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Reasonably Priced Hot Rod Shop Recommendations

ChiliPepperGarage

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I have a buddy in Canyon Lake that wants a '33/'34 coupe hot rod. He found this car but it was sold. The builder told him he could build him one but it would take 3 years and over $100K!

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/1933-ford-3w-coupe.1083708/

I told him he'd be way better off finding an already done car and make changes to it or better yet, a project car and go from there. We did some quick searches and he found a few viable cars for sale at reasonable prices. Now he needs to find a shop that could do what he wants (he's not a builder). Doesn't have to be local as he could bring it to Vegas, Havasu, or any state actually (the first car was in MN). He (and I) is friends with Rick Hunt and Rick does great work but is very pricey and backlogged with work.

This would not be a big dollar build. I'm thinking aluminum skin interior panels, satin black paint, simple seat, etc. Not a "rat rod" but more of a down and dirty hot rod.

He really likes my old buddy Rex's car and my old '34 as well. The funny part is I'm building a similar car out of the one I have now and he'd like me to build him one but I have too many projects I'm trying to get down so don't want to commit my time.

So, any recommendations for a shop that could take an existing car or maybe a body on roller and build what he wants? Decent labor rates and works at a good pace? I know most good shops are $100/hour but also take forever to get shit done racking up costs.


Rex's '34:

105-0599_IMG.JPG
105-0597_IMG.JPG


My old '34:

164-6435_IMG (Small).JPG


My current '34:

IMG_5006 (Small).JPG
 

Tank

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Al, you talk to Dave Anderson? He's in Canyon lake and has a few cars. I'm sure he'd be able to steer your buddy in the right direction.
@bonesfab does some crazy amazing work too! He's in Camarillo.
 

ChiliPepperGarage

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Hey Tank.

I don't know Dave but my buddy might. I'll check with him. I've seen Bonesfab's work and met him a few years ago at the Roamn Relics run in Moorpark. I figured we'd check in with him once my buddy finds a car.
 

Shrub Lurker

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Google Custom Concepts in Fresno. His builds don’t take that long as long as you pay as agreed in stages.
 

Havasu blue label

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Are you in socal have him call bill in laharbra ca 1 -714-321 9164 he has a great shop tell Steve recommend him he is a old school havasu Parker guy
 

CoolCruzin

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96D4B645-27EE-4954-B658-ED5473CD5CBA.jpeg
I’s he looking for something like this.
Steel car .
best of everything on this .
Will be for sale soon.
 

ChiliPepperGarage

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Thanks for the other recommendations. I'll pass that info to my buddy.
 

SBMech

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You know better. Building a custom of any kind is waaaaay more expensive than finding one at BJ or in Hemmings and letting someone else take the bath on the build.

You just have to be patient.

I always coach my clients to purchase someone else's financial disaster vs building their own, but hey, if you got money to burn, it's really nice to get exactly what you want.

You can get solid builds with very nice components for 30% on the dollar usually.
 

RitcheyRch

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My friend Bill Dunaway works at Timeless Kustoms in Camarillo. Bill used toi work at Hawaii Racing in Simi Valley.

2255 Pleasant Valley Rd,
Camarillo, CA 93012
(805) 384-9959

http://www.timelesskustoms.com/
 

Tank

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Hey Tank.

I don't know Dave but my buddy might. I'll check with him. I've seen Bonesfab's work and met him a few years ago at the Roamn Relics run in Moorpark. I figured we'd check in with him once my buddy finds a car.
Dave is @CanyonLakeDave on the boards here. Old time SCOPE guy from back in the good 'ol days. You've met him I'm sure, had the Top Gun and the green / silver 33 Eliminator, 28' Yellow Eliminator, couple others. You know him.
 

ChiliPepperGarage

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Dave is @CanyonLakeDave on the boards here. Old time SCOPE guy from back in the good 'ol days. You've met him I'm sure, had the Top Gun and the green / silver 33 Eliminator, 28' Yellow Eliminator, couple others. You know him.

Yeah, I think I remember who he is. I think I rode in his 28 Eliminator once.
 

Wheeler

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A friend of RD builds hot rods. He's in New Mexico but might be moving to Havasu soon.

He's having a hard time understanding what people charge for their time here on the west coast.
 
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Tank

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A friend of RD builds hot rods. He's in New Mexico but might be moving to Havasu soon.

He's having a hard time understanding what people charge for their time here on the west coast.

I'm sure he'll catch on quick...."I charge $100 an hour. You think paying $300 an hour will get you better product? Ok $300 it is". :D:D:D:D
 

Wheeler

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I'm sure he'll catch on quick...."I charge $100 an hour. You think paying $300 an hour will get you better product? Ok $300 it is". :D:D:D:D

He'll find out soon enough that the cost of living in AZ is not quite what people have been touting all these years.
 

SOCALCRICKETT

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Rick hunt at hunts hot rods is in elsinore and seems to do good work

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk
 

rvrrun

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Only build a car if you have the money and want it exactly how you see it in your minds eye. There are tons of built cars out there and that will save a ton of money. You might not get the wheels or color you want but that’s the give and take. 33-34 parts are more precious than deuce parts, unless it’s going to be a glass body it won’t be cheap. My ‘32 is very bare bones and has over $80k in parts. I could have bought a driving car for less than that and saved three years of build time.

If he is serious about building, pm me and he can come to the shop and see what we do.
 

rivermobster

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did you actually say reasonably priced and hot rod in the same sentance?
That's akin to saying boat shop and
reasonably priced. lol
or auto dealership service and repair shop and reasonably priced..lol

BNAG! lol

This is the truth right here. Building a car is not something you want to do on a budget...

The car I posted was recently purchased. It came to me for a simple trans swap (turbo 350 to a 200r). Easy right?

The list of things we uncovered on this build is unreal. EFI installed with the hose to PCV port on the throttle body, sucking unfiltered air. Distributor hitting the firewall. Draw in the system causing the battery to go dead. Alternator not wired correctly. Electric fans not hooked to the EFI and wired all wrong. Overheats bad. Un-Baffled valve covers. Oil leaks everywhere. It had the wrong flexplate in it. All kinna detail stuff. And the worst part about it...

At right height, the pan hard rod is at an angle. The car sits not only crooked (low on the driver side) but the diff is not centered in the frame. It's going to dog track bad.

It's gonna take some fab work on the (nicely painted) diff and frame to get all of this sorted out. Probably new springs all around as well.

So this simple trans swap has turned into a major project! The customer is very cool. I've showed him everything every step of the way, and he's happy to have it all fixed and is not concerned about the cost.

The moral of this story??

If you are going to buy a car that's (supposedly) already done, PLEASE have it inspected first!!!!

If you are going to build a car...

3 years and 100k is NOT unrealistic at all.
 

Skinny Tire AH

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BNAG! lol

This is the truth right here. Building a car is not something you want to do on a budget...

The car I posted was recently purchased. It came to me for a simple trans swap (turbo 350 to a 200r). Easy right?

The list of things we uncovered on this build is unreal. EFI installed with the hose to PCV port on the throttle body, sucking unfiltered air. Distributor hitting the firewall. Draw in the system causing the battery to go dead. Alternator not wired correctly. Electric fans not hooked to the EFI and wired all wrong. Overheats bad. Un-Baffled valve covers. Oil leaks everywhere. It had the wrong flexplate in it. All kinna detail stuff. And the worst part about it...

At right height, the pan hard rod is at an angle. The car sits not only crooked (low on the driver side) but the diff is not centered in the frame. It's going to dog track bad.

It's gonna take some fab work on the (nicely painted) diff and frame to get all of this sorted out. Probably new springs all around as well.

So this simple trans swap has turned into a major project! The customer is very cool. I've showed him everything every step of the way, and he's happy to have it all fixed and is not concerned about the cost.

The moral of this story??

If you are going to buy a car that's (supposedly) already done, PLEASE have it inspected first!!!!

If you are going to build a car...

3 years and 100k is NOT unrealistic at all.

Three years I’d agree with but 100K? I don’t see how?

The guy that finished up my Chevelle is very fair. 60.00 an hour.

He marks parts 5%.

His builds are all in the 200-225 vicinity.

As you said, committing to a full build is a gigantic commitment that needs to be agreed upon by all three parties.

You, the builder and your family. (Wife) :D
 

rivermobster

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Three years I’d agree with but 100K? I don’t see how?

The guy that finished up my Chevelle is very fair. 60.00 an hour.

He marks parts 5%.

His builds are all in the 200-225 vicinity.

As you said, committing to a full build is a gigantic commitment that needs to be agreed upon by all three parties.

You, the builder and your family. (Wife) :D

Some guys want a stock SBC. Some guys want a Sonnys engine...

Some guys want daily driver paint. Some guys want 40k in paint...

Interior, trans, suspension...

The list goes on and on...

You CAN indeed set a budget, I'm not saying it can't be done. But it's just best to be realistic about how this stuff works out. It can get outa hand in a blink!!!
 

Skinny Tire AH

This ain't all folks! Skater368
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Some guys want a stock SBC. Some guys want a Sonnys engine...

Some guys want daily driver paint. Some guys want 40k in paint...

Interior, trans, suspension...

The list goes on and on...

You CAN indeed set a budget, I'm not saying it can't be done. But it's just best to be realistic about how this stuff works out. It can get outa hand in a blink!!!

Agree. Far too many options to just take a stab at a price. An as you stated, these things have a way of evolving into something that doesn’t resemble the original idea.
 

rivermobster

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Agree. Far too many options to just take a stab at a price. An as you stated, these things have a way of evolving into something that doesn’t resemble the original idea.

Yes sir. Indeed.
 

wzuber

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BNAG! lol

This is the truth right here. Building a car is not something you want to do on a budget...

The car I posted was recently purchased. It came to me for a simple trans swap (turbo 350 to a 200r). Easy right?

The list of things we uncovered on this build is unreal. EFI installed with the hose to PCV port on the throttle body, sucking unfiltered air. Distributor hitting the firewall. Draw in the system causing the battery to go dead. Alternator not wired correctly. Electric fans not hooked to the EFI and wired all wrong. Overheats bad. Un-Baffled valve covers. Oil leaks everywhere. It had the wrong flexplate in it. All kinna detail stuff. And the worst part about it...

At right height, the pan hard rod is at an angle. The car sits not only crooked (low on the driver side) but the diff is not centered in the frame. It's going to dog track bad.

It's gonna take some fab work on the (nicely painted) diff and frame to get all of this sorted out. Probably new springs all around as well.

So this simple trans swap has turned into a major project! The customer is very cool. I've showed him everything every step of the way, and he's happy to have it all fixed and is not concerned about the cost.

The moral of this story??

If you are going to buy a car that's (supposedly) already done, PLEASE have it inspected first!!!!

If you are going to build a car...

3 years and 100k is NOT unrealistic at all.
So true...boats are no different as we all likely know. I have a client that bought another boat that on the 1st. trip out it turned inta a pump rebuild project from a failed shaft seal at the thrust bearing destroying the suction hsg., w.ring & impeller, to a restoration including a complete new interior, floor, keel stringer, hull glass repair etc. The can of worms this turned into is only too typical of the un-informed buying that "great deal on a good looking toy" that they've always wanted.
 
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