• Main Home Page
• Today's Hot Topics
• Start a New Discussion
• Search Discussion Forums
• Forum FAQs
• General Topics
• Builder's Corner
• Buyer Beware
• Detailing Tips
• How To (How Do I?)
• Looking to Buy
• Paint Booth
• Q n A
• Reader's Choice Awards
• Tech Tips

• Hot Topics
• ronhotrod's family needs your prayers
• the 39 i'm into
• corvette suspension in a 66 chevy truck
• gas prices
• banjo steering wheels
• prayers needed
• 63 amc 327 v8
• progress
• opinions wanted regarding '36 ford slantback
• my new project
• what are the stars for?
• skeet, look at what i found, didn't know you were a celebrity
• exhaust wrap good or bad
• and that's how the fight started
• ron francis cruise control
• had visitors yesterday
• pin striping
• more rust repair
• air quality not so good, but the cars were.
• christmas carol?

Quick Search:

Choose ... Advertisers Builders Corner Projects Car Clubs Discussion Forums (Blogs) Event Coverage News and Articles Parts For Sale StreetRods For Sale StreetRodding.com Members Upcoming Car Shows

karl gunderson (aka Gundie) [ View ] [ ithinkicouldfly@hotmail.com ] [ Car Ads ] [ Blogs ] Upsala, Minnesota

i'm 17 years old and i have a pasion for hotrods and mucle cars, i really want to tear into making a hotrod but don't know how to go about finding a good car to start out with. i have a 78' bonneville 2 door that is kind of muscled out, but i would like to have a hotrod to work on and build. my bonneville needs restoreing and i have plans to start on that at the end of the summer. so it would be cool if some of you guys that have been doing this for awhile and know about this stuff could give me some advice. thanks

Comments

Posted by BigAlBre  -  04/05/2007 08:21 AM Check out the StreetRodding 101 video for sale on this site... it has a ton of information to get you started.... welcome aboard... Big Al sittin back pickin & grinning in paradise. [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] Saint Petersburg Beach, Florida Charter Member since June 1999   Posted by JAWS  -  04/05/2007 09:32 AM Welcome Karl. Good to see some new blood ready for the fun. Ask as many questions as you need and be prepared for some good ol' fashioned advice. That's the best kind, cause it only can come from good ol' car nuts. Also be prepared for some good ol' kiddin' around, too. But that's what makes this place the best site on the web. -Brant An electrical headache can make a great car a pain [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] Boise, Idaho Charter Member since August 2004   Posted by bigdude  -  04/05/2007 09:41 AM Welcome kid! I would say you are off to a good start with that boat. Put some bigger meats on the back for looks and find yourself a steady girlfiend and have some fun! This car thing has and will be around for awhile, so go out and enjoy life and save up your money and gain some knowledge. Oh to be 17 again! resident know it all [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] Three Rivers, Michigan Charter Member since January 2004   Posted by protruck69orange  -  04/05/2007 10:14 AM Welcome young blood,hope we can help protruck69orange [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] kountze, Texas   Posted by da34guy  -  04/05/2007 10:29 AM Hey Guys--- new "Fresh Meat " to have sum fun with.. Just Kiddin Karl. Welcome aboard. Don [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] Prescott, Arizona Charter Member since October 2001   Posted by 29robert  -  04/05/2007 11:15 AM Hey Karl. Don't think building a hot rod for the first time applies to just young guys. I'm 60 and building my first one. There are a lot of us here asking the same kind of questions. The only advise I can offer is to take your time and figure out what you really want, because it'll be a long term project and you don't want to change direction mid build. Go to all the car shows and cruise nights and talk to the owners of cars you like. They'll be happy to jaw with you. When I was your age, I knew I wanted to build a 29 Tudor, but didn't have the time, money, knowledge, or patience. Guess what! I still don't have the time, money, or knowledge, but I do now have patience! Good luck and welcome to the family. 29robert [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] La Verne, California Charter Member since November 2004   Posted by whipsold39  -  04/05/2007 10:43 AM Hello Karl, You are at the right place but I am not sure about the steady girlfriend. whipsold39 [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] 400 9th ave silvis 61282, Illinois Charter Member since January 2006   Posted by tlp1968  -  04/05/2007 11:01 AM If you pick a steady girlfriend Karl make sure she is a motorhead chick!! Welcome to the site. You will find there is a wealth of information here about every subject. StreetRodding.com Marketing Director [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] Springfield, Illinois Charter Member since August 2003   Posted by brian41chevy  -  04/05/2007 11:34 AM Welcomr Karl !!! You'll like it here. Good people to talk to. There is a fine line between hobby and mental illness [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] New Lenox, Illinois Charter Member since November 2004   Posted by Paradise Road Rod & Custom  -  04/05/2007 11:52 AM Welcome Karl, Great to see the younger guys still have an interest in the old cars. I would look for a 60s car to start a build with may be a buick or olds. You can find them at a good price still and parts are'nt to bad to get. We did a 64 lasabre about 2 years ago that looked like and old grampa car. just look through all the clutter to find a hot rod. Paradise Road Rod & Custom [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] Indianapolis, (unknown state)   Posted by 31tudor  -  04/05/2007 02:16 PM Welcome bud. Check out www.streetrod101.net like Big Al said. More information there than you could conceive of, and it's CHEAP! Eric Hibbs [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] St. George, Utah Charter Member since January 2002   Posted by 56chevytruck  -  04/05/2007 02:47 PM Welcome to the site.... Say What... [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] Midlothian, Texas   Posted by Crazyhorse Rod Shop  -  04/05/2007 05:35 PM woof......................... if your gonna get into hotrodding ya gotta follow the rules ! rule # 1 ....... there aint no rules rule # 2 ............. you cant change rule #2 dont poke the porchdog........he bites [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] BLUFF DALE, Texas Charter Member since March 2003   Posted by Streetrodder007  -  04/05/2007 06:17 PM Funny thing, When I was 17, I had my first hotrod,bought it right before my 16th birthday,it was a 1966 Dodge Polara- very fast car ! Paid $1500 for it, anyways one night I took a new girl out on a date and we went down to Marysville park to screw around in the back seat, after the windows were all steamed up, I went to fire that 383 mag. up, and it backfired threw the carb, caught the paper air cleaner element on fire, and started to spread, We jumped out and I ran to the fire hall, about 1000 feet away, firemen came over to my car and chopped the hood off with axes, chopped the carb off, and began to fill the motor with a dry chem fire extinguisher. Boy was my Dad pissed at me! Thats my last memory of being 17! LOL Streetrodder007 [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] Port Huron, Michigan Charter Member since April 2006   Posted by 31tudor  -  04/05/2007 06:16 PM And the girl? She didn't marry you, did she? Eric Hibbs [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] St. George, Utah Charter Member since January 2002   Posted by DavyJ  -  04/05/2007 07:22 PM Karl, welcome aboard. The only way to get started in Street Rodding is to take a lot of time and look at all the different types of cars out there. Go to car shows, read web sites, look at everything you can until one particular style of car keeps popping into your head. Then it will be time to research only one type of build. This will become an obsession.......as this is an incurable disease.....just ask any who hang out here. As for the Boneville, it should provide you with years of learning. just watch out for those who would take the front clip and attach it to a street rod frame, . The same applies here, look at other similar cars to make a plan for yours. Then gather parts and never start any part of the project until you have researched the knowledge to finish it. The people here will be willing to help, just have patience and put with some of our old ways and habits. Still driving the wife's car, cause I am slow. [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] Niagara Falls, Canada Charter Member since February 2005   Posted by dixie  -  04/05/2007 10:09 PM hey karl that ant a bad hotrod you got there to start with, {{WELCOME}} not many as young as you an me on here ,yeaaa======== o by the way get some bigger tires on the back of your boat an get the front down out of the air. jim grace [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] dade city, Florida Charter Member since January 2006   Posted by tlp1968  -  04/05/2007 11:47 PM Nothing says cool Karl like a sweet running engine....can you say headers, great exhaust and thumping cam??? I knew you could and while you are at it, a big block would probably fit just fine!!! That 78 would make a sweet sleeper. StreetRodding.com Marketing Director [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] Springfield, Illinois Charter Member since August 2003   Posted by khaase  -  04/06/2007 09:14 AM Karl, I see you are in Minnesota. I'm at Blue Earth, Mn. I have a stalled out rat rod project that one of my boys was working on. It's a 48 plymouth coupe with a 79 malibu front clip and a 440 motor , and a new walker rad. It has no outside rust only some floor rust. I might sell this car, it would make a kid a great low buck rod. Call if interested. 507-526-7491 khaase [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] Blue earth, Minnesota   Posted by softtail1334  -  04/06/2007 07:00 PM Welcome aboard Karl David [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] Excelsior Springs, Missouri Charter Member since December 2005   Posted by 40frdchv  -  04/06/2007 09:53 PM Karl , welcome. As you can see from the number of responses to your posting , there are a lot of people that can help. Going to shows , cruises , and swap meets are excellent ways to get ideas, help, and information for your next project. Also , magazines can be a great source of help. Once again , welcome to the world of Street Rods , Hot Rods , and Muscle Cars , where the love of your 'toy' is attained through many bloody knuckles , throwen tools , and hoarse throats from all the cussin' that you will do. Lol. What ever ride you choose to do ... take your time and have fun. 40frdchv [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] Clay Twp, Michigan Charter Member since January 2007   Posted by Studeman  -  06/23/2007 12:19 AM Welcome Karl! Good to hear there's 'young-blood' out there that are interested in something other than 'rice-burners'. Now, what was I doing when I was 17... I had a 40 Ford Coupe with a 331 Chrysler Hemi stuffed into it. It had the original Ford top-loader 3 speed behind it and as a result I got real good at rebuilding that style trans. And Hey Streetrodder007 we're still waiting for the answer to Tudor's question. Studeman [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] Orange, California   Posted by Streetrodder007  -  06/23/2007 08:12 AM I forgot about that, NO we did not marry, the last time I seen that girl I was sure glad we didnt, she has not aged well, and I think she out weigh's me by 50 pounds! After I got the car towed home my dad and I went to a local junkyard and bought a 383 magnum engine for $100, ( 25 years ago) and scavenged the parts together that we needed and my Dad and I built another motor, at my expense. hahaha Streetrodder007 [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] Port Huron, Michigan Charter Member since April 2006   Posted by BigAlBre  -  06/23/2007 09:34 AM That's the thing about firemen... they love to use those axes... to hell with opening the hood "let's chop our way in"... I had the same thing with a buick that burned to the ground thanks to 134A refrigerant couldn't put that stuff out....I'm with everyone else as far as putting bigger tires on your ride and lowering it... run what ya brung welcome to the site Big Al sittin back pickin & grinning in paradise. [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] Saint Petersburg Beach, Florida Charter Member since June 1999   Posted by Barefoottaz  -  06/23/2007 09:45 AM Glad to see some young people interested in rodding...Welcome ... Barefoottaz [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] apache jct., Arizona   Posted by n2tires  -  06/24/2007 09:23 AM Welcome aboard Karl. If these folks can't help you it can't be fixed. As said before keep a open point of view and get to as many events or cruise ins as you can. Just when you think you have made your mind up in the direction you want to go, you will run across something new that you like better. Just take your time and enjoy. You've got many years ahead of you........................ n2tires [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] Pikeville, Kentucky   Posted by flagator79  -  06/23/2007 09:06 PM Gundie, didn't you post on this site quite a while ago? I seem to remember that picture. If the world was fair, the worm would eat the bird half the time [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] West Monroe, Louisianna Charter Member since December 2005   Posted by DavyJ  -  06/23/2007 09:15 PM Skeet, it is not your imagination, this is an April post being revisited ........The question is Gundie, are you still hanging around? And how is that car coming along. Still driving the wife's car, cause I am slow. [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] Niagara Falls, Canada Charter Member since February 2005   Posted by Gundie  -  06/24/2007 02:01 AM o yea i'm still around guys. i've been working and just running a lot. yea i haven't done much with my bonnie really. i want to get some meats on the back but i only have my 15" by 8" rims so how wide of a tire could i rap on that rim? o and i think i've found my hotrod. its a 56' chevy half ton stepside. its in alright shape, rust along the bottom in some places. totally complete all glass is there and not cracked and it has original motor and tranny with a 3 on the tree. the guy also has a match of this truck i could use for parts. i couuld walk away with both of them for a grand. o and the other one has motor and tranny but all the glass is broke and its got some more rust issues in the cab. so do u guys think a 56 half ton would make a good hot rod. Gundie [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] Upsala, Minnesota   Posted by MUDMANDENNY  -  06/24/2007 08:02 AM yo gundie, ----welcome aboard the site , you will love the info and opinions that you get here. i, for one, am extremely jealous that your considering a classic truck. as president of a vintage, 2 wheel drive truck club. while most of our members own 40`sto 50`s chevies and some 50`s f-100`s, i have the baby classic in a 1971 chevy c-10. i have often admired the mid-50`s pickups. if you choose that truck, i`ll follow your build with great interest. MUDMANDENNY [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] MCDONALD, Ohio   Posted by DavyJ  -  06/24/2007 09:03 PM Gundie, those trucks are always hot. there are lots of parts available and lots of info as well. Check out the "Builders Corner" for Shine's pick up. It will give you something to dream about. As to the tires, you should have plenty of room for a set of 225-60's under the back. wide but still not too wide. lots of sidewall to fill that big opening Still driving the wife's car, cause I am slow. [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] Niagara Falls, Canada Charter Member since February 2005   Posted by 56chevytruck  -  06/25/2007 01:37 PM Nope Say What... [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] Midlothian, Texas   Posted by Gundie  -  06/25/2007 06:44 PM Davy] those 225-60's fit on those rims i have thou remember they're only 8" wide Gundie [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] Upsala, Minnesota   Posted by robymarks  -  06/26/2007 05:44 PM Welcome Young Blood! Look forward to hearing from you over the years to come and hopefully being of some help. Nice to have a young man interested in this great hobby robymarks [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] Houston, Texas Charter Member since October 2005

Back To Top

Please Login or Register to Comment

Existing Member? Sign In.

New Visitor? Click Here to Get Started!

Existing Member but forgot your Login Information? Click Here.