Opinion wanted - To Frame off or not?

Enough said. There are plenty of "nice" cars that were turned to crap by people who ran out of time or money and lost even more money selling a complete car that was in pieces. But on the other side fix it how you want it. Drive it and enjoy it.

 

I see a lot of frame off's that customers planned on driving their cars end up turning into trailer queens (which disgusts me, drive the shit!). I would make a bitchin driver and be done. It is very difficult these days to restore any car and get your money back. I have a 59 Apache that is just sitting ( I plan on doing a frame off, but trucks are easier IMO and I do them often). I personally just don't have time but all I think about is how bad I just want to drive it. So I am going to get her running and be done untill I have the time and money to really go through it. All in time!

 

dude a frame off is like dating a girl then deciding to marry her , she'll be eating a sandwich naked telling you your an ass hole in no time ... and the place will be a mess . just drive the car

 

Yeahhh frame-off woohoooooo!!!!!!!

 

Chopolds has it spot on....

I went frame off cause I found some shady shit in the top end....I wanted to be able to see everything in addition to the fact that I loath welding on my back on the floor....I have a truck though so its a bit easier as I can get the cab on and off by myself.

That said in my build I had already made my mind up there there wasnt a single system that I wasnt going to modify or change....

Lemme tell you, It's SO much nicer sitting on a stool welding up an exhaust system than working on your back...

Honestly, I havent noticed the "it's gonna cost twice as much to do a frame off...." if you do a good quality build the money for materials will be about the same...

The good part, I found a crack in my frame that was on the top of the rail concealed by a crossmember that I would have never seen with the body on and furthermore even if I knew about it you would have had to pull the cab off to repair it.

Like Steves32 said, by the time it's done I'll be in it for about 16 months, I was shooting for 12 but found some issues that I wasnt planning on.

If you want to see a total frame off in stages, check out my build thread... (I aint pimpin it) but it'll give ya a decent idea on what to expect.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=320267

Lastly, like alot of the others said, it's all about dedication....you gotta know (realistically know) that you can complete a frame off, What has kept me sane is my whiteboard in the garage with three lists on it.

One line for short term projects, one line for long term projects, and one line for parts I'm lacking and need....

As things get done or sourced I can cross them off the list, so far the list is getting alot smaller. AND if you run into other stuff you wernt counting on you can cuss and swear and add it to the list. In addition to the vital information (I gotta BIG RED sign on my board reminding me to put oil in all my systems prior to firing it.)

 

I'm in the midst of a 14+ year frame-off, it is a lot of work, no doubt about it. My reasons for doing it:
-Its all clean, no rust, no grease.
-All new plumbing, again no rust, no grease
-I started as a dumb-ass 17 year old with no idea how much work it would be.
-I don't like rust and grease.
-Most likely will never do it again so why not do it the way I want it the first time around, NO RUST, NO GREASE!
Sorry I'm kind of a neat freak about it, but working on junky race cars and customer's daily driver's pushed me over the edge. Do you want to drive it soon? Leave it on the frame. Check out my build if you want to see some of the work involved. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=332564

 

you would not believe how much room a car takes up when its completely dissasembled!

 

I went the frame off route and it is a shit load of work but CJ Steak hit it on the head. If you ever have to get under that thing you want to be able to see what you're looking at with the flashlight. If it was just a driver I wouldn't do it but there is no better joy than knowing every bolt on your ride firsthand.

 

Hasn't anybody here heard of steam cleaning the frame and driveline?