Thread: Restoring for profit?

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how much would replacing the front clip be? what would i replace it with? Im going to get a job when school starts, so i will have about 2000 a month. If i save up for a year, that will be over 20k (since i will work f/t during summers) after insurance, gas, taxes, etc...

edit: i dont like your sig.

Originally posted by Wonderbread7608
sorry about all the posts, but im getting rally enthusiatstic about this. How much could i sell the '50 for (i think i might get it) if i...

fixed the body,
put light tan paint,
17" chrome daytons,
the 454 with a trans/shaft/axle/SC
leather interior (i can get it cheap down in tj (tijuana, mexico))

so... waddya think? show and go.

Personally, I think it woulden't go for much if you put the 17's on it because it's not really a good choice for a rod and many people ( myself included ) don't care for low profile tires on older cars, the 454 may not even fit in that engine bay ( I'll measure my engine bay cause it's the same size as the '50 so you will know if it will fit by engine deminsions), you'll get better profit if you put on. fixed up you could get anywheres from 10,000 to 25,000 depending on quality of work. My car puts out about 105 rwhp but when done should put out about 150-200 which is more than adaquate for me. I woulden't recomend the 454, I would recomend a small block, somthing like 350 or a 385 fastburn, the 454 you picked out may have too high of compression and with a supercharger, it would blow the heads off the engine, for supercharging, compression needs to be below 9:1

Originally posted by Wonderbread7608
how much would replacing the front clip be? what would i replace it with? Im going to get a job when school starts, so i will have about 2000 a month. If i save up for a year, that will be over 20k (since i will work f/t during summers) after insurance, gas, taxes, etc...

edit: i dont like your sig.

You would replace the front clip with somthing like a Mustang II IFS which you can get from boneyards fairly cheap but, they should be installed by someone who knows what there doing because it's bacily putting a new section of frame in after
removing the old and things have to be square. My signature reflects the way I feel about tuners, I don't like true tuners like the 1's on the fast and the furious which I'm shure your acura looks nothing like, I don't get the stickers, 100 pound stereo system, neons that draw lots of power along with the stereo.

lol, i forgot i was trying to make a profit on it. Im gonna look around and see what people have on their cars. 100hp in a old heavy car? thats really not a lot.

how about this engine? 350ci, 330 hp

this color paint and matching interior.


this color interior


these wheels


these tires


Suicided doors
Airbags
4 wheel disc
shaved handels

im sure ill find other stuff to do with it.

Can i put a LSD in these trannys, or do they come with one?

Wonderbread, remember that the LSD is for a transaxle, you will now be dealing with rear wheel drive, in which you can get an LSD rearend instead of a transaxle. You can go to a 9 inch ford rear end a Dana, Chrysler 8 3/4 inch or a GM 10 or 12 bolt, all can be had with limited slip differential.

Didn't quit write that correctly. The LSD will be in the rear end instead of the transaxle on a rear wheel drive car.

ok, thanks.

yes, I make about 105 Hp in my car but, I have yet to put anything other than the Thrush Glasspack for performance parts so, I will gain more Hp when I get the new intake manifold, unfortanatly I have no money for it this year but I'll get a 3 carb intake next year, I just want a car I can cruise in, my car is around 3,800 pounds. Whail your at it, if you get that '50, turn it into a 2dr, if you keep it a 4dr you may not be able to suicide the rear doors causa the way the hinges would go on the opposite side, they would have to stick out too far and it would look doofy. With that paint and interior and those rims and whitewall tires, the car should really look cool, the engine is also a good choice, may even be able to fit it in without changeing the front clip ( may wanto change front brakes to disc tho ) The 454 was a bad choice because there would have been changes that needed to be done to the firewall, the 500 horses would have had to had a transmission rated for over 500 hp so you didn't snap it and most th350's are only rated for 350-400 Hp and th400's 400-450 HP, you would have had to had 1 specially built and not to mention that cooling it would be a problem and also traction would have been a problem.

i can just make it a 2 dr? how would i go about doing that?

If you want to sell for a profit start with a solid car, keep the concept simple, and don't compromise on workmanship.

It is very hard to build a rod and sell it for more money than you have in it. And if you do your labor is going to work out to a buck or less per hour.

You don't make money building cars until people are willing to bring their cars to you and pay you an hourly rate to do the work. That requires experience and reputation. And to get that you need to build a few cars for yourself.

Take your time. You will find a good car if you are patient. An additional $100-200 up front can save thousands later.

I like the early 50s Chevys too. I also like the 53/54s but they are starting to get pricey. But because they are desireable they sell easier.

Usea a quality aftermarket front crossmember. I am assuming your Oceanside is the one North of San Diego. TCI in Ontario makes a good crossmember and they are close. You can drive up and save shipping and get some good installation advice too.

You can use salvage Mustang II/Pinto suspension components, upper and lower A-arms, springs, and spindles but they are getting hard to find in yards. Whatever you get will have to be rebuilt. Get the rack at the same time if you can. Even if it is shot you can use it as a core.

Buddy up with the service techs at the dealership. If they like you they will help a bit, even if it is only advice. And one or two will most likely be in the hobby too. When you build your first rod you really need a "big brother" to help you along. Would not hurt to join a street rodding or early cruesing car club. Rodders like to help kids that are coming along.

It is hard these days to find a good doner car, one that can give up it's engine, tranny, drive shaft, and rear end for your project. But keep your eyes open for a running Chevy from the 60s, 70s, or 80s. One with a good engine and bad everything else. This is usually much cheaper than sourcing all of the components from a yard and you can evaluate the condition of the engine while it is running.

The best Chvey "Crate Engine" is the $1,400 replacement long block. You can find everything you need to dress it out at swap meerts for cheap.

For paint think MACO or Eall Shibe. I'm not kidding. If you can get the boddy prepped right they can do a pretty good job. Particularly if you pull all the glass, trim, bumpers, and weather stripping.

For wheels hit the swap meets. Long Beach and Pamona. You will find a good deal. And the car can sit on scab wheels while it is being built.

When you go shopping, know what you want and what you can pay. Coat Creap is that sneaky little SOB who sneaks in and makes your project economically unreasonable. And be patient. If you don't find what you want don't compromise.

And finally, when you are building don't do anything half assed. It may look good enough for you but a knowledgable buyer will see it and that can cost you the sale or drive the price down. Just because you are proud of it does not mean someone else will want it.

So, start with a solid car, keep the concept simple, and don't compromise on workmanship. Good luck

yeah, that oceanside. thanks for your help.

Bib overalls gave you good help and I too agree that you should keep it simple but good workmanship. to make a 2dr, is very complicated and it requires basicly removing the rear doors and chopping and adding to fit so you have only 2 doors, I like my 4dr as a 4dr.

hmm... that sounds a little complicated. I think ill leave it 4 door.

I found a car that i really liked. It is a 1933 Ford Roadster.

I will keep most stuff the same but...

Dodge Neon Headlights


Cadillac Catera Brake Lights (just the skinny top one)


Ill do a fiberglass Dash, covered in matching leather, and custom set some guages.

The headlights are not possible, the kind of headlights you need are like king bee, they have a cup and a mounting bracket ( like what's on the 1 in the pic ) and a 3rd brake light is a good idea, I suggest agenst using that caddilac brake light, probabbly will look funny on a '33 ford.