Why restorers lose their minds

[Restorer32]

and end their lives wandering Hershey hearing voices and talking to themselves.

Things we discovered just in the last 2 weeks while working on cars someone else partially "restored".

Discover at the last minute that the distributor in your early '30's Packard has been installed 180 degrees out and not knowledgeable enough to know you can just lift it out, rotate it 180 and reinstall? No problem! Simply take the original rotor, grind off the flat and glue and screw a new steel flat in place 180 the other way.

Too cheap to pay for an expensive early '30's Packard fuel pump? No problem! Just take a generic AC pump that fits and saw out an operating lever from mild non hardened steel and install it using a copper rivet as the pivot and hope the engine runs long enough to get the car sold.

Have a captured nut that has broken loose in a hard to reach place on the hood of your '58 Cadillac? No Problem! Just take a spade bit you don't need, weld a nut to it and install.

Pictures attached.

[Restorer32]

pics coming soon

[Guest tcuda340]

Can't wait to see the pictures!!

[keiser31]

Couldn't figure out why the windshield in my car sagged on one side and scraped the paint off of the sill. Removed the whole unit to find that the previous owner had used loose fitting wood screws instead of the correct machine screws to install it.

Couldn't figure out why the car would ride well for a while and then a "bump steer" situation would start up. Took the front end apart to find that the previous owner had installed two broken shims on each spring set so the alignment pin on the axle wasn't matching up with the springs or even going into the hole at all. Talk about your "floating" front axle.

The previous owner had installed a new vinyl top insert on my car. Trouble is, the screws and steel plates were installed AFTER the vinyl, so they screwed right through the vinyl to install the plates.....OVER the vinyl. That is one thing I have not fixed, yet. Can't do a new interior until I stop the roof leaks.

Yep.....some guys just need to leave the old car work to the guys who know what they are doing. I lost my mind a long time before I got this car, but it is not helping me to remain sane by seeing and dealing with those types of booboos.

[Restorer32]

Another shop I know worked on a '31 or so Caddy years ago that had a steering problem. Turned out someone had fabricated a bearing from a piece of wood, maple I think, and installed it in place of the original bearing.

[poci1957]

What do all these things have in common? Ignorance and impatience. The guy working on a Packard ignores learning about the car. The bodyman/trimmer working on the 1930s wood composite body does not bother to learn or read anything, he just runs in a screw.

I do not know if these stories are depressing in confirming that no one cares to educate themselves; or uplifting that such carelessness means there is value to our accumulation of the knowledge of these old cars.

[Amphicar BUYER]

I'm doing an Amphicarthat the owner took the hull to another bodyshop after he insisted his guy was "the best." After 6+ years of no updates from him, I go to pick up the hull and after seeing it my next stop was at the media blaster. It was so bad that it shed several sheets of bodo-paint the size of a dinner platter, bubbled as big as an apple and best of all was probably 100-200 pop rivets in the bottom where he used scraps about playing card size to fill in a rust hole. Unbelieveable!!

It has a new hull bottom and is coming together nicely now. Sad thing is the owner now has a disease that will greatly shorten his life. He lost all those years because of the other shop and now will have very little time to enjoy the car he has owned for 20 years and have never heard run.

[Restorer32]

One of our all time favorites is a car we worked on where a previous "restorer" had woven paint sticks together to form a rocker panel and bondoed over everything. Another favorite is the Healy 3000 with the pop riveted in STOP sign for a floorboard. Oh yea, I forgot the XK150 with 4" eyebolts in place of motor mount bolts.

[Luv2Wrench]

Another shop I know worked on a '31 or so Caddy years ago that had a steering problem. Turned out someone had fabricated a bearing from a piece of wood, maple I think, and installed it in place of the original bearing.

Maple is pretty hard.

[Bhigdog]

Maple is pretty hard.

Lignum Vitae is harder, denser, and self lubricating. That's what I use.......Bob

[Luv2Wrench]

Lignum Vitae is harder, denser, and self lubricating. That's what I use.......Bob

Classic!! I wanted to respond with that but I couldn't remember what it was. All I could remember is we called it Ironwood.

[Bhigdog]

Classic!! I wanted to respond with that but I couldn't remember what it was. All I could remember is we called it Ironwood.

That's the stuff. So heavy it sinks in water. And it WAS used for some bearing applications, I think in ships. Maybe still is.............Bob

[5219]

It is a fact of life that when we we buy these cars, we are at the mercy of everyone who ever worked on them.

[dibarlaw]

Restorer32;

Don't lose your mind till after you finish my 37 Buick. I was hoping you would not mention some of my errors! I know the frustration with my 1925 Buick as the brakes were relined and held on with copper plated steel split rivets driven ito the lining! I also know the feeling of wanting to do a first class job.

I did much research but were afraid of doing irrepairable damage because of my lack of certain skills. And so nothing got done. Also on my 1925 some one cut down a larger touring car top iron set and and rewelded . Bent the front right iron to adjust spacing. Looks great?!?

Larry

[JV Puleo]

On a RR Left hand drive PII I worked on many years ago, the alignment of the front wheels was wildly out... in fact, it couldn't be driven. The owner had inherited the car and it hadn't been driven in years. He, rightly, arranged to have it towed to his house... and the tow truck guy had wrapped a chain around the axle AND the tie rod (which is a tube), bending it so badly that it was almost impossible to push, much less drive.

[1937hd45]

This was my favorite: The Type 40 Bugatti has a generator that is driven off the front of the crankshaft, neat design, just slides into this aluminum casting. I think the generator had a problem and the owner desided to save some money and remove it, then drive the car to the shop, and pick it up in a week or so after the generator was rebuilt. He was so proud of the fact that a coffee can was the same diameter as the generator and fit in the aluminum mount to keep the oil inside the crankcase, plus the big labor saving of removing the generator and placing the can in its place all by himself. This was in the early 1970's he must have saved around 40 orv50 dollars. The car quit on him on the way up, and his wife who was following him got to tow him the last few miles to the shop. He left and we looked into why the car wouldn't run, it wouldn't turn over. I removed the coffee can that fit so nicely were the generator was that he removed to save the labor costs of us removing it. It had stuff in it..........SpeedyDry. Ever see an oil pump and main bearing oil tubes packed with SpeedyDry? He did save on the hours labor removing the generator.

Edited June 5, 2012 by 1937hd45 (see edit history)

[R W Burgess]

Old Street Rodder story:

Owner decides he wants a sunroof in his early '32 model Ford. He cuts the hole, inserts the sunroof, looks inside???????

What the heck are these rubber hoses doing hanging down. Decides the quick fix is to cut them off and then reinstalled the headliner. Later decides to sell car.

New owner is really pleased with his new ride, until that day trip to the Cruise In when the thunder storm comes up. He almost drowns before he can find a service station canopy to pull under because of all of that runoff water running down his neck and his shorts!!!:eek:

"What the heck???!":mad:

Wayne

[R W Burgess]

Here you go Jeff..sorry for the delay!

Wayne

[RU22]

I've restored race cars many years

It's common to find water pipes pop rivited to parts of cars.

One fiber glass sports racer had the sugar scoop headlamps filled with plaster

Also for people to open the engine and let the horsepower out

I knew one idiot that put the suspension upside down on an MT4 OSCA. All the parts were numbered as to location by the factory.... unique Genus this guy

[Guest Oldengineer]

I'd laugh, but, I ran into some of this stuff on my 48 Chevrolet. Some PO had put dual exhausts on her. They burned a hole in the exhaust manifold in front of the original down pipe connection, and, welded on a piece of inch and a half water pipe for the extra down pipe. They then used an assortment of curved pieces of exhaust pipe welded to the water pipe to get the second exhaust system routed over the tranny and to the second exhaust system installed on the passenger side of the car. With no way to flex, this mess started to stress fracture its joints, so I decided to take the car back to a single exhaust. It took me about 4 hours with a sawzall to cut the exhaust system apart. Inside the old exhaust manifold I found the metal slug from the hole they cut and it had pretty much blocked the original downpipe. Now, with her replacement manifold and single exhaust system, she runs much better.

Regards:

Oldengineer

Edited June 5, 2012 by Oldengineer (see edit history)

[Restorer32]

I've mentioned this several times before. We had a '50's Chevy come into the shop. Someone had installed a heavy duty tow hitch and had welded the main brace directly to the bottom of the gas tank.

[Dandy Dave]

I've really lost my marbles the last few weeks. Ever since I discoverd that the radiator from my very rare Gasoline powered Caterpillar Model 12 road Grader was stollen I have trouble sleeping at night. I talk to myself, I even answer myself back. I keep asking, why??? The machine is number 17 of only 56 built with a G-4600 engine. Even a reward of $500 dollars for information to its return has not shaken it out of the wood work. This comming weekend there will be a newspaper story about my adventures saving early construction equipment and this old grader will be the feature. I have spent years locating parts, getting a few pieces rebuilt, and gathering information to save this old grader for future generations. It is a valuable part of our road building history which is also part of our automotive past and should be saved. I wake up with it on my mind, I have it on my mind all day, it has really been interfearing with me concentrating on my work. I go to bed with it on my mind at night. I'm at the point where I can start to put it back together and some dirty lot of bum thieves knock the wind right out of my sails. I guess some people have no respect for much of anything old. I just keep running around in circles waiting to drop and have the vultures to carry me away one little piece at a time. I have been searching construction equipment salvage yards for a replacement, or parts to assemble a replacement, but that has not taken me very far either. I sometimes ask myself if it is all in vain. Is it a waste of time to save this old machine??? Does anyone besides me care to have it saved? I'm clearly loosing my marbles..... Dandy Dave!

[sambarn]

I recently pulled the tank from my Marmon Sixteen and found that during the "restoration" someone had pulled the tank, cut three large (12X12") holes in the top, used a welder to competently restore the rust out line three inches above the bottom and replace most of the baffles. They then decided to cap off their efforts by taking a section of galvanized metal and, using self tapping screws srew it to the top of the tank. They then slathered it over with copious JB Weld and re-installed it. By the time I found this, at least ten or twelve years after the "restoration", It had broken down to sheets of rust on the inside that dropped into the gas and filled the entire fuel system with brown crusty garbage.

[Restorer32]

'28 Cadillac Dual Cowl in for paint. While stripping the paint we find a lot of bondo around the passenger side rear fender. Grinding out the bondo we find that the car had been hit and to restore the curve of the rear fender well a previous "restorer" had carved out a piece of a 2x4and bolted it in place and covered it with condo. At least he had the sense to use treated wood.

[Bhigdog]

That's actually a nice job on the rotor. Dumb, but nice................Bob

[Restorer32]

A new rotor for a '32 Packard is $95. Yes, they did do a nice job of it.

[Rusty_OToole]

I've really lost my marbles the last few weeks. Ever since I discoverd that the radiator from my very rare Gasoline powered Caterpillar Model 12 road Grader was stollen I have trouble sleeping at night. I talk to myself, I even answer myself back. I keep asking, why??? The machine is number 17 of only 56 built with a G-4600 engine. Even a reward of $500 dollars for information to its return has not shaken it out of the wood work. This comming weekend there will be a newspaper story about my adventures saving early construction equipment and this old grader will be the feature. I have spent years locating parts, getting a few pieces rebuilt, and gathering information to save this old grader for future generations. It is a valuable part of our road building history which is also part of our automotive past and should be saved. I wake up with it on my mind, I have it on my mind all day, it has really been interfearing with me concentrating on my work. I go to bed with it on my mind at night. I'm at the point where I can start to put it back together and some dirty lot of bum thieves knock the wind right out of my sails. I guess some people have no respect for much of anything old. I just keep running around in circles waiting to drop and have the vultures to carry me away one little piece at a time. I have been searching construction equipment salvage yards for a replacement, or parts to assemble a replacement, but that has not taken me very far either. I sometimes ask myself if it is all in vain. Is it a waste of time to save this old machine??? Does anyone besides me care to have it saved? I'm clearly loosing my marbles..... Dandy Dave!

Dave, make sure the newspaper article features a picture of the grader with no rad on it, and a picture of what the rad looks like, and tells the story of it being stolen and irreplaceable. The publicity may just turn it up, or turn up a replacement rad.

As to whether it is a waste of time, of course it is. Fixing up old junk makes no sense. They make new ones every day. You could just go buy one. Then take all the time you save and sit on the back porch drinking beer. When you are done all your fixing it will not be worth anywhere near what you have in it. But you knew that before you started.

[Guest Skyking]

I love when someone fills a 2" deep dent with bondo when the backside is so easy to access to dolly it out!:confused: What are they thinking???

[keiser31]

I love when someone fills a 2" deep dent with bondo when the backside is so easy to access to dolly it out!:confused: What are they thinking???

They're not thinking at all except how to quickly get the job done....and not necessarily correctly.

[Dandy Dave]

Dave, make sure the newspaper article features a picture of the grader with no rad on it, and a picture of what the rad looks like, and tells the story of it being stolen and irreplaceable. The publicity may just turn it up, or turn up a replacement rad.

As to whether it is a waste of time, of course it is. Fixing up old junk makes no sense. They make new ones every day. You could just go buy one. Then take all the time you save and sit on the back porch drinking beer. When you are done all your fixing it will not be worth anywhere near what you have in it. But you knew that before you started.

That is what I am hoping. Yes, they have a lot of photos. I have asked myself often why I don't just don't take up drinkin ,drugin, gamblin, smokin, and chasein barmaids like all the bums around here??? Some how I would rather waste my money on old worthless iron. If I was smart I would have taken it to the scrap yard and made a few bucks to buy booze and women.... But I aint all that smart. Dandy Dave!

[critterpainter]

A friend of my had a body shop. A customer brought in a 39 ford coupe street rod that had a bubble in the paint on one front fender. He had documentation that it had been build at a "high end" shop in the mid-west.

The work was so creative that the owner wound up scrapping the car. Newspaper rockers, lace rear fenders, roof so thin that finger pressure damaged it, 454 engine with lots of chrome and burning a quart of oil every 100 miles. I saw the car when it was driven in and it WAS sharp-looking, but after all the bondo came off the body was a piece of garbage, dented, rusted-out and tissue paper thin.

Bill

[jpage]

Several years ago I picked up a '36 Dodge sedan. It was evident that the car had been repainted by an incompetent body shop. The rear fenders have a 5/8 in reveal around the perimeter of the wheel opening and lower bottom. When I stripped the left rear fender I found that it had been caved in near the fuel fill tube. The damaged extended to the reveal also. Instead of hammering the short section of reveal back out the bodyman pounded the entire reveal flat all the way around the fender and rebuilt it all in bondo! What nonsense! Took hours to hammer out and reform the reveal! Just think what some of these guys do to their customer's cars!

[28 Chrysler]

I had a guy who wanted to sell me a 1966 Mustang.

New paint, new tires, and 2 new cinder blocks in the trunk between the top of the 1/4 panel and the leaf springs that came through the floor.

[West Peterson]

I'm always leery of a freshly painted class #3 condition car. I'd rather buy a faded, chipped, dented car than one that has been freshly painted. Plus, usually the paint job itself is not worth a 1938 dollar.

Edited June 6, 2012 by West Peterson (see edit history)

[poci1957]

I'm always leery of a freshly painted class #3 condition car. I'd rather buy a faded, chipped, dented car than one that has been freshly painted.

Indeed, buyer beware, nothing more risky than a quickie fresh paint job. Look for overspray and almost every time old weatherstrip the owner was too cheap to replace even though new repro was only a few extra bucks.

[Amphicar BUYER]

Oh yea! Fresh paint without any before photos are almost always a great way to make me run! I agree, a car that need paint is far safer to buy than something with "secrets"

Lots of stories of whats really lurking under that kilt!

[R.White]

The guy next door was so pleased with his 'classic' Ford Zephyr he couldn't wait to tell me what a bargain he had bought. He wasn't quite so pleased when I lifted the carpet. The floor had been replaced with reinforced concrete! No kidding, a neat job really ; weldmesh encased in smooth concrete then plastered over with a nice thick layer of stonechip! Beggars belief.

Now where did I leave that bag of postcrete.??????????

Ray

[Guest Killerbunny]

I had a guy who wanted to sell me a 1966 Mustang.

New paint, new tires, and 2 new cinder blocks in the trunk between the top of the 1/4 panel and the leaf springs that came through the floor.

What was the price.. ? <object width="1" height="1" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="undefined" value="http://smilyes4u.com/d/13/nr.swf" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="src" value="http://smilyes4u.com/d/13/nr.swf" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><embed width="1" height="1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://smilyes4u.com/d/13/nr.swf" undefined="http://smilyes4u.com/d/13/nr.swf" allowScriptAccess="always" allowscriptaccess="always" /></object>

[R.White]

Whatever it was it was too much!

[Ron Green]

He wasn't quite so pleased when I lifted the carpet. The floor had been replaced with reinforced concrete!

Ray

Similar to the spare tire surprise that is hidden away until its desperately needed.