March 2021 • By Tony Thacker
Presented by HandHFlatheads.com and MicksPaint.com

I’m not sure the words “affordable” and “hot rods” can be used in the same sentence—it’s kind of oxy-moronic, but I think if you’re careful and make some sound choices you can get a rod on the road without breaking the bank or wasting your money. 

Wasting money is one of today’s big conundrums because the price of hot rods has declined in recent years to the point where you have to be careful not to over build or buy the neighborhood and by that I mean spend way more than the project is ultimately worth. I know we’re not doing this for profit but we all like to think we are making sound investments and spending $250,000 on a car that is worth barely half that is arguably not a sound investment.

The market changes mean there are some great bargains to be found. Ford example, JJ Barnhardt’s stack-injected Hemi-powered yellow Roadster was built at the SO-CAL Speed Shop for something north of $300K and yet we found it for sale for $100K—that’s a deal.

Part-built projects are a good place to start as they can often be found for a good price and you can stamp your own identity upon them.

Be sure to scour the usual sites for bargains, however, beware that what you see is not always what you get. I would always suggest that you never buy a car sight unseen. If you can’t go to see the car in person, send a trusted friend or use one of the services that do that—there are several listed on the Internet.

Barn finds such as Troy Ladd’s ’32 ‘Dewar Coupe’ and Giles Hanauer’s stack-injected ’40 Ford are still out there to be found.

Once you have found a car, the first question to always ask is: “Do you have the title (pink slip) in hand?” If the answer is no, then be prepared to walk away. If you’re doing this transaction on the phone or Internet ask the seller to send you a photo of the title. If they can’t or won’t, be prepared to walk.

Cars with history can still be found. A young Tommy Sparks raced this A-V8 rpu at the lakes in the 40s. He then resto-rodded it before current custodian David Steele of the American Hot Rod Foundation put it back the way Tommy would have liked it.

The Banker Bros. originally rodded this 3-window long before it was rebuilt and flamed by Boyd Coddington for current owner Gary Lorenzini who eventually de-Boyded it and had MicksPaint.com put it into primer.

If you’d rather build than buy then you have to ask yourself some tough questions such as do you have the time, money, place, tools, equipment and wherewithal to build a car. You have to be honest and answer yourself truthfully.

Shops typically charge time and materials and shop rates average $100/hr. That’s $800/day, $4,000/week. Be sure you don’t bite off more than you can chew.

If you know you can’t do it and decide to have a shop build your car be aware that shops usually quote time and materials and rarely give a fixed price to build a car—there are just too many variables. Hourly rates are typically in the $100/hr range so it stands to reason that an eight hour day’s work will cost you $800 and a week’s work $4,000, plus materials.  Typically, a rod can take 1,000 hours to build which equates to $100,000 and that’s plus parts. Can you afford that week after week even when the payments are spread over a year or more?

You can buy everything from a frame to a chassis to a rolling chassis to a kit rod and an almost complete car from somebody such as UPI. Everything depends upon your wallet and your ability.

Don’t forget, that’s plus parts and materials and even if you beg, borrow or steal you’re going to need a chunk of money for parts. And, when all the parts are gathered and assembled into a hot rod you’re still going to need plumbing, wiring, upholstery and paint. Good automotive paint in Los Angeles is now about $1,000 a gallon so figure a reasonable paint job will cost you thousands—hence the trend for - primer.

Paint in LA now costs about $1,000/gal. which may account for the current trend in more or less ‘as found’ paint jobs.

If you do go the shop route and sometimes it’s the only way because most people can’t do everything themselves, beware of making changes. Every rod build is a work in progress and you’re bound to make changes to your original plan along the way. And what happens is you forget that those changes have a price. You had in your head it would cost this much but you went from a 9-inch to a quick-change and there’s a price for that. Unfortunately, many shops are remiss in letting you know what a change might cost and suddenly you have a huge, unexpected bill. Believe me, it can get out of hand quickly. Never say, ‘Just do it,’ without thinking of the financial consequences for yourself and the shop.

Just like building or remodeling a house building a hot rod can be equally rewarding but equally hell on wheels. But when it’s done, it’s a great feeling of achievement.

All of the above and much more information are contained in my new book How To Build Affordable Hot Rods – Best Options for Your Budget. You can buy a signed copy here: https://www.torqtalk.com/shop

Billy F Gibbons of ZZ Top, The Kennedy Bros., Troy Ladd of Hollywood Hot Rods, Mick Jenkins of Mick’s Paint and Mike Herman of HandH Flatheads contributed to this book along with many others.