Thread: About to (maybe) buy my first hotrod. Please school me on 1931 Ford Coupes

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Your number one battle is going to be fighting the "I wants". Your $20k budget isn't out of line for a variety of steel hot rods, but as important as living within your means is.........buying right and not shooting yourself in the foot is even more important.

I've been told I'm blunt.......you've been warned. Unless that car is your "dream car" just the way it is I'd recommend you pass on it unless you could get it for something around $4k give or take. Yeah, a ridiculous amount of money, and an amount that would likely insult the seller, but if you wanted to take all the "dated" out of it that's where it needs to be (at best) to pencil out. Now, you don't know me from sickem........and it would take a couple hours face to face to educate you enough to convince you why that number is real.

Look above at the nifty check list 36 put up for cost guidelines, it's pretty realistic, and arguable conservative depending on the subject car (as he noted). As an example, in order to get the chassis/running gear to something not "out of date" you'd be looking at something around $8k for a roller to transfer all the re-useable components to. Then add in the numbers for changing interior, dash, probably gauges, shifter, steering column, and on and on. Then wheels and tires, exhaust, probably wiring, and who knows what else. Chop? Typical number to have it done by a pro is somewhere around $5K (not counting paint work)......oh, and leaving the visor off a Model A looks like ass.....Shooting from the hip, without an inspection, the above will add up close to what another car more like what it sounds like you might be interested in would cost ready to drive and enjoy (or at least a whole lot closer). Like I said above, it takes time to learn and absorb why the answers are what they will be..............and we still don't really know what style of car winds your watch yet.

Not so much to tear down that Model A but look at where the wheels sit in the fenders..........the track is way wide. Looks like the front is Jag independent which might explain that, and then the Vette rear thing again. Yeah, you could take the fenders off with a couple wrenches, but the stance will just get even dorkier looking. The Wabbits dash is a definite throwback, the boy racer low ball shifter, the cobby steering column install.........I'll stop. Sure this is all my opinion, yours and others can differ, but I'm back to asking "what is the style of car that makes your heart patter?" Don't fool yourself into thinking you can easily or cheaply change a sows ear into your silk purse.................unless you've got more skill and resources than is apparent at this point in our discussion.

I can critique cars all day (though I'm not as enthusiastic about that as I once was), but my best advice for you right now and for the near future is "work at figuring out just what you want for the finished product". If you don't do that first you'll be spinning wheels.........for you and anyone else.

A good learning event for you would be the Lone Star Roundup in Austin the beginning of April; The 15th Annual Lonestar Rod & Kustom Round Up - April 8 & 9th, 2016 - Austin, Texas There is usually a lot of hardware to examine and friendly folks to learn from.............think about it, please.........

EDIT: okay, at second look I now think the front suspension is Pinto/Mustang II. Good in some apps, sucks on a Model A appearance wise.