Hot Rods What's the most low buck car that was the most fun?

I am in the market for an inexpensive (as far as that goes) car that we can knock around in.

We had a Traditional styled T bucket back in the 90's that I threw together for under $3500. Looking back, we had more fun with that low buck car, than just about any of them.

What was your low buck fun factory?

 

64 Fairlane, 260 3 speed on the tree, four door. For $250 I had a lot of good times in that car.

 

And you've been goin' to Scottys B's ever since!

 

I'm a fan of early 50's Chevy's. Lots out there can be had for cheap because they aren't the 55-57's, but I'm more a fan of the smoother curves on the earlier models before the boxier mid 50's came around. Inital condition will of course play into how much you have to put into them. IMO, straight 6 engines are plenty fun.

 

1960 I bought a pristine '40 Chevy coupe for $15. Car was a gem.

 

All my cars are low $. The most fun was an old OT Jeep, the adventure started where the road ended.

 

My first Model A. A 1931 Model A high boy . 2300 4,cylinder, auto and 8" rear.

 

1966 Comet station wagon, 289 w/3 on the tree. Got it for $150 because it ran rough. I replaced one bad plug wire and it ran like a champ. White with red interior, but the floor was rusty and on a quick launch the front seat tipped over backwards. Fixed that by installing some bucket seats from a Corvair I got for free from a buddy. They were blue, but a big improvement in comfort.

 

Does my $100.00 50 Ford pickup count? I hopped up the flathead v8 with dual carbs and a hot cam and was a little hard on tires and the floor shift 3 speed. I then updated it to a real z28 302 Chevy engine and a Muncie 4 speed trans. It was a lot more fun and still cheap. Gary PS I still own it also!

 

1964 Corvair. Guy paid me 100 bucks just to get it away from his daughter. Seems she liked it, he believed Nader, so I ended up with a really nice car that I drove the wheels off of for 3 yrs. Had it parked in front of my house, when a drunk in a Caddy plowed into the front end pushing the front bumper even with the windshield. Insurance paid, not much, but enough to cover the steel for the frame I built to use the Vair's running gear in a sand rail. All in all, most fun and best car I never had to buy.

 

I'd say an off brand, Nash , rambler ect. Ect.
Seems like they don't fetch as much Money as the big three.

 

1950 Ford panel with a 394 Olds and early Hydro. A buddy started the project then moved out of the state and his folks wanted it out of their backyard. Got it for nothing; got it running and drove it daily for 3 or 4 years before the Olds blew up. Surprised a couple of Muscle Cars on the freeway with it...

 

Well, I gave $75 for clarence. Of course that was 46 years ago. True, I've spent a bundle on it since then, but I drove the wheels off of it for 17 years before spending money for anything more than gas and tune ups. It was just about as much fun then as it is now.

 

In the early sixties, I bought a '55 Dodge from the town drunk for $10.00 (he had driven it to the local Legion club one winter, had gotten drunk and left it there). It was covered with snow and plowed in, and the management wanted it out of their parking lot, so I was able to buy it from him cheap. The reason I bought the car was that I knew the original owners and it was a pretty nice car, and he had not had enough time to screw it up. I drove the car to the University of Minnesota when I was going for about three years; it served me admirably. After I got out of school and got a decent job, I decided to build a Hot Rod. I built a "T" bucket, and used the hemi out of the Dodge. It was a great engine; a 270 ci engine that I put a 4 BBL manifold and carb on and it ran good and strong. I had built the "T" with a Dodge 3-speed and a 4.30 rear end out of a '53 Plymouth station wagon. It was a "block to block" monster. I had a set of Ellingson's Recap slicks on the back, which were pretty hard. I could turn them into smoke at will with low gear in that Dodge "plow-box".

Best ten bucks I ever spent.

 

my 62 Mercury Monterey 2dr hardtop.. bought it cheap from a kid at work... did a few things to make it right and had fun !

 

In 1973 when I got out of the Army my cousin had threw a rod in the Y-block in his 55 Ford F100 so he dropped a 70 350 4 bolt main sbc with a matching 350 trans in it. He got he itch for a new pickup and sold me the 55 for $350. It had the stock rear end with 3:92 gears and in the short run that sucker was quick! I soon learned to take off pretty easy until it got rolling and then lay into it hard. Surprised the heck out of a lot of the local "hot" cars around here for a while. Had more fun with it than you could shake a stick at

 

1940 chevy coupe I bought in 1974 for $160. Had a 327 and 4-speed. Lots of fun!

 

Mine are all unHAMBfriendly, but I will say that they had 455 Buick power, and were all bolted together with GM parts, except the driveshaft, and with the number of IMCA type stock cars out there, a 9 inch housing should be easy to source for one of the unmentionable varieties.

 

My 48 Plymouth coupe. Took about $3,000 to put it together, that was 7 years ago and 60,000 miles, and still adding on. Its been driven in 26 States in its current configuration, lots of fun. Gene

 

My first RPU, before it was a hot rod. A Model A engine and trans are bullet proof. I speak from an entire summer of trying to tear it up!

 

Oh my God...it'd have to be my first 57 Pontiac. Came home on leave from the Army and paid $250 for it. I had to store it in my parent's back yard f or 10 months 'till I came home. I drove the hell out of it with the original 347/3 speed stick 'till I'd put 4 transmissions, 4 clutches in it and wore the engine out.
Guy at work wrecked his 59 Pontiac so I grabbed the 389 engine and all the manual trans parts....went down the street and bought a used Muncie trans and installed it with a Hurst 3 speed shifter....separate shifter rod for reverse.
Holy crap.......I had a blast with that car. Drove it all over the west coast. Once I sold it, bought a 55 chevy and swapped the 55 back for the Pontiac.
One day I got in a spat with a 55 chevy on I-5 and I won but hurt the motor. Sounded like a wrist pin knock. Then I blew 1st gear. I kept the chrome reverse wheels and let the rest go for $250...sad day.

 

Paid a whole dollar for this beauty in 1972, to a buddy going to jail for chasing a woman down the sidewalk with it wile drunk. Hauled a lot of parts for my project car with it. Got about 200 miles to the gallon, pull into the gas station and fill up the oil, check the gas. 6 banger, three on the floor, Corvair buckets, high class!

 

66 chevy impala 4 door. Bought it at a auction for 60. It had a good title. 283 two bbl powerglide. Got it running and it was a real good ride. Drove it for six months and all I ever done to it was change oil and filter. and the bronze filter in the carb. Traded it for three beater 66 pickups . two where GMC,s and one a chevy. The chevy had a 283 and factory 319 Muncie overdrive trans. I used it to haul my winter fire wood and feed hay ect. The guty I traded it to painted it. And I see it used for a daily driver by the guy he sold it too. A month ago he bought a drivers side rams horn exhaust manifold from me for $40

 

Paid $100 in high school, dropped a slant six three on the tree in it and drove the hell out of it year round. Later got a small block and auto, was my only car for years. Still have it


Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.

 

Mine was and non HAMB friendly roundy round Dodge...I think I bought it for $200.00...had a $750.00 roll cage put in it and then drove the wheels off of it at the local oval dirt track (2004-2012 era)...the older stuff is always way over that price point...but man o man did I have fun with old car...I named it "Elizabeth"

MikeC

 

I had an early Holden (Australian GM) sedan delivery, 6 cyl auto, it was my mobile workshop, long-range parts hauler, and I used to live in it on holidays when on road trips. Picked it up for $100 because it wouldn't run. I can't remember what stopped it, but I got it running (after I paid for it) in a few minutes, and I still remember the look on the bloke's face as I reversed out his driveway.

 

1956 Ford F100. Paid $50 for it. So worn out I didn't have to worry about hurting it. Ran gear oil in the crankcase because the old 6 cylinder burned more oil than gas. Its hard to go wrong with an old truck. I drove it a while and traded it even for a 67 Fairlane.

 

All my rides have been low buck!

 

I had a lot of fun in my 59 Chevy truck, 40 years ago (and more recently too). My dad paid 250 for the truck, we put a junkyard 396 in it when I was in high school, and I drag raced it a lot when I was in college.

In more modern times, I've been having a lot of fun with the Hudson, although it's not a hot rod, and maybe or maybe not that $2500 is low buck.