How much work to be considered 100% owner built

So, serious question, how much work to a hotrod would the owner have to do to their car for you to consider it 100% owner built? I mean how far do you think the owner would have to go? This question comes up because of a car that has been built that will be mine and I feel it is a 100% owner built, it was a 100% bone stock model A that he bought in about 1953 or so, and now has the car done, he built the engine, built the frame, did all the engineiering, did every piece of work on this car, other than the machine work on the engine, and of course he did not manufacture parts like the body, frame, and such before I get any smartass coments, so what do you think, is this a 100% owner built HotRod? Jim

 

No. 100% means exactly that. 100%. I've never seen a 100% owner built car. You could say; "all the modifications were owner performed and fabricated", but quantifying it with an actual number seems pointless and virtually impossible.
Where would you stop? Did he melt the ore?

 

...............did every piece of work on this car, other than the machine work on the engine, ...


Sounds good to me, if he painted it and did the upholstery...
But even 90% sounds good to me......

 

If you feel its 100% owner built, then who cares what others think, I think you would get a wide variety of opinions. Its all for bragging rights... right? A cool car is still cool whoever built it.

 

Interior/seat's,stitching ect. Glass installation. Wiring. Exhaust/header fab. These are some of the home built items not always tackled by your average dude.

 

Age old discussion.

The thing that ticks me off are people with relatively stock late model vehicles with stickers that say "built not bought" as if bolting a lift kit on a Jeep warrants that you built it.

 

If you build you own house does that mean you have to grow your own trees? Its all a matter of semantics.

 

simple math 100% equals 100% 99%<100%

I hope that helps. Seriously though, who gives a shit.

I don't build engines, or paint, or sew but there are people out that do. I also don't cut my own hair, fill my own cavities, and on occasion I pay someone to prepare a steak for me.

Donny

 

90% is the new 100%

 

And everyone gets a blue ribbon.

 

Does a number really matter? A car is either "owner built" or "bought"!

 

I'd give them not doing the machine work on the engine block. Takes large specialized tools and measuring equipment that not every home shop has.

 

I guess I'm out, I have no way to make my own steel,cast iron ,glass or rubber for tires .
Other than that I think I could almost hit the 100% mark on my own.
No one or no single co. can do the 100% job, every one depends on suppliers to get the build finished.

..............Jack

 

I think the guys at 100 percent are actually 80 like my self..........Im doing all the work .Have to sub out upholstery over the winter............

 

I would think that if an owner buys the vehicle, tears it down, does his own body work and paint, his own engine work minus machine work, own interior work, own chassis work, it should be considered 100% owner built. Obviously there are things that virtually can't be done at home unless you have a shop that mimmicks a warehouse and you have every piece of equipment imaginable to do everything. That's where the inginuity of our hobby comes in. We aren't talking about 100% owner manufactured, just owner built. JM2C

 

100% built by Chevrolet, 100% re-built by me.

 

I did the engine machine work on a couple of mine. He ain't gonna get 100% from me. My cars won't either.

 

All of it ... Except paint ? Maybe? Depends on the level of your build.
100%is not 80% ratty stuff is easy to do yourself if you want show quality paint you have to buy that shit. Unless your capable. 2
cents. Rs59

 

Hey, I feel as long as you are involved in all parts of the build, its owner built. Sure I took my frame to get powdercoated, and I had the motor rebuilt, but I took it down there, picked it up, etc. etc. I dont plan on bsing anyone that asks so thats what counts, if anything counts at all.

 

Yea I guess you guys are right about the who gives a shit part, I just hear people at cars showe and cruis-ins saying crap like that, ya know, this car is 100% garage built, so that got me to thinking, what is that, what point do you consider the car 100% owner built, I mean like said by BOP-nut, I have seen new camaros with custom paint and a big boom box in the back and they say 100% owner built, come on, no it isnt dude, and everyone knows it. But this buddy of mine has spend over 50 years building the car, and like I said while he did not forge the steal and build the raw frame nor body, it was a stone stock 31 model a coupe bought for $22 when he was around 15 or 14 maybe, he cant remember. it is not quite the kind if car that is right for the HAMB, however, I am looking to get the car in a mag or two so if anyone is intersted please feel free to contact me about this car. it has a "WILD" AS "LSD" history, and I have every fucking picture to proove it, I have the pictures of it with a 13.1 olds motor with open headers 4:88 gears with a badass built hydro trans that has now become the engine and trans for my merc project. But anyways that car was driven by a guy that had just gotten out of nam was sent to arizona, planted his ass in his 31 model a gasser with its stock cowel gas tank, and 13.1 over cammed olds with 4:88 gears and he was setting out for branson, MO. Jim

 

I don't think a stock 57 Chevy was 100% built by Chevrolet. That would mean no outside vendors and I don't think that happened.

So why worry about a 100% build?
Larry T

 

With all the valuable knowledge available on this forum, we get threads that are totally of no importance. If your wife hands you a wrench.....

 

You know what's funny? I have this chopped shoebox I've replaced or renewed everything that unbolts and spent the last few weeks on bodywork(I cut my own glass, wiring, interior, blah de blah) and everytime someone looks at it, they ask me if I did the chop LOL Nope, sure didn't!

Oh, the funny thing is I used to give a chit. Now I could care less LOL

 

As mentioned, 100% is 100%. My Daytona will be an exercise on doing as much as I can. I've never painted a car or done any kind of body work, windshield instalation or interior trim. Short of doing the stitching of the seat covers, or the machine work for the engine, I plan on doing the rest myself. Is this 100%? Nope, but I'll be as close as I'll ever be. So maybe I'll be at 96%? I will have a lot of oversite and instruction, so while I may say I did it myself, I'll still brag about those who have helped me and guided me.

 

This thread is as bad as that new TV commercial with the BBQ guys and the sports memorabilia. I'm 99.99999% sure.

The only thing more annoying is when people start going over 100% as if there was such a number.

 

I did 100% of everything, but it has a 3/4 cam.

 

I'm 102% sure I don't give a rat's ass.

 

I am with Ed on this one, to put a number on it is sort of sensless. A car is either owner built or farmed out.

I put a car in the home built section of a car show in the '90s.

I dragged the car out of a wrecking yard, did the bulk of the body work, some of the finish work was a collaberation of my co-owner in the body shop, he squirted the paint. I straightened the frame myself with a little help again from my buddy on the initial setup on the frame machine. I built the engine, did all the final fittment and machine work, but I certainly didn't grind the cam shaft or forge the pistons and most of the pieces came from the factory and just got tweaked by me.

The interior was mostly stock but I did rework the dash and do some min0r repairs to the seats.

I could go on here but you understand where I am going with this right?

Anyway the show in question had a questionaire that wanted percentages of how much of the work in various aspects of the vehicle I did being the builder. I just blew it off. It was rediculas.

If the fellas built it himself and didn't write a check for it then he built it himself.

 

I guess my car isn't 100% then. I did all the fab work. Did the drive train swap.I did all the body and paint myself. Designed the interior and had a shop do the ineterior. I had to have the chrome work done. I had a machine shop build the motor and tranny as I don't have those kind of tools or education. But all in all it was all my ideas on how it was going to be.
Bottom line is who cares if a car is 100% owner built. I enjoy the car and I can say I built it but I give credit where credit is due for the specialty places such as machine shops, interior shops and chrome shops which no one can have the abillity to do all that at home.
Just remember give credit to those who deserve it for helping you complete your work of art.

 

I don't care what anyone else does, just don't BS me with what "YOU DID" when all you did was write checks. I love to talk with owners who put their own car together, and learn how they did certain parts. It's quickly evident who really did the work themselves, and who "directed" or even just let the builder decide how it got done.
I don't mind the guys who just buy a finished car, as not everyone has the tools or means to build their own. Just don't try to pass off a builder's work as your own.