Originally Posted by
rspears
John,
When you started here you mentioned buying a finished car, and now you've mentioned building which I assume means having one built to your specs. Mike's got a good eye, as that engine in the yellow coupe is angled back way too much to look and function right. I'm a big fan of "Ford-in-Ford", but shoe-horning a BBF into a deuce coupe is going to be interesting, and any vintage Ford engine (pre-modular) is going to be longer than the Chevy's - Bob gave a very good history lesson back up in post #15 in this very thread. That's why if you choose to buy a finished car you'll likely see about 3-to-1 Chevy powered, and about 1 in 10 stick shift. For me, if I build another one it'll likely have a newer mod-motor for power - I'm a glutton for punishment, and those mods look nasty in an open hood street rod (IMO).
Earlier in this thread it was pointed out that the '33/34 is 6" longer than the Deuce, and that almost all of that room is in the cabin & trunk. You have not mentioned your stature, but for me at 6'3" that extra length is priceless (plus I just love the profile of the '33/34)! We've been through this a lot lately, and while I love to build a guy can get a whole lot of car for a whole lot less money by shopping the market today. Don (DA34GUY) mentioned recently buying a really sweet little deuce roadster for about 65% of the cost of parts on a pallet - very sad for the guy who paid to have it built, but very nice for Don!
I think you're doing the right thing, honing in on what you like, but I would really recommend that you give it just a bit of time, get back on this side of the ocean and spend this summer going to cruise-in's and events like Good Guys & NSRA Nat's where you'll see tons of cars, but more important as you talk to guys and they see that you're serious they may entertain you putting your backside in their driver's seat to see what fits best. It's too bad you won't be back by March 9/10 for the Good Guys Scotsdale event. We're going to be out there visiting friends, and I intend to spend Saturday there roaming around seeing what I can learn, and enjoying all the different ways things are done. If you're serious about spending the bucks to have one built you might talk to Don - he built both of those Deuces above, and can have you living your dream (instead of suffering buyer's remorse) in a month or two, unless you have really crazy ideas about what you want....