Least favorite task of restoring

[brasscarguy]

I'm sorry but no one has answered the question correctly. Think about it guys, the toughest part of any restoration bar non, is explaining to your WIFE where the money went!!!!!!!! Restoration is a walk in the park , asking wifey for another check is the worst part period!!!!

 

brasscaqrguy

[Dandy Dave]

10 minutes ago, brasscarguy said:

I'm sorry but no one has answered the question correctly. Think about it guys, the toughest part of any restoration bar non, is explaining to your WIFE where the money went!!!!!!!! Restoration is a walk in the park , asking wifey for another check is the worst part period!!!!

 

brasscaqrguy

Well, You certainly  don't have an understanding wife... Rule number one. Never let them have total control of your check book. Dandy Dave! 

[deaddds]

I will donate my 1917 Olds as a pattern for you to fartknock around with to do the woodwork and metal if you really want to hone your skills. Of course Id like it back when your done.

Edited June 7, 2020 by deaddds
Not complete (see edit history)

[Professor]

8 hours ago, Ed Luddy said:

Removing rusty parts and finding more rust! Being in salt encrusted Ontario Canada it's a given. That's unless you buy a clean dry Arizona car. I'm working on a 1970 Chevelle that was built in Oshawa Ontario and sold new here in London Ontario. It spent the last  20 years in a dry barn, but that still leaves 30 years unaccounted for. 

 

Okay... it is simply WRONG to post a picture of the hood.  Let’s see the rest of the car!

[Professor]

There is nothing I don’t like about restoring a vehicle... the entire process is therapy for me.  As a professor, I think for a living.  The tasks associated with my day to day work activities are mentally draining, and when I need a break, nothing is more fun than to head out to the garage and turn on the other half of my brain.  Honestly, and I mean this sincerely; everything from cleaning an undercarriage with a power sprayer and being covered with globs of grease from head to foot to driving the car I restore is equally fun for me.

 

Restoration == Therapy

 

All this said, there is one thing on a vehicle I have never done: paint and body work.  It isn’t that I don’t like it, it is simply that I think it is an art learned over time, and I don’t want any of my vehicles to be at the start of the learning curve.  🙂

 

Joe

 

 

[Ed Luddy]

2 hours ago, Joe West said:

 

Okay... it is simply WRONG to post a picture of the hood.  Let’s see the rest of the car!

 

[Ed Luddy]

Just now, Ed Luddy said:

 

 

[Ed Luddy]

The Data Tag will give you lots of info! It's an Oshawa Car so gives lots of details to the build

[Guest]

On 6/6/2020 at 3:20 AM, Dandy Dave said:

For me it is Sandblasting big parts outside on a hot day while suited up like an astronaut, and then being pelted with sand and rust from about every direction. Hot, Dirty, Nasty job but necessary for a proper frame off restoration of most anything. That's my final answer. Dandy Dave!  

 Actually, I love sand blasting.

 For anyone who has had to scrape and sand a frame by hand, it is like having a magic wand that makes every thing beautiful.

 It is so easy that I let my mind wander, thinking about how nice it will look after painting, knowing that the paint will stick and last.

 

 (Of coarse it helps that I have a 30 hp comp. and a 300# sandblaster with a 3/8" nozzle)

Edited June 7, 2020 by Roger Walling (see edit history)

[TAKerry]

My first car was funded mostly through 'found money'. I cashed in over $2k in scrap metal during that time. And whatever spare change I could come up with. Sometimes taking months and months at saving $20 a week from lunch money!  The downside of this is that it takes an incredibly long time to get the job done (over 5 yrs). The upside is that when the car was finished I had zero debt with it. I never had to haggle with my wife over expense. I DID buy here a new mustang convertible when it was done to appease the natives, so to speak.

[TAKerry]

Painting is not all that bad. I had lots of experience with a spray gun shooting furniture over the years. When I did my first car, I had a deal worked out with a painter. I was going to do the jambs and hidden area, and primer. He was going to put the finish coat on. After getting my part done, it looked pretty good. So I figured what the heck and painted the car. It turned out pretty good I think.

[Ed Luddy]

13 minutes ago, Roger Walling said:

 Actually, I love sand blasting.

 For anyone who has had to scrape and sand a frame by hand, it is like having a magic wand that makes every thing beautiful.

 It is so easy that I let my mind wander, thinking about how nice it will look after painting, knowing that the paint will stick and last.

 

 (Of coarse it helps that I have a 30 hp comp. and a 300# sandblaster with a 3/8" nozzle)

Had the front frame section and firewall of 1970 Chevelle sandblasted on Friday by a good friend so we could see if the frame was usable. Good news is that it is, and firewall cowl is very rust free. This is a backyard salvage of a neat car, not a body off big $$$ resto. Car isn't worth the cost of a body off to me. Even if it was I couldn't afford that route. I'm actually" DECLONING" it from a fake SS396 back to it's original Malibu Sport Coupe 350/300 hp configuration....

[TAKerry]

Ed sounds like a good plan. Theres a guy in my area with a chevelle that has been meticulously restored to original factory. It is a loaded car, but VERY stock. Hubcaps, vinyl top, tan paint etc. It always draws attention over the plethora of SS models.

[Matt Harwood]

I hate the whole "thing is broken and it's 10 times harder than you think and it takes 10 times more money and the results are still substandard and the car never works properly again and you feel like you've been wasting your life" part of working on old cars.

[Tom Boehm]

Great idea for a thread. I hate any sanding. It is necessary and makes all the difference in a quality job. I also hate cleaning the spray gun after painting.   On the other hand, parts cleaning, the final coat of paint, and sandblasting are all instant gratification. 

Edited June 7, 2020 by Tom Boehm (see edit history)

[PeteO]

Un-doing the work of previous owners.

[Ed Luddy]

1 hour ago, TAKerry said:

Ed sounds like a good plan. Theres a guy in my area with a chevelle that has been meticulously restored to original factory. It is a loaded car, but VERY stock. Hubcaps, vinyl top, tan paint etc. It always draws attention over the plethora of SS models.

Thanks. Yes too many clones around. My car was a nicely equipped Malibu sold by the local Chevrolet "performance" dealer. Equipped with the heavy duty sway bars, 12 bolt PosiTraction, disc brakes on front, buckets and console. 350/300 hp, dual exhaust, 350 TH transmission and rallye wheels. I was very happy when I got the GM Vintage Vehicle documents that verified the data plate decoded info. It must of had a fun life when it was fairly new as the front clip had been changed, at least 3 paint jobs, Different hood and trunk lid.  Cloned as an SS, etc.

 So many of the Canadian cars rusted away by 1977 it's rare to find one with the original floors and rear quarters. My 1970 Chevelle convertible I bought in 1976 already had patches in the floor, fenders and rear quarters and needed a body job again by 1977-78!

[95Cardinal]

Lots of great comments here, but one I haven't seen yet:

 

I detest working on brake systems.

Maybe because there have been too many salt-encrusted midwest and Canadian cars in my past, but I prefer to pay the local brake experts than do them myself.

[TexRiv_63]

I never got into body-off restorations or wood framing but unlike most I really liked bodywork and painting, although my welding skills were never good. I really enjoyed the resurrection part of a good body and paint project although I stopped doing that 30 years ago. My least favorite job was always replacing rusty exhaust systems and the was the first thing I started farming out. At my age today my least favorite parts are anything that requires getting under the car and my ABSOLUTE least favorite is getting under the dashboard! 

[Bruce W]

For me it has to be sandblasting large items in my driveway then cleaning up the mess afterward. Followed by cleaning greasy grime parts. I can't mention the worst part without mentioning the best part. The best part is when the project turns the corner and all of the parts have been cleaned, painted and prepped for reassembly.  Then, it's like building a new car. Great fun!

 

[chistech]

My least favorite task of restoring are the few I don’t do personally. They are my least favorite because I hate depending on anyone these days because no one seems to be able to do the job in a timely fashion nor is the quality what it should be. The only things I don’t do are the machining of engines and finish body/paint work. I dodo engine rebuilding simply because I don’t have the proper machines and feel I can be doing other aspects of the rest while the motor is being done. As far as the finish body work and painting, I could do it and actually have done more recently but it makes a mess of my shop as I don’t have a dedicated area for it. Another reason it’s just something else I would have to learn to do very good as I’m particular of my own work so no vehicle would leave my garage until I was entirely happy with the paint. It would end up taking more time than I believe is reasonable to invest when there are already skilled individuals out there capable. I just to find that individual, that’s the problem! Even my engine shop that used to be good, merged with another, and now I’m just getting back a simple 6 cyl Chevy on Monday that I took to them a year ago LAST November! 
     I enjoy everything else of restoration especially the wood, interior, assembly, and research. Unfortunately I’ve been beat up by the paint and engines so much in the last few years that I’m finishing up the two vehicles I’m working on and I’m stepping back, away from the hobby. What used to be my therapy like was already mentioned, had become my reason for anxiety because of others who just can’t do their job. 

[TTR]

For me, the worst is to work on anything that has been previously f**ked by hacks, whether hobbyists or so-called “professionals”.

[kgreen]

18 hours ago, TexRiv_63 said:

At my age today my least favorite parts are anything that requires getting under the car and my ABSOLUTE least favorite is getting under the dashboard! 

I had a '64 Thunderbird that gave me mild case of PTSD from working under the dash.  I think it cost Ford more to make that car than the sale price of the car.

 

[Lahti35]

Body work and hunting for oem type fasteners. If i had a dime for every time I went to the hardware...

[Restorer32]

Believe it or not our least favorite task is documenting what we do and invoicing clients at the end of the month. Paperwork is no fun.

[Professor]

23 hours ago, Ed Luddy said:

 

 

 

LOL... tease.  Now, post a picture of the entire vehicle!  🙂

[TAKerry]

I will add Sandblasting I think. I enjoy getting the immediate gratification of turning a rusty old piece of junk, into something clean and usable. However I detest the heavy and hot hood, the respirator, the mess that is made, etc. etc. I dont mind a blasting cabinet as all of the above do not come into play. 

[Restorer32]

I used to enjoy sandblasting as well. Nearly instant gratification. We have sandblasted everything from cement mixers to Duesenberg parts (yes, Dues parts).

[TTR]

7 hours ago, Restorer32 said:

Believe it or not our least favorite task is documenting what we do and invoicing clients at the end of the month. Paperwork is no fun.

I agree on invoicing/paperwork being dreadful and often to my own detriment, I tend to ignore it as long/much as I can afford.

OTOH, I do love documenting my work and do it mostly by taking a lot, often dozens of before/during/after photographs throughout each day (kind of like my vintage driving/road trip experiences).
They’re also helpful for invoicing reference and when copies are submitted along with invoices/progress reports, client(s) can immediately see what they’re actually paying for. 

Edited June 8, 2020 by TTR (see edit history)

[chistech]

There's been a good list of "least favorites" posted here. When I read them I go "ahh, I forgot that one!" LOL I guess i have a few more than the two I listed but they are the worst of the least favorites!

[Ed Luddy]

10 hours ago, Joe West said:

 

 

LOL... tease.  Now, post a picture of the entire vehicle!  🙂

That is from before I took it apart. It's a Malibu Sport Coupe 350/300 made into a SS 396 clone. I' m turning it back to it's original as build sheet. I'll send some pic's when it looks like more than a piece of junk. Which may be never!! Man, does it need a lot of work!! 

[Janousek]

I dislike assembly.   Every piece will fight to the end regardless of how well it was fitted before paint or chrome.  

[BearsFan315]

trying to find someone to do the work that i can not... and do quality work to my standards... or maybe i am just too anal and am asking for too much...

 

the best part would be enjoying the vehicle and driving when i want and with no reason to drive it... hopefully i will get that satisfaction one day...

[jan arnett (2)]

On 6/6/2020 at 11:18 AM, Buick35 said:

I rather like the smell of old gas,it brings back the memory of when I first got my old car. I bought an old metal has can that smelled that way and thought of charging people 25 cents for a sniff at car shows.

I will save you some next time I get some.  Will a quart do you.

 

[TTR]

On 6/6/2020 at 8:18 AM, Buick35 said:

... the smell of old gas...

... is one of many little things that immediately tells me about the lack of care & maintenance of the given car, regardless how nice it may appear* or even if can’t see it.

It also brings up dozens or hundreds of images in my head about all other neglect in need of major repairs/services before that car can be reliably drivable/useable, not to mention truckload of time & $$$s those services will require (assuming no cheap, cutting corners hack jobs).

 

*I’m currently sorting “old gas” related issues/problems on a nearly 50 year old, two owner car with less than 14K miles since new (+/- 1K miles in past 15 years), which could probably easily(?) win it’s class at any major judged event and is part of full-time attended/maintained private collection housed in a beautiful modern climate controlled industrial building.
Everything from fuel tanks (2) to 6 2-bbl carburetors required thorough cleaning, replacement and/or other rebuilding services.

In last few days I also spent ridiculous amount of hours (had to disassemble nearly half the engine/engine bay, including 4 exhaust headers, etc...) to replace original, but collapsed engine mounts on the same car, only to find out that the new (not inexpensive) replacement ones, unlike previously, now have much softer rubber compound, allowing the engine sag/sit even lower than those collapsed OEM ones did. Aargh !