[Jrulli]

Hi All let me begin by saying I'm new to the site but have learned a lot.
My situation is this: I presently own a limousine service in Milwaukee Wisconsin ([url]www.**********) while my focus has always been traditional town car limousines and buses I get requests for antique vehicles as well. I'm looking at purchasing an early 1930's ford or chevy sometime next year. For obvious reasons A street rod seems the way to go with newer engine, transmission, suspension and AC. I'm looking to make this vehicle as original looking as possible including wheels and interior.
My question for the hot rod guys here is this should I buy an original vintage car and have a modern drivetrain installed or buy an existing street rod and improve upon it. I'm not crazy about buying a beautiful original vehicle only to butcher it up so I'm leaning towards the second option.

[Richiehd]

I would go with the second option myself. I will tell you though, if you go with a fendered 1930's car for limo purpose, the seating is narrow. I had a 31 chevy sedan, rear suicide doors, chopped 2 inches, 350 auto a/c. I loved that car, it was reliable, quick and neat looking going down the road. BUT it only sat 4 people. If you are going to stretch it, it still only sits 2
wide. Whatever, just a thought.

[poncho62]

Limo company around here has a stretched 57 Chevy....gets lots of action.

[TucsonJay]

A street rod can be had with that modern drivetrain... plus better suspension, steering and brakes... A/C... etc, for less than you could build it yourself.

You could repaint it in early style colors, if necessary... then add something like aftermarket wire wheels, to give it a vintage look. Check out "thewheelsmith.net".

That would also allow you to use modern tires. A customer of mine is doing a '30s vintage-appearing project right now.

Cheaper and faster than rebuilding an original car. :-)

[OneMoreTime]

Do not limit yourself to a "A" or deuce as those are small there are some larger vintage cars that would make a good limo as well..

Sam

[hpete]

30's era caddys and packards in rough condition are value priced these days, they won't be cheap to finish though.

[dinger]

Read our guidelines please, NO COMMERCIAL ADVERTISING IS ALLOWED.

Thank you, Matt!, Dan

[johnnyg]

Originally Posted by jamesbull98

[I][I]**************

He is building one, not renting. Spammer

[timothale]

I couldn't find a picture, a good friend , Lee Stauffacher bought a rolls royce Limo that had been in Queen elizabeth's fleet, It broke down when they did the test drive. He updated it with 460 ford power C 6, 9 rear end and a GM front clip. his 23 dodge touring is on the net, upgraded also with ford drive train. He was a Ford engineer, VP of R & D for Saleen, Manager of advanced autosport, has buildt a few unique cars,

[AutoGear]

What about a vintage Bus or a Depot Hack type vehicle; Something akin to a Station wagon in size; but you could upscale the interior, add a flat screen, smallblock chevy with overdrive automatic trans. Not a full on stretch limo, but still plenty interesting and big enough for a small party of people.
Or a late 60s early 70s station wagon like a Vista Cruiser or Safari or a Cadillac Ambulance

[techinspector1]

I'm visualizing an early school bus (like something from the 50's), lowered, painted black with blacked-out windows and chromed wire wheels. Plenty of room for a hot tub.

[59RAMBLERSUPERWAGON]

You have quite a few things to consider here like seating, comfort, style, etc.

I did a simple image search on yahoo for street rod limo. there was a fat fender limo that was pretty slick! But you need to get inside some of the vehicles you are considering to see what the interior is really like and could be as a limo. I would also consider contacting some of those limo owners in the photos.

There was a 1956 chevy super strech limo in my home town, it was pretty dar cool, and had tons of space inside. Good luck!

[vinniekq2]

looks like you are business building?

[1971BB427]

Id start by searching the various ads online and see what kind of prices what you're looking for demand. Once you've got a idea what the vehicle will cost, then you can proceed based on that.
One tip I would give is to not buy something that's got a lot of rust repair, or is not close to complete. Cars with missing parts will kill the cost of a build trying to replace things. As far as the drivetrain is concerned everything can be missing, as I doubt you'll use hardly any of it.

[killeratrod]

look around on the net for an old airport limo. Buy it then hot rod it to fit your needs. They hold at the least 10 !