Ist step restoration

This poll touched a nerve with me. I have seen many projects (rolling restoration types) grind to a halt after $10,000 dollars have been spent on making it look pretty. Then the owner starts to drive it and it constantly breaks down. On a less expensive model, more money added to the project is not an option and so the car is sold at a loss and leaving a bad taste. The new owner may or my not have expected a drivetrain to match the bodywork but will often finish the car into something stunning. I always suggest that, if the owner is going to drive the car, he get it to run well first and use it a lot and then decide if this is the car for him before doing the interior and exterior. Museum cars don't need to do this. Cheers Ron

I'd say it depends on what level of restoration you're trying to do. For a rolling restoration, where you're going to fix whatever is really worn out and then put a respectable paint job on the rest, by all means do the fixing before the painting. If you run out of money at that point, at least you can have fun driving something ugly.

If it's more extensive and you know you're going to rebuild the engine, transmission, suspension, etc. anyway, I'd take the car apart and send it to the body shop first, simply because body work is likely to take longer than engine and transmission rebuilding, and with those already out of the car, both phases can happen simultaneously.

You have a great point. When I sold this car in 1996 for $2,800; the car ran well but had a worn out interior, three layers of amateur paint jobs, grease on the engine and trans, an old windshield, along with a small amount of dings and little door dents. I always felt a $5,000 paint job would not make me feel better about cruising around and enjoying the car.

The next owner drove it for 1 month, bought a bunch of parts, and stripped and rebuilt the body, interior, and all the chrome. He told me he never really drove the car and just recently wants to bail and he bought a newer Mustang ragtop instead.

He easily has $2,800 + $2,500 in parts + $5,000 in body work and offered it to me for $5,000. So the car was rarely driven in 15 years. I drove it for 5+ years and had a blast going to Road America, Blackhawk, and local car shows. I have a ton of memories and having it in 100% mint condition would have been nice but at what price?

I agree that you should enjoy the car well before you strip it down.

It has been covered in the mag, but bears repeating: (even though you speak of rolling restos)

Putting a car back together after a full tear down and re-assembly is going to go though some de-bugging effort.

You will often hear it said that "The more you drive it the better it becomes". That is because as you drive you are getting on top of all the stuff that was either old and not replaced or that you did not quite re-assemble right.

Also keep in mind that if you replaced 100 parts, chances are that 10% are going to have a manufacturing fault (sorry, just the nature of the game) and that could mean 10 breakdowns or annoyances unless you suck it up and get over the hump.

Was it not Ross Perot who said that the secret to his success was knowing that most people give up 5 yards from the finish line?

36 years into the GT from hell restoration, and I am sure that I will get over the hump any day now!

Wow, good post subject. 3 replies. Place is picking up...

Problem with rolling restorations (done several) is that you're always going back through what you just did to get to some area/part/system that needs to be done next.

That said, I'd do it again because it keeps the car enjoyable. Problem is, I enjoy both: driving it and working on it (whatever 'it' is)

The best thing about a rolling restoration is that the car is largely complete and not far from being roadworthy. How many basket case cars have you seen that were stripped down to boxes of parts and never put back together again? Keeping the car together as much as possible means that the scope of the pending work is manageable for the average person and they don't get overwhelmed and say "screw it" and dump the car.

I would agree a rolling restoration is best for a first project. We've done a bunch of minor and major projects to my g/f's cars that have taken it off the road for some time (usually over a Winter period), but we've always made a point of having it back together by the start of the driving season. I'll also admit she can be a good task-master with keeping the project moving.

My own car will be much more of a long-term project, requiring a butt-load of rust repair. The car ran and drove when I got it, but unfortunately, it sat for a couple of years and then we scavenged a few bits for her car (same model and year). It is not the aforementioned pile of boxes, but having taken a similar car mostly apart and back together, I am more confident I'll be able to finish the project... ...once I have a place (shop) to work on it.

I think were guys fall down on restorations is they get impatient to get on the road. Start out with good intent but after pouring $$ into it they want to start getting something out. I have a good car to drive in the meantime while I work on my project. When it's done and all the bugs are out, then the driver comes apart for the same treatment.

Having worked and been involved in rebuiding and building cars from IMSA race cars to cars being shown in Concours D'Elegance shows I can tell you one of the biggest things that will hold up finishing a car. That is becoming overwhelmed I have seen guys once the car is in pieces not know what to do next. I learned at a very early stage to make lists of everything that has to be done until the car is done the next thing is impatience you have to discipline yourself to not consider driving the car until EVERTHING is done and I mean every single last thing then it is done and it is a complete unit.I am a professional and this is how I make my money so it is easy for me because I am usually doing this for a customer so I don't get impatient even if the customer is pushing me. Bottom line if I am taking a car and disassembling it to the point where it is going up on the rotisserie then it doesn't go anywhere until it is a completed unit. And when it is finished it will be as good or better than a brand new car and there will not be ANY problems with it because it was done with patience and care.