Need Success Stories!

[Guest Kinmann]

Hey guys,

I am going to be restoring my '63 real soon. Im wanting to do a frame-off restoration. My dilemma is- I am doing it in a 22x24 garage....Yeah I know. Tuff. I was on the verge of building a 24x30 to dedicate just to this and other car projects but I just cant right now in this economy, I dont want to take on any debt.

I would love to hear some brief success stories of this happening! I want to puit the hammer down on this project. What is the best way?

Organization should not be a problem, I have a 12X16 shed that is solely dedicated to this project to store the dissasmbled pieces with shelving, etc. What hurtles do you see coming up?

I am just not as excited right now....maybe because the garage is attached to the house and it is not a shop atmosphere.

Also- What size air compressor is good to use. Horsepower / tank size / cfm?

Thanks guys....Kevin

[Patrick91914]

I'm a great example of potential.....that is, I potentially may never finish my car.

Best way is to take your time and stay organized. #1 Rule, get it running right and stopping right. That way you can move it. Throw nothing away until the project is done. Tag all parts. Your memory is not what it used to be and it only gets worse. Take pics before you take the car apart. Be patient. You will get depressed wondering if you'll ever get it done. Have a budget and a time frame to complete the car. Then triple it to be safe. Other than those pointers, have a good time.

Edited December 4, 2011 by Patrick91914 (see edit history)

[JZRIV]

Kevin,

I've done frame-ons that looked nearly like frame-offs in a 24 x 12 garage with a 7' ceiling that was under the house. Did everything but bodywork and paint. You just have to be more resourceful when it comes to certain aspects of the project as well as having very cooperative inhabitants living in the house.

Are you sure you want to do a frame-off? That can significantly increase the labor, time and money required for the simple fact that if you are going to that extent theres a lot of parts that you'll want to replace or restore that otherwise you may not. It just takes a whole lot longer.

You will have to store either the chassis or body outside while work is being done on the other.

What kind of tools are you planning on running with the air compressor?

Edited December 4, 2011 by JZRIV (see edit history)

[Patrick91914]

I agree with Jason's comment, "Are you sure you want to do a frame off?". If this is a car that you want to drive and enjoy but have it super clean under the hood, just pull off the front clip down to the frame and detail what you can see.

[RivNut]

In most of the "restorations" I've done, I'll have to agree with everyone who's voiced an opinion.

The one car I didn't finish and sold as a project was the one that was a frame off. It was in so many parts and was taking so much time, I lost interest. As Patrick said, get it running and stopping. Make sure at this point it's something you want to continue with. One of my biggest problems was with space. If I can't move the car around, I don't have the space to do the work. A good set of hand tools is essential. After that, buy what you need as it's needed. You're probably not going to do anything yourself that would require any really specialized tools. When you do need one, most jobbers are more than willing to lend them to you just to get you in their stores. At the local Advanced Auto you can get anything you need. You actually buy it with your credit card then return it for a refund.

IMHO, it's much more enjoyable to work on and it will keep you interested if it's movable on wheels and not stored in a bunch of boxes somewhere.

Ed

[Guest Rob J]

I gotta agree with most of the guys here. I've done frame on's, off's, and built a Factory Five Shelby Cobra Replica, all in a two car garage, so it can be done. But, on a non GS first gen Riv, I'd just do a nice restoration with the body on.

I have two 65 Riv's I'm working on now, a loaded GS, and a more basic 401 Riv. Right now, I'm doing a nice body on restoration on the 401 car, as I intend to drive that car often. The GS, however, is getting a frame off.

Between removing the front clip, and removing the rear gas tank, suspension, there is plenty of room to work under the car and clean it up real nice. Once you start removing the body to frame bolts, most of them will break, resulting in spinning cage nuts, resulting in cutting out metal to access and repair those cage nuts, resulting in lots of work, time, ect... It's a whole new animal, once you strip one of these things to the bare bones.

As to the Air Compressor, it all depends on what kind of work you'll be doing. If your going to run a blast cabinet, you'll want to get at least a 220V, 60-80 Gallon, 5 HP compressor. Right now I have a 30 Gallon Sears Professional unit, and it works great for air ratchets, ect, but I can only run my blast cabinet intermittently with it. I will be getting a new compressor this, or next month, as I run my blast cabinet often.

Edited December 5, 2011 by Rob J (see edit history)

[bb1970]

Post some pics of what you are starting with. Take care not to be too gung ho. It's great to have enthusiasm about a project. But it's easy to get overwhelmed. I started with a decent car. Spent one winter on body and paint. Lowered it that spring. The following winter I rehabbed the interior. In two years I really improved my car (in my eyes). And never stopped driving it. Plus it wasn't a financial burden. I know all situations are different. It would be ashame to go in guns a blazin' and blow it all apart. Then find it is too much to handle and loose interest. Here is some photos of mine.

[Guest Kinmann]

Appreciate all your input.... Your exactly right. I'm gonna do a very detailed frame on restoration. My car actually runs and drives well. It will do 70 down the freeway all day long. I drove it 3 hours home a few months ago when I bought it.

I need a drivers side floor board and the passenger rear quarter below the trim has a hole.

I really appreciate your comments! What a great group of enthusiasts!

[bb1970]

Look at the comments from April this year on the same topic. Kind of funny how most of the replies encourage the body off restoration this spring. But now that winter has set in the tune has changed. I guess these guys feel a little more energetic in the spring time. http://forums.aaca.org/f177/frame-off-301751.html

[Guest Rob J]

Look at the comments from April this year on the same topic. Kind of funny how most of the replies encourage the body off restoration this spring. But now that winter has set in the tune has changed. I guess these guys feel a little more energetic in the spring time. http://forums.aaca.org/f177/frame-off-301751.html

Yep, my tune did change a bit. Right now, I've got the white 401 Riv up on jack stands as far up as I can safely get it (which is no where as high as I'd like it). The last few weeks I have been scraping, sanding, and wiping down with solvent my arse off under the car, and I'm not even half done removing all of the old undercoating. It's a chore no doubt. When I'm done, I plan to POR 15 the entire underside, then re apply new undercoating. The main reasons why I'm not doing a body off on this one, is I'm worried about breaking body bolts upon removal, as happened on my GS. It's a royal pita to have to cut metal to repair the cage nuts on broken body mounts. I also just do not have enough space to store the body. I'm working the underside in sections also, so as to not have the entire car apart, so I can still drive it as I tackle certain area's of repair as well. Right now, I have the gas tank, and the fuel lines removed, and have cleaned and re-conditioned my tank. While the tank and lines are removed, I'm working on that section of the underside. Once it is all POR'd, and undercoated, I'll then remove the rear axle, and do that area, ect...