Thread: need a real hot rod

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hey, i'm 17 and found a chanled choped and narrowed modified in my junkyard when i was getting parts for my charger and have had it stuck in my head ever since. I need lots of help frequently. Right now i'm driving my beater aspen around. If anyones got pointers on building anykind of rod on a budget i'll take them, Thanks

Streets, will you adopt me so I can have a budget like that for my rod?
But badasspen I agree with the other 2, Save your money go to college get a great career going then look into building a sweet ride that will make the others drool friday nights on University Ave, if they still cruise there just west of snelling.
You have a chance to make something of your life being 17 and having dreams, make sure you take those chances. I know I wish I did, I did the military at 18, loved it, but I wish I would have used my GI bill for college when I got out, I did a few classes but never got my degree, Now at 31 I am hurting, Make sure you get that degree in something you love then work on a rod.
Just take those chances then the world of rodding will be open to more options like streets and others have rather than begging and pleading with people for parts and buying junkers to strip for a part then selling the rest to pay for a part you need to buy like me. Its fun and a challenge, But I would rather have it where I don't have to worry about the $$ I spend.
But badasspen, if you are one of the lucky ones that has the $$ for doing both then what kind of cars do you like? You want a coupe? roadster? truck? or the odd ball like me and go with a touring car? It all depends on what you like. Tell us and we can give you some options.

Streets and tech, so am I, but I would also like to be able to afford the new seats for the car, rather than use the ones that have been sitting in my shop for the past 3 years and getting all greasy.
But the point I was trying to make to badasspen is he needs to make sure hes not sinking his future into the car, If he loves working on cars then go to school to be a mechanic or body tech or something, hes 17 and needs to think about his future 1st, Not sure if I made that clear, I was extremely tired last night.
So Badasspen, I am not saying don't build a car, but make sure everything else is planned for before you get too far into it. Youre 17 don't let rods take over your life just yet.

Sweet streets, you really need to adopt me, but seriously right now I am working my arse off just trying to make ends met. And I am actually thinking of taking an online class in graphics and web design so I can actually have a cert in that, and maybe get a job designing web pages for someone else rather than making them and selling them for pocket change.
But I would love to have the time and $$ to return to college and finish my last year in Criminal Justice so I can get back in a department, rather than a small force, But that will have to wait until I can find another good paying job since I am getting layed off in 40 days. Just when I was coming up for another review which would have put my pay up to an amount I could finally start putting money away for college again.
Oh well, as they say when 1 door closes another opens. Maybe this is the door to the jackpot.

i guess i didn't tell the whole story. I lost the chargers this spring when i fliped my parents spirit. My grandpa taught me the importance of and education and even left me 10,000 just for college. I got a summer job makin pizzas. I'm realy wondering if i coulde build myslef a rat rod with my budget or do you think i should just save my money for college. My parents arn't into cars and won't help. The only thing is i keep thinking building a hotrod is kind of an education itslef and having a nice rod i built myself could maybe even help me get my foot in the door for a future job. Thanks for caring thoughe. and thanks for the all the advice

Hey bad, listen to the good advice on college. Rat rods on a budget are tons of fun. But if you do the good solid education thing, you'll have an excellent starting point (as Streets has done), for a diversified career doing things that are fun and not just having to settle for some bs job that pays the rent. Don't be ashamed of the Aspen, looks kewl to me. You should see my "daily driver" pickup!!!!

Bad I don't think anyone here is telling you to give up your hobby/dreams. It seems to pretty much boil down to priorities. If you priorities are set right the world can be pretty fullfilling.

The main question is what do you want to do in life, and what do you need to do to get there. I built my first hotrod when I was 17, but used "spare" money to do it. The majority of the money I made working at a car dealership (COOP program, school 1/2 day, job the second half) was put away for school. For the year it took to get through trade school (8 hours a day 5 days a week) hotrods were put on hold, there was not enough hours in the day (or money in the buildfold) the go to school (and learn something), work a part time job, have a social life (aahhhh remember when we were young) and build a car.

The plus was the day that I graduated I was able to walk into a skilled job that payed a lot better than some of my friends made without any skills. That first diploma, along with the others I acquired over the years has made a lot of difference getting jobs over other applicants. Even after 30 years it hangs on the wall of my shop and it is part of the first impression prospective customers have of me.

That little peice of paper has allowed me put a roof over my head, food on the table, raise kids own my own buisness AND build my own cars for 30 years.

In this area, I look at a lot of guys my who age (50+) with a high school education that are still working for just above minimum wage... when they can find a job, and will have to until they can no longer work or can draw Social Security. The people with skills (and the paper to prove it) are the ones that are building/buying the neat cars.

Streets thats the problem, I have always dreamed of being a cop, thats what I am looking for right now, but I also love building things from computers to cars, I am great at building computers, and as cars go I can do that real good, but don't have the money to do it as much as I like, And problem with doing that for a living, no one will hire someone with out the degree, So I am stuck doing server level tech support until my layoff then find something else, Maybe I can get into a reeducation program with jobservice due to this layoff, But I agree with your thinking, make sure the grandkids have what they need but also make sure they know how to work for what they want.
And Aspen, save your $$ right now for what you need during college, for spending $$ food and whatever else you'll want, Then after college you can get the good job, and build your car with out having to sacrifice. Its only 4 years and in that time you can make sure you know what you want to make.

I guess i get your guys point now. I had to laughe at myself when i read the 17 years to 200 years of life lessons comparison. And i guess the asspen s pretty cool. Thanks for pointing me towrad the right decision. I don't have to stop dreaming about cars anyways. And just today i met a dude who's gonna give me some free parst to rod the asspen with! Thanks everyone. This has been the most suportive formum i've every seen. lol