[lakota]

Gabrel,

Sorry to take so long getting back to you. Yeah, I was a broke kid too when I first started. Hell, we all were. My first after school job was making boxes and grinding cheese at the local pizza parlor for $15 a week. I toured junk yards and would drool over the old cars they had. I found a 1937 Ford pick-up for $75. I struck up a deal with the yard owner, I would work all day Saturday if the money was put towards the 37 and he could keep it on his lot until it was paid for. It was a long ten weeks, but I got it paid. During that time the local hot rod club would come in to buy parts. I got to talk to the guys and after a while they invited me up to see the club. It turned out to be a string of fifty, one car garages, all connected together as one long building. I joined the car club, rented a garage for $5 a month, and continued to work Saturdays at the junk yard. I spent Sundays working on the 37.
The guys would toss me their old issues of car magazines, teach me things, loan me tools, help me to do things like chopping and channeling. We even had sanding parties, where all of the members got together to sand someones hot rod. Yeah, there was a lot of times that I was the "Gopher"...Go for coffee, to the hardware store, the auto store. A lot of parts that I couldn't afford were given to me by the guys that didn't need them anymore.
That was a long time ago, but the priciples still apply. Get yourself a part-time job, get out there and "connect" with other rodders. Being on a website is great for information, but you need rodder friends out there that you can share lending a hand.
Yup, the prices of these Rat-Rods have gone through the ceiling. But you can still find a good hulk in a junk yard for a reasonable price. The majority of your money will be spent on safety, and the majority of your time will be spent on getting it safe, fixing jagged metal, replacing broken glass or whatever. Remember, it ain't fun if it ain't safe. You're right, those itty-bitty parts that connect Ford parts to Chevy parts are gonna nickle and dime you to death. That's what your itty-bitty part time job is for. Every one of the rods that you see or read about here was built one itty-bitty part at a time. Some of the guys and gals here have been building the same rod for years. The only place that you'll see a rod built in a week is on Cable TV.
Some rich kids buy whatever they need and assemble it, or pay someone to do the hard work. After a few months they tire of it, sell it, and go on to something else. They never get the full effect of rodding. You, me, and the rest of the folks here will labor over every bolt and then sit and stare at it from every angle to make sure it's right. We thumb through every magazine or search websites over and over again, or lay awake half the night fitting parts together in our minds. This we call fun. Then comes the day that's like Christmas, your birthday, reaching legal age, day off with pay, and getting laid all wrapped up into one. We get to take it out of the garage and drive it down the street for the very first time. That feeling remains each time we go out.
So, let rodding take it's effect on you. Take your time, doing it safely, one piece at a time.

[h0trod389]

[QUOTE=Gabriel]Hey,

I'm a real newbie and I want to get in to hot-rodding to have a little
hobby on the side, and I was wondering how much I should expect to
shell out for a beat up old hot rod like the one of these:
[QUOTE]


hotrodding is not a hobby.... its a way of life...

[RGassman]

Gabriel, I have been trying intentionally to built my 31 Chevy as cheap as possible, regardless of my available $$, if you look over my journal you'll see how far we gotten for not a lot of $ but still quite a bit has been spent with plenty to go. The car was a 0$ but, I'll list for you what we've spent. I had a 355 Chevy motor but 2.02 heads, new cam,lifters intake and gasket set to reassemble= $600, Donor car $200. I recommend finding a donor car pick one with motor trany steering column brakes axle etc. I drive around town looking for cars that have set for a long time and knock on doors asking, I have yet to find one that we could not get running. We live in a vehicle emission area so some cars get parked to rot because they can no longer pass emissions. One took most of a case of oil to get it home. You learn to ask a lot when building on the cheap. When I was in high school all our cars were field found cars that had been abandoned, people were glad to be rid of them; again ask "if you ask not you have not". On the note of drivability we're building a high boy. But there is a whole group of chopped channeled rats here that all drive to Viva las Vegas, it's a long trip from Oregon to Vegas in a rat rod but these guys love it, many have no heat and only a front windshield. Last Viva it snowed and rained most of the trip both ways. Either it's a lifestyle or a hobby for you that's your choice. But do listen to their advise and weigh it out for yourself, this group is pretty valuable that department.

[luckyfasteddie]

Stopped in my State Farm ins mans office today,was quoted 240 for 6mo liability only, no restrictions no pictures they want to see registration after I get tags.Thats a load off my mind

[Good Frosty]

or lay awake half the night fitting parts together in our minds.

Yeah, that always happens.

[killerformula]

Originally Posted by matt167

statisticly it's within 25 miles from home.

Nah, I think home brew is right. Most (more than half) according to progressive happen less than 5 miles from home. 23% less than 1 mile and 29% more in the 2-5 mile range.

Here's the article- Progressive article

K

[poncho62]

Originally Posted by killerformula

Nah, I think home brew is right. Most (more than half) according to progressive happen less than 5 miles from home. 23% less than 1 mile and 29% more in the 2-5 mile range.

Here's the article- Progressive article

K

It's a good thaing that here in Canada, we use kilometers..........We can go 1.6x as far....................

[matt167]

Originally Posted by killerformula

Nah, I think home brew is right. Most (more than half) according to progressive happen less than 5 miles from home. 23% less than 1 mile and 29% more in the 2-5 mile range.

Here's the article- Progressive article

K

looks like that he was right. I know an inshurance adjuster told me it was statisticly within 25 miles from home, which, 2-5 miles is within 25 miles, so we were both right, just home brew was more accurate

[Henry Highrise]

Originally Posted by matt167

looks like that he was right. I know an inshurance adjuster told me it was statisticly within 25 miles from home, which, 2-5 miles is within 25 miles, so we were both right, just home brew was more accurate

You need to be accurate...you know what they say...being close only counts in two things...horseshoes and hand grenades.

[1ownerT]

Originally Posted by Henry Highrise

You need to be accurate...you know what they say...being close only counts in two things...horseshoes and hand grenades.

I heard it to be three things...
Nuclear War

[willowbilly3]

There tends to be a general disdain for "ratrods" here. I think there are some mighty fine old time hotrods around but way too many of them are made for "the look" and not to be funtional as a first thought. I have friends who put 10,000 miles a year on theirs. Expect to pay over 10 grand for anything safe, dependable and not cartoonish. Look on ebay and you may find some for $3000-$4000 that have good components but lack the faddish old clunker engines. Just be forewarned that many of them are built with total disreguard for the safety of anyone.

[home brew]

I love chopped, channeled and fenderless hot rods. My philosophy - build a stiff frame and add a drivetrain with more horsepower than it originally came with and you have a car that can keep up with traffic. Next make sure the electrical, steering and brakes are safe. Find some seats that fit and you are on the road. You don't have to be pretty just safe to have fun! Make it pretty and faster when you have the time and money.

[Henry Highrise]

Build it so it is not so low that if you have a blow out the rim will keep the frame off of the highway. A lot of the ones that I see will not do that....blow out on the front and the frame slams the ground....not good at any speed.

[home brew]

Originally Posted by Henry Highrise

Build it so it is not so low that if you have a blow out the rim will keep the frame off of the highway. A lot of the ones that I see will not do that....blow out on the front and the frame slams the ground....not good at any speed.

I agree, many of those cars would not pass a simple safety inspection of their scrub line.

[Good Frosty]

Hmm...I tried to post a new topic and managed to reply on here.

Pretty much, most "underslung" set-ups i've seen, are just selling points for these "radical rats".