Product Description

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #200072 in Books
• Published on: 2007-11-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

From the Back Cover
Hot rods are more popular than ever, but that popularity has driven up the cost of original parts and finished cars, making hot rodding more expensive than ever. But there's hope for the hot rodder with a limited budget: How To Build a Cheap Hot Rod. This book shows how to create a great hot rod without breaking the bank.

Author and hot rod builder Dennis Parks shows you step by step how to build a car for less than the cost of a new Hyundai, in this case a very cool Model T, a.k.a. "Track-T", roadster. Parks is your expert guide as you identify your target vehicle and budget, find parts, build your car, and fine-tune the finished vehicle. Money-saving tips and detailed how-to sequences provide the essential information builders need to make sure their hot rod projects get built right and for the right price.

About the Author

is a professional technical writer and the author of several how-to books for MBI, including How to Build a Hot Rod, How to Build a Hot Rod Model A Ford, How to Restore and Customize Auto Upholstery and Interiors, and How to Paint Your Car. He lives near St. Louis, Missouri.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Foreword

I was pleased to see this new book from Dennis Parks. It goes to the core of what is sadly overlooked in today's publications. That being, can the average home builder still do a car that is affordable and drivable, and will the builder be proud of the end result?

Follow along as Dennis shops for parts, explains various sources, and encounters typical problems that all of us have faced. This book above all should demonstrate how the average guy or gal can build a neat car in a home garage.

The author plans the car, gets the parts, overcomes the inevitable problems, and completes the project. Anyone, after reading this book, should come away with the confidence to say, "Hey! I can do this."

--Tom Prufer

Legendary hot rodder, Tom Prufer, has built rods gracing the covers of many magazines and books. Perhaps best known for his 1934 Ford Cop Shop Coupe, he has produced hot rods of many styles, from a basic Track T to chopped and channeled coupes and Model A roadsters. None of Tom's hot rods would typically be considered "cheap," as they have all had work performed by other legendary rodders such as Pete Eastwood, Ron Covell, and Rod Powell. Still Tom Prufer knows what it takes to build a hot rod, cheap or otherwise.

Introduction

Cheap hot rod . . . hmm, at first thought, those words seem to be mutually exclusive. Many rods in contention for accolades, such as the coveted Ridler Award and America's Most Beautiful Roadster, cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to build, while a more "average" hot rod is commonly priced at $50,000-$75,000. So cheap just doesn't seem to fit in here, anywhere. Truth is... all hot rods are built within a budget; some budgets are just exponentially larger than others.

I'm not going to say anything bad about those who can afford to spend big money for their hot rods, as their money ultimately raises the pedigree of our hobby or business. However, you don't have to have a six-figure budget to build a fun hot rod. In fact, for as little as $15,000, you can build a hot rod (a modest one with a high fun-to-dollars-spent ratio) of your very own. The point of this book is to show you how.

I know some of you are thinking that 15 grand is still a lot of money for a hot rod. Several people have built great hot rods for less money. A friend of mine built a real cool two-seat roadster for less than $3,000. Sam was able to do this by rescuing salvage yard sheet metal, having a network of friends who know how to find good deals, and being able to do most of the work himself. But not everybody has that kind of time, those connections, or that ability. Therefore, this is a cheap hot rod project for the average enthusiast.

Yet, this hot rod is also my hot rod. So there are times when I'll choose a more expensive option over a cheaper one, or vice versa, based upon what I ultimately want to do with the car. In these instances, though, I will explain how I could have saved money and why I chose to go the route that I did. Anytime you are dealing with a budget, you have to make choices and set priorities, and it was no different with the car being built in this book.

The Track T whose buildup is documented in these pages may not win any awards and most likely won't win any races, but I won't be ashamed to be seen in or around it either. It truly will be a fun hot rod, for which only a minimum outlay of cash was needed because I did some shopping around before buying.

I have been writing hot rod-related magazine articles for more than 20 years now, and this is the seventh book that I have written. For most of that time, though, someone else was actually doing the work, while I was behind the camera or at the computer documenting the process. This hot rod will mostly be built in my modestly equipped home garage, by me. So, if I can do it, you probably can, too. Some work will be farmed out simply because I don't have the experience or equipment required. For the most part, however, this will only be done when it is a safety factor.

Unlike some magazine articles that have documented "budget" buildups, this book uses no parts that just magically appear. I do have a 9-inch Ford rear end and a set of front tires (previously earmarked for another project) that may be used in this buildup, but their prices will be included in the total cost. Yes, under budget or over, the total expenses will be listed in the back of this book. Everything from lug nuts to license plate bolts will be documented.

One more thing . . . writing a book is different from building a hot rod. Most authors start with an outline that groups similar items together and transitions from one phase or scene to another. Construction of a hot rod begins this way, but what you don't always see on the cable TV shows or in the magazine articles is that the entire vehicle gets put together and taken apart several times during construction. Because of this, some photos of the construction process may seem out of order at first glance. But, as long as you pay attention to the captions, it should all make sense when all is said and done.

I hope you enjoy this book and thanks for buying a copy. You can do this. Believe, and read on.

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Customer Reviews

How to Build a Cheap Hot Rod
I have always enjoyed old cars and working on cars and the idea of building a hot rod has been in the back of my mind. Because the ones that get the big press--vehicles by Boyd Coddington and Chip Foose--tend to cost six figures or more, it did not occur to me that a hot rod was something that could be built on the cheap. The last pages of this book show the complete budget, demonstrating that the V6 Track T on its pages cost under $16,000. And it's a cool looking car.

For anyone thinking about a hot rod project who wants to proceed at a very reasonable cost, this book is the logical starting point. It's a doable project for anyone with basic mechanical skills--there's always someone with more skill you can bring in as necessary. The author had a hand on numerous components, so that price can be less if you're an ace with tools and especially if you have a car to start with. My hot rod lies a few years down the road, but this is still a good read and a way to get the ball rolling.

Cheap hot rod built expensively
When I read the title of this book I thought it meant How to build Hot Rods cheaply. I was wrong, the title is correct How to Build a Cheap Hot Rod. The author buys the cheapest fiberglass T body and chassis, uses a V-6 Ford engine and spends over $16,000 to build just what he started with - the cheapest hot rod kit available. I thought it interesting that he spent $300 on an engine and tranny, but $1100 on a 9 inch rear end. I think he'd have been happier in the long run spending a touch more on the engine and using a less expensive differential. He had to have someone else do his welding (if you want to build a hot rod, spend the time to learn to weld).

There are no money saving tips here, he buys all his parts off the shelf for real money.
When all is said and done, he has spent $16,000 on an unpainted (even though he bought the paint), fiberglass T, with an ugly $300 engine/tranny. He'd be lucky to sell it for $8000. You can do better without his help.

How to build a cheap hot rod
How To Build a Cheap Hot Rod.
Just recieved my copy, and indeed it is a cheap build. By today's standards, even the cost of raw materials "ain't cheap". It is an excellent basis for building a "copy" rod or even modifying a "real" antique. Today, modifying an antique is short of blaspahmy, but to each his own. Hot rodding is not only modifying, but also includes building. This book give an excellent insight on the subject of building and assembling for both old and new.