Most expensive mistake you have made when restoring a car?

Under budgeting.

You need to set a plan and stick to it also..

 

ditto

 

Don't assume the gastank is fine, paint it, and run with it, only for fuel varnish and other shit get into the engine. Shit glued the valves to the guides on a fresh engine.
Replaced the tank, and had to remove, clean, and reinstall the cylinder heads. Car also has a nice fuel filter now!Don't overlook the simple shit.

 

losing a finger from a 4 in cuttin wheel

 

Not painting all the body parts at the same time and having a slight difference in color on some parts. Maybe no one sees it but me.
Jerry
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Don't buy every "good deal" you come accrossed. I have a whole piece of ground full off good deal cars and trucks. And NO finished rides. Focus your assets.

 

How long were you building it?

 

Trading a motorcycle for a car someone listed on here,but that whats happens when you dont have someone look at it.If it is another state ALWAYS get someone to check it out.Live and learn there is always Karma

 

If you dont have time to do it right, then you damn sure dont have time to do it twice.

 

Have a front end change turn in to.......... a frame off! But in hindsight the absolutely correct thing to do..........I'm totally happy now!

 

Very sage advice here. I wasted a lot of money and years of my life on "kinda cool" cars, before I finally asked myself what I REALLY wanted to be driving.

Got my '39 Tudor, and you'll have to pry it from my cold, dead fingers, now. All my past cars had a rolling price tag. Not this one. It's the keeper.

If you really want a Deuce three-window, work toward it. Trade up if you have to. But, always keep your eye on the prize, and don't get stuck with a giant wad of money into your '65 Galaxie four door, or whatever you currently roll.

 

You too....its going on 4 yrs with me. I blew my top this past week.

If a friend is doing the work, keep it all business.

 

figuring out "it wasn't as fun as i though!" and did it again.

 

Sending a Western Union to scamming Nigerians...

 

My wife finding the stash of reciepts in my toolbox, shit meets fan !!!
She got over it, Still got it and building another, she bought me a kickass welder for last Christmas!

 

Too many rattle cans of primer, and now too little brain cells too remember what I was painting.

 

Yep...short cuts usually aren't

 

Restoring the wrong car ,Thats why yhe 69 firebird is done and not the 32 ford pickup .Now Im building a 29 roadster for practice ,1st street rod ,Scratch built

 

Seems like the most popular one was starting out with too rusty a car. Me too. No matter how many times someone says, "Buy the best car you can afford." our willpower tends to fail really quick when we run up on the model we've been looking for. Takes a lot of guts to say to yourself a better one will come along and walk away. Unless you're a skilled bodyman or the car is super rare, (yknow, like 1 of 10) you'll end up kicking yourself once the bills for fixing a rusty car start piling up.

 

rent a shity garage

 

"Most expensive mistake when building a car"

BUILDING A CAR!!!!!

 

Most expensive mistake you have made when restoring a car?

Restoring the car. Reminds me of the old joke: How do you make a million dollars in the custom car business....?

 

most expensive mistakes

Not starting with an end in mind
Letting mates convince me how to "improve" things by changing some stuff
Doing things three times as I fell for that one twice
Following trends
Taking so long to do car that it looks like it evolved rather than was created with any sort of plan
Not insisting on timeframes when people working on your car
Doing the upholstery early in the project coz the upholsterer was about to shift to the USA
Not having a budget
Letting guys at the shop convince me that they knew better how my car should look

and the final one
Thinking nostalgia drag racing a hot rod with a blown engine might be cheap fun. (Well it was till we dipped into the 10s - now its just fun)

 

doing a pick up rather than a car. most don't bring the money a car will.

 

Been said, don't build a 70 Chevelle when you really want a model a coupe. I wasted lots of time and money on a just ok build.

 

Buying the vehicle in the first place...

For me,as I'm finding out,was buying from someone who I thought was honest about the car's true condition,and who has done nothing to compensate for said lack of honesty. Perhaps my lawyer will merit more action;I'll let you know this week...I'd mention the name of the scoundrel,but as this may end up in court,I'll refrain. Depending on what occurs,I'll be free to make statements down the road and name names. If it will prevent someone else from getting burned by this character(and his cohorts),I'll be glad to help. Let's just say that there's a rotten smell near Toledo,and it ain't Lake Erie.

 

Wrong. "Rust free" can also mean that they are giving you all of the rust for free as opposed to charging extra for it.

 

Buying the first project truck! Now there are 4 sitting here and I get phone calls from people wondering if I'd like to buy another - SWEET

 

Well stated;in many cases,it's just an innocent omission of the word "for" between the words "rust" and "free". The seller must have been momentarily distracted-by the profit margin!

 

reget ever sarting it and doing trade work and your end is done, waiting on the other guy as you see him drive off with shiny paint!!