Thread: Project $ 3 K Is Underway

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T42 has a good point. I actually bought the car with idea of pulling the SBC 350, 350 tranny and rear end to put in one of my other projects. But Don said it for me best. There is always something that I want to add or change with everything that I buy. Be assured that it will not hit the streets until it is safe to drive. I would probably be insane to drive it without a roll bar. The thing about buckets is that if you ever got hit by another vehicle, maybe the EMTs could use the roll bar to pry your head out of the windshield. I guess that is the price we are willing to pay for playing with large, dangerous toys.

Reg Mason

Quote: "Well, to tell the truth, we haven't gotten there on $ 3000 either. I have sort of gotten carried away a little on mine," on

I have been following this thread since it's inception and have been very interested to see whether or not you could actually pull it off. The quality of your work is exceptional and it truly would have been a feat to bring it in for less than $3000, but I can fully understand your desire to make this rod as good as its workmanship deserves.
Unfortunately, we may now never know whether or not you could have actually met your budget unless you can keep track of your cost overages and give a total of both what you are spending and what you would have spent if you hadn't "splurged." I think many of us would like to see this if it is possible.

Thanks for the nice words. Yeah, I really do feel I let the purpose of this thread down in the financial department. As I have mentioned, as I got into the build the direction started to change because I really began to like the little car and kept adding things to it that weren't really necessary, but that would make it a better looking/ driving rod.

To be tolally honest with you, I have sort of lost track of the dollars. I know I spent probably $ 1500.00 at Turkey Run, and have spent another $ 1500.00 since then (maybe more, maybe less), so added onto the approximately $ 3000.00 I was at before then, my total is probably $ 6000.00. That is purely a guesstimate, and I would have to look at the parts I have bought to see what the actual total is. To complicate it even more, during the Holidays I spent a fair amount of money for parts that were gifts to my Sons for their projects, so that all became intermingled somewhat.

But I owe it to the nice people who have viewed and supported this thread to do a tally, and I like your suggestion about the actual cost vs what it could have been done for. That is do-able, and I will sit down in the near future and come up with a figure for both ways of doing it.

It has weighed on me a little that I didn't stick to the original intent of this build, and feel some people may have felt misled by it. I still feel that it can be done, and you may have noticed a '30 Model A cowl sitting in the background on some of my pictures. I plan to use it and four doors I bought on Ebay a while back to build a little roadster pickup sort of like Dans (but lots cheaper ) I also have a second 394 Olds sitting that I got for free when we repowered my buddies '60 Olds with a 455. These are the basis of another attempt I will make at the $ 3K limit. That stuff sitting there keeps calling to me to get started, but I had better finish this one first.

Thanks for your question, and also to all of the folks who have followed and participated in this project. Your input has been invaluable (like talking me out of using that stupid homebuilt shifter ) I have enjoyed this build so much more because of all the fun we have had with all of you during this this time. Hopefully I am nearing the finish line and can get on to THE REAL PROJECT $ 3K.


Don



PS: I took my engine back to the machine shop today and asked him to hot tank it again to get this paint off. He had a very good explanation of why he couldn't do it. He said this was a marine engine, and he doesn't know what black coating they put on at Mercruiser, but it WON"T come off in his tank. So he had his guys spray more black on top of it when they were done to dress it up. He has been my machinist for 20 years, so I trust him. I guess I will sand the black down as good as I can and epoxy prime over that. If this black paint is that tough, it shouldn't ever give me lifting problems.

Just edit the thread title.................."Project 3K (from each hand) is Underway"



Of course, at the rate you're going maybe that should be............"Project 3K (from each pocket)Is Underway".

Or, I could say it was just a TYPO. I really meant "Project $ 30K". Yeah, that's it, I'm just a bad TYPIST.


Don

Well at that you may even come in under buget

Well, 3K or 30K it's a great project and a great thread. I know I have learned a lot and I thank you for all your efforts.

Thanks, I really appreciate that.


Don

See, I have been following this along because you never can get your money out of your car when you sell it. So I thought I could pick up a REALLY NICE CAR for maybe $1500

Don the 5.0 i have for the A is out of a 84 Capri RS . All complete factory . Sweet car under there just getting older may be the next A model soon .

He should know this supposed to be H.O markings

Originally Posted by Ken Thurm

See, I have been following this along because you never can get your money out of your car when you sell it. So I thought I could pick up a REALLY NICE CAR for maybe $1500

Ken: There were days where I might have taken you up on this deal. Golf is looking better all the time.


Bluestang: I always wondered what those x's were. I have a couple of engines with those, including the one Don was building for the Capri, but is now going in the T.

Weird story on this engine. I saw an '85 T top Mustang sitting in a body shop one day, and the owner tells me some guy didn't pay his repair bill, so he will take $ 600 as it has to get out of there. When I opened the hood it had Moroso valve covers, aluminum intake, Holley 650, and headers, so I am interested. Then I pull the oil fill cap and see roller rockers down in there, and the deal is cinched.

I tore the engine down to see what I had, and found early heads with big Chevy valves, ported and polished. .30 over TRW forged flattop pistons, the crank was crossdrilled and chamfered, and it was a complete roller cam motor. The cam was a Crane, but instead of a stamped number on it there was electric penciled numbers, so I called Crane. The tech couldn't identify it, but checked and called me back. He asked "how did you get that cam?" I told him it was in a car I bought. He went on to tell me it was a factory experimental cam that was never to leave the shop, and that it was really too wicked for the street, and was purely dragrace suited. (I had noticed a lumpy idle )

Anyway, I had the block line bored, decked, honed, etc. and my machinist tells me the heads are very desirable cast iron versions and that someone has spent a lot of money on porting and polishing them plus the stainless Chevy 2 inch valve job. Don just bought an X303 cam and rollers for it, so it should move his T pretty well. The two fours are just for flash.

Later on some guy wanted the T top, so I sold it for $ 500.00, less engine and tranny, ending up with the engine for $ 100.00. That was one time I was in the right place at the right time. However, in one of those "Fatherly moments" Don talked me out of it for I think $ 300.00, so I am now up $ 200.00. Except for all the machine work I had done. lol

Don

I stillthink I should be calling you Dad instead of Don

Sure Charlie, I need another deduction.


Don

Don---You are doing a great job. I have thought right from the beginning that you were doing a lot of 'optimistic estimating" in regards to the finished cost. I have built too damn many over the years to think it was possible to build for 3K. Thats okay though--sometimes if you sat down and truly added up what everything was going to cost, the project would never get started. And, in the final concencus, you will have a great little rod, and have provided yourself and all of us people following your thread with thousands of dollars worth of "entertainment.---Brian

Thanks Brian, as always from you, very nice words. Now if I can talk you into buying that homemade shifter from me. I think I'll turn it into a doorstop.


Don