The effort behind documentation of a restoration.

[chistech]

Just thought I’d mention the efforts of those who post detailed restoration threads in this forum. For many, there are hours and hours of research spent on their project then hours and hours of physical work spent. While many understand  those parts of a restoration, I don’t believe many realize unless they’ve done it, is the hours spent documenting their work. Many of us enjoy reading, viewing the pictures, and learning from these people, most don’t realize or fully understand the immense effort put in to make those threads so entertaining and informative. Time is spent by stopping ones work to take step by step pictures, more-time spent by recording measurements, readings, etc., Then, when the physical work is done, most relax by going through their daily pictures, notes, and general mental thoughts to prepare their often daily posts. 

     I personally spend hours and hours in my garage though my wife barely complains of being a “garage widow”. What she does complain about is all the time spent on my computer or iPad. She often says “you’d have more things done on your car if you spent less time on the damn forums!” So thinking of what she said I immediately realized that I’m just a small part of all spending the same amount of time posting their work. My hat goes off to those here like Luv2wrench, Mike Macartney, Ron Haussmann, Matt Hinson, Joe Puleo, Hurrst, Rich Bad, Laughiing Coyote, and all the others. This forum is the most enjoyable on the site because of all you.

Edited December 20, 2018 by chistech (see edit history)

[MCHinson]

chistech,

 

Thanks but I am not really that much of a restorer. I am just a guy who will eventually bring a car back to a decent driver condition. If you really want to see a guy who knows what he is doing, check out Gary Wheeler's restoration: https://forums.aaca.org/topic/287685-1937-buick-model-48-restoration-has-begun-photo/ Gary is the guy who I hold responsible for my decision to restore the 1938 Century. His story (although in the Pre-War Buick forum rather than this one) is the one who made it look so easy that I figured I could do it.  

 

[chistech]

Thanks Matt, I actually forgot to mention Gary. When I posted my statements I knew there would be some very worthy of acknowledgement and mention that I would forget. Gary is definitely one and his work along with his documentation of his restoration has been outstanding. Some of his pains like the upholstery issue, many of us can directly relate to.

[Mike Macartney]

Christech, I have just seen your post. Although I am mentioned above, I would like to agree that the restoration posts of others helps me a lot. I wish more members of this forum would dedicate a bit of time to taking photos and describe the work that they do. This AACA forum is one of the best forums I have been on. Everybody seems so friendly and helpful and willing to give tips and advice. I wish all members a Happy Christmas and Fun New Year with their old car projects.

[Luv2Wrench]

7 hours ago, Mike Macartney said:

Christech, I have just seen your post. Although I am mentioned above, I would like to agree that the restoration posts of others helps me a lot. I wish more members of this forum would dedicate a bit of time to taking photos and describe the work that they do. This AACA forum is one of the best forums I have been on. Everybody seems so friendly and helpful and willing to give tips and advice. I wish all members a Happy Christmas and Fun New Year with their old car projects.

 

^^ This X 100.   I think sharing the project online makes it more fun.  I know I'm enjoying everyone else's projects right now... I love when a new thread is started.    There is so much information available as well as I think I learn something new a regular basis reading through the forum. 

I find a lot of inspiration in the restoration stories.    While I was already "hooked' on restoration, I think the following thread helped me understand that this was the hobby I should focus on.   There's really nothing better than rescuing your Dad's old car out of a field and bringing it to life.  Passion is powerful and for me, that's what this is... a Passion.

 

 

[Mike "Hubbie" Stearns]

I agree luv2wrench!  There's a lot of good information in these threads and I've learned something new every time I read a post. I can't wait till the weather warns up so I can get back to mine. Thanks to all of you ! Mike

[Laughing Coyote]

There's a lot of restorations and even a scale model going on right now and it's great to see. I too enjoy watching them unfold as the updated progress gets posted. I also learn from everyone that takes the time to take pictures and explain their progress as they make strides to complete their project. I hope to inspire people as well as I work away on the Merc. Actually I don't even remember how I came across this Forum, but I'm glad I did. There are so many great people, information, and stories here it's great. Thanks for the shout out Chistech, and lets keep working away at our projects to help inspire future restorers to come and keep the hobby going.

[39BuickEight]

Gary’s work and documentation is just fantastic.  I thought I was doing a good job, then Photobucket wanted to start charging me for linking my photos.  Next thing I know this Gary guy took a more desirable car, with better photography skills, and much better craftsmanship/attention to detail, and inspired me even more.  I am doing some things myself now that I was really on the fence about before.  It is rewarding knowing you had part in building the car from the ground up.  I wish my father was here to see it.  Without him, my car would still be in a million pieces instead of about 20.

[Guest]

One added advantage of detailed documentation is the ability to prove what and how it was restored to a future buyer.

[JV Puleo]

It's a revelation to me that anyone else is actually interested. I've spent most of my life pursuing subjects and projects that were incomprehensible to the vast majority of the people I came in contact with. After a while, you get the sense that you're the only one so it is heartening to know that at least a few people enjoy the same things. I'm certain that, were it not for posting my thread, I would never bother to record what I've done with photographs. When I go back through the photos even I think "wow, you actually made that"!

[chistech]

2 hours ago, 39BuickEight said:

 I wish my father was here to see it.  Without him, my car would still be in a million pieces instead of about 20.

 

I was just 15 when my dad was diagnosed with grandularcitic leukemia. It was the same year he had bought a 23’ T depot hack to advertise our family business. It needed restoration so I did all the woodwork with a carpenter friend of my dads and then it got sent for paint. My dad was so proud of our T and loved cars from the 30’s because his first car was a 33’ Chevy 4dr standard. Of course he put the love of old cars in me. 

    We were fortunate that my dad lasted 4 times longer than the two years the doctor originally gave him but him passing at his 55 and my 23 was just way too early. My dad also enjoyed his pickups too preferring them over any car including his beautiful 74’ Mark 4 continental. Through the passing years, every time I bought a new truck, I’d stop for a minute and think how much my dad would love my new truck. When I restored my 83’ blazer 5 years ago and went for the first ride with my wife, I pulled over on a backroad, put it and park, and cried. I had never really let my dads death get to me like that as I felt I had to hold the family and the business together. I had never taken the time to grieve my personal loss. My wife knew exactly what was going on though. When I got my 31’ Chevy done I went by my moms and she got us both going as we knew just how much dad loved the old chevies. As I work on my 32’ Olds, I continually think of my dad, knowing he would love it and really think something of it because of how rare and uncommon it is. I’ve actually nicknamed the car “Ray” for my dad. Can’t wait to take him for a drive!

[chistech]

Just wanted to says thanks for everyone commenting on this thread. You guys are the best and I really love going through each thread reading about each of your progress. 

[39BuickEight]

Thanks for sharing your story.  I’m sure Ray is very proud.

[Mike Macartney]

11 hours ago, JV Puleo said:

It's a revelation to me that anyone else is actually interested. I've spent most of my life pursuing subjects and projects that were incomprehensible to the vast majority of the people I came in contact with. After a while, you get the sense that you're the only one so it is heartening to know that at least a few people enjoy the same things. I'm certain that, were it not for posting my thread, I would never bother to record what I've done with photographs. When I go back through the photos even I think "wow, you actually made that"!

 

Jo, I am sure that all of us, when we see your finished components of your restoration project, we think "Wow - he actually made that". I know I do.

[Terry Harper]

Quote

... when I go back through the photos even I think "wow, you actually made that!

 

Joe, I got a chuckle out of that one! Just the other day I was thinking the same thing!

Back in the early 90's I lead a group of volunteers in a project to jack two steam locomotives out of

the mud and re-build the roadbed underneath them. They had been abandoned on-site

in 1933.

 

It was a remote location here in northern Maine (we rode in a canoe to get to work every day)

All the bulk materials - railroad ties, 150 yards of crushed stone had to be moved into the site

during the winter via snowmobile. I remember the crushed stone vividly because we moved it

3 miles across the ice and trails in five gallon plastic pails (over 4,500 of them) using tote

sleds and snowmobiles.

 

When I look at those photos now I can't believe we actually thought we could do such a thing

but the photos are proof that we did it!

 

Personally, I really enjoy posts documenting projects and restorations. Over the years I have

found countless technics and ideas to apply to my own projects. It also the mentality of

"Well they did it so why can't I." (that one has gotten me in over my head a few times!)

 

Best regards,

Terry

 

 

Edited December 22, 2018 by Terry Harper (see edit history)

[Luv2Wrench]

Terry Harper:  I'd love some more information on the locomotives!  

[Terry Harper]

29 minutes ago, Luv2Wrench said:

Terry Harper:  I'd love some more information on the locomotives!  

 

Sure.... in a nut shell.... The locomotives were left over from the Madawaska Co. Eagle Lake & West Branch Railroad. which operated

from 1927 thru 1933 when it was abandoned. The EL&WB is a isolated logging railroad  - the nearest railhead being

at Lac Frontiere on the Maine/Quebec border nearly 50 miles away. The line, built in 1926-27 was 13 miles long from Tramway at Eagle Lake

to Umbazooksus Lake. Its only purpose was to carry pulpwood cut in the north flowing Allagash watershed to the southward flowing waters

of the Penobscot river. It was owned and operated by Edouard Lacroix - a Quebec lumberman.

 

The smaller of the two locomotives is a 4-6-0 originally built in 1897 for the Chicago, Hammond & Western Later it ran on the Potato Creek railroad in

PA. and the Grasse River in upstate New York before being purchased in early 1927 from a used equipment dealer in New York.

 

The second locomotive is a former Lakeshore & Michigan Southern 2-8-0 built in 1901. It was purchased by Lacroix in March of 1928.

Both locomotives were converted to burn oil, disassembled, loaded on heavy sleds and hauled from LacFrontier by Lombard tractors.

 

Today they still sit where they last operated in 1933 and are part of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway - a state managed wilderness

area. Scattered around are the remains of pulpcars, misc. equipment etc. Unfortunately in 1968 the shed the locomotives where

stored in was burned with the locomotives inside.

 

Its a remarkable story and one I have been working to preserve and record for many years.

 

Best regards,

 

Terry

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 22, 2018 by Terry Harper (see edit history)

[Matt Harwood]

Holy cow, Terry. That's extraordinary! Kudos to you and the team that saved the locomotives!

[jan arnett (2)]

great story

 

[Roger Zimmermann]

Barry Wolk asked me to show my scale model here; he said that I would have more audience; he was right. Of course, with the time, I began to read what other people do with their cars scale 1:1. Of course, some cars (therefore topics) are more appealing to me. With the digital cameras and Internet it's so easy to show the progress from a project compared to what was possible 20 or more years ago.

During my life, I restored 3 Cadillacs. I did some pictures when I was thinking that the progress was significant enough to grant a picture. Of course, I took no notes and it was that way for all three cars. Now, somewhere else in this forum, I'm relating the restoration of my third car. Unfortunately, the rare pictures I did are all on paper and the story I will relate is...from memory.

In fact, I do now regret that I was so restrictive with pictures and that I did note all events occurring during the work. If I still have pictures from the fist two cars, I don't remember all the events. Regrets, regrets!

[Mike Macartney]

It was different back then, photographs were expensive to print out and you did not know if they were any good until you got them back from the chemists. In my bodyshop we used Polariod photos at first and then later when we were restoring classic BMW's of the 60's and 70's we used 35mm and took a couple of rolls down to the chemist each week to get processed. The photos were very useful for documenting to the customer all the rust that was hidden beneath what looked like nice paintwork! The problem was that in the late 1980's when the prices of these classics were starting to rise in price, some garages and owners used to 'tart up' the cars to sell rather than do the restoration properly.

[JimKB1MCV]

Terry,  I can supply a bit of trivia to your Eagle Lake loco story, and maybe you could answer a question as well.

 

One of my uncles who worked for fifty years for the B&A (Bangor and Aroostook) RR Derby car (repair) shop in Milo, Maine collected bells. Bells of all kind and description.  He and my aunt were avid fishermen (fisherfolk?) and  one summer  in the early 1950s made the trip into the Allagash to fish and hopefully scavenge the bells from the Eagle Lake locomotives.  'The paper company would never miss them'.

 

Alas the bells turned out to be too large to pack out, a fact my uncle bemoaned for years. So he missed out on the locomotive bells.

 

My question is,  are the bells with the locomotives today or did the advent of snowmobiles and ATVs make them just to tempting to scrappers or collectors?

 

This is strictly an academic question, by the way,  my uncle and aunt passed in the 1990s.

 

Thank you for your part in preserving a legendary Allagash landmark.

 

Jim

 

 

[Terry Harper]

Hello Jim,

 

They are long gone. Over the years some parts have been returned and received with a

big thank you and no questions asked. But the bells.... no sign of them.

 

I have some photos taken in the early 60's and the bells were gone by then.

 

Great story! Thank you so much for sharing! Years ago in the late 70's when I was a kid I toured the

Derby shops. It was amazing!

 

Best regards,

Terry