How long was your restoration project?

[Dandy Dave]

7 minutes ago, edinmass said:

 

Yes, when you die.

Yes. Along with the free box of unused roundtuits left at the end of the driveway. 🙃

Seems anything old and mechanical always needs something ,or some little detail could be just a little better.

[alsancle]

I bought my GT500 in April 1989,  drove it to my parents house and promptly tore it apart.   It took about 20 years to finish it.

[alsancle]

My dad bought this Packard in the mid 1960s.    He finally showed it in 2017.   A little more than 50 years.

 

I could go on.   But my experience is that full restorations are measured in decades,  not years.   For lots of reasons.

[Restorer32]

Couple years ago we painted all the sheet metal for an MG TD.  The owner took it apart 40 couple years ago and promised his then young daughter he would have it finished so she could drive it to her prom. He is now trying to finish it so his granddaughter can drive it to her prom.

[John_S_in_Penna]

"How long was your restoration project?"

It was a 1961 Imperial.  It was about 18 feet long.

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

 

  Delivered to my house in Springfield, MO in Sept, 2008.  I was still driving a truck long haul until Feb,  2009.  Finished and drove to Ames Iowa in 2010.   My wife said she saw me more when driving.

 

  Ben

[Str8-8-Dave]

So, some thought starters...

 

At what point do you say the restoration is done? 

Is it done when you start driving or showing it?  Is it done when you come to the point where you are just maintaining it?  Or is it done when you have made it as close to new as possible or when you have achieved your idea of what it should look like but not necessarily original?

 

How do you count time for a restoration project?

Does it start when it comes home and end when you finish it to the point you are going to say it is done and you count all the time it just sits there waiting for the next effort?

Do you just count man-hours when you are actually working on the project from the first time you lay hands on it until you decide it is complete and you are either going to drive it or show it?

 

I was 68 years old when my current project came home from Cary IL in April of 2018.  The car was pushed from the trailer to the garage and one day later it went on jack stands.  The original owner hired someone else to work on my car a lot before I ever saw it.  The body had been off the car, the chassis was stripped bare, running gear was overhauled and painted, wood spoke wheels were refinished and shod with new Coker tires, body was stripped and repainted with some wood replacement.  Then the chassis and running gear was reassembled and the body was set back on the chassis.  Then the owner died.  The car was temporarily wired so the seller/restorer could sell the car and show that it ran.  

 

I bought the car on E-bay without ever going to see it for what I considered a very good price for a car on which what I call "the heavy lifting" had already been done.  At my age I wasn't going to remove the body, strip and overhaul chassis and running gear, paint the body and put it back on the car.  It was cosmetically pretty when I bought it but light years from being done to my satisfaction.   The doors didn't close correctly, there were no door handles, there was no windshield, running boards were, well, boards.  The car had the wrong pedals, gear shift lever and hand brake lever sending me driving to PA to buy a 31 60 series transmission to cannibalize.  The car was not wired.  The radiator front shutter was incorrectly painted red as was the firewall.  The only upholstery was the headliner, no windshield regulator or trim board, no weather boards, no kick panels, no division between interior and rumble compartment, no door panels, no rumble trim, interior original seat base spring wearing 90yr old upholstery on a seat frame that was falling apart, no interior seat back springs, no rumble seat base or back springs, no wood rumble seat back cushion subframe to even use to make a replica from, rumble compartment trim.  There were no rear bumpers or spare tire carrier or lock.  Headlight shells were mounted with reflectors held in place with duct tape, no lenses, no headlight stands.  The taillight bracket was missing.  The thermostatically controlled radiator front shutter was wired open and the link that connects the thermostat linkage to the shutter was missing.  There was no wiper system, only the control that mounts to the interior header was present. The golf door was just a piece of sheet metal with no wood frame, handle, latch, hinges or interior trim. A home-made front exhaust head pipe interfered with the steering and the muffler was made of 2 round car mufflers welded together.  There was only 1 original hanger for the tailpipe, all the rest of the hangers and clamps were missing.  The car had a wood gas pedal that was connected to the throttle butterflies of the wrong heat riser thru jury-rigged linkage.  Heat control was disabled and linkage was missing.  The instrument panel was incorrectly painted body color and the cluster and gauges were a mess.  There was no speedometer cable.  The nice original brass gas line was gone, replaced with steel line but still using a lot of brass double compression fittings that don't work well on steel line because the soft brass fittings can't form the required groove in hard steel line.  The gas tank sending unit was destroyed making the fuel gauge inoperative.  The distributor had been monkeyed and soft original advance springs had been replaced with big heavy springs that wouldn't start to advance timing until 4,000 rpm installed in an engine that redlines at that speed.  The original oil filter and fittings were all gone with a plumber's nightmare of hoses and fittings to a newer oil filter housing from an early Dodge and an oil pressure gauge tacked on under the hood.   The front bumper had been broken and welded with stainless rod that won't accept chrome.  Everything needed chrome plating.  My very first project was to jack the body up and install the missing body shims to get the doors to close.   I knew what the car was supposed to be, this was the 3rd 1931 Buick I had owned over 50+ years.  I prepared for a long war even though some of the major work had been done before I got the car. 

 

My approach was "make like new" and the car was on stands continuously for 4 years and 2 months before I took it off jack stands and drove it in summer of 22.   95% of the stuff above has been dealt with. I drove the car enough in 2022 to find some of the sorting items.  In September of 2022 the car went back on jack stands to remove the gas tank and replace the Kent Atwater gas tank sending unit and replace all that steel gas line with brass.  I also adjusted the brakes up some and adjusted the clutch and got the clutch pedal to stop dragging on the steel floorboard reinforcement.    My last item is to set front end toe before I drive the car again.  I'm hoping to reduce the car's tendency to wander and I'm hoping the KS Telegage gas gauge will now work.   

 

When I dragged this poor car home the doors wouldn't clos and there weren't any exterior door handles.  Look at the belt molding alignment.   Before...

 

After installing 2 body shims under the hinge pillars on each side notice the belt molding alignment after installing shims.  I installed the rest of the missing body bolts

and installed some door handles as well.  After...

 

The car had wrong pedals, shift lever and handbrake (1932 stuff).  Imagine a driver's surprise if he needed to actually use that handbrake lever that is cleverly tucked

behind the bottom of the instrument panel where it can't be pulled back to engage.  Wife and I drove a few days later to the PA mountains to fetch a complete correct

31 series 60 transmission with correct hand brake, trans shifter cover and shifter.  Before...

 

This is a much later "after" picture with correct pedals, re-plated correct hand brake and shifter.

 

See the pretty red and yellow 22gauge wiring?  The car had just enough jury-rig wiring to allow it to start.  No lights, no horn, no generator circuit.  Also note the

pretty red firewall. That ain't right. Before...

 

Many hours and days later this picture shows correct wiring for the horn along with a black firewall, body tags back in place, original oil can.  After...

 

Here we have the interior trim consisting of the headliner, and, well, the headliner, no windshield regulator board, no windshield trim board, no weather boards over the

door openings, no door panels or seat upholstery.   Before...

 

Much later we have the windshield regulator board and trim board, weather boards and door panels.  Who made all that stuff?  I'm your huckleberry.  After

 

Also MIA were kick panel trims.

 

Front seat frame was falling apart, missing the back, but had the seatbase with 90 year old upholstery.

 

After removing the seat I figured out there should be a partition between the interior and the rumble compartment.  Guess what...

 

There weren't any rumble compartment trims... 

 

or wood rumble seat back trim wood subframe...

 

So we started with the partition, 

 

then I built the seat a new frame using the old for patterns,

 

and made upholstered rumble compartment trims and installed a floormat, 

 

made the missing subframe for the rumble seat back, 

 

and rounded up the missing springs.

 

 

This is the seat after Shelby Trim upholstered the seat cushions and frame bolsters.  Note the back window molding was re-covered and there is a valance that trims

the seat back to the package shelf and provides a sight shield when the seat is adjusted

 

Here are some pictures of the upholstered cushions also done by Shelby Trim.

 

 

Did i mention there were some things missing behind the rumble compartment?

 

But look what I found...

 

This was the way the front of the car looked when I brought it home, wrong color radiator front shutter wired open since the thermostat system was missing parts, 

headlights missing stands and lenses held together with duct tape, incorrect chrome fender cross bar broken and painted front bumper.

 

Ahh- that looks better.

 

I thought that windshield looked awfully clean, guess what- no windshield or wipers.

 

A little later the windshield fairy found the car with an operable crank-up windshield and a wiper system made from original Buick drawings...

 

There's the golf door on the floor of the seller's shop...

 

I made a frame, 

 

installed the steel panel, made missing hinge parts, 

 

painted it (wrong color but) and installed it with a handle and latch, 

 

and made an interior trim panel for it too.  

 

Remember those wood running boards?  We fixed that too.

 

That's a pretty snarky looking oil filter arrnagement but I couldn't see the oil pressure gauge from the driver's seat. there's some more of that unauthorized wiring too.

 

But we fixed all that stuff.

Edited February 9, 2023 by Str8-8-Dave (see edit history)

[Dandy Dave]

17 hours ago, Str8-8-Dave said:

So, some thought starters...

 

At what point do you say the restoration is done? 

Is it done when you start driving or showing it?  Is it done when you come to the point where you are just maintaining it?  Or is it done when you have made it as close to new as possible or when you have achieved your idea of what it should look like but not necessarily original?

 

How do you count time for a restoration project?

Does it start when it comes home and end when you finish it to the point you are going to say it is done and you count all the time it just sits there waiting for the next effort?

Do you just count man-hours when you are actually working on the project from the first time you lay hands on it until you decide it is complete and you are either going to drive it or show it?

 

I was 68 years old when my current project came home from Cary IL in April of 2018.  The car was pushed from the trailer to the garage and one day later it went on jack stands.  The original owner hired someone else to work on my car a lot before I ever saw it.  The body had been off the car, the chassis was stripped bare, running gear was overhauled and painted, wood spoke wheels were refinished and shod with new Coker tires, body was stripped and repainted with some wood replacement.  Then the chassis and running gear was reassembled and the body was set back on the chassis.  Then the owner died.  The car was temporarily wired so the seller/restorer could sell the car and show that it ran.  

 

I bought the car on E-bay without ever going to see it for what I considered a very good price for a car on which what I call "the heavy lifting" had already been done.  At my age I wasn't going to remove the body, strip and overhaul chassis and running gear, paint the body and put it back on the car.  It was cosmetically pretty when I bought it but light years from being done to my satisfaction.   The doors didn't close correctly, there were no door handles, there was no windshield, running boards were, well, boards.  The car had the wrong pedals, gear shift lever and hand brake lever sending me driving to PA to buy a 31 60 series transmission to cannibalize.  The car was not wired.  The radiator front shutter was incorrectly painted red as was the firewall.  The only upholstery was the headliner, no windshield regulator or trim board, no weather boards, no kick panels, no division between interior and rumble compartment, no door panels, no rumble trim, interior original seat base spring wearing 90yr old upholstery on a seat frame that was falling apart, no interior seat back springs, no rumble seat base or back springs, no wood rumble seat back cushion subframe to even use to make a replica from, rumble compartment trim.  There were no rear bumpers or spare tire carrier or lock.  Headlight shells were mounted with reflectors held in place with duct tape, no lenses, no headlight stands.  The taillight bracket was missing.  The thermostatically controlled radiator front shutter was wired open and the link that connects the thermostat linkage to the shutter was missing.  There was no wiper system, only the control that mounts to the interior header was present. The golf door was just a piece of sheet metal with no wood frame, handle, latch, hinges or interior trim. A home-made front exhaust head pipe interfered with the steering and the muffler was made of 2 round car mufflers welded together.  There was only 1 original hanger for the tailpipe, all the rest of the hangers and clamps were missing.  The car had a wood gas pedal that was connected to the throttle butterflies of the wrong heat riser thru jury-rigged linkage.  Heat control was disabled and linkage was missing.  The instrument panel was incorrectly painted body color and the cluster and gauges were a mess.  There was no speedometer cable.  The nice original brass gas line was gone, replaced with steel line but still using a lot of brass double compression fittings that don't work well on steel line because the soft brass fittings can't form the required groove in hard steel line.  The gas tank sending unit was destroyed making the fuel gauge inoperative.  The distributor had been monkeyed and soft original advance springs had been replaced with big heavy springs that wouldn't start to advance timing until 4,000 rpm installed in an engine that redlines at that speed.  The original oil filter and fittings were all gone with a plumber's nightmare of hoses and fittings to a newer oil filter housing from an early Dodge and an oil pressure gauge tacked on under the hood.   The front bumper had been broken and welded with stainless rod that won't accept chrome.  Everything needed chrome plating.  My very first project was to jack the body up and install the missing body shims to get the doors to close.   I knew what the car was supposed to be, this was the 3rd 1931 Buick I had owned over 50+ years.  I prepared for a long war even though some of the major work had been done before I got the car. 

 

My approach was "make like new" and the car was on stands continuously for 4 years and 2 months before I took it off jack stands and drove it in summer of 22.   95% of the stuff above has been dealt with. I drove the car enough in 2022 to find some of the sorting items.  In September of 2022 the car went back on jack stands to remove the gas tank and replace the Kent Atwater gas tank sending unit and replace all that steel gas line with brass.  I also adjusted the brakes up some and adjusted the clutch and got the clutch pedal to stop dragging on the steel floorboard reinforcement.    My last item is to set front end toe before I drive the car again.  I'm hoping to reduce the car's tendency to wander and I'm hoping the KS Telegage gas gauge will now work.   

 

When I dragged this poor car home the doors wouldn't clos and there weren't any exterior door handles.  Look at the belt molding alignment.   Before...

 

After installing 2 body shims under the hinge pillars on each side notice the belt molding alignment after installing shims.  I installed the rest of the missing body bolts

and installed some door handles as well.  After...

 

The car had wrong pedals, shift lever and handbrake (1932 stuff).  Imagine a driver's surprise if he needed to actually use that handbrake lever that is cleverly tucked

behind the bottom of the instrument panel where it can't be pulled back to engage.  Wife and I drove a few days later to the PA mountains to fetch a complete correct

31 series 60 transmission with correct hand brake, trans shifter cover and shifter.  Before...

 

This is a much later "after" picture with correct pedals, re-plated correct hand brake and shifter.

 

See the pretty red and yellow 22gauge wiring?  The car had just enough jury-rig wiring to allow it to start.  No lights, no horn, no generator circuit.  Also note the

pretty red firewall. That ain't right. Before...

 

Many hours and days later this picture shows correct wiring for the horn along with a black firewall, body tags back in place, original oil can.  After...

 

Here we have the interior trim consisting of the headliner, and, well, the headliner, no windshield regulator board, no windshield trim board, no weather boards over the

door openings, no door panels or seat upholstery.   Before...

 

Much later we have the windshield regulator board and trim board, weather boards and door panels.  Who made all that stuff?  I'm your huckleberry.  After

 

Also MIA were kick panel trims.

 

Front seat frame was falling apart, missing the back, but had the seatbase with 90 year old upholstery.

 

After removing the seat I figured out there should be a partition between the interior and the rumble compartment.  Guess what...

 

There weren't any rumble compartment trims... 

 

or wood rumble seat back trim wood subframe...

 

So we started with the partition, 

 

then I built the seat a new frame using the old for patterns,

 

and made upholstered rumble compartment trims and installed a floormat, 

 

made the missing subframe for the rumble seat back, 

 

and rounded up the missing springs.

 

 

This is the seat after Shelby Trim upholstered the seat cushions and frame bolsters.  Note the back window molding was re-covered and there is a valance that trims

the seat back to the package shelf and provides a sight shield when the seat is adjusted

 

Here are some pictures of the upholstered cushions also done by Shelby Trim.

 

 

Did i mention there were some things missing behind the rumble compartment?

 

But look what I found...

 

This was the way the front of the car looked when I brought it home, wrong color radiator front shutter wired open since the thermostat system was missing parts, 

headlights missing stands and lenses held together with duct tape, incorrect chrome fender cross bar broken and painted front bumper.

 

Ahh- that looks better.

 

I thought that windshield looked awfully clean, guess what- no windshield or wipers.

 

A little later the windshield fairy found the car with an operable crank-up windshield and a wiper system made from original Buick drawings...

 

There's the golf door on the floor of the seller's shop...

 

I made a frame, 

 

installed the steel panel, made missing hinge parts, 

 

painted it (wrong color but) and installed it with a handle and latch, 

 

and made an interior trim panel for it too.  

 

Remember those wood running boards?  We fixed that too.

 

That's a pretty snarky looking oil filter arrnagement but I couldn't see the oil pressure gauge from the driver's seat. there's some more of that unauthorized wiring too.

 

But we fixed all that stuff.

Nice Job. I have a fondness for old Buicks. 🤩

Edited February 10, 2023 by Dandy Dave (see edit history)

[Restorer32]

19 hours ago, Str8-8-Dave said:

So, some thought starters...

 

At what point do you say the restoration is done? 

Is it done when you start driving or showing it?  Is it done when you come to the point where you are just maintaining it?  Or is it done when you have made it as close to new as possible or when you have achieved your idea of what it should look like but not necessarily original?

 

How do you count time for a restoration project?

Does it start when it comes home and end when you finish it to the point you are going to say it is done and you count all the time it just sits there waiting for the next effort?

Do you just count man-hours when you are actually working on the project from the first time you lay hands on it until you decide it is complete and you are either going to drive it or show it?

 

I was 68 years old when my current project came home from Cary IL in April of 2018.  The car was pushed from the trailer to the garage and one day later it went on jack stands.  The original owner hired someone else to work on my car a lot before I ever saw it.  The body had been off the car, the chassis was stripped bare, running gear was overhauled and painted, wood spoke wheels were refinished and shod with new Coker tires, body was stripped and repainted with some wood replacement.  Then the chassis and running gear was reassembled and the body was set back on the chassis.  Then the owner died.  The car was temporarily wired so the seller/restorer could sell the car and show that it ran.  

 

I bought the car on E-bay without ever going to see it for what I considered a very good price for a car on which what I call "the heavy lifting" had already been done.  At my age I wasn't going to remove the body, strip and overhaul chassis and running gear, paint the body and put it back on the car.  It was cosmetically pretty when I bought it but light years from being done to my satisfaction.   The doors didn't close correctly, there were no door handles, there was no windshield, running boards were, well, boards.  The car had the wrong pedals, gear shift lever and hand brake lever sending me driving to PA to buy a 31 60 series transmission to cannibalize.  The car was not wired.  The radiator front shutter was incorrectly painted red as was the firewall.  The only upholstery was the headliner, no windshield regulator or trim board, no weather boards, no kick panels, no division between interior and rumble compartment, no door panels, no rumble trim, interior original seat base spring wearing 90yr old upholstery on a seat frame that was falling apart, no interior seat back springs, no rumble seat base or back springs, no wood rumble seat back cushion subframe to even use to make a replica from, rumble compartment trim.  There were no rear bumpers or spare tire carrier or lock.  Headlight shells were mounted with reflectors held in place with duct tape, no lenses, no headlight stands.  The taillight bracket was missing.  The thermostatically controlled radiator front shutter was wired open and the link that connects the thermostat linkage to the shutter was missing.  There was no wiper system, only the control that mounts to the interior header was present. The golf door was just a piece of sheet metal with no wood frame, handle, latch, hinges or interior trim. A home-made front exhaust head pipe interfered with the steering and the muffler was made of 2 round car mufflers welded together.  There was only 1 original hanger for the tailpipe, all the rest of the hangers and clamps were missing.  The car had a wood gas pedal that was connected to the throttle butterflies of the wrong heat riser thru jury-rigged linkage.  Heat control was disabled and linkage was missing.  The instrument panel was incorrectly painted body color and the cluster and gauges were a mess.  There was no speedometer cable.  The nice original brass gas line was gone, replaced with steel line but still using a lot of brass double compression fittings that don't work well on steel line because the soft brass fittings can't form the required groove in hard steel line.  The gas tank sending unit was destroyed making the fuel gauge inoperative.  The distributor had been monkeyed and soft original advance springs had been replaced with big heavy springs that wouldn't start to advance timing until 4,000 rpm installed in an engine that redlines at that speed.  The original oil filter and fittings were all gone with a plumber's nightmare of hoses and fittings to a newer oil filter housing from an early Dodge and an oil pressure gauge tacked on under the hood.   The front bumper had been broken and welded with stainless rod that won't accept chrome.  Everything needed chrome plating.  My very first project was to jack the body up and install the missing body shims to get the doors to close.   I knew what the car was supposed to be, this was the 3rd 1931 Buick I had owned over 50+ years.  I prepared for a long war even though some of the major work had been done before I got the car. 

 

My approach was "make like new" and the car was on stands continuously for 4 years and 2 months before I took it off jack stands and drove it in summer of 22.   95% of the stuff above has been dealt with. I drove the car enough in 2022 to find some of the sorting items.  In September of 2022 the car went back on jack stands to remove the gas tank and replace the Kent Atwater gas tank sending unit and replace all that steel gas line with brass.  I also adjusted the brakes up some and adjusted the clutch and got the clutch pedal to stop dragging on the steel floorboard reinforcement.    My last item is to set front end toe before I drive the car again.  I'm hoping to reduce the car's tendency to wander and I'm hoping the KS Telegage gas gauge will now work.   

 

When I dragged this poor car home the doors wouldn't clos and there weren't any exterior door handles.  Look at the belt molding alignment.   Before...

 

After installing 2 body shims under the hinge pillars on each side notice the belt molding alignment after installing shims.  I installed the rest of the missing body bolts

and installed some door handles as well.  After...

 

The car had wrong pedals, shift lever and handbrake (1932 stuff).  Imagine a driver's surprise if he needed to actually use that handbrake lever that is cleverly tucked

behind the bottom of the instrument panel where it can't be pulled back to engage.  Wife and I drove a few days later to the PA mountains to fetch a complete correct

31 series 60 transmission with correct hand brake, trans shifter cover and shifter.  Before...

 

This is a much later "after" picture with correct pedals, re-plated correct hand brake and shifter.

 

See the pretty red and yellow 22gauge wiring?  The car had just enough jury-rig wiring to allow it to start.  No lights, no horn, no generator circuit.  Also note the

pretty red firewall. That ain't right. Before...

 

Many hours and days later this picture shows correct wiring for the horn along with a black firewall, body tags back in place, original oil can.  After...

 

Here we have the interior trim consisting of the headliner, and, well, the headliner, no windshield regulator board, no windshield trim board, no weather boards over the

door openings, no door panels or seat upholstery.   Before...

 

Much later we have the windshield regulator board and trim board, weather boards and door panels.  Who made all that stuff?  I'm your huckleberry.  After

 

Also MIA were kick panel trims.

 

Front seat frame was falling apart, missing the back, but had the seatbase with 90 year old upholstery.

 

After removing the seat I figured out there should be a partition between the interior and the rumble compartment.  Guess what...

 

There weren't any rumble compartment trims... 

 

or wood rumble seat back trim wood subframe...

 

So we started with the partition, 

 

then I built the seat a new frame using the old for patterns,

 

and made upholstered rumble compartment trims and installed a floormat, 

 

made the missing subframe for the rumble seat back, 

 

and rounded up the missing springs.

 

 

This is the seat after Shelby Trim upholstered the seat cushions and frame bolsters.  Note the back window molding was re-covered and there is a valance that trims

the seat back to the package shelf and provides a sight shield when the seat is adjusted

 

Here are some pictures of the upholstered cushions also done by Shelby Trim.

 

 

Did i mention there were some things missing behind the rumble compartment?

 

But look what I found...

 

This was the way the front of the car looked when I brought it home, wrong color radiator front shutter wired open since the thermostat system was missing parts, 

headlights missing stands and lenses held together with duct tape, incorrect chrome fender cross bar broken and painted front bumper.

 

Ahh- that looks better.

 

I thought that windshield looked awfully clean, guess what- no windshield or wipers.

 

A little later the windshield fairy found the car with an operable crank-up windshield and a wiper system made from original Buick drawings...

 

There's the golf door on the floor of the seller's shop...

 

I made a frame, 

 

installed the steel panel, made missing hinge parts, 

 

painted it (wrong color but) and installed it with a handle and latch, 

 

and made an interior trim panel for it too.  

 

Remember those wood running boards?  We fixed that too.

 

That's a pretty snarky looking oil filter arrnagement but I couldn't see the oil pressure gauge from the driver's seat. there's some more of that unauthorized wiring too.

 

But we fixed all that stuff.

Nice car. Please remount your external landau bars correctly.  The center hump is always up except on funeral vehicles where it is down.

[drhach]

20 hours ago, Str8-8-Dave said:

So, some thought starters...

 

At what point do you say the restoration is done? 

I work with a lot of Engineers and "it's done" seems to be one of their favorite phrases. They always look so shocked when I counter with my favorite response, "well, what about...." and "you are aware that we can't ship it to the customer like this?" Sometimes I think "it's done" really means "we're tired of working on this, so we are moving on". 

20 hours ago, Str8-8-Dave said:

 

 

 

[dibarlaw]

1 hour ago, Restorer32 said:

Nice car. Please remount your external landau bars correctly.  The center hump is always up except on funeral vehicles where it is down.

[Restorer32]

Above period pic is correct.

[Xander Wildeisen]

On 2/9/2023 at 5:22 AM, alsancle said:

My dad bought this Packard in the mid 1960s.    He finally showed it in 2017.   A little more than 50 years.

 

I could go on.   But my experience is that full restorations are measured in decades,  not years.   For lots of reasons.

I know a Duesenberg is a Duesenberg, At the top of the car food chain. But Packard's like that have to be right up there with them.

[alsancle]

39 minutes ago, Xander Wildeisen said:

I know a Duesenberg is a Duesenberg, At the top of the car food chain. But Packard's like that have to be right up there with them.

 

Sort of a different animal.   The Packard will go 5mph to 60 in third gear smoothly.   The Duesenberg will go 5 to 100 in third gear smoothly.

[Xander Wildeisen]

The day it was delivered. 3/29/2009, Always got pushed in the corner for other projects. A lot has been done on it, sitting with a car cover on it. Waiting for a time to get back to work on it. Glad it never got finished, would have been sold and I never would have been able to use it for showing part of my business.

[alsancle]

1 minute ago, Xander Wildeisen said:

The day it was delivered. 3/29/2009, Always got pushed in the corner for other projects. A lot has been done on it, sitting with a car cover on it. Waiting for a time to get back to work on it. Glad it never got finished, would have been sold and I never would have been able to use it for showing part of my business.

 

 

The 120/140/150 are great cars.  The have a distinct exhaust note that identifies them from a mile away.

[Xander Wildeisen]

They are great cars, just a little tight. I solved that problem.

[Restorer32]

My 140 DHC has been sitting in the garage untouched since I parked it in 1969.

[Xander Wildeisen]

Ran when parked.

[Restorer32]

Ah yes, the follies of youth. Dad was in the tire biz so I got free tires for my Jag but only recaps.  Can't believe I wound that Jag up to 117 mph wearing recaps. It did speak highly of Dad's recapping expertise. Sorry for the off topic diversion.

[Buick35]

About 118" s

[junkyardjeff]

It took me 23 years to get my 37 Chevy p/u on the road and this year I have been driving it 23 years.

[jensenracing77]

Taking out the partial restorations or projects, I only restored 3 cars completely. At 23 I restored my first car, a Rallye 350. I did not have the funds and knowledge to restore it like I wanted to but still a full frame off and took 13 months. Next was a 442 W-30. I done this one exactly how I wanted to do the Rallye 350 and was very pleased with how it turned out. This one took 2 years exactly. The last one was a 1962 Jetfire. It would have been done in one year but then the virus hit and also my wife had a major surgery. It ended up taking me just under 2 years. 

Edited February 11, 2023 by jensenracing77 (see edit history)

[MarkV]

On 2/8/2023 at 1:05 AM, marcapra said:

I bought this 48 DeSoto 3 window coupe back in May, 1980.  I never thought I would own a DeSoto.  I just put a want ad in the WPC newsletter for a 3 window coupe, and a guy in Idyllwild, CA wrote me saying he had a 48 DeSoto.  We settled on $1600 for car which was running at the time. I gave it a compression test, which it failed miserably, so I knew the engine would have to be overhauled.  But I took the bus up to Banning, where the owner met me.  Then I headed home driving the DeSoto to San Diego as the sun was getting low.  I stopped for a fill up and checked the tires.  I rebuilt the engine in an ROP auto shop class.  The teacher even helped me bore out the cylinders .030 over.  Then I got the wild idea to tear the car apart for a ground up restoration when I didn't have the time or the money.  Then I got into a couple of other hobbies which took away more time from the car.  Finally, now that I'm retired I'm making good progress.  I took the body off so I could do the chassis work without having to lift the car.  I just got the engine running for the first time since 1980.  I'll soon put the body back on and proceed with installing the wire harness.  I plan to have the car on the road by this summer.  

 

My grandfather was a prolific buyer of Chrysler products in the s CA area and a member of WPC until his passing in 1983 (he had 25 cars 90% Chrysler products), I’m surprised he didn’t beat you to this one! 

[MarkV]

I don’t do frame off restorations and just repair as I go! Life is too short and I like to enjoy the car as fast as I can! None of them sat for more than a year before they were running and driving.

 

the studebaker was the longest at 1 year and 2 months, just because of the lack of parts availability. And the fact that it had been someone’s failed frame off restoration and was disassembled!

 

The shortest was my 62 imperial which was running in 4 days. I usually take it to a shop and have them go through it and do all the big stuff I can’t do, then I bring it home and get all the small stuff done. Then drive it for six months and then get it painted. 

[ChazA]

5 years for my late grandfather's '67 Nova.   10 years for our 66 Cadillac (father/son project).  Did most of work on both cars, except for some upholstery/top and some body work.   My grandfather had a $99 Earl Schreib paint job in the 70s, which preserved the car   Both AACA Grand National award winners.  Chuck Swanson

 

Edited February 11, 2023 by ChazA (see edit history)

[marcapra]

On 2/10/2023 at 10:42 AM, Xander Wildeisen said:

Ran when parked.

In the antique radio hobby the eqivalent sales term is "radio used to work!".

[marcapra]

11 hours ago, MarkV said:

My grandfather was a prolific buyer of Chrysler products in the s CA area and a member of WPC until his passing in 1983 (he had 25 cars 90% Chrysler products), I’m surprised he didn’t beat you to this one! 

Yes, I'm surprised too.  It's a pretty sweet car with no rust. It was a Palm Springs car and the used car dealer there said he had sold the car several times in the 60s and 70s.  Your grandfather may not have known about this 48 DeSoto because it was not listed for sale anywhere.  The seller responded to my want ad for a three window coupe in the WPC magazine in Dec. '79 or Jan. '80.  

Edited February 12, 2023 by marcapra (see edit history)

[MarkV]

1 hour ago, marcapra said:

Yes, I'm surprised too.  It's a pretty sweet car with no rust. It was a Palm Springs car and the used car dealer there said he had sold the car several times in the 60s and 70s.  Your grandfather may not have known about this 48 DeSoto because it was not listed for sale anywhere.  The seller responded to my want ad for a three window coupe in the WPC magazine in Dec. '79 or Jan. '80.  

Wow! I have all of his WPC magazines from that era, now i will have to dig them out! 

[Joe in Canada]

Here is my 2nd total restoration I sold to a friend in 1988 where it sat until his death in 2020. His son inherited the car and now it is a parts car.  I could never understand the fellows reasoning and I took my first trip to Texas with Harold to bring back a 59 Chevy pickup back in 2002.   The 12 T is almost done but put it in the trailer for the winter and have been picking at it for the past 5 years. Only mechanical  as it is going to be a fun car. 

[1937McBuick]

Joe in Canada,

 

That first picture shows a huge lack of appreciation of the work done to the car and a lack of respect for it.

 

Kind of sad.....

[Echofivelima]

On 2/7/2023 at 10:12 PM, ramair said:

Well I was finally able to take my truck to a car show, I would have settled for a trophy for the longest restoration but instead they handed me a “regular trophy. Below are before and after pictures, late 1971 and a current photo 50 years latter

Ramair. I would love to get in touch with you and pick your brain on your restoration of this truck! I too have a 36 GMC  and live in California (Turlock) and your resto looks meticulous which I appreciate. I specifically joined today to see if I could contact you ask some questions. Especially around the 213 olds etc. All the best. 
Mike. 

[ramair]

Mike,  more than willing to help get another rare one on the road.  There were less than 12,000 made when new, there are probably 25 or 30 of these trucks left and most of those are sitting on S 10 frames with small block engines.  As you are finding out some parts will interchange with Chevy, but unlike today’s GMC and Chevy there is a lot of differences, like engine, radiator,clutch, frame, front fenders, hood sides, bumpers, gauges, wheel size and even the bed length to name a few.  In reality it share the cab, doors, windshield, tailgate , rear fenders, transmission and steering wheel and gear, front axel, rear axle and hydraulic brake system.  So that we do not hi jack this thread I will private message you and after a while when you can post I would encourage you to create a new thread over in the “my restoration”.  A couple of years ago I started one on my truck . unfortunately my truck was about 3/4 of the way done before I saw others document their restorations.  Best thing I ever did, I had many questions answered and found leads on parts that were made out of 

“unobtainiam”, 

 

Michael

[Bloo]

Hey @ramair and @Echofivelima, there is a thread going about the 36 Olds Six engine going on in the Oldsmobile section right now. Did either of you have to replace the water distribution tube? If so, where did you get it? The thread is here: https://forums.aaca.org/topic/395056-1936-oldsmobile-f36-water-pump/

 

[Steve Moskowitz]

Rumor has it that a rare brass-era Locomobile will make its very first appearance at our AACA event in Auburn after a 44 year long journey!  Having seen the car I can tell you it will be well worth the wait for those who will get the chance to see it.  Make sure you get a chance to see the engine compartment...absolutely breathtaking. 

[leomara]

GREAT QUESTION!  WHO KNOWS!  I started this restoration of a 1928 Chrysler Model 72 Sport Roadster in May of 2020.  Three years later I've completed quite a bit, however, anything needing to be done by other parties due to Covid, lack of resources, lack of skilled workers, etc. has me in a place where I have no idea when this project may get completed.  This is nothing like my last restoration when these impediments did not exist.

[Echofivelima]

12 hours ago, ramair said:

Mike,  more than willing to help get another rare one on the road.  There were less than 12,000 made when new, there are probably 25 or 30 of these trucks left and most of those are sitting on S 10 frames with small block engines.  As you are finding out some parts will interchange with Chevy, but unlike today’s GMC and Chevy there is a lot of differences, like engine, radiator,clutch, frame, front fenders, hood sides, bumpers, gauges, wheel size and even the bed length to name a few.  In reality it share the cab, doors, windshield, tailgate , rear fenders, transmission and steering wheel and gear, front axel, rear axle and hydraulic brake system.  So that we do not hi jack this thread I will private message you and after a while when you can post I would encourage you to create a new thread over in the “my restoration”.  A couple of years ago I started one on my truck . unfortunately my truck was about 3/4 of the way done before I saw others document their restorations.  Best thing I ever did, I had many questions answered and found leads on parts that were made out of 

“unobtainiam”, 

 

Michael

Thank you so much. I look forward to talking to you. Being brand new I couldn't directly message you. So I'm not sure how long that lasts. I will look for your message though!  I am still learning to navigate the forum thing so I too don't want to highjack the thread and will do as you say an work my way to the My Restoration area and start on that as well. Thanks for the quick reply. All the best. 
Mike. 

[Chris Bamford]

1912 KisselKar 4-50: purchased Feb 1993, drug home June 1993, driving chassis 1997, officially "finished" July 2001. Eight years and change.

 

Was originally going to build a speedster, then learned our city of Edmonton had a 1912 KisselKar 4-50 Chief's car back in the day (not my particular car, however).

 

Voila! A "four-passenger family speedster"!

 

 

 

[Guest]

 Grandfathers 38 Lincoln pulled out of a container flat tires non running etc.Floor repaired, new harness made, distributor cap/coils fabricated (playdough mold), etc and about 6 months later after trailering her from CA to FL she was on the road again.

 

Up and running

 

Still plenty to "do" but now it's "tinkering"

[Tph479]

10 hours ago, Steve Moskowitz said:

Rumor has it that a rare brass-era Locomobile will make its very first appearance at our AACA event in Auburn after a 44 year long journey!  Having seen the car I can tell you it will be well worth the wait for those who will get the chance to see it.  Make sure you get a chance to see the engine compartment...absolutely breathtaking. 

Your good buddy has the finest and most brassy brass era car I have ever seen. I always remind him that his Locomobile is one of the most stunning restorations that I have ever seen on any car. The entire car is breathtaking, not just the engine. I’m looking forward to seeing this masterpiece of art outside in the sun. Kudos to a job well done. Tim should be very, very, very proud of his work.