Many consider American hot rods to be an art form of sorts. Art museums have made a lot of money displaying carefully curated exhibitions of the most beautiful among these vehicles. One of the most popular canvases for this art was produced by the Ford Motor Company in 1934. If you are the type of talented person that can build a work of art, then this 1934 Ford three-window coupe is for sale on Craigslist in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. This $35,000 project car has waited in storage for years as the seller collected parts. Would you be interested in creating a work of four-wheel art with this unfinished project? Thanks to T. J. for this Flathead find!
If you truly want to understand the root of the hot rod culture, spend some time listening to The Rodcast. This is an occasional podcast produced by the American Hot Rod Foundation where they interview folks who were influential to the movement. From the people who raced their hot rods on the dry lakes and in the city of Los Angeles to celebrities who have brought notoriety to the craft, The Rodcast has it all.
It takes a deep education on the history of the hot rod to understand the opportunity available with this 1934 Ford coupe. The seller tells us that the project was acquired from an 80-year-old hot rod guy who had been there and done that. The handiwork so far was performed by the previous owner. These modifications include filling in the roof and channeling the body to make it sit lower on the frame.
The seller intended to “un-channel” it, chop the top, and build it into a Salt Flats racer. Unfortunately, it is not stated in the ad whether that meant chasing an actual land speed record or just building a street-legal facsimile. At any rate, a large amount of money was spent collecting parts for the project. These purchases were made from Tom Bay in Wichita, Kansas. A quick internet search and a deep dive into The Ford Barn forum reveals that Mr. Bay runs a sheet metal business called R&J Enterprises and is held in high regard for his metalworking skills.
The seller tells us that among the body parts purchased were a new floor and a drip tray for the back window. There are pictures of other bare metal parts sprinkled around in the pictures, and the statement that “all body panels” were purchased would benefit from a bit more elaboration. Also included in the sale are a “beautiful” 1934 Ford frame, a “Rocket” Oldsmobile rear end, a “patina” grill and hood sides, and all you would need to finish the build. There is no mention of an engine.
The asking price may seem a bit steep. In the absence of a detailed parts list, chances are the seller spent a lot more than the $30,000 asking price over the time they had this project. We have all been in a situation where we spent all our time working to afford the parts we collected only to abandon ship on the project at a loss. This has to be a painful situation for the seller.
This is a golden opportunity for a gifted craftsperson to build the ’34 three-window of their dreams. It is also an opening for an opportunist to purchase the lot and sell it piece by piece. Let’s hope that a craftsperson finds this car in time.
Have you ever built a hot rod? Did you end up spending a lot more time and money than you thought? Or, have you abandoned ship on a big project like this before? Please share your experiences in the comments.
Needs at least a 302 Ford mtr.and maybe a ATM
I’m not sure that an ATM holds enough $20s to finish this project. ;)
Seller has a 4K car project here and serious brain wave problems for the asking price.
Somebody may want to let this guy know that you don’t always get back what you spend on a project! Having said that, in the right hands, this could end up as a cool car.
Here we go, I can smell an LS swap comment in the air. Build a flathead, and keep it genuine. Pretty high price though
I have a 1927 Chrysler on a beefed up frame with an Olds rear end.
Does this mean my stored unfinished project is uowards of 30 grand? Or the real 5000 that its really worth as both need 39-40 grand added and thats minimum .
Salvage yard LS set up
Pretty cool. But not worth any where near $35K cool.
My first thought is ,too much money. After looking and reading the Ad, I am not sure. The elephant in the room is who wants it and what are they going to do with it. This is not for the faint of heart or the quintessential flipper. This project is for the real deal ,died in the wool, traditional hot rodder who wants to build his dream car, and either has a lot of talent and a lot of money, preferably both. The price still seems a bit high, but there are too many unknowns, until you look and know exactly whats on the table, I would say one way or the other
Not worth any where near $35K .
Take a look at street rods for sale, do you know what you can buy for 35k, rods that are running, shining and ready for shows are sometimes cheaper then what they want for this. I have a 23 t-bucket with new motor, new 350 trans, new b&m shifter, new aluminum fuel tank, new aluminum radiator and other miscellaneous new parts, I’d be happy to get $16,500.00 for it.
$35K, ridiculous!
I don’t know what’s higher..the price or the seller ? It is a 3 window, but get real and pass it on.
OK, established, way over priced for what you get. For the right deal though this looks like a great project. I appriciarte the sellers vision but I see a sweet set up as it sits. And with all the parts on hand if such is the case … Nice project.
For starters seller puts a comma between rocket olds and rear end Jeff. Maybe there is an olds v-8 in the offering? Would be period to say the least and not … chevyitis.
Unfortunately I don’t have the money or the space, as an urban dweller, to take on something like this. But I can see it, and I can see building it.
Somebody, cutting the right deal, could have sweet project on their hands. I wish I could chase it.
For all you nay sayers, its gone.
Based on two of the photos here…
Just going to say that someone has no idea how to strap a car down to a trailer. Fine, I guess, if the trip is only 5 miles across town. But a serious interstate trip combined with come twisty country roads, and there’s risk in losing what sits on the wod deck.