How To Build A Budget Roadster

“Everyone should have a car this fun."

"I can take my dog in it, parts, anything."

"But it’s a bachelor’s car. Women think it’s cute, but after a block their hair is wrapped 27 times around their head, dirt’s in their eyes, and they’re done. My fiance won’t ride in it.”

“It was a nightmare to package all the stuff under the body. We had to cut the stock running-board aprons to clear the Tanks Inc. sidesaddle gas tanks. I eventually had to add a B&M trans cooler under there, too. I moved the stainless steel battery box under the seat and it routinely cooked batteries. A piece of wood under the battery and on the side where the exhaust passed by insulated it better and solved the problem.”

“I originally had the gas filler at the front of the rear wheel, but if I ever lost a tire, it would’ve ripped the filler off and poured gas on the exhaust for a nice fire. I used a Hagan’s fuel filler door, but I put it right behind the driver, and if I overfill the tanks, the vent pukes fuel on the back of my head as I drive. The two tanks fill from the same tube, but you have to switch from tank to tank to feed the engine. Total capacity is 14 gallons each, but go 100 miles and you’re praying for a reason to get out for gas, anyway.” *

“The car was assembled and disassembled five times before it hit the road. I learned not to grease anything up or paint it the first time you assemble it—wait until you know it all fits together before you detail it.”

“The first time we put the engine in I found out that an 8-inch harmonic balancer hit the steering rods. I had to get a 6-inch one to barely clear them. The TCI engine mounts were in the right place the first time.”

“I thought the 8-inch rear would be a cost savings over the 9-inch. Guys told me a ’70 Mustang unit would be the right width, but it wasn’t. By the time the 8-inch was shortened, straightened, and a custom Panhard bar mount was made, I could have just had a TCI/Currie 9-inch.”

“I didn’t tighten up the pitman arm enough, and even with Loctite, it kept loosening up. My buddy, Troy Trepanier, put a 1/2-inch impact on it and just stood on it. If your car is new and it’s wandering all over the place, that could be the problem. Also, I originally had a Borgeson rubber vibration damper in the steering and the car was almost undriveable. I’ve seen it work on other cars, but with my Conestoga wagon program it had too much play.”

“I had Tri-C Engineering fabricate a bunch of patch-pieces for the body, and even though they did a nice job, there’s no reason to do that. Brookville makes everything you need, and it looks very clean. The Brookville parts I did use—like the firewall and the dash—fit perfectly.”

“The first interior started with a junkyard seat and Ron Mangus covered it with a Mexican blanket. The bottom foam was glued to a piece of plywood. The old foam broke down and it was like riding on a buckboard.”

“The best thing I ever did was the Rich Santana interior, and the DynaMat sound-canceling insulation. I thought DynaMat was stupid at first for a roadster, but I can’t believe the difference. Made the doors slam better and everything. I also like the Juliano’s three-point seatbelts. Tri-C welded in some 0.060-wall round tubing around the back of the interior for the top mount of the seat belts and a piece of 1x1-inch, 0.090-wall square tubing for the seatbelt floor mount. People feel more safe cuz I’m such a bad driver.”

“I got the windshield rake just right, but at 60 mph it’d eventually pivot back and I worried about it taking my head off one day. I had Tri-C install some tabs (arrow) to hold the windshield in place.”

“It originally had a cheapy throttle-cable setup I bought for like 27 bucks, but you gotta spend the money on the Lokar deal. The cheap one hung up and stuck the throttle open. There’s not much that’s scarier than that.”

“I’ve never seen a better deal before or since.” We’ve gotta agree. When former Rod & Custom staffer Will Handzel set out to build his first hot rod, he got an absolutely gut-wrenching deal on a gennie ’31 roadster, then turned it into the Budget Beater for Hot Rod magazine. The goal was to have a basic rod for less than $10,000. The buildup appeared in the Sept. through Dec. ’95 issues of Hot Rod , and Handzel claimed a total price of $10,402.81, though we’d add a G’s worth of fudge factor to that. Five years, 25,000 miles, and several thousand bucks later, the car is still a stone riot. It’s been cross-country four times, guardrailed once, and throttled at will. Just enough shakedown for us to get familiar with this typical, entry-level rod, see what worked and what didn’t, road test it, and share Handzel’s experience to help you with the project in your garage.