Not really an ivyleaguer

Hello all,

I'd like to start by getting my username clarified. It's not because I am an alum of an elite ivy league school. Far from it, I'm a simple school teacher from the Black Hills of SD. My user name is a play on my last name, I have 3 boys ages 11-16 and we are referred to by other people as the "ivyleague".

I'm hoping the good people at rrr's can help me and the boys get started with a few idea's of where to start. I have what I believe is a gold mine of opportunities. My in-laws have lived on a ranch for 5 generations and have accumulated a lot of "junk", but really could be treasure.

I'm looking to ultimately get multiple rat-rods going but I just don't know where to start. My boys and I are pretty handy and as you will see we have plenty of options.

Here's some of the items for consideration that we could mish-mash.

33 ford bb truck with original flathead v8
36 chevy 4 door master deluxe one with straight 6
50 Dodge pickup
55 Dodge pickup
55 Chevy pickup (this one should be restored and not ratted, it's in pristine shape)
56 Mercury Custom 4door flathead v8 (I think)
68 Impala custom (no motor) 3 speed (no rear end)
73 Chevy 1/2 ton 4wd 350 automatic
84 Ford f150 4speed 4wd (engine)?
84 Dodge D50
86 Chevy s10 extended cab tired 2.8 5speed 4wd
89 Toyota cressida (was vandalized)

I would like to rat the 36 chevy 1st and would like to make it as easy as possible for the first time and am hoping to appeal to the expertise of the fine people of rrr to help get started.

Thanks in advance and for reading this far.

First off, welcome to the site. Good choice for a start. It kind of depends on where you want to go with this build. The 73 is great running gear, but may be more valuable as a builder, or for parts. All the 80s rides would work under that body. 4X4 would be an option, though not typical. You could run a transfer case with no front drive axle. Maybe the front axle from one of the Dodge trucks? You are probably looking at multiple widths on the axles. There is a lot to consider. Take a tape measure with you and look at frames, and widths, and lengths of everything. Decide if you want full fenders, or no fenders. How far tires would stick out etc.

Welcome to the site
Is this your first build?
If it is, pick the easiest one on the list to get going. Maybe the 73 Chevy??
Don't do a long drawn out project for the first one.
After getting the first one going then, you can use it as a parts runner for the next in line.
Involve the boys in every step!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Start a build thread on each one, post lots of pics and we'll follow along to give advice when you ask.

welcomr

the 195O dodge truck is the one that jumps out for me,

some things to consider, skill levels such as welding, fabbing and general figuring out how to make a part fit and work for something it was never designed to do.

what ever you decide, make it safe, build it like your'e life depends on it, 'couse it does.

some of the crap l seen throwed together at shows and cruises make me cringe-- l would not even drive a lot of up on the trailer to tow home, use the winch and stand back

work area and available tools, me and dad used to joke about $1OOO,OOO of dollars in shop stuff and a garage big enough to spread everything out to keep a couple of $2OOO. races car "alive"

when building hot/rat rods it takes time and a lot of patience, put it together, take it apart and repeat many times to get it right in your'e vision of cool.

please do a build thread with lots of pics, we is a visual bunch 'round here[P


look thru the build threads and those who post links to their builds in there reply's. look around to see what turns yore crank.

don't be afraid to ask, very knowable and helpful folks here, it's the best site on the web.

Later

Welcomew to the site.
Lots of choices. For me the 56 Merc stands out as a good starting point but would like to know more about the condition.
I know that it's a 4 door but that makes it more of a family cruiser so you can take the 3 boys out with you to shows and stuff.
Still has the old car factor going for it as well. I doubt that you would pass another one on the road.
Post up some pics if you can as as posted by others ask all the questions you want.
Good luck and have fun.
Torchie

Welcome. For what it's worth I'd pick the easiest one first. The boys will likely lose interest if the project takes too long but once they see the first one completed their attention span should grow.

My son and I have been playing with cars since he was little. He's in his forties now with a family of his own but we still play together as often as his schedule allows and he's my first call when I'm stumped.

Best of luck on your project what ever it is.

50 Dodge pickup

I would start with the dodge for the following reasons. It has a beam front axle, A U channel frame, lots of space between the cab floor and the ground. It might be like the dodge I had with windows all around the cab. The U channel frame is easier to Z, and you can tell if it is solid before you start, easy to add reinforcement plates where you do the z cuts and welds ,chevies had an enclosed frame and some have rust problems that are hard to repair. lots of U tube and build info on old pickups on the web.

Hello and welcome to RRR from northern Alberta.
You do have a goldmine there. But, without any pictures it's hard for us to visualize all of that goodness. Pictures please.
The 56 Mercury should have a 312, Y-block in it.
Good luck with whatever project you decide on.

Welcome the the site. Great bunch of folks here, all very helpful. My dad had a 32 BB before he passed. it was too nice to chop up, I told him to give it to my nephew because he would keep it stock. Would make a neat little rod though.

Welcome to RRR.

The '36 will be an extensive project. It has lots of wood structure and a closed driveline. If it's a Master (not Standard) it'll have an open "C'" frame and "knee action" front suspension. None of these things are desirable and NO, an S10 chassis will not simply slide under it!

I'm not trying to discourage you, (I 'm a diehard Chevy man) just lettin' you know what you're in for.

The '55 Chevy pickup sounds like your "easiest" candidate. You don't have to butcher it to make it cool...

.

wow thanks gentleman

Thanks all for the replies,

I forgot to mention that my 14 year old and I have already started a project, a 67 impala with 396. My father-in-law was the original owner (and former chevy mechanic) and he had it just sitting like the others.

My son watches a tv show "supernatural" where they have a 67 impala like ours and that got him fired up to work on it. We just got done putting in a fitech fuel system in it and it runs great. Our goal is to have it ready to roll by the spring with body work and then paint. Not a rat-rod I know, but it was in such good shape that it won't take much to restore. The other vehicles mentioned are not that way.

Now the other boys think they should have a cool rod too.

I will try and get some pictures of the other vehicles tomorrow. Thanks again for the warm welcome, til next time....

Pics, Pics, and more pics

I was able to take some pics today and I was off on some of what my father-in-law has, plus I forgot about many items, much of which I'm not sure of the years. Curious to hear all your thoughts

Pics, Pics, and more pics 2

round 2

The 55 chevy truck is my brother-in-laws, he hasn't done anything with it so I'm hoping after I get a few of these going that he'll let me restore it.

Pics, Pics, and more pics 3

I can't believe my f-i-l thinks this stuff is "junk"!

Pics, Pics, and more pics 4th and final

Curious to hear from all the experts on rrr.

Welcome to RRR. You and your boys. It sounds like you are already on the right track with your Chevy project. The boys are hooked, so keep it going. Maybe let them pick their own, and start slow. I was taking my first car apart when I was 10. I had no guidance, so it only came apart. But that is another story.

Trust me on this one though. This truck is of no value. Remove the cab and front sheet metal, put it on a palate and ship it to me for proper disposal.

Skip

starter

there is lot of rod material in them pics, must be what a junk-yard in heaven kinda looks like[dr[dr[dr

hard to pick a starting point, my friend has a 1950 diamond T truck on a 1/2 ton 1976 chevy truck frame with a wood bed.

Later

Thanks for the visual tour. Sheesh, now I'll have to go and dry my pants.
I'm glad we made you go back and take those pictures.
If you wanted to know on which twelve projects to start, I could help you, but if you want to single just one out, you're on your own. Good luck.

MercuryMac said:

Thanks for the visual tour. Sheesh, now I'll have to go and dry my pants.
I'm glad we made you go back and take those pictures.
If you wanted to know on which twelve projects to start, I could help you, but if you want to single just one out, you're on your own. Good luck.

Click to expand...

^^^X'2^^^^^[cl[ddd
Torchie

Skull,

That's a sweet Diamond T, I'd be curious what it took to get it on a 76 frame.

MercuryMac and Touchie, it's a tough dilemma. I guess the next step will be to take measurements and see what best matches up.

I'm like you guys though, I can imagine way too many projects. Maybe I'll just start with seven and then designate one day a week for each project.