i have a dream.,,,,,,,,, i want to rebuild a 53/54 chevy tin woody into a real daily driver......and by that i mean something that i can drive 50 milies each way to work (and hopefully back) every day,,,,, and then load a couple kayaks and bikes on the roof and the inside with tent and gear for weekend get aways.... i currently do that with a 2006 HHR that has about 3 years left in her and i'm hoping to have the woody ready to take her place when she retires. i've never done anything like this, and would have to sub most of the work out to someone that knows what they are doing,,,, here's what i need to establish first.... i want a modern suspension with a late modern EFI engine....i am not against a v6 out of a newer camero, if it has enough muscle to pull her around,,,,,,auto of manual tranny ,,,,,,i'm not looking for a speed wagon, since i'm used to an anemic 4 banger,,,, if i can get a good sense that this is possible and a "reasonable price" i will continue planing the rest of the car.... thoughts, comments, opinions, and naysay would be appreciated..... thanks
Dream on to the forum. This is the right place for station wagon dreamers. And here we can help make your dreams come true. Or sometimes cause terrible nightmares. But let's not go there yet! The wagon you chose is a good project wagon to work with. Do you have such a wagon? If not, this is the first part of your dream to make into a reality. Without it, the rest is but a dream which can not come true. A good late 70's to 81 Camaro subframe could be a good starting point in getting modern drive train and power steering/brakes. Even the Camaro rear end is a good choice for what you want and dream about. A late model V-6 is great for power and fuel economy. After all, you want to get to the campsite, lake, or creek in style, not in a hurry. You will have more room and more power than in that puny HHR ! And something others will drool over. Weather you realize it or not, you can do much of the work yourself. Welding, painting, and finish interior work may be best left to the pros. But even then you can prep a lot of the jobs. Good luck. Check out what members have done and look over any project information here in the forums.
Welcome! Dreaming and planning is at least 1/2 the fun of owning a old car. You said "reasonable" in relationship to cost - well, that leaves a lot of room for interpretation. Can you help us define what reasonable is for you? Whatever you think it's going to cost to make your dream ride, double it and add 10%. That may be a little harsh, but not by much. I've been playing with cars for a while now and it always costs me more than planned. The hard part is deciding when "enough is enough" and when it's "done". They're never done, but done enough for what you want. You plan out what you want to do, then in the middle you think "Well, while I'm doing this, I might as well go ahead and repair/replace/improve ______". (fill in blank - whatever that may be) I like your optimism and enthusiasm - good luck!
No, i don't have the base car yet, because once i own that , i know there will be no turning back, and i am trying to get my ducks in a row before hand......i have the itch, and have been looking around the internet pretty seriously, i have no issues with buying it across the country and shipping it home....... i have $40k in mind as a budget. if anything suffers, it will the paint job, since i know that you can throw alot of money into that aspect. one of the main reasons i'm going after the 53/54 wagon is that they do not appear to be very desirable, and it appears that i can get a good solid starter car around 5k-7k, i started out looking at 48/52 suburbans, but they appear to be more $$, for less starting point, or they are already to finished not to my liking... I want a solid frame/body, not to particular about the interior as long as it is not a rusted out, floor boards would not be an issue. i'l glad you mentioned the camero front clip and rear end.....i talked to this guy and the first $5k takes it ...... it has the front clip and rear end off of a 72 camero........i am torn between buying something that is already been re-cliped (not knowing the quality of the work) or starting fresh and having the front done over, maybe even buying an custom front end? http://apps.facebook.com/marketplac..._-www-_-NA-_-NA&rfb_domain=facebook.oodle.com ...but i am not quite ready to pull the trigger,,,it may be gone by now, it was last week when we talked,,,, the probelm is you never know when to buy, because you never know what may or may not be available in the future..... thoughts??? and thanks for the welcome.............
OMG, So that's what happened to Grand Baby's inheritance Go forth and spend Man, They'll figure it out, we did BTW
