Hello everyone, im 17 and im new at building vehicles. I recently completed a build on a 72 bronco with my dad and im thinking i have a basic enough knowledge that i can start a project on my own. I wasnt much into the 4X4 scene mostly because i couldnt see the point in destroying a truck i put soo much time and effort in so i sold the truck and am lookin for more of a cool street vehicle.

I was looking around the buy and sell and i found a 37 ford pickup for sale that has nova running gear in it (the guy wasnt sure if it was a 305 or a 350) plus it has a 2 speed auto powerglide tranny in it. The body is dismantled for the most part and it has no seats or interior, and has no wiring in it. I was thinking of turning it into an old school flat black with flat red accents (wheels, grill).

Im just wondering if this project would be good for a beginner, i have a shop with most of the tools il need and i have decent welding and body working skills. After buying the truck il have a budget of about 3000 dollars to start with (i can paint the truck myself). What are the pros and cons of building with this model of vehicle? Will it be expensive to build it into a decent streeter?

Thnx for the help, looking forward to ur replies.

Paint would be the last thing on my mind at that stage, you can do alot with 3K (some more than others) If your proficient enough on a welder I say go too it! go through the vehicle, make it safe, add your personal touches and then squirt the satin on....if you already have a good base knoledge and a pop that'll help you out, whats holding you back?

That kind of project will probably take a while to get together and tst your determination and persistance..Other than that that type of project can be a good one..as far as building that sort of rig my take would be to just get it together and get it workable drivable using the parts that came in your "basket" so to speak and do a nice job of what ever you do..

The Rat Rod thing has about run its course and guys are back to building good rigs..

My take

Sam

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I would rather make it work than make it popular..And if it does not work it will not be popular..

Blurr - Go for it! Keep it safe and simple to start. Worry about the speed and pretty parts later. Get it on the road so you can enjoy it and then add things later. "(the guy wasnt sure if it was a 305 or a 350) plus it has a 2 speed auto powerglide tranny in it" - Chances are it is neither a 305 or 350 but possibly a 283 or 327 as if I remember correctly the 305 and 350 did not come with the powerglide but the others did. If it is important to you to know what the engine is before you buy that 37 then check out this site as it will tell you were to look for the casting numbers that will give you the year and displacement of the engine:

http://www.mortec.com/castnum.htm

Old school, rat rod, hot rod - These are all words that will describe what you want to build but to every one else each has an opinion on what to call it. If I were you I'd say I was building a simple safe hot rod and you wouldn't get any negative feed back. Good luck with your project and start a project journal as we would like to see what you start with and then watch as you build. Good luck!!

Sounds like a ton of fun! Jump on in and have a blast, and hopefully we get to hear about it along the way!

Thnx for the input guys! yes a simple safe rod is what im going for the reason for me looking for a rod project is to get something on the road and then build on it over time. Im going to check out the 37 tonight hopefully i bring back good news! thnx again

Unfortunatly if it sounds too good to be true it often is... the truck was sitting out in a field all dismantled and rusted out, and all of a sudden the guy starts saying that ooh its not a powerglide tranny, its a turbo 350 and im not sure the engine anymore, no registration, not sure if the engine still runs. Another one bites the dust!

well that sucks, My first car was a 37 pickup

What's he want for it? I bought a 36 for $125 a few yrs ago and all my friends thought I was nuts,now they're all drooling over it, sometimes a rough body, especially on a truck is an open invitation to create something unique since you have more options with a truck. Mine is now chopped, channelled, and extended, and imho looks much better than stock and is really strong due to adding a floor made of 1"x1" sq tubing since the floor was totally gone. Look at it real hard, and try to see what you can do with it, then offer him $125!lol

haha for $125 i would have taken it, this turkey wanted 2500, no floor (he said there was a floor and there was, but with the new tranny u would need to replace it all anyway), and there was no registration for it. If it was 500 or less i would take it, a sand blasting and some hard work and it would be a beauty, the problem was that the guy seemed a bit slimy, saying there was more there then there was, he pulled the old it ran the last time it was installed, but it didnt have a carb on it and there were spider webs and god knows what else in the manifold. Maby il wait a couple of months and call the buy and offer him 100 bux but i may invest in a 60s muscle car (theres a nice ford falcon for sale near where i am). il keep everyone posted if there is any developments in the search for the "good deal".

yeah, that's WAY out of line. Muscle cars are cool, and certainly popular, just make sure it's all there, it gets time consuming and expensive chasing down parts. I think that's why I like old cars, when you build a hot rod you have more options and more leeway to be creative, I mean if a fender is bad on a muscle car you need to find another fender of the year and model, if a fender is gone on a hot rod, use one from a different year that you like, or just take them all off. Just more options, so I think it makes it more fun and the car more unique, and in my opinion, there's NOTHING more fun when building a car than chopping it up.

I agree, iv always wanted the 50s bad *** satin colour hot rod. Plus if u can pound a little tin and weld a little steel their super cheap body wise to build. unfortunatly my new buy need is gunna be a daily driver, and i dont wanna drive a beater for 5 years while im building something. If anyone knows of a cool deal going around in British Columbia Canda drop me a line, im looking for something good body bad engine, or bad body good engine. Im not really interested in doing a long term project (5 years ish) just something that would take a couple months to get on the road, and then a couple years of makin it all customed up. thnx guys

go for the good body, it's easy and quick to put an engine in, the body is the most important, a good engine won't do you much good if the car falls apart. Get a good solid body and then go all over it to stop or slow the rust, especially if it's going to be a daily driver. Here's one I just bought for $600, there was no floor left in the trunk, and a few other probs, but I fixed them and it's a real solid car now. I have no real plans for it except to preserve it.



My daily driver in the summer is a 39 pontiac coupe 400 sbc (in my avatar), I also own a 53 studebaker with a 425hp 355 sbc, a 36 ford truck rat rod not finished but getting a 354 hemi, and a 54 chevy kustom. My friends all think I'm crazy messing with this ventura, since it's a basic six and powerglide, but I love this thing just the way it is for now, I guess because I had a nova just like it in the 70's including the faded gold paint, and always liked it's simplicity, it just takes me back ya know?

Yea, The only reason i would go for a good engine over a good body is because im decent at body work and it allows u to totally customize ur ride, expecially when it comes to painting it (i can paint it myself soo its cheap)