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I don't think there's a cheap AND easy to get a really practical rod on the streets unless you've got some big skills.... One of my mates was convinced he'd get his model A built for around £3k, ended up costing £12k (athough it's very, very nice! 350/350, Volvo rear axle, Halibrand wheels, dropped I-beam, metalflake yellow).
I fancy something uber-simple - T-bucket or turtledeck T, 100E sidevalve, maybe with "sit-up & beg" Pop or Prefect suspension... No practicality there, though! ;D
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My fleet:
Suzuki GSX-R600Y SRAD with bald, melted tyres
A borrowed Mondeo
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One of my mates was convinced he'd get his model A built for around £3k, ended up costing £12k (athough it's very, very nice! 350/350, Volvo rear axle, Halibrand wheels, dropped I-beam, metalflake yellow) I think we see the reasons for the overspend. If it was Pinto powered on Minx steelies and rattle can blck you might stand a chance of doing it for £3K. |
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1941 Wolseley Not Rod - 1956 Humber Hawk - 1957 Daimler Conquest - 1966 Buick LeSabre - 1968 Plymouth Sport Fury - 1968 Ford Galaxie - 1969 Ford Country Squire - 1969 Mercury Marquis - 1970 Morris Minor - 1970 Buick Skylark - 1970 Ford Galaxie - 1971 Ford Galaxie - 1976 Continental Mark IV - 1976 Ford Capri - 1994 Ford Fiesta
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I'd say the best way to get a rod is to buy a finished one. They cost much more to build than they do to buy. A few changes to make it yours and then just get out there and enjoy it!
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I don't rate dooster at all, even for a beginner. they look clumsy, and are quite expensive for what you get. plus, it means SVA, unless youre in the habit of buying dodgy V5s....... They are really cracking down on bent V5s now anyway. I reckon that you can turn a reasonably decent looking car out of them if you try. SVA is an issue but the kit car folks manage it, can they really be so much "better" than rods? I think there might be a bit of fear of the unknown with SVA. Rumour has it that is could be easier to pass than we think? "expensive for what you get" depneds on if you compare it to buyig a set of rails from Homegrown and then having to pay someone to weld all the crossmembers and mounts in, maybe then buy all Pete & Jakes or Pop Browns axle locating stuff because you can't fabricate your own... Its kit-car-ising hot rods which for some people will be the best way. OK you don't get a "proper" looking chassis out of it in the end and you have IFS not a I beam and discs not Buick drums and a Pinto not a nailhead or SBC but you can put together a rod on a decentish budget - using a single Cortina donor they reckon £2500 or so to build it yourself. OK thats goig to be a bit of a rough edges kind of rod but what else can you buy for £2500 done? Whether I'd buy from Dooster or not is somethign I would make my decission on after I decide if the stories floating about regarding them are true or not. |
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1941 Wolseley Not Rod - 1956 Humber Hawk - 1957 Daimler Conquest - 1966 Buick LeSabre - 1968 Plymouth Sport Fury - 1968 Ford Galaxie - 1969 Ford Country Squire - 1969 Mercury Marquis - 1970 Morris Minor - 1970 Buick Skylark - 1970 Ford Galaxie - 1971 Ford Galaxie - 1976 Continental Mark IV - 1976 Ford Capri - 1994 Ford Fiesta
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One of my mates was convinced he'd get his model A built for around £3k, ended up costing £12k (athough it's very, very nice! 350/350, Volvo rear axle, Halibrand wheels, dropped I-beam, metalflake yellow) I think we see the reasons for the overspend. If it was Pinto powered on Minx steelies and rattle can blck you might stand a chance of doing it for £3K. Yeah, now I think about it... ;D |
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My fleet:
Suzuki GSX-R600Y SRAD with bald, melted tyres
A borrowed Mondeo
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street
Posted a lot
6.2 ft/lbs of talk
Posts: 4,662
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 That is just so cool, even if it is a 'bitsa', i'd just love to build something like that. There cant be much money in it though can there? I mean, if you can find a tub and can find a chassis that will work your surely well on your way! Reckon Rmads got a good point though- If your not fussed about bieng the creator you can pick up finished rods for a fraction of what they cost to build. |
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£550  |
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qwerty
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,419
Club RR Member Number: 52
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Building a Budget Rod?qwerty
@qwerty
Club Retro Rides Member 52
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Hmmm there's a lot of interesting posts. Suppose I haven't fully decided what I want.  . I never really wanted a '32 ford because I always thought they were a bit common, but then I watched some films from the 50's and saw the rods the teens were running then and instantly wanted one!! So I was intriged by the Doosters but the IFS kinda deters me. I suppose what I'm after is something that captures the Rod's of the 50's. Not nessecarily a 32 ford or a Model T but something that captures that era where American Teens were building cars on a budget learning as they went and turning "Jalopies" into "hot rods" with that grass roots engineering. |
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qwerty
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,419
Club RR Member Number: 52
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Building a Budget Rod?qwerty
@qwerty
Club Retro Rides Member 52
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£550 Wheres that!! I looked right through classics?? Is it in Kit cars?? |
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qwerty
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,419
Club RR Member Number: 52
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Building a Budget Rod?qwerty
@qwerty
Club Retro Rides Member 52
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That is pretty cool. And reading through the description seems like a good project.
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Looks and sounds like it fits the brief perfectly,,,
DO IT!
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 it doesn't matter if it's a Morris Marina or a Toyota Celica - it's what you do with it that counts  |
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the problem with the Opus, and probably why nobody has bought it yet despite about 5 outings on eBay is that it has no V5 and appears never to have been registered. So you have the nightmare of a VIC and SVA to go through before you can put it on the road. Remember this is a hacked about early 1970s kit car in all effect. Not a modern kit designed to meet SVA requirements....
I have watched listed that a few times but I don't really have the time at the mo with a new baby and all plus I'd worry about ever being able to register it legally. It having a more modern engine also is a problem because it then qualifies for 1980s or 1990s spec emissions etc. (based on the age of the engine in a "bitsa" not the age of the vehicle components - this is why Cobra builders etc are all after early 1970s date coded Chevy engines....)
It could be a really sweet little car don't get me wrong but one with a valid reg doc would have sold first time out at twice that price.... Possibly as a "log book donor" for another hot rod too... In fact I wonder if thats whats happened to this one...
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Last Edit: Jun 6, 2007 13:04:11 GMT by akku
1941 Wolseley Not Rod - 1956 Humber Hawk - 1957 Daimler Conquest - 1966 Buick LeSabre - 1968 Plymouth Sport Fury - 1968 Ford Galaxie - 1969 Ford Country Squire - 1969 Mercury Marquis - 1970 Morris Minor - 1970 Buick Skylark - 1970 Ford Galaxie - 1971 Ford Galaxie - 1976 Continental Mark IV - 1976 Ford Capri - 1994 Ford Fiesta
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I don't want to spread stories on the internet and do some guys business down. My advice to anyone who was basically paying up front for someone to build them a chassis up would be the same anyway Ask if you can speak to a happy customer as a refference Ask about on suitable forums etc. if anyone has had work done there. Filter out the "I've herad they are..." responses, only listen to people who have had work done themselves. Ask them what their qualifications and experiance are to build a chassis, do welding, fabrication, etc. Try and get a feel for whether the business is sound (ie you pay your money over in cash and next week they go bust...) I owned a car which (aledgedly) had some welding and fab work done by one of the guys at Dooster and it was a right old mess. It had been fitted with new sills but when it rained they filled up with water! However, I cannot confirm that is who really did the work, its just what the seller said, also the car was a bit of a mess anyway... also also also I have heard that some of the people involved in Dooster since it moved to Leics are now no longer involved so it could be even if it was done by one of the Dooster guys that he's no longer there anyway. Like I say, any shop you commision to do work you should check out in advance. I would not write off using Dooster myself but I would want to go check out what was going on there and satisfy myself before handing over any money. Same as I would with ANY place I'd not used before. |
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Last Edit: Jun 6, 2007 13:13:37 GMT by akku
1941 Wolseley Not Rod - 1956 Humber Hawk - 1957 Daimler Conquest - 1966 Buick LeSabre - 1968 Plymouth Sport Fury - 1968 Ford Galaxie - 1969 Ford Country Squire - 1969 Mercury Marquis - 1970 Morris Minor - 1970 Buick Skylark - 1970 Ford Galaxie - 1971 Ford Galaxie - 1976 Continental Mark IV - 1976 Ford Capri - 1994 Ford Fiesta
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Will be the same issues i'll be up agianst with my alfa kit car. guess if you do go for it, its a matter of getting it basically going, and as safe as poss for a SVA, without going into cosmetics too far, and spending as little as poss upto that point. looks a cute little thing on that library pic on the track (good marketing  ) |
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it doesn't matter if it's a Morris Marina or a Toyota Celica - it's what you do with it that counts |
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qwerty
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,419
Club RR Member Number: 52
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Building a Budget Rod?qwerty
@qwerty
Club Retro Rides Member 52
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I really like the idea of a trad style Dooster Model B. Its probably way out of my abilities, but i'm going to look into SVA tests and see if I can find anyone who has built one previously. I need to set myself a realistic target though.
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speak to Kev Rooney on the NSRA forum, (Kapri) he is a bit of an expert on rods and SVA. He may not give you too much exact detail etc as you are not a paid up NSRA member but he should give you some pointers. Of course you will be joining the NSRA as soon as you decide to build a rod of your own...  I believe he has his phone number on the forum, or he will at least give it you so you can phone him. Asking on the forum there is like walking into the lions den and asking for a series of rants about the government, arguements between members you just won't understand (I don't and I've been on that forum for years) and "we don't talk about this publicly" kind of statements. Not that helpful. Basically Kev reckons you can get a trad rod through SVA if you know what you are doing. Also its "easier" if your rod is a "commercial vehicle" (roadster pickup for example) as there are loopholes and less strict regs. |
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1941 Wolseley Not Rod - 1956 Humber Hawk - 1957 Daimler Conquest - 1966 Buick LeSabre - 1968 Plymouth Sport Fury - 1968 Ford Galaxie - 1969 Ford Country Squire - 1969 Mercury Marquis - 1970 Morris Minor - 1970 Buick Skylark - 1970 Ford Galaxie - 1971 Ford Galaxie - 1976 Continental Mark IV - 1976 Ford Capri - 1994 Ford Fiesta
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you could maybe buy a kit car ( i paid less than 500 quid for my V8 jeep) take the body off it and fit a hotrod body instead, would need mods to get all built and you would have to be carefull in what you selected to get the front wheels forward look of a rod, but would be a good way of having to only do half thework. I was thinking this way about the jeep only last weekend. |
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Volvo back as my main squeeze, more boost and some interior goodies on the way.
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. I never really wanted a '32 ford because I always thought they were a bit common, but then I watched some films from the 50's and saw the rods the teens were running then and instantly wanted one!! So I was intriged by the Doosters but the IFS kinda deters me.
)
I believe he has his phone number on the forum, or he will at least give it you so you can phone him.