Bitchin' Budget Builds

You'd have to be living under a rock to not have noticed the spike in popularity of low-buck, traditional, and homebuilt hot rods in the past five to 10 years. What started on the West Coast as a knee-jerk reaction to the high-dollar builds that were common of the era-and the fact that 95 percent of the hot rodding community seemed to have forgotten how "the way it was" really was-eventually turned into the hottest trend since billet first hit in the mid-'70s.

Originally ignored by the street rodding community in general, guys building low-buck or, dare we say, rat rods were usually left to fend for themselves when it came to things like organizing shows that really catered to the rough-around-the-edges kind of cars they gravitated toward. Today, with the popularity of shows like Billetproof, Viva Las Vegas, Paso Robles, and the Primer Nats paving the way, the early style, homebuilt, budget beater has never been more popular. Hell, Boyd even did a version of his own for Gil Losi called The Ratster (SRM, July 2006), which, while it may have exceeded what we would deem as a realistic budget, is loaded with inspiration taken from such cars.

The movement is at full steam, sweeping the nation and not showing any signs of slowing down. The big car shows are embracing the movement as well, with the Detroit Autorama dedicating the entire basement of Cobo Hall to the budget beaters and Goodguys with their Suede & Chrome and Homebuilt Heaven sections reserved for those who, well, built their cars at home. In addition to the show promoters taking notice, it's easy to forget about the aftermarket industry that no doubt made it all possible. From dropped axles to chassis to tires, it would be four times as hard to realistically build a hot rod on a budget if it weren't for these companies reproducing all the various parts that keep our cars on the road.

While the aftermarket industry does a great deal to keep the fire burning, it's hard to understand how this trend even exists when, as far back as the '70s, you heard talk about how the original tin was starting to dry up. It wasn't that it was drying up, but it was disappearing. What we're starting to realize now is that what the vintage tin guys were buying up back then is starting to come up for sale again. While the days of finding a complete Deuce coupe sitting in a barn that needs tires, gas, and a battery are long gone, there are cars, bodies, and parts in various condition that have been hibernating in the garages of old-timers across the country. Need proof? Just check eBay or any of the bigger pre-'48 swap meets across the nation and you'd be amazed at what's out there. We were.

And that's just what we did. Over the last year or so, we've paid close attention to the budget and homebuilt stuff-whether it was running, driving cars like you'll see this month, or bodies, engines, bits, and pieces that guys could use to construct a hot rod at home and on a real-world budget. We're not drawing a line in the sand and saying, "Here's our budget," but rather showing a budget can be measured in not only money, but time, resources, and labor as well. When one sets a budget, it must be assumed that if one isn't a welder, that aspect of the build is either going to cost money or be bartered some other way-either through a friend or possibly a fellow car club member. Obviously, if a guy builds his car 100 percent out of his garage, his monetary budget for labor is very minimal. On the other hand, it may have taken him three more years to finish than if he'd farmed the labor out to a shop.

We'll take a closer look in the following months at what goes into the budget of building a hot rod, how to get a good base figure, and what to expect as the build progresses. Until then, check out this group of cars. Each one has attributes that make for a very distinct hot rod and all are projects that could be built in the garage with a decently stocked tool chest, a bit of knowledge, a lot of patience, a modest wad of cash, and of course, your trusty archive of SRM!