Thread: 32 vs 34 Roadster & 33 Speedstar?

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As for the "all in one kit", these cars are intended to have personal choices, so nobody really does an all inclusive deal. The Street Beasts deal comes closest, but as Bib says, turn the page as fast as you can. There are dealers for bodies, chassis, etc. who would happily sell you all the pieces needed to finish the car. There are several in your area. But it does add up in a hurry.

There is no one source for a total, everything you need to know "bible" out there that I'm aware of. I was a Barnes & Noble earlier and looked over their selection of books. A pretty good one for a beginner looks to be the "How to build a hot rod" by Dennis Parks; http://www.motorbooks.com/cgi-bin/We...ame=BookBrowse . This link is from the publisher. It does a decent job of guiding you through a lot of the things to consider. Much more thorough than we can often be here unless it's dished up piecemeal over time. It hits some of the details of construction, such as brake line routing, front axle build up, and so forth, but really it's not an item by item how to, but rather a synopsis of the whole process. Decent learning tool.

Another addition to Bib's fine comments is the idea of quality, especially as it applies to glass bodies. The initial price is only one of the factors. Not only is freight a consideration, but so is body condition. If you have to pay a pro to smooth out the body, adjust the gaps, and all the other little things that need to be done, any savings on the purchase price can evaporate in the repair/prep phase. It would only take about 15 hours of body work (not much) to eat up $1000 at $65/hr. To use Bib's example again, based on my experience, there's way more than 15 hours more work to be done on a Gibbon than in a Wescott. More like 40 or 50. I've been told Gibbon's stuff is better now than years ago when I worked on them, but that's been my experience.

As for who makes bodies, here's a link to a site that lists most of the manufacturers; http://www.roadsters.com/bodies/#34-R Windsor Fabrications makes 33-4 cabriolet bodies for example.

Steve, isn't that the way with so many things? Let's see........golf, hmmmmmm. How about $750 for new set of clubs, gift for the wife to compensate for cost of clubs, $250 new set of golfing clothes, $850 for beginner lessons, gift for wife to compensate for golf related costs, $100 for "all weather" golf shoes, $150 for "rain gear", gift for wife to compensate for more golf related costs, $2500 for golf clinic in San Diego to improve game so you won't be embarassed to play with your clients, BIG gift for wife to compensate for golf related expense, $300 for new shafts made from the latest high zoot material, $400 for short course in eliminating slice that won't seem to go away on it's own, yet another gift for the wife to compensate for golf related costs,..............................