Quote Originally Posted by J. Robinson
Now boys,.. don't scare the new guy away from hotrodding with all your talk of money...

Steve - The cost of a hotrod depends on how much of the work you can do yourself, how creative you can be with salvaged parts, and how patient you are. I have just under $7600 in my coupe and, although it would never win the Don Ridler Award of Excellence, it draws a lot of attention wherever it goes and is very reliable (I drove it on a 2400 mile round trip last summer). I used parts from 27 different vehicles so far (some new; some used). I built it fairly inexpensively because I did absolutely everything myself except sew the seat covers (which I ordered online and installed myself). My moto is, "Labor is free when you're workin' for yourself."
J. Robinson- Im not new to cars altogether but I am new to hotrodding of sorts. I recently did a completely rebuild of my 85 z28. Its still finishing up but Im driving it on a daily basis. In the end I only spent about $1400 CDN on it. That gave me a 85 z28 with a rebuilt mildly hopped up 350 chev, rebuilt 700r4 and rebuilt 3.73 posi and a set of very nice 50 series tires for the back. I did all the work myself except for some welding help and tranny help. The rear end was already rebuilt and came with the rolling shell I bought. However I now need a vehicle for the winter. So heres the thoughts.

1986 4x4 long box chev truck. 350 chev. raised 3-5 inches. with roll bar. and big mud slingers. flat black {doesnt scratch while on hunting trips in woods} with polished aluminum grill wheels etc.

1973 Ford Tow truck. It has a big block, not sure size. I think its a 460? Im not a ford guy But this tow truck is sweet! It needs a mild rebuild and its a friend of mine that owns it. Said hed give it to me for my 4.10 posi rear end {good}, 305 sbc {running}, 350sbc block {BAD cond!} and 427bbc {short block, half decent cond.}

Last but not least would be a 30's delievery van I know of which I would put on a S 10 frame put an old chev 8.5 inch 10 bolt under with either a 350 or 305 I have for power and a th350.

I have everything I would need for the truck except lift kit {and the truck lol}.

I dont have any ford stuff, but it would be one cool ride!

I have most stuff for the van except for the th350 but I can get one of those for free no prob.

What do you guys think?

I want to get into hot rodding! lol.

Steve
PS: Not too bad of a collection of parts for a 17 year old eh?