Build order

I am doing a frame off build and was wondering in what particular order you hambers out there build cars at home?

Is it decided by time, money or by what needs the most fixing first?

Please let me know, I know you are the guys to ask.

 

My order is sometimes driven by my cash flow. If I don't have cash I do what I can for as little outlay as possible. IE I can clean stuff up for free.

Sometimes it is driven by what I have ready to work with; if I have the parts to rebuild the suspension for instance then frame and suspension is first but if I don't have those parts and do have what I need to go though some other system than that is what gets my attention first.

here is some advice to keep you from getting it apart and then loosing interest. Do Not take anything apart that you are not ready to complete the job on. If it needs king pins and you don't have them there is no reason to pull the axle apart, for instance

Set attainable goals. Choose things that you can finsh and see what you have accomplished, don't set your goal for instance of redoing the whole car at once. That is setting yourself for failure. Set a bunch of little goals that lead to the finished product. The check them off as to complete each goal.

 

Usually money. Ideally a guy would build the frame and ch***is then the body especially if you are going to do body mods so you have a solid platform to bolt the body to while you work on it.

I can't see building the engine first and then letting it sit during the build but most of us tend to buy pieces for our engines as we find them as it's grab it when you see it for most traditional engine pieces.

The main thing is to sit down and plan out the whole car so you only spend money for and time on each part of it one time. A lot of the parts in the cl***ifieds are parts that guys bought for their projects and then decided they wanted something different.
I've got enough pieces to build a couple of trucks that were bought to be used on my 48 and then not used because I found something else or my plans changed. In that area I am probably right up there with the worst of them for changing my plans on what I was going to do.

PorkN****** as usual threw out some sage advice. I've bought a couple of dead projects in the past that were all taken apart with no actual work done on the project after it was taken apart. One whole 1952 Chevy short bed pickup takes a lot of trips to get home when it is all in pieces.

 

Money, like Porkn****** and Mr48Chevy said. As for areas, get the ch***is done - or at least frame, axles and suspension - to begin with. Engine and ****** work can wait, but I keep a couple of jars where I stuff a stray $20 when I can spare it. Eventually they'll mount up and pay for a rebuild. The hard part is making sure you keep putting in, not taking out.

 

is this a hot rod or resto?
welding up body panels should be done on the frame sometimes before removing it. fabrication should be done before any paint work in example fitting engine and transmission, steering suspension mods, etc. it cost more money and time to have to go back and redo things or protect stuff already finished.

 

Money and opportunity. 4 years aqo I bought a Rochester tri-power set-up at a swap meet, It was about the last thing I needed but it was priced right so I jumped on it. That was the first thing I bought for a car I was building in my head, everything kinda went on from there. If you have the car and it's complete then I'd say get stuff as the opportunity presents itself, a planned build order seldom ever works out.