Jay has said pretty much exactly what I would have suggested. You CAN'T BUILD A CAR AS CHEAPLY AS YOU CAN BUY ONE THAT IS ALREADY DONE, OR ALMOST DONE. I know it seems strange, but it is true 99.9% of the time. I think most of us on here would agree that if we sold our cars today we would get a fraction of what we have in them, and that doesn't include our time (labor), intangibles like electricity to heat and light our shop while we are building it, and other incidentals like sandpaper, bolts, drill bits, etc that we consume.

I honestly think everyone's first hot rod or custom car should be one that they can simply make changes to improve it and make it their own. Building one from the ground up isn't as easy as it appears, and more cars are sold 1/2 way through the build because the owner is in over his head or discouraged.

Don