Dumb questions but...do you do mechanicals or body first?! which causes less burnout?

I know that by the book you should do mechanical first for all the obvious reasons.

I've seen that a lotta guys on here do the custom bodywork first, then worry about the mechanicals

Any particular reason why?

I'm finishing up the mechanicals(hopefully) on my POS but I'm so sick of it I could spit. I'm actually looking forward to sanding(!)

After all the work I"ve put in it the car still looks like an s-pile, obviously, because I haven't touched the body.

Next time I'm considering maybe I'll do body stuff first, surely it's got to be easier be motivated to work on a car that looks nice?!?

Which do you guys do and why?

Thanks all!

Sean

 

When I built my '48 Chevy p/u I did the mechanicals first, then started in on the body.

 

Do what you enjoy to do. The body on my 55 Olds has been started and I am just now deciding what to do about rebuilding the engine. just figure out what you want to do and jump in.

 

i'm sure everyone has their own way ! but i usually look at a project as a whole so i do the body work and detailing first so when i put it back together i'm not blowing paint all over my freshly detailed drivetrain ! but again i usually do the body and drivetrain before its back on the road ! guess it depends on what your plans and use for the vehicle are ! just my 2 cents ! i'm sure others have their own way

 

looks like you know the answer

 

I do a little bit of both.

 

Yeah by the book I know mech. first, but I sure see a lot of people smarter and more talented than me doing body work first, so there has to be a good reason for it?

 

I do body second to last, then interior last. mainly to keep the paint from getting chipped while working on the car, and to keep the upholstery tidy.

 

Mechanicals first so I can drive the thing.

 

I think mechanical first so that way you can drive the thing every so often so you dont get burnt out so easy. Some of the cars are huge projects and you need a little reward every so often by driving. Thats how I have worked on mine, took 2 years to get it driveable, and during that time I almost ran out of steam on the thing.

Brad

 

I'd be in the mechanicals first group also.
It's way too east to do a little, "woooopsie-daisy" while pulling an engine or any other mechanical job. If that kind of thing does happen I'd feel a whole lot worse if I just scratched a freshly painted car.

Jay

 

Get the car running and stopping, then worry about the body work. That way when the urge is there to drive it, you can.

 

I'm from a Lowriding background, and therefore think looks first, so I'm doing body and frame work first, then mechanicals.

I think it helps motivate me to have a good lookin ride

 

Did the mechanicals first on the '62 Suburban... even if it looks like hell, driving your old car is a lot of fun. I get more burned out on something if I'm not driving it regularly.

After three years, I've replaced/rebuilt the trans, replaced/rebuilt every piece of the brakes, dual reservoir/power brake conversion, new wiring harness, new rear end housing and gears, new rear springs, new wheels, new engine, new gauges and new radiator. Drove it 900 trouble-free miles round trip to Billetproof Florida this month. All that's left to rebuild is the front suspension, the steering column and brake pedal ***embly.

As I've been doing all this, I've scored a set of perfect doors, one perfect front fender, perfect grill support panel, good hood hinges, clean filler panels between door and hood, and I've got some of them blasted and ready for primer.

I've enjoyed the truck for three years, and have a head start on some of the body stuff when I jump into that this year.

-Brad

 

x2!!! Giving the car "life" by making it driveable is a big thing to me as far as keeping me interested in the project. That way, if my enthusiasm wanes along the way, I can fire it up and take it for a spin to pump myself back up. You can't do that if you put the mechanical work off until last...

Just my $.02

 

I did the mechanical stuff first only because it is my daily driver. I'd probably do the same thing over again cause I have pushing cars around.

 

As we all know, there are always at least three other things closely related to whatever you are working on at the moment that will effect your decisions - regardless of what you are working on. But I think working on the frame / mechs with careful regard to the body is the way to go. Gary

 

I dont think it really matters......I do a little of each that way i dont get burnt out on one process...........

 

Always, always do the mechanical first. The mechanical will possibly/probably dictate changes to the body. If you have finished the body first, its going to get scratched/damaged when you move it to the ch***is. The door gaps will all tweak when you bolt it down.

 

I'd say do what is practical at the moment. I do agree that it is probably better to do the ch***is and have the rig run and drive before getting too involved in the body work.

It is a lot easier to drive it in and out of the garage than push it and it is a lot easier to drive it to different places or even on and off the trailer to get it there than do a lot of pushing. Plus from experience, when you take the vehicle to a shop to have work done they tend to get it done a bit faster if they know it runs and you are waiting for it rather than sluffing you off.

that's if you have a complete vehicle to start with though.

My flathead --what ever cause I don't really know yet project will probably have the engine done and setting on the engine stand waiting before I decide what it is actually going in. All I know now is that it will be Ford something between 1926 and 1941. Probably 29A but that isn't carved in stone. It's hard to do body work when you don't have a body to work on.

Work on what you have and with what you have to work with. A guy can do a lot of body work on a car without laying out a lot of cash until he gets down to serious paint work. Engine work or trans work on the other hand might get spendy in a hurry.

 

I have to think that the most likely thing to cause burnout is the tedium of having to do a lot of sanding on a car. But if it's drivable, you can always take it for a ride between sanding and remind yourself why you're doing all that work again.

 

A little of both is the best. You dont want to scratch that beautiful frame putting body on or that nice freshly painted body without scratches.Finish everything in primer bodywork and mechanicals .Then tear apart for final ***embly.My suggestion is do both.If you get burned out walk away for a day.Talk to people also.Sometimes you can get alot of ideas off of fellow carguys.Even in dreams you can get ideas.Burned out right now myself and hanging here on the hamb.As soon as i get 50.00 im gonna join the HAMB. A member of The Philadelphia Modifiers John

 

Do what you hate first...in my case, bodywork. When that's finished you can enjoy doing the other. My first car took forever because I did the mechanicals first...I got through with that quickly and stayed with it. Then I started the bodywork and kept losing interest. I'd stop for a month or six, then start again.

 

You didn't say what kind of car you are working on/building and that does make a heck of a difference.
If you're working on a 49-up car chances are you're not even going to pull the body, or at least not until you have the drivetrain mocked up in for reference and to solve any possible clearance problems etc. In that case you can swap back and forth with body and mech work until you do pull the body, if ever.

If you are working on/building a little hot rod, like a T bucket, cutup pickup truck, chopped up sedan, or anything with the big zee out back and suicide front end, you're in a whole nuther world. If your body is junk, needs to be framed in steel in place of wood, is missing major panels, this should be done first so you can have something to work with when mocking up the ch***is for controls (pedal placement, steering column placement, shifter. etc.), and make up your mind on seats up front too(nothing worse than having a car you can't sit in and drive 100 miles or a 1000 miles comfortably).
You can mock up a ch***is in wood to test ideas in wheelbase, body placement, interior room etc. What I mean is, don't cut steel until you're sure what you want and where. Mockup is always best before any stage of construction.

Then there are cars in between...26-27 Ts through 48. each group, (26-27, 28-31, 32-34, 35-36, 37-40, 41-48) has its own peculiarities.

 

I build frame then body...engine to fit..take it apart..refit..over and over..but it works...d32

 

I always do the frame, suspension, drive train, plumbing, interior, in that order, then fit the body, gap the doors etc. Then I'll blow it all apart and do paint. After that put it all back together and wire it, reinstall the interior and have some fun. I may drive the 29 I'm doing now for the summer and then pull it this winter and do the body. It's also a matter of how much room you have to do stuff. rustynewyorker is right, it's nice to be able to drive it while you're building, I'm 61 so I've got alot of two things, Time & Patience, never had any of either 30 years ago. Good luck and don't let it become a JOB, Enjoy!!!

 

Answer depends on whom I'm building the car for.

At work, we actually build the car a couple times over. We rough in the mechanicals, rough in the body work to fit, re-do some mechanicals, redo some body work, etc..... as long as it takes.

In other words, at work, we do both in steps. Customer want a finished product that they can drive away.


In my own garage at home, I do the mechanicals first. That way I can drive it when I need to and not loose interest.

 

i got mine running, spray canned it flat black so i could drive it and i work on whatever i can afford that weekend,driving is the thrill for me so much history there and the thumbs up from everybody is so cool..

 

sometimes it depends on budget and what I can do myself...but typically I don't spend any time or money on anything that doesn't make it run first...then body and paint and interior...besides sometimes by the time you get it all mechanically sound your vision on colors can change after you have lived with it for awhile...

 

Function before Fashion, for me that is.