How's things in Ceresco, man-a-fre? Used to chase a couple of females around there back in the early 60's... I build most of my car...obviously there's a few things I don't do, never learned how to do upholstery, can't do chroming nor hot tanking an engine blok, balancing a driveshaft is something else I can't do...but I can cut a mean line with a plasma cutter, and flatten a panel, I can seal/prime/paint a car, do a brake job and poke a tranny...so your question is loaded--perhaps it should have been: What part of building a car don't you do? R-
When I went through the roadster, I had the radiator outlet moved, driveshaft shortened, crank turned and positve battery cable made up by local shops. Other than that it was just me. And lest I forget; the wife and I did the interior...
I always wander around salvage yars to find nice seats in the color i want so i dont have to pay sombody to upholster and use donor car driveshafts like the swap meet corvette one i just snagged for my new coupe project its like 30". .
I take great pride in screwing up almost everything on my junk my self. Been cobbeling shit together since about 1970, when I turned 14. Nothing quite like the feeling one gets from finally getting something fixed that you ruined a long time ago. I have discovered there are things I really shouldn't be doing my self, but so far I'm not smart enough to listen to myself, comes from being a broke, cheap, bastard. Gene
Go check my Touring post in the classifieds. did everything but the engine machine work. Me, everything.
Do it all myself...dont trust anyone else to do anything...I can ruin millions of dollars in R&D in a weekend
Thats the fun in this crazy hobby.. Figuring out how to screw things up. I'm too ignorant to think i can't do anything. I'll ask the stupidest questions on the planet. ie... look at my wishbone post here of late. No problem. I love to learn and yea..I screw up a plenty. But my last full project the 37 coupe,, was done totally by me..even the interior. Of coarse I had a few helping hands from my buddies when i needed it. luckily... We here have alot of experience within our group at the He-man garage. From painters to body men to fabricators to mechanics. So l always have someone around to bounce a stupid question off of. Theres not a one that will do it for you. But a plenty around to tell you how. My present project... the 34 pickup will follow the same form. Man I hate body work too.
I pretty much do everything but the vynil and machine work. Although I've about got my wife talked into leaning how to sew upholstry. the all I have to do is build a machine shop and I will be set. Mike
The only thing that I don't do myself is boring blocks, and for the short term, upholstery. We're looking into getting a machine that is heavy enough for upholstery work, as my wife has some interest in taking over that part of our shop builds. Of course, we send out plating, too, forgot about that, but kinda like boring a block, that shouldn't really count
I built almost everthing on my T . Frame- Steering arm all brackets and mounts, Winshield posts- dash heck I guess everything but upholstery, and my neighbor is doing the painting.
I can not machine a block or cut a crank. If you cut a drive shaft and do not remove the balance weights, just reweld it, you can do it yourself. I will do upholstry , paint etc. myself. I can not balance wheels so I have it done. I can do front end alignment myself. I will pay someone to bend exhaust pipes as it looks better than little pieces welded together. I do not have the facilities to do chrome, so what little I need ( I hate polishing and being a slave to chrome) I farm out. I occasionally ask someone to help me when I need three hands. Thats about it.
I do everything except chroming and machining: engine rebuilds, fabricating, sheetmetal, leadwork, wiring, upholstery, paint, etc. Some things I'm better at than others. tidiness is not my forte. Haven't looked for a chrome shop in St Louis yet, but I'm sure there's one here somewhere. I don't know enough about the process, but I could learn. I just know it involves equipment I don't have (just like machining).
I do them my self too. Try to use anything I have to avoid farming work. Can't turn a crank, or hot tank a block but can bore it. Automatic Trans have too many small parts and special tools. Like to use old chrome but will send out to a guy I know that does it out of his back yard. Some day I will farm out a bitchen tuck and roll interior. Cant stripe a line to same my soul!
Do all of my own chassis and fabrication work. Have all of the valve grinding equipment, boring bar,hot tank, cam bearing installation tools, crank polisher, do everything on a balance job but the final spin on the crank. Put all of my own engines together. Worked in a body shop years ago so I can do a real hack job at that but usually trade for the paint work. Have Hatch's sewing machine so the wife is getting the job of trimming my future projects (she used to do the stuff on her home sewing machine). Don't do automatic transmissions but the stick stuff I do. I've always been intrigued by anything that had to do with making a vehicle go down the road. My grandfather instilled in me at an early age a desire to learn what made things go and how to fix them when they stopped. Frank
I'm an ex-master technician(still ASE Master) so I do as much as I know how. My painting and body work isn't the greatest but I do have all the tools required to paint and do body work. I don't have the equipment to do machine work, if I did I'd do that to. I can do interior and anything else on the car. I've never chopped a car but that never stopped me from trying. I do like welding and am pretty good at it although I have to give up mig welding because of my heart problems( I'm buying a Henrob by the way). Now that my heart has been better I've been working on my car a lot more and having fun again. Sorry for rambling. Mick
Exhaust jobs, wheel/new tire balancing, and one new vinyl top/headliner is all I have ever farmed out. The rest has been done by me, including a full resto here and there that brought good money...I like doing body/paint work, and interior work if they make reproductions. Your more "popular cars" have repro seats and headliners that are easy to install readliy availble...Since I don't have a sewing machine, or easy access to auto upholstery stuff...but I have re-upholstered some stuff myself and done my own headliners when need be. I have yet to do a full rebuild on an engine...I always try to buy good runners to start with. I'm sure with the Merc I'll have to farm-out a lot of the interior. I better start saving now...
I've been f**cking things up on cars for 19 years now,definately cannot do upholstery,engine machine work I give to my buddy's shop, used to put the engines together myself but he only charges me 2 bills to assemble them in his 'clean' workshop.I can throw new steels and frictions in a TH400 or 350. tranny( and it will work afterwards).Can cut metal and stick metal together with a mig welder and it won't fall apart either.shiny paintwork is done at a buddy's collision repair shop. As mentioned before it's 75% figuring, 10% beer drinking and 15% actually working on the car.....Not sure if thats the correct order !!
Well do I forge my own steel, Grow the cows for the leather for the seats, Machine bare castings into usable parts.... I would have to say no. But if do you mean, cut metal, measure and make parts to fit different parts togeather, drill holes, weld stuff, fit things that don't fit, hammer, grind, bend lines, bolt things togeather, get old used engines out of other cars to run, wire things togeather ect.....then yes I do build my own cars
when we had the garage in its prime we did everything to point. upholstery was cardboard over springs then blankets. everything else was too expensive and we were broke. all paint came in can. we all striped too, so the cars left the hosue when tehy were done, never anything else. it was nice. puling up in a car and showing shit off. even if it was cardboard mexi blanket shit. JR
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