Has Anyone Here Built A Car?

[cOoTeR]

So ive been thinking about buying a fun car after we pay off my wifes car. I thought about a corvette or WRX STI but lately I've been leaning towards building a hot rod. I haven't decided on what style yet. I'm fairly mechanically inclined but not Chip Foose. As far as body work and paint I'll probably take it to a shop to get it done right. But I can do most regular mechanical stuff. I don't have any machining ability.

Has anyone built a car on their own before? Any advice and is it worth it? My plan is to do a little at a time and buy the needed parts as I go.

[jester3681]

Paint and body work will probably be the single largest expense.  If you can't tackle this yourself, I'd buy a completed project.

[Steve Butters]

Not necessarily... You could buy a clean roller and build from there... My biggest advice, set your budget 4x what you actually expect to spend, and don't bother unless you have extreme patience to see the project through

[cOoTeR]

As far as paint I honestly prefer the flat black with maybe red pin stripe. I'm thinking of buying a rolling chassie and throwing a crate motor inside. So a decentbbody is the big purchase I'm looking at.

[chevysoldier]

Get with magley and build a flying car

[Gixxus Christ!]

Make sure you have magley do all your wiring.

[zx3vfr]

Do all the prep work yourself.

But cars suck and are bigger money pits than motorcycles

[magley64]

I've done it, more than once...

 

Get a body with a title (or if air cooled VW a Pan with a title)

The rest of it is up to you, and you can go as extreme or mild as you like.

That way you don't have to mess with all the inspections and BS that go with getting a home built title.

 

my last one has less than a grand invested, and it turns heads ans makes people smile everywhere i go.

[Medina]

and start shopping for someones left over dreams. I see not completed (insert one, bike car truck this that) all the time, and often they've done the miserable work and given up, like titling some oddball etc

I did a 72 chev step side 6cyl. when I was done 383 stroker beast. enjoyed it a lot looking back. 

you have to be an obsessive compulsive disorder or it will rust away. plan on 3-15 years depending

Live, love the journey, cause the ending is anti climatic 

[20thGix]

Build something you want to keep forever as you will never get out of it what you put in it. Like Medina said start with someone elses left over dream. IIRC it was a HotRod magazine i was reading that said set a goal for your project last no more than 3 or 5 years. I dont remember all the details from the article but it was along the lines of usually after that time most projects never get finished.

I used to be into working on car but now i dont have the disposable income to sink into that kind of stuff. I would like to do it again someday. Maybe when the kid gets alittle older we can find something to work on together.

Edited July 10, 2013 by 20thGix

[Medina]

 

Maybe when the kid gets alittle older we can find something to work on together.

 

 

hehe, thats what changed my life, for the better! got back into bikes after a long break, he's a bit older getting friends, still needs dad, but I can see him eyeing the gate, LOL

I'm preparing a project when that happens-

[oldschoolsdime92]

I'm in the midst of restoring a 59 vw dune buggy , that belonged to my wife's grandfather. I've take about a year break. Be prepared to have it consume your life. It's fun, I've built/ helped build multiple cars. Don't cut corners don't rig things and say you'll fix it later. Just do it right the first time.

[serpentracer]

just don't get off track.  it takes years to do one right. most guys end up wanting to drive it right away and try to get it road worthy and never complete it properly. 

when I say properly it looks like a well taken care of vehicle not something someone wants to take pics of.

 

here are a bunch from last summer at a park that has a car show every year.

I took pics of only the good stuff.  stuff I think of when I think of a car that is worthy to show off.

 

[ludwb675]

My dad and I restored a 67' Camaro SS. We did a frame off (unibody) restoration and turned it into a show car. It was fun for the first few years taking it to shows. We won the Camaro class at all the local shows and a the All Camaro show at Summit Racing (our class was 67-69 at that show). 

 

Now it sits in my dad's garage. We got bored of the car shows and it's too nice to just drive around town. I live an hour away now so i only see it a few times a year. Wish i had another garage to store it in. If i could do it over, i would have put more money in the go than show and make it a daily driver. 

 

I plan on doing a 52-56 F100 in the future. I want to put some big block in it, chop it and maybe tub it. It will be a daily driver and i'll burn gas like a mofo.

[ZxHooligan]

I see no Mopar in the slideshow still trying to put mine back together. Got it before college ran out of money and time now trying to find more parts for it. If you go with Mopar the parts market is slim and what you can find expect to pay 2 times as much compared to bowties and fords

[magley64]

My dad and I restored a 67' Camaro SS. We did a frame off (unibody) restoration and turned it into a show car. It was fun for the first few years taking it to shows. We won the Camaro class at all the local shows and a the All Camaro show at Summit Racing (our class was 67-69 at that show). 

 

Now it sits in my dad's garage. We got bored of the car shows and it's too nice to just drive around town. I live an hour away now so i only see it a few times a year. Wish i had another garage to store it in. If i could do it over, i would have put more money in the go than show and make it a daily driver. 

 

I plan on doing a 52-56 F100 in the future. I want to put some big block in it, chop it and maybe tub it. It will be a daily driver and i'll burn gas like a mofo.

+1 The ones serpent took photos of are very nice to look at, and if that is your intention, go for it....

 

personally, I like to build stuff i can drive. I take my dune buggy everywhere, and sometimes it gets rained on... Doesn't bother me, i enjoy it just the same.

The 67 Tempest/GTO we built, i used as my daily driver, and I had an absolute blast driving it. 

The short bug I helped with, it was crazy fun, and popped wheelies.

 

build something you're going to enjoy. If you enjoy sitting at car shows watching every tom dick and harry ooh and ahh at your car, then build a show car. If you enjoy offroading every once in a while, build a jeep, or a dune buggy or a rail buggy or a lifted truck. If you're into pure street acceleration and handling, build a little F1 car, (this is my next build I think) or a wide tire street rod... the sky is really the limit when youre building.

Edited July 11, 2013 by magley64

[Bad324]

It took my Dad 3 years to restore his all original 67 GTO and I bet he easily put in an average of 30 hours a week to do it

[ohiomike]

I've done the resto thing-a 1971 Z-28. Didn't have to do any bodywork, but did rebuild the entire suspension including body bushings, rebuilt the tranny & rear end, and rebuilt the engine which ended up dyno'ing at 508 rhp out of a small block chevy motor.

It can be lots of work, but the more work, the more satisfaction derived when its all done, imho. But like someone else said, do not expect to get back out of it what you invest in it. Consider it a labor of love.

Enjoy

Edited July 11, 2013 by ohiomike

[redkow97]

would you consider a kit-car?

 

There are hotrod kit cars out there.  My dad has casually considered a Shelby Cobra or GT40 kit car.   I would happily help build and borrow either!

[conn-e-rot]

You're in Arizona most of the cars out there are in amazing condition. Biggest thing to remember is don't build it thinking you will make money build it to drive and enjoy because 9 times out of 10 you will never get out of it what you put in to it.

[cOoTeR]

You're in Arizona most of the cars out there are in amazing condition. Biggest thing to remember is don't build it thinking you will make money build it to drive and enjoy because 9 times out of 10 you will never get out of it what you put in to it.

Yeah but the ones in good condition seem to be over priced or not for sale. I need to get a chunk of change together and have it ready for when I find one of those too good to be true deals that never lasts. But on the other hand I found a couple of nice WRX STI's that are pretty sweet. It's just wrapping my head around another car payment and getting my wife to like those that's holding me up from going that route.

[redkow97]

You're in Arizona most of the cars out there are in amazing condition. Biggest thing to remember is don't build it thinking you will make money build it to drive and enjoy because 9 times out of 10 you will never get out of it what you put in to it.

 

you can only make money if you're really awesome at it, and doing significant volume.  There was a good show on Speed or Discovery where all the guy (and his crew) did was flip cars at auction.

 

but they had the knowledge, talent, tools, and other resources to do it quickly, and turn over a car (or two) every month.  Plus they had relationships with the painters and parts warehouses that got them better pricing, etc. 

 

Even then, their margins were surprisingly small at times.  They were buying these cars for $4k - $10k, putting $20,000 into them, and still only selling them for $36k or so.  That's why they have to do at least a car a month...

[cOoTeR]

Yeah its definitely not for profit. I may wait until my son is old enough to help so he can learn some mechanical skills. That way he doesn't end up like my brother who cannot change oil.