How much would it cost to make a hot rod?

This is purely hypothetical, but suppose that I got a hold of a decent-quality '54 Chevy that runs, has no rust, etc. If I took it to a custom shop, how much would it cost to give it a chop, some body work, a flame paint job, new engine, AC, etc.? I'm not talking super-high-tech fancy stuff, just a good custom job. Can anyone give me a ballpark figure? I really have no idea what it would be.

A new engine would cost you about 1000 grand..then to buy the tranny and have the engine and tranny installed, another 1000, so that's 2000 dollars before even the custom job. I'd say $5,000 for a decent job.

$3800 would make a nice rod with out going over then top.
LOTS!!!! My partner has built a few and they eat money. A ford pop owes him about thirty grand(NZ) and he did all the work himeself. A boat that owes him about fifteen k and a moanro sitting in the garage that needs at least another thirty. Make sure that if you start you are prepared to kiss goodbye to every cent you have. But at the end of the day, is great for boys to have toys ;O)
at least 15,000 ,maybe more..
Not over 3000 not to much not a cheap won ether..
if you cant do it yourself prolly a lot
learn to do it your self thats the whole idea about haveing a hot rod it is something that you created and build and deigned yourself
Im gonna be honest with you, It all depends how "hot" you want to make that hot rod. Each person has different taste and ideas on what they want to do when customizing. You could spend a little, then again, as you are doing the work, you may come up with new ideas, before you know it, you will have alot invested. Its all up to you how much you want to spend.