Projects Building the car of your dreams ain't always a walk in the park.

A perfect example of miscommunication HRP or misunderstanding in my case is , I read your story, looked at pix 1 and 2 then 3 and read "as it sits now" and then pix 4. I looked at pix 3 and 4 for 15 minutes and tried to see what you were talking about. Then I started at the top slowly and seen the difference. I'm glad I retired from making any decisions. The car does look good.

Pat

 

I havent hired out a lot of car work. Probably why I'm not driving a finished car.
I have hired out a lot of construction work, either for work, or for personal.
I take the time to write out the agreement, all points, with payment timing based on completion of steps aling the way. Gets both sides on the same page about the details that may have been discussed over several conversations.
None of this $3k up front to start the bodywork and Ill call ya when I need more money, thats BS.

HOTRODPRIMER's signed paint plan is a perfect example, with out that signed sketch it could have gone much differently.

If the person Im dealing with isnt agreeable to making a written plan "together" based on their work for my money. Im not comfortable working with them.

 

I am very near the body work stage on my 40 Ford.
Seems like everybody I speak with regarding body
guys have problems. Nearly all have sent their vehicles
to a shop only to have it sit for prolonged periods. Also
the other mentioned issues in this thread. I really dont
have the stamina to deal with this kind of thing. I have
found a retired body man that has a very highly regarded reputation among the local car community.
He will come do work at your location for an agreed
on hourly rate. He stays as busy as he cares to. I did
get his number recently and realized that I do know him. I am hoping this works out as I have a place that
will be comfortable for an older fellow that is retired
to work at his own pace. A bathroom, refrigerator,
adequate fans for keeping cool and a quiet location.
Works for me, also old!

 

As you have learned there are those that take on a project and promise the world only to sit in a corner and get covered with dust and be ignored, I went through that for almost 3 years and one day I lost it, I got mad and drove the 100 mile trip only to find the painter asleep late in the day, eventually I gathered up all the parts and brought it back home.

I had finally come to the conclusion I was going to have another car in primer until I met a young man at a cruise in and talking with him found out he had went to Greenville tech and was taught to paint by a fellow club member who taught at the school, he wen on to tell me this guy was the best at paint and body he had ever taught, he even set his Hudson out to him for paint and body.

The young man came to my house top look at the car and gave me a price, he told me he only worked with one car at a time, I told him I would pay for materials and the deal was made, from the time he took the car & including the mistake the car was finished in less than 3 months. HRP

 

My 56 when being painted was to be single stage paint per my request. "No problem" and I felt good because painter was known for doing Tri-Five's so I go off on vacation to Europe with my Dad. When I return my cell phone is blown up with messages from painter. Basically he was cussing me out for not knowing my colors. He said Nassau Blue wasn't a solid light blue because paint store kept mixing a metallic medium shade of blue that came up two stage. So what does he do so to stay busy for himself. He paint's all my white 2 stage until I return. I was pissed. I asked him what year did you tell paint store. Big pause, then he said well their books only went back so far. So much for being the Tri-Five painter he claimed to be.

 

When I got to paint stage on my 32 sedan I went to a painter and we agreed that we would do the job in stages. The first would be the frame, firewall and gas tank. That would give me time to get the motor and transmission in, fuel lines reinstalled and suspension back together. After I had the suspension back together and the chassis was a roller I went to visit the painter to set up delivery of the body,doors, hood, grill shell and all the bits and pieces. I get there and ask when I could drop the stuff for round two. He says probably in six to eight months I'm really busy. I was PISSED we had agreed on about one month between first and second rounds. I found a different painter after that.

 

They got excited when they found the build sheet, and let that rule their bad decision.

 

It seems paint is the source of the problem so far here.

I wanted a particular blue Cadillac Firemist color for my ‘57 Chevy sedan delivery. The painter said no problem. Went to pick it up and of course it was the wrong color. His response was he mixed up something he thought was close. Beautiful job, I hated it and put it up for sale. It sold in one hour.

 

Years ago when I built my Model A pickup I drove it in primer for a long time and always wanted to paint it Canary Yellow but I got caught up in the mono chrome styles and ended up painting the truck red, I HATED IT!, I put it up for sale and it went quick.

Hid I stayed the course and left it alone and went with the color I wanted I would probably still own that truck, sometimes paint can make or break the finished product. HRP

 

OK - now have to bring up a true story about a friend that had a running driving '41 Willys PU, with blown small block - was in primer but, all of fenders, cab, etc looked good - took it to a so called painter friend for full paint job, nothing exotic - "over 15 years" of waiting - he finally was able to pick up cab and bed - still waiting for doors, etc - during the wait time he moved and went to painters place to get the enclosed trailer that he dropped off Willys with - needed to move furniture, etc - trailer filled with furniture, etc of painter - so, had to rent a trailer -

 

I have to look in the mirror to chew out my painter,body man, automotive electrician,mechanic,tire guy,and detailer.

 

When and if I ever get better with my work and get it right on the second try I will think that I am making great progress in fulfilling a Dream of mine. The goal of course is to get it correct the first time but normally escapes me. Oh well.

 

My experience with bodymen and painters has been dismal. I do all the welding, all the wiring, chassis work, and it's all done right. I don't do finish bodywork, but my experiences with those that do......well lets just say they think they're gods among us mere mortals. Give me your car, I'll give you a price, I'll wire it at my expense and you'll pay me when it's done, not so with most of the guys I know who do paint. They want money up front with no explanation of how much work is done for that money, and out of the blue, they want more. Not saying they're dishonest, but somehow their work is worth more than mine on a dollar for dollar basis, where, I'd prefer to drop it off, get the job done, pay the guy and give him full credit for the work done. Currently, I know two guys I'd deal with, both are great at their craft, and you pay when they're done.

 

Never give upfront money. Never pay for incorrect or shitty work. Never pay for or listen to excuses. Never have an open ended delivery date, and always show up with a recovery vehicle to end all transactions. Best way I've found to not get screwed by a body shop. Been doing it this way for 30yrs with good results.

 

When a car is finished and on the show field or parked on the street the only thing that matters to Joe Average is the paint job.

Bob

 

I like the Brenda version of the paint on that wagon far better than the painter's Chevy paint job on a Ford concept.
There was a 54 Chevy for sale for about two years around here that who ever built or painted it decided that it would look great with the hood and deck painted white like the roof. I am not sure it ever sold but it doesn't show up for sale anymore.
The biggest screw up that someone else doing something on my 48 was when I had my buddy who was a pretty good painter paint it just before the 73 Street Rod Nationals in Tulsa. I'm talking less than a week before the event. First time he sprayed it he decided to throw the paint in a paint pot setup and didn't get one whole side painted. The left rear fender still has enough of that gold on it that 47 years later if I sand on that fender it shows up. I had to buy more paint and have him spray it again and it came out pretty good but put me three days behind schedule plus the cost of the paint.
I was probably one of the early no frigging white letters on the tires on my old truck guys. When I had the mags that are on it now on it, I left explicit directions that I wanted black walls out. Went to get it and sure enough the kid had mounted them with white letters out. His boss showed him that it was written very clearly on the work order and he had to take them of and reverse them and then balance them and put them back on. Never have had that issue in that store again in the Past 30 years since then though.

Still I am usually my own worse enemy when it comes to ideas that just flat don't work and eat up too much time correcting. If you look at the right rear fender on my 51 Merc you see that it is cut for a different tail light. I spent weeks trying to get that taillight to fit and it never worked right and I went a completely different route.

It came out pretty good in the end though


Some of the bright ass ideas I have had on the 48 that I had to undo aren't fit for discussion here. I sure would have been far better off If I hadn't had them though.

 

Although there is a variation in the colors from the original paint, the paint scheme is identical to the original car. HRP

 

Great job Danny,,,,,,that baby looks brand new,,,,also,,,,,it is better Brenda’s way,,,,,just looks more natural .

Also ,,,great job on the paint instructions,,,,,,I can’t imagine why someone wouldn’t draw this out and have a clear explanation of the work they want done.
When I first started reading this,,,,,that was what I was saying to myself .
Lol,,,,,,I chuckled when you went to the cabinet and found your original instructions that he had lost,,,,,at least it turned out like you wanted .

Again,,,,great job !

Tommy

 

When a project sits anywhere for a number of years it's a recipe for disaster. Miscommunications, lost parts, etc

 

Gee, I'm surprised no one has any upholstery horror stories. That would seem to be an area where "creative genius" might conflict with your original vision. I know I've heard a few local horror stories on that.

I've been fortunate, I know my painters and upholstery guy personally and have seen lots of there work....plus I'm a frequent visitor at their shop.s

 

I count myself very lucky, my body man works out of his house, didn’t want money up front, let me pay every week or so, paid attention to my concerns, talked about problems that came up And did an outstanding job! I was so happy I had him and his girl friend do my interior with a seamless headliner that every shop I talked to said couldn’t be done! A couple years later he helped do a very hard engine swap complete with handfabbed headers snaked into a tight space. So Scot @ Scottrods, THANK YOU!

 

Let’s see a picture of it!

 

https://www.hotrod.com/articles/9-second-altered-wheelbase-chevy-ii/

is the online version of the article

 

Congratulations,

Way to go Squirrel,,,,oops sorry,,,,,that’s Mr. Squirrel now .
Lol,,,,,it’s really great to see a regular guy make it,,,,without a huge budget,,,,just lots of hard work .

Again,,,,,congratulations Jim !

Tommy

 

I haven’t ever really had anyone else do anything on my old cars other than maybe front end alignments or exhaust which hasn’t left much room for miscommunication. But, back when I was a painter, a guy once drew up what he thought he wanted as a custom paint job on his Harley and I did it just like he wanted. However, I’m not sure either of us liked it when it was done...

 

WAIT!!!!!! Your not supposed to do everything at least 2 or 3 times before you get it right?
Here I've been doing things wrong all these years... I'm disappointed with myself now.

Well, not really. I've learned all sorts of ways not to do stuff. Life is a big learning curve, but sometimes the curve is sharper then at other times. Gene

 

Well I guess I got lucky. I have been using the same body shop for 20 years for my daily drivers, the owner is also a car guy and with one employee/helper.
I had asked him about painting my 57 Chevy truck when I was finally ready for final body work and paint. He called around the holidays one year and told me he was really slow with work and to bring it down. I busted my butt for a week to finalize the details prior to paint.
When i dropped it off I told him I was in no hurry. He responded that his shop was too small to store a bunch of cars and he doesn't run a car storage facility and it would be done in a week or so. A little over a week later it was on the trailer on the way home.
I was also fortunate in that his shop was 3 miles from my work and 10 miles from where I live. He called me a few times and I would stop by to answer questions etc.

 

I've not had good experiences with paint shops in general through the years, everyone I know jokes it's from the paint fumes, in general they're all the same, paint work just like I can do, acceptable, a long way from perfect, difference being I got it done, have a few paint shop jail stories. A very good friend of mine just dropped 25 K for a nice paint job, was done on time, that shop is very successful, 1 to 2 year waiting list to get in there. I did come across a good upholstery shop, had a complete interior put in my 32, very talented man, I told him how I wanted it and he did an excellent job, fair price IMO, BUT I recognized very early into the project it was going to be necessary to "hold his hand", stop in, buy him lunch, tell him how wonderful he was, job looked great, etc. or I was going to have a upholstery jail story. I've been told that my car was the only job that went through his shop and was finished on time, how did I manage that. I'm still a DIY guy, just how I think/am, it's just the way it is.

 

That’s Awesome Jim! I remember that cover.