Thread: should I not buy a Street Beasts Car ?

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I think the grass could use some Weed N' Feed.

Lots of Redo things? What do you think needs to be redone?

Originally Posted by DennyW

Do you really want me to get all the pictures and point them out ??

Now that I've seen the EBAY pics. I know I'm stickin' with my assesment.

Originally Posted by DennyW

Do you really want me to get all the pictures and point them out ??

The longer you look the worse it gets.

Oh oh!!! Looks like there might be a bidding war as a second guy has jumped into the fire. At least the name seems to fit the car, "Toxic" 34

Originally Posted by NTFDAY

The longer you look the worse it gets.

Yeah, at first glance it looks really right, but like the guys said, if you start looking at the dash, under the hood, at the undercarriage and the engine, it is sort of rough. I think he would have been better off posting just a few pictures, because in some it looks really good, but in some others the flaws start to show up.

I'm not knocking the car, but for the money they are asking I would want something much better.


Don

Check out these pictures, look at the frame paint, dash, etc.


Don

Street Beasts are a vague replica of a 33-34 Ford. I have seen many that are nice but others are crap. It's true that if you break something like a fender, it is basically a repair job. You can't go to Wescott's and buy a replacement - it will not fit. The grille and shell are not actual replicas and are unique as well. And quite frankly, mant people ignore them at shows as it's "only a Street Beast POS" regardless of the fact as much time, effort and money have been spent. And yes, when you research the company, you will find lots of financial and legal problems past and pending

But saying that, like all street rods, they are an expression of the owner - and if you like it, don't mind some aches and pains, and criticism, can afford it both in purchase price and eventual selling price, go for it if it is your thing.

Darned it that doesn't look like a Gibbon body . . .

Originally Posted by Sounder

Well, I have a street beast that I'm building. Seems that all the negative comments are from people who don't have one, and most haven't seen one either. I've been doing the build for two years, including hot and cold weather, and the fiberglass is holding up just fine. In my eyes, the quality has been good, and they have done everything they promised.

I just had a painter come to do an estimate, and he was impressed with the quality of the glass and the fit of the doors and hood. That's just with my alignment, not with any professional adjustment or body filler. He said he expects 100 hours of body work, including blocking, smoothing, and resolving any issues to make it perfect. Compared to others I've seen, this sounds like a very reasonable amount of time. Seems most figure at least 50 hours just to block and prep for paint, so I think I'm doing good. He also said he just finished doing a Heritage Willys that took over 500 hours of body work to get the door and hood lines straight, and has been back to him several times for issues that came up due to the poor quality of the glass. So, SB may not be the best, but it's surely not the worst!

What I see with SB is that many of the people who build them think they are saving money. They plan from the start to have a "bargain". What they end up with is a not-so-good job. I'm doing the best I can, using the best parts, and getting a good finish, and I have a car that I'm confident I can be proud of for a long time coming. I've seen a lot of them over the years, and the difference is all about what level of effort the builder put into doing good work.

Buy what you like. Look it over, and if it's done well, enjoy the car!

Good comment about folks thinking they're gonna save a few bucks.
Not true in almost all cases Street Beasts or not.

I am curious though, and no insult intended, is this your first hot rod build?
Have you worked with any other aftermarket body manufacturers offerings?

My experiences have been with Wescott and Brookville.
Both were quite satisfactory.
The Brookville roadster is to the looks like you could drive it stage for just over $14,000.
A chunk of change for sure, but not as bad as it could have been.
About $2500. to get it plumbed, wired and drive train rebuilt should have it up and running in primer.

All work to date done by me and I'll be the guy doing the engine, trans and paint.

That said, a friend of mine was building hot rods for others in his street rod shop and had some interesting things to say about the poor fit of the Street Beast's doors to body among other things.

More than a few bad words were interspersed into the conversation....

At first glance it looks pretty OK. Looking closer, especially with all our CHR friends' trained eyes the picture becomes cloudy. One thing for sure; you shouldn't touch it without going to see it first hand and going over it very diligently.

If the glass body won't hold up as stated previously, that fancy paint job is gonna look mighty crappy really quick! And she'll cost a bundle to redo and maybe still not hold up?!

Regards, Kitz

Originally Posted by kitz

At first glance it looks pretty OK. Looking closer, especially with all our CHR friends' trained eyes the picture becomes cloudy. One thing for sure; you shouldn't touch it without going to see it first hand and going over it very diligently.

If the glass body won't hold up as stated previously, that fancy paint job is gonna look mighty crappy really quick! And she'll cost a bundle to redo and maybe still not hold up?!

Regards, Kitz

Great advice, you should NEVER buy a car without seeing it in person regardless of how many pictures are available. Nothing can compare to in person visual inspection, what may look good in a picture may not be how it actually looks and feels once you actually sit in it and take it for a drive.

Spending a few hundred dollars in gas money could save thousands and lots of grief in the long run. I had a six hundred mile round trip to see my car before I bought it (actually had to drive it twice) but in the end it was well worth it.

Spending a few hundred dollars in gas money could save thousands and lots of grief in the long run. I had a six hundred mile round trip to see my car before I bought it (actually had to drive it twice) but in the end it was well worth it. (QUOTE)

I couldn't agree more. If I were spending over $ 30,000.00 I would want to feel it and touch it before any cash exchanged hands. Drive it too.

The only time I ever backed out on an Ebay purchase was on a '40 Ford pickup cab I bought on Ebay. We drove 13 hours to Shreveport La, saw the horrible condition it was in (it looked much better in the pictures) and within 3 minutes we were back on the road home........with no truck on the trailer. He had made it sound like it was in really good shape, so I didn't feel bad about not going through with the deal, and I was talking about a whole lot less than $ 30K.


Don

The other funny thing is that if you noticed the write up, it says it was re-listed because someone "hijacked" his post!!!!

Pat

That made me wonder too, Pat. Seemed a little strange. I think someone agreed to buy it, he pulled the ad, then they backed out.


Don