Where'd you all get your cars...?

[Pope Downunder]

I'm looking for some pointers and stories and legacy from this group here about how to find a car or truck that is worth chopping.  ... snip ...Thanks - Mark

My P/Up cab was imported by an Aussie dealer in 1988.  It was an ex mill truck can from Minnesota (I think).  It was rough, but cheap ($1200 AU).  The bed came from Mexico, via a fellow in South Australia.  The chassis and firewall from a '32 Roadster I used to own; and the fenders from a local Roadster that was turned into a highboy.

The '37 Coupe was imported in 1978 and went through several aborted builds, and I got it "word of mouth" in 2000.  

You are in a good position to locate 'tin'; not too far from the arid areas, and away from the major cities.  Look at these I seen at the GG Pike's Peak event in 2000. I think the sedan was $3500 and the Coupe was $4500.  They were both rust free and very complete.

[Pope Downunder]

I'm looking for some pointers and stories and legacy from this group here about how to find a car or truck that is worth chopping.  ... snip ...Thanks - Mark

My P/Up cab was imported by an Aussie dealer in 1988.  It was an ex mill truck can from Minnesota (I think).  It was rough, but cheap ($1200 AU).  The bed came from Mexico, via a fellow in South Australia.  The chassis and firewall from a '32 Roadster I used to own; and the fenders from a local Roadster that was turned into a highboy.

The '37 Coupe was imported in 1978 and went through several aborted builds, and I got it "word of mouth" in 2000.  

You are in a good position to locate 'tin'; not too far from the arid areas, and away from the major cities.  Look at these I seen at the GG Pike's Peak event in 2000. I think the sedan was $3500 and the Coupe was $4500.  They were both rust free and very complete.

[purplepickup]

All the responses so far are right on the money.  In other words, you can find cars in almost any possible circumstance you can think of.  It's important to put car related things in your life wherever possible.  Hang out at forums like this one, talk to guys at local cruise-ins, go to car shows around you, read about cars, and there's an endless amount of information on the internet.

I've bought cars at swap meets, on ebay, thru friends that ran across one they thought I might be interested in, spotting one for sale in someone's front yard.....you just never know where you might run across one.  I was mushroom hunting in the woods this spring and ran across a clean 34 Chevy 3 window coupe just sitting in someone's back forty with weeds growing up around it.  I stopped to ask about it yesterday and I think the guy will let me have it for next to nothing.  Three years ago I was visiting some friends I made here on RRT while they were camping at a Goodguys event.  It was mentioned that I have a few '31 Chevys and someone asked if I wanted another one.  $600 later and a drive to Missouri, the car is now parked in one of my storage buildings waiting for it's turn to be brought back to life.  

If you do get addicted to this hobby, I hope you have the room to put all the stuff you're likely to collect.  If you don't have a shop and are thinking of building one, build it twice the size you can afford.  You'll be glad you did.  If you go that route, I'd have someone that knows about cars check it out for you.  There is a lot of poorly built cars out there.  A lot of good ones too.

If you don't have many fabricating skills or the tools or friends needed to do the cutting, welding, engineering, and fabricating necessary to turn a rusted hulk into a safe, driveable rod, I would suggest that you look for cars that are already built.  There are good cars that need to be redone that sell for reasonable prices.  I've seen really good unfinished projects go dirt cheap when they are sold because of divorces or health reasons.

The first thing you have to do is figure out what kind of car really turns your crank.   Building a car is a labor of love and if the car you get isn't quite what you want, the project becomes a chore and you'll probably lose interest.  Then one of us will buy it from you for half of what you've got into it.

I noticed you didn't answer tomslik's post.  You should.  He's a heck of a nice guy and knows his stuff.  Plus he lives right down the road from you.

Happy hunting.

[EisenMark]

All great replies here, lots of them, too.  I'd been doing lots of pounding and cutting on the bikes, but have been bringing all the pieces to Brown's welding over in Boulder - great welder, great fabricator, but I can drop a couple hundred on any given trip over there.  I have a starndard stick arc welder, but my sheet-metal welding turns more into cutting, so I've signed up for welding 101 at the local community college.  None of this amounts to a hill of beans minus the experience - that's where the real work is.

If you don't have many fabricating skills or the tools or friends needed to do the cutting, welding, engineering, and fabricating necessary to turn a rusted hulk into a safe, driveable rod, I would suggest that you look for cars that are already built. Happy hunting.

[EisenMark]

Where are you at?  I'm not in Louisville right this second but I'll be back in a couple weeks.

WRT what I'm looking for, I'm not sure but something the simpler the better.  I'm not all that interested in restoring something to it's new pristine self, more interested in making something out of an old hulk.  One time, years ago, I ran across a junk lot in Massachusetts that had lots of old beat-up rusted relics - I was more interested in the half-redone Indian out front at the time, though.

All I can say about what I'm thinking of is that it's something old, pre-60s where bodies were really made out of steel and engines had points and the wiring was mostly out of the distributor.  Can't go older than the mid 40's though because that breaks into a whole new realm.

No, not in Toronto but in Louisville, Colorado (the other Louisville).



looks like you're just down the road from me.
what are ya looking for?

[Dirk35]

I got my 35 from my Uncle. My grandfather tells stories of it hauling pigs (thoushand pound plus sows) to the market.

My 49, I got for a body shop that had given up on the project.

If you live near Stillwater, OK, stop by Hauf Auto before he auctions it all off in the next few years. He will sell it cheaper than it will bring at auction if he likes you. If he doesnt like you, he will ask a fortune for everything.

[tomslik]

berthoud.

[meanmachine]

Where I live here in Indiana ,I can show you about 20 places to find old cars from the 1900's to the early 70's but it is all in what you wallet can afford as to what you will get.
looked at a 50's bullet nosed studebaker last week. It was complete but had not been on the road for more then 30 years, one guy has nothing but old caddy's sitting in a field a place about 10 miles from my home has nothing but 50 - 55 chevy's very light on the 55's but it is a great place to find parts .
even the local motorcycle junkyard has an old 49 desoto and a 50 dodge.

a couple of the old farmers around have some model A's and T's sitting out in a field.
it all depends on how much you are willing to do to get it.
My 54 was bought for me by my wife because she thought I needed another car to work on beside my friends.

[enjenjo]

I am in the middle of a 5,000 mile road trip, and can tell you cars are to be fould everywhere. I have seen cool starter cars in every state we passed through, a lot of them with for sale signs and reasonable prices.

In Mo, I found a 35 Ford panel with a $750 price tag on it, in Ok, a 26 or 27 T roadster body setting in a woods, NM had a whole junkyard full of AD Chevy trucks.

Most of these were on or near interstates, so off the beaten path I would expect more. All you have to do is look.

[Dave]

I'm looking for some pointers and stories and legacy from this group here about how to find a car or truck that is worth chopping.  This forum represents a lot of cars that have been found, chopped and finished, maybe sold off, maybe kept.  I don't know how to even begin looking for the right car.  I've been building and rebuilding motorcycles over the past few years, so at a simplistic level I know how to begin the cut and chop routine.  Bikes are pretty easy to find, pretty easy to get parts for and how much trouble can you really get into?  So if I want to do a car, it's going to be a pretty good mess, I've resigned myself to that.  My wife will take more work to get her on-board with this, but what the hey.  

What are the basics?  Where do you find your cars?  Cash-only business, right?  Do you go to car shows with a trailer and haul stuff away?  I'm just looking for some ideas here as to how to get rolling (haha).

Thanks - Mark

My latest ride.. MASTERCARD>>>>>>>>>>>> and a whole lot of work
Dave
Actually I sold one to build one. The most fun of my life spending 32 grand and watching the look on my wifes face. Ive never really shopped before she is the pro at spending money LOL...

[Dave]

I am in the middle of a 5,000 mile road trip, and can tell you cars are to be fould everywhere. I have seen cool starter cars in every state we passed through, a lot of them with for sale signs and reasonable prices.

In Mo, I found a 35 Ford panel with a $750 price tag on it, in Ok, a 26 or 27 T roadster body setting in a woods, NM had a whole junkyard full of AD Chevy trucks.

Most of these were on or near interstates, so off the beaten path I would expect more. All you have to do is look.

Now that your almost retarded? retired why dont you buy em all bring em back and build em.. Im sure your pension will net you about 6k a week take home. Geeze a little food a few rod parts and look at you showing alloway how things should be done

Dave
Oh then there is Boyd .. Your a lot nicer and smarter too.

[enjenjo]

Yeah, right, 6 K a week. You must be on crack. I'm a teamster for cripes sake.

[flamefink]

I bought my Model A body at the swap meet during the NSRA Rocky Mountain Nats. Paid $475 for it, a steal compared to prices back my way. Even though some may want to start with more than a just a body, there were projects there for anyone. If I would have been armed with more money, I would have been in trouble. There was anything from a running, driving, all original, all there 61 T-bird for $500 to a 48 Ford cab over on a mid 90's econoline chassis needing only wiring to drive it for $800.

I cant say that this swap meet is the same way every year, but it seemed like the people out there just weren't buying and the vendors were trying to unload stuff.

If you're ever out that way in early to mid June and have nothing better to do, its worth a try. Besides, even if there isn't much in the swap meet the show is great and theres plenty of old cars sitting around locally.

Brett

[Gambler]

I know there's some awesome deals here in relatively rust free SW Colorado..I found my 59 Rambler Wagon for 300 bucks at a local mechanics shop. (UPDATE: I have done NOTHING with it. I dont want to sell her that badly, but I'm kinda stuck with future plans).

[GPster]

(UPDATE: I have done NOTHING with it. I dont want to sell her that badly, but I'm kinda stuck with future plans).

Babies can do that. I wondered if your computor died. There's always time to type a message between feedings. One thing nice about Colorado is that vehicle setting there don't rust to the ground while sitting like they do in Ohio. You're in a bad place though, if that California idea becomes a law and they bring it to Colorado you'd have to put plates on it every year. I hear Colorado plates aren't cheap. GPster