what's the LOWEST dollar build you've had? legal, tagged, rolling down the road

[meyek91974]

Hey guys, as you've looked and scoured for parts and what or when you find the great holy grail of finds or just; well, it's called "rat rods"; So, does anyone have story... we all like pics though, we know we do... of the great rusty low-dollar find that you aired up the tires, pushed to jumpstart cause you didnt have a battery bare bones lowest costing ride you've had or have????

 

[zpi28]

I will let ya know, Im building it now.

 

[maverickmk]

I will let ya know, Im building it now.

Now that's funny [cl

 

[Neverdone]

Never finished one... Will keep ya posted.

 

[billy]

about $5000

 

[RustyNCA]

Hey guys, as you've looked and scoured for parts and what or when you find the great holy grail of finds or just; well, it's called "rat rods"; So, does anyone have story... we all like pics though, we know we do... of the great rusty low-dollar find that you aired up the tires, pushed to jumpstart cause you didnt have a battery bare bones lowest costing ride you've had or have????

Well, it's not a rat rod, but here is our 58 TBird that was given to us for the price of "if you can get it out of our yard" Picture it had sunk into the front lawn down to the subframe so we used our Jeep to winch it out, threw on some roller tires and rims a local tire shop loaned me.

We had the motor running that night [cl

We rebuilt the brakes on it, added shocks, and bushings, added spacers in front to run the Mustang wheels and tires a friend gave me. Same friend gave me the parts to rebuild the brakes.... Oh, and I cut the factory springs to get the front end down.

So I think we were in it about $400 maybe $500 when we first had it on the road.

 

[Willowbilly3]

Define build. I have built jalopys from piles of random parts I had hardly any money into. I know it's splitting hairs but just fixing up an old car really isn't a "build" IMO since the car was already built. I consider that a project.

 

[meyek91974]

Here's my amazement of rat rod guys

Last year at Beatersville (rat rod auto show in Louisville KY each end of May), I saw where a plumber kept scrap copper piping and tubing to make his radiator hoses and vaccuum lines, several others used glass soda & liquor bottles for radiator overflow, one guys wife thought to use a couple six inch stainless bowls from the kitchen to drill/tap make head light mounts, someone else tapped his beer keg gas tank at the top and bottom where he ran to a bottle that he tapped for rubber lines where as he filled the keg with gas then he could see how full by the glass coke bottle next to the keg, another guy used a nicely patina old 6" x 5' log that he tapped 1/2in bolts to make a bumper, one guy I've met made some 12" long straight header pipes and then put mororcycle muffler baffling in them so it was quiet as anything but looked like 12" straight pipe header..... These are the ideas. Who's just found a way to make it work, build what ya have, make it happen... Someone told me that five cans of fixaflat was less than ten bucks and he was back rolling down the road to the show instead of droppin $40 on a used tire and waiting an hour.... What's the ideas? How have you made it happen?[S

 

[dmw56]

My first car cost me $50. Regs and plates maybe $20 at the time. Full tank of gas $5. So $75.

 

[sgtpontiac]

1988 Ranger pickup.....kind of a rust bucket

35 bucks.....jumped in and drove it away.....only had 72,000 miles on it....she wanted to give it to me...I offered her 500 dollars....woman wouldn't take a dollar more than 35 ......her husband had died and she insisted he would want me to have it... they were my neighbors...I'd helped him work on it for years....my youngest son drove it to the UNWOH in Ohio....after that he parked it....kid came by one day asked if it were for sale cause his car had died..and he needed it to get to the local community college....offered me 300 dollars said it was all he had....thought about George, my neighbor, told the kid he could have it...signed the title and he drove it home..still see it around town......glad I could re-gift it to a worthy cause.....

 

[Neverdone]

Didn't realize we were talking about any car. $575 in my 96 cavalier I had, or $265 in my jeep. The jeep was riding a fine line of being legal at that point though. I had close to $700 before it was really driveable.....

 

[sgtpontiac]

Oh....did he specify builds???

Sorry, I thought he just said cheapest low buck ride......my bad....

 

[Neverdone]

now you have me all confuesd!!! [S

 

[21willys]

Cheapest car ever, 79 TA. It was gave to me and I was young, nothing was ever legal lol.

The cheapest ever, $34. The lady told me to give her what I had in my pocket. It was a 1984 Pontiac Persian, smoked like a freight train!

The cheapest rat that I built, about $3500. 1921 willys rpu.


Edit: I don't know why the thumbs down emblem appeared on my post. But I dunno how to remove it.

 

[timbo]

I had mine on the road for around $1500.00 with a bone stock engine. That is with all new brakes (shoes, wheel cylinders, hardware,master cyl,lines and hoses) new floor pans, new tires, new body seals, headlights, tail lights. I now have around $2500.00 counting my stroker engine and it will run mid 9's in the 1/8, low 15's in the 1/4 and drive it anywhere everyday.
Tim

 

[Willowbilly3]

What most of you are talking about is what we call beaters. I can't keep track of all them I've owned, or how many were free. Paid $5 for a 79 Impala and found $40 in the glove box, do I win? Then put in a demo derby and won $270. That's -305 I paid. Do I win now?

 

[21willys]

What most of you are talking about is what we call beaters. I can't keep track of all them I've owned, or how many were free. Paid $5 for a 79 Impala and found $40 in the glove box, do I win? Then put in a demo derby and won $270. That's -305 I paid. Do I win now?

No you don't win if we count derby winnings. Lol. I've won more then $2000 with a $300 car.

 

[Willowbilly3]

Well, mine was a 5400% return on investment and yours was only 667% return.[ddd[ddd. and I sold the engine and tranny for $150 after the derby. And I got to kiss a girl.

 

[Neverdone]

Well, mine was a 5400% return on investment and yours was only 667% return.[ddd[ddd. and I sold the engine and tranny for $150 after the derby. And I got to kiss a girl.

And then I took the car and used the back seat with her and ............ oh never mind......

 

[21willys]

Ok ok ok you win lol