works to help me buy parts for my cars.

 

I haven't kept up with this thread, as the advise is just for you. I'm sure the guys and gals on here have been very helpful. I can only tell you of my own experiences. When I was 19 and dating. I had a 68 Vette {and still do}. Everyone loved that car. I also had an old 38 Chevy coupe. I thought that I was the only one who liked it. I met this girl, and she loved my old coupe! I even had to push start it sometimes, and she had to pop the clutch to start it. We got married a year later. What I'm trying to say is, if your a real car { NUT }. Make sure she's on board too. My wife has always been in charge of my old car {budget} addiction. We had a VERY HAPPY marriage for 40 plus years. Also, I'm not sure if your just wanting an old car, or wanting to build your own Rod. I think that any 19 year old, these days, can build a cool little Rod. With all the cool stuff, and the kits that's offered now days. It's just like a big model car kit. Lol You just need to pay as you go. It would take a lot of time, and a garage. But the most important thing is that you really have the { WANT TOO! } Or you can just watch C.L. and find a cheap driver to work on. But just keep it fun. Sorry for the rambling, but I thought my story may help you. Thanks, and good luck! Ron...

 

A pickup truck is an excellent choice. You will never regret having a truck to haul stuff

 

Well I was 5 years younger than you when I started playing cars and motorcycles. I started with a '59 English Reilly, then moved onto a '58 Buick then onto a '55 Ford and so and so forth.

As old cars go I have not seen one any easier to work on than another. A young guy by my way of thinkin would probably be better of to stay mainstream unless he had a good support network. Parts for orphan cars are hard to come by and pricey, mainstream cars are easier in that aspect. Cheaper parts and more plentiful.

They used to say that the Model T was the entry level hot rod, not so much anymore. The internet has changed that.

 

LOL I don't really think it matters Martial Law is almost instant.

Now politics aside, and in an effort to give an answer that is doable for a young man's first project or even an old man's first project. I think that the most simple choice is what you like or want to build. The information super highway is the Autobahn anymore and nothing will sour anyone any more on fun than doing something that does not fall into their own personal definition of fun.

 

As far as orphans go, a decent national club, & hopefully state or even local club, can make a world of difference. One I know of, is Studebaker. SDC (Studebaker Drivers Club , national/international) & the state/local chapters may not be huge, or even large, but at least they're fanatical... . & *most* folks are *very* willing to help - whether it's finding a car/truck, checking it out, getting it home, finding parts, or just info. Whether stock or modified to any level. Plus they've got at least 3 internet sites for more help, none of which require you to be a member of the club(s). The main goal is to get you to drive & keep you driving, a Studebaker. While in the past, there has been some unhappyness w/non-stockers, almost everyone realizes that modifieds are good, at***udes are&have changed to accept this, the least reason being that this means more Studes get saved & are on the road as a result. . If you want to restore, there's a m***ive amount of parts out there, if you want to modify, there's still a m***ive amount of parts out there. . (Also, there's a lot of Stude fiends on the west coast, & the Stude Nats are in Washington this year). Might be worth considering a Stude. .

BTW. Forgot to mention. If using craigslist, use SearchTempest.com . You can set the distance you're willing to go, field of search, price, etc. Look where you are, or maybe where you're going to be, after you get through w/basic. ?? I don't do Wastebook, no clues there. Good luck w/dream car, & whatever in-between.
Marcus...

 

search through craigs list and FB marketplaces as well as the dozens of FB sites that have cars for sale
truck are the easiest
dont rule out a half built gl*** t bucket, they sometime come up for sale cheap
nothing is easier than a t bucket
dont p*** up on a larger truck such as a 1.5 ton , they can be made to look cool
dont but something someone else chopped and gave up on, build up tou skill level
steel Ts should be easy to come by in your neck of the woods
dont p*** up on a 6cyl, In my younger days I missed out on a few cool cars because of this

 

chances are, being young, you will ignore most of our advice......Lord knows I did when I was your age
it took me a couple of decades to figure out how correct they were on most things
the number one thing is learn a skill/trade, you have a good place for that with the Marines
learning how to weld, fit, straighten metal, paint, do mechanic work even if just for a hobby
take advantage of every learning opportunity you can

do you still have the crashed 62?

 

Let's reel some of this advice back in???

The guy has a pretty *****in model A in mind so I think he should be looking at that kind of stuff maybe not his target car but something close for practice to hone his skills for for his dream car?

I think you could build a model a coupe with an olds with a 6k budget... it ain't gonna have a qc or any wiz bang eye candy and will require lots of labor and scrounging, but totally do-able

 

It's do-able, the thread on low buck rods is proof of that. But that means finding some good deals, or real rough body, ch***is & running gear and putting a lot of personal labor into it, but that's OK. No better way to learn the skills. I think the dream rod is way, way out of budget, but who knows, people get lucky and find all kinds of ****, maybe he can too. More likely is piecing together a roller, finding a thrashed body somewhere that needs a ton of metal work, and then finding a power plant for it. Olds are harder to come across, but still out there, I saw one on Craigslist not long ago I almost went and got just to hang onto.

 

Get a trade, welding, plumbing,carpentry, sheet metal : some skill , the the money will be there and the cars will follow you home..

 

Here is something budget friendly and a great project for starting out with and we have a 1952-59 Ford Social Group here on the H.A.M.B. to give you advice https://seattle.craigslist.org/oly/cto/d/1955-ford-fairlane-town-sedan/6444503452.html

 

What NOT to get- a rust bucket. Take a magnet.

 

Hey guys,

Enough with the 2nd amendment BS. The Boss has made it clear - NO Friggin' politics on the forum! All you guys are going to do is get this young man's thread shut down so knock it the hell off.

 

Funny I have been playing with Studs on and off mine and other peoples since the late '60s when I was in high school. Kind of got a soft spot for them ( for personal reasons). Never really had a problem finding what I needed. Joining a club for any type of car (especially Studebaker) is damned good advice. The HAMB can be good support but for a novice there is nothing in the world like someone close enough to give hands on support.

 

Nah, I always try to take in wisdom from the older guys. And the Comet's sitting at the junker's pad. Really wanna lay a neat little batch of bread on a coupe to be able to build the old (right) way. Only modern concession will be a Bluetooth chip in the AM radio to be able to still enjoy some Buddy Holly. Maybe even keep it tuned to 640 or 1240 as a nod to the cold war.

 

I would get a pickup truck also. It's a versatile street machine.

 

So did you buy a Honda with a fart can on it?

Sent from my SM-J727T1 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

As a first old car, especially if you're new to old cars generally and don't have immediate family with considerable mechanical experience, is to get something with a small block chevy or small block ford. You're going to have enough to learn in regards to the basics; brakes, steering, cooling, ignition and fuel delivery... at least parts are cheap, plentiful, and you can have a reliable car to drive while you figure out the rest. I generally hate on 4 doors, but a 4 door 57 chevy or something is 10x cooler than anything else on the road, especially for a young guy.

 

No, those are actually the punks I'm sorta rebelling against. There's a running '63 Comet hardtop for sale really cheap that I wanna get. It's a nicer starting point than my first/last car (a '62 s22) was anyhow. After the crash I'm determined to get another and make it safe-ish and fast enough to scare any Honda dweeb in town

 

That's the spirit!!!!!!

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Some things I have learned.
1. Buy the nicest car you can afford that runs and drives
2. Save $400-700 back in your budget for insurance, ***le work and tags...it ****s to get a car home and then have to wait to drive it.
3. Do not bring it home and then take it totally apart. The chances of getting overwhelmed increase exponentially when you do that. And it is much easier to get your uncle to help with a break job than it is to help with a complete restoration. do one job at a time and enjoy driving it.
4. Don't sleep on small British cars ( triumph spitfire, etc.) they are easy to work on and parts are cheap...and they are fun to drive.
5. Start collecting parts for your dream car now...
6. Go to shows, swap meets, and cruise ins. Don't be affraid to talk to that old guy sitting next to his car. He is probably not a grumpy as he looks... You will make friends, get leads on parts and cars and learn a ton.
7. This is a marathon, not a Sprint...be patient and enjoy the ride... I waited 38 years to finally get the one I really wanted and I had tons of cars and tons of fun in the process.
8. Do not let your significant other talk you into selling your project when the baby, or the house come along. Find another way to make it work... You found a way to get the car...you can find a way to keep it. There are a few cars I wish I still had.
These are a few things it took me a long time to learn...I hope they help you
And remember:
Things go back together opposite of how they came apart...you just curse in different places.

 

I would say this. Anything Model A related is still relatively affordable at the moment. The cheapest option is to collect whatever you can until you have something you can piece together. Buy whatever you see within your budget when you see it. Hit the local swap meets and get online to see what's for sale in your area, a solid straight frame and sub rails are the first things you will need along with a solid cowl and doors. Coupes and Roadsters are the most popular and sort after of all the Model As and more often than not the most expensive as a result. But don't let that put you off though. If you can source a nice straight cowl and doors, it is possible to fabricate most of the other panels. Metal shaping equipment such as English wheels, bead rollers and shrinker stretchers is relatively affordable and with all the Youtube Tutorials available, you no longer need to take metal working cl***es to learn how to use it. A grand to 15 hundred in tools and steel should be enough for you to start piecing together a body on your frame cowl doors foundation. If you really want to save money on steel, cut out the roof centres of old automobiles and practice on it until you are more confidant. I speak from experience, a year ago, I had nothing and I am now in the process of fabricating a 29 Roadster I am planning to sell off in a year. Parts such as the running boards, valance panels, hood, deck lid, tulip and beaver panels, and quarter panels can all be fabricated if you are confidant enough.

 

Starting with a project that runs and drives makes a big difference.

What resources do you have. Garage space, tools, welder, mechanical background. All things to consider before buying something thats been sitting for years.

Truck makes sense, all hot rodders need a truck eventually, if youre building a project you need one a lot.

 

For me 10 years or so when I was your age I started with 70s muscle cars cus the chicks dug em, they went and parts are easy to get and at the time didnt cost much. easy to work on v8's amd 6s. easy to adapt trans on. so pretty easy to learn on. . Had a Mk1 Ford ****** at the time I would also swap engines in and out of and raced about as i showed off laying patches and taxiing 6+ people about.
Older cars are cool. but fot me if you are starting off with only 10k I would say go for 60s or 70s. Parts are easier to get. hopefully the body & interior will be in better condition. with luck you will have disk brakes so wont crash again. 12v for a decent stereo. chicks seem to like them more than the old loud 30s n 40s rods that are also often narrow inside. As for fat old grandpa 50s whales that are some of my personal fav cars... it takes a certain bird to dig old cars.

being in the service you wont be able to work on it much. So keep that in mind. better to get a driver to help keep the p***ion and give you something to think on as you slog away out who knows where.

Its not a cheap hobby. So i really would look at something you can turn key to get some fun out of as you work on it.
If you a dead set on older car then look at lesser known brands who have died out as they are often cheaper(Nash, Hudson, Rambler, Kaiser). Oh and get a hook on mortgage sales or estate sales as many old jalopies get auctioned off cheap there.

What ever you get do it right. Build it safe. Americans can put nearly bit of roadkill on the roads. Take a look at the Aussie or NZ hot rod rule books and you will learn a heap and build a nice safe ride.

As for Honda's and imports. Not my thing at all but I wouldn't slam them. Hell i got respect for some of them. Go look under the hood and cars. Some pretty tricky engineering using all kinds of equipment. Some serious cash put into those fart sewing machines.
If you have the smarts to design something on a laptop then get it CNCed or 3D printed then cast whilst allowing for shrinkage etc... hell yeah. then you take it get flow tested, dynoed or what ever... smart cookies who work efficient using modern tools.

Of course there are the Fast n Furious wanta be's who are a whole other kettle of limp fish.

oh and four doors... more doors just makes it easier for your mates to get in and more comfort for the times you and your gal are in the back seat. better yet get a old rambler with fold back front seats /wink

 

I am a life-long Hudson guy, and those are, stock-for-stock the best driving of the era, IMO. More than capable of being driven in modern traffic. The Hudson-Es***-Terraplane club is excellent and the parts situation is good. However, they have some peculiarities, and they are also large and require a lot of room to store and work on. Somebody mentioned British cars. I would second that. MGBs are small, fun, run great, are easy to work on and parts are extra plentiful and reasonably priced. With either brand the most important things are rust, rust, and rust. There will be far more where you can't see it than where you can. Personally I'd rather have a rust free roller than a drivable rust-bucket, unless you just want a cool old car to drive around for a while.

 

1946 thru 1954 Mopars can make good first cars, Rod or Custom and they are reasonable compared to other brands. Also the Gl*** T bucket is a good way to go, Speedway Motors has everything ready to put together a complete T for 7k plus or minus.