Folks Of Interest What part of building a car do you dread?

It sets in when I am actually getting close, and I am there now. I think I'm getting done, but the expense on the final push, kinda puts me in a little depression. I have worked on it so long, I begin to lose interest, yet the parts bills keep coming. When I started my latest build, and where I am now, are two different places. Thoughts have turned to how I can retire, I did tell my wife this is the last one, and I am sticking to it. My new short block should be here next week, I'm not all that excited but I should be, it's going to be about 900 hp. Maybe I have too many toys, that will change soon enough.

 

Yep I hate body work and spraying paint.

The other part of a build that I hate is paying for the upholstery. LOL

 

The first drive.


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this is easy, body work.

 

First fire-up. There's always somebody there that you'd rather wasn't.

 

The lack of time

 

I've always dreaded the "almost done" stage. That is when I realize that when the current project is done I won't have a project.............so I find one.

Now I have two projects with one nearly done and one that was trailered home. (Is trailered a word?) It seems that I then begin work on the new project instead of finishing up the old one.

Some one on here is always commenting that someone "isn't right in the head". Yep, that is me.

 

Installing/removing glass and stainless dent repair.

 

I had just done a full engine rebuild on a 355 SBC in an O/T 67 Chevy half ton. My mom came down from the house to see the first start up and provide moral support, I think I was maybe 24-25 years old. The engine was running great on break in, keeping the RPMs up around 2000, fluctuating up and down as I worked the throttle. I had the radiator cap off to vent the cooling system and purge any air bubbles as it filled the empty block, but as soon as the thermostat opened, it must have pumped through rapidly and launched a inch-wide column of hot coolant out of the radiator head high at my mom. Thank God it missed her by about a foot, and hit the wall behind her. Shit was crazy, and I would have felt awful if she got hurt.

Your comment reminded me of that. You appreciate the support but sometimes you'd rather just be left alone.

 

Paint.


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I have first fired dozens of new and fresh engines over my 50+ years racing and hot rodding. I always get as nervous as the proverbial whore in church. I just finished a new motor for my '27 roadster. Same thing. It never goes away. This one was a lot easier than the first one in 1967, though. Fired first lick. No leaks. Put the timing light on it and never had to move the mag. That 50 years helped.

 

One time I had a few sticky valve guides on the bus, so I stopped by a hotrodder friends place in southern IN over Thanksgiving weekend. I decided to take it apart and fix it before leaving to FL for the winter. I got it all apart and lapped the guides a little and put it back together.

Of course, when it came time to hit the switch, everyone was standing around watching. I let the fuel pump up, pulled the choke, gave it 2 pumps, and it popped right off on the first revolution.
Thank God!

Everybody's eyes bugged out as they all looked at each other in amazement! One guy said,"I ain't never seen nothing like that before!" We all laughed!

I replied,"Well, it's pretty hard to mess up a Chevy."

 

.....Telling my wife I have another project.

 

I enjoy most of it but sanding/blasting/cleaning rust and cleaning up afterwards is my least favorite.

 

I've always enjoyed making things to set up the front end,rear end, and best , getting the engine and trans in the car , getting it running and first time around the block, you feel like more of an accomplishment than sanding and getting rust off.Buddy of mine used to say" once guys get the car driving,the finish work stops." guess they're thrilled after waiting so long to get it running and working late nights to do it. But as i'm older now, hate the thought getting greasy all over me,sweating, getting cuts, banging your head against things,etc... it gets old ...but there is an 'out 'as not wanting to do, rust removal, paint etc. something i would have turned my nose up to before-----patina, yep, just say to built it with the patina look and you're accepted lol..patina is looking mighty good,lol.

 

The part I dread the most? The part where I run out of money and the car sits in pieces for a year and a half. It's the worst!

 

The part where it sits in storage for a decade, because I cannot find space, or time to work on it.

 

I hate following behind suspect fixes and mods even when I was the guilty one who did them. For years I drove my 48 every day and all too often did a bandaid fix to keep it going so I could go to work the next day. I'm looking at a six week throw together right now to have a vehicle to take to an event that I have been registered for for months and I would rather take my 48 or what will be my 4
I had a 54 Chevy truck fender that I gave to a young Hamber that I found out had about a pound and a half of bondo in it before I sent it to him. It took less than an hour of grinding the bondo out hammer and dollying the dings out (minor) and using some squirt can primer to make it presentable. I didn't have to do it but pride said it needed to be done.

 

You did the right thing because it was the right thing to do !

 

Hello,

Starting when I was part of the original, start from scratch, 1940 Willys Coupe build, the only thing I could think of was body work. We did not have to do much, except to sand the original faded black paint down to the smoothness for the basic primer paint. We knew we were not going to have the Willys painted until we had it running as best as it could be. So, prepping the surface was time consuming, dusty, hot, and it took a long time. (kudos to those guys in the body shops doing this sanding prep)

By this time, I had already experimented with fixing an old surfboard with fiberglass and resin. So, I knew by experience that industry was not going to be my go to job in the future. I hated the fiberglass dust flying in the air or even in a enclosed garage prior to the final gloss coat…That dust was an attack on our bodies. Itch city, despite the mask, gloves, long sleeve shirt, a Cub Scout neckerchief and a sailor’s white hat pulled down.

These neckerchief bandanas covered us so we did not have a shred of skin showing, but those fiberglass particles somehow crept under everything and we had to throw away a lot of Levis and old long sleeve shirts. We had plenty of these neckerchief bandanas, so they came in handy. (Later on, in 1963, we used the bandanas for dust masks, out in the desert motorcycle races, at the Mojave/El Mirage areas.)

The final shaping of the dried fiberglass cloth, shreds and resin made an awful environment, but I did make a lot of extra cash fixing surfboards in my spare time. (SURFBOARD REPAIRS BY HUEY)

Jnaki

So, yes, the hot rod body work, sanding, prepping and if need be, filler shaping was not my bag of tea. We never learned the “lead process”, although our local body shop guy was pretty good at the melting process and smoothing it out.

Like being a plumber, taking apart pipe connections and installations are fun to do. But, when it comes to digging a smelly clog or broken sewer main, that part of the job does not appeal to me. Just like the tearing apart a car or putting new stuff installed on the chassis/motor, all appeal to me…the body work does not.

 

Finishing it.
That's the only thing I dread, at the rate I get things done, no danger!
This week I'll be finishing the wiring on a friend's '57. He bought the entire harness a couple of years ago. He never attempted to install it. We've been playing with it on and off as a fun project since winter. Way easier than bodywork!

 

I have never done upholstery: that would be tuff. Right now at my age a new set of knees would be terrific.

 

When it's finished! Now what to build

 

Block sanding because it’s tedious work that a good bodyman could do in a fraction of the time...

 

The selling, which I rarely do.
When you spend a year or so on a project you get attached.
I only buy cars I would like to keep so it makes it hard.

 

Doing anything twice. Such as the door mods, all the "left and right" work that requires Starting all over again to do what you just finished doing the day before. ...grrrrr..

 

Paying someone else to do it

 

Finishing it, that means I have to figure out what the hell am I going to do next and that I now have to keep a finished car clean.

 

I’m the exact same I don’t mind frame work,suspension work,mechanical,metal repair and even enjoy painting but I cannot stand doing bondo or mud work whatever you wanna call it lol. It takes me forever and a day to get it where I’m satisfied with it lmao

 

Explaining a Mercs' not a Hudsons' not a Merc, Etc. at the car gathering and sanding.