You are three quarters, or nearly done with your project, when you realize: I Would have-installed my E-brake, heater, defroster, wipers, chromed this or that, etc. I Should have-but I got side tracked, ran out of funds, forgot, didn't think about it, etc. I Could have-If I had planned better, sold some of my extra parts, waited until I found them, had better skills, etc. What have you not completed, that you intended to do, during the build? It can be a real drag, later to do, what should have been done in the first place. I'm looking for things, that might help the rest of us out later.
Sit......ponder......stare at the car.....ponder.....have a beer......make a list.....ponder. It takes a lot of pondering (and beer) and a list for me to remember all the little details.
Most pro shops do a total build before anything gets paint and final assembly. That means ALL systems, plumbing, drilling, fuel system - everything excepting electrical. I have redesigned several things on my RPU after I thought they were done. My advice is to start a "build book" - plan everything and have a page for every system and detail so it reminds you to look at specific details on other's cars at events and in other shops, etc. The biggest surprise to me building my first "ground up" car is how many times I would have to assemble and dis-assemble practically every piece of the car over and over again in two years!
This thread makes me think of the saying "Those who fail to plan, plan to fail". We all have limits in our budgets, our time, our patience, our stamina, our courage, our fears, our memory, our knowledge, and our abilities. To avoid major regrets you have to manage expectations and have realistic goals. So many of us underestimate costs and overestimate results. When we take on a project we say "no problem doing that" and then we curse at how hard or expensive it is. Personally, I suffer from an acute lack of patience, so I tend to make mistakes from being in a hurry. I hear echoes from my father "slow down, slow down".
Yep, that's why it took me 5 years to build my '55 Cadillac...there were days I just sat on my stool and looked a the car...thinking, "well, if I do this, then this will happen and it'll look like this"...ya gotta think things all the way thru to driving it (in your mind)...I don't think anyone has an actual blue print in front of them when building their particular car...ya gotta think about all the possibilites... Go here to see the build: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=329070&highlight=the+best+55+caddy+build R-
My ole lady rode on the highly polished black fender of my hog (and didn't scratch it!) rather than not ride at all! ( she hung on tight! a method to my madness....)hahahaha....R~R
me it would have to be having the body dipped for paint removal....but it was so flimsey that it was a hard enough issue getting it home...in the back of a 4'x6' u-haul gravel trailer.....and also taking my frame out for podwer coating....but mostly it all got passed up cause i'm a poor, broke $$$$ ass rod guy.....
when I plumber my power rack n pinion , I should have done it before I put the motor in , there would have been more room for my sausage fingers to hook up the lines- next time-
I have had to back up and regroup a lot of times. I am knowledgeable because i have screwed a lot of stuff up more than any other reason. 'Nuff said.
With most any project, there are issues or items that get filed under "I'll do that later". Eventually there comes a time when it is "LATER" and those things need to be done. It's up to you on exactly how big that file is. Sometimes compromises are made based on the available options at that moment. Since these projects can take a long time, those available options may be complety different at some point in the future. Enter the Shoulda,coulda,woulda phenomenon. One of the most common and unintended of these are a substantial increase in knowledge and skill you got from doing the project. All I can say is don't should on yourself. (say that out loud for the proper effect)
The wiring for the lights and signals on the front of my T are held to the frame in wire casing that is attached to the frame with 2 "zip tyes". I was in such a rush to get my T rebuilt, I forgot to install looms. I'll get to it one day, but being that it's only visible upon close inspection, I keep putting it off.
Kind of an interesting post. I will throw a curve in here. I spent all my time over the years collecting parts and putting them together and way less time and money on a shop. Now I am gridlocked with about a six car garage worth of "stuff" packed into my attached 2 car garage and can't even move in there. I have some neat stuff, but I would rather have a nice shop to work in. Unfortunately, we have put a lot of time and money in the house and I can't really move right now. Also can't put more garage on based on local codes. Make sure you have a great place to work and then start on the project would be my two cents...
Most are saying the same thing, you should have a complete, clear cut plan before you even start buying parts. If there are things you are unsure about, ask before you even start.(note that I am on here asking questions about F-1/F100 steering boxes and so on, and there are no early cars on my profile? I want to know EXACTLY what I need BEFORE I buy a bunch of stuff that turns out to be useless) Once you have the plan, follow through. Forget any kind of time-line, or pre-set budget. You have your plan, work through it one step at a time, until the car is finished. Takes a long time, but its cheaper in the long run, and you end up with what you wanted, rather than something half-assed that you will never be happy with. I see all these threads on the HAMB that say things like "forget the olds, put a chevy in it if it means getting it on the road sooner",(nothing against SBC's here, just using it as an example because I read it on here yesterday) and I wonder what the fuck they are talking about. That is the approach I use if I am trying to get a winter beater on the road. If you really need a beater, go buy a ten year old toyota, and drive that while you finish your rod the way you want it. Instant gratification and building a nice car are mutually exclusive. Kids these days...
I 'shoulda' planned it better, I 'woulda' made a higher budget (because I saved much money in the extended project time) and I 'coulda' bought a more reliable daily-driver earlier, so I actually had time to work on the project
I should not have been the one in the car when it got lowered into the driveway...so that I would've seen when the gas tank got smashed. I should not have sold the parts car so early, and let myself get screwed out of some parts, by letting them pick it up prior to me having time to take them off. I should know by now that I will can never have enough money or parts saved up. I should build a much larger garage so I have somewhere to keep it to work on it...or maybe cut a hole in my current one Now I need to keep taking it one day at a time. At least the car has driven around the block now. Maybe I need to take some classes on bodywork, but I will enjoy the car next summer while I'm trying to keep pondering what the final look will be. Biggest thing...I should've known that such a big car would be a really big project. My new year's resolution is to take it for a road trip before the end of 2012
I know this won't be very traditional, but when I think of cars that win the AMBR, or the Ridler, or some other ultra-high-end thing, I really am always impressed with the level of planning and thinking that must have gone into a build like this. How do you assemble everything after its painted, how do you service things, fill up with fluids, (providing it ever gets started or driven). How do you even tighten down fasteners without chipping paint? Sometimes I'm glad I just drive junk, so I don't have to stress over these things.
Its hard to make a good plan. Its really hard to stick to a good plan. I call it 'expanding horizons'. Most people can envision just so much and then things get fuzzy. Where the problem occurs is when they buy all the crap they need to get to a certain point and get that stuff bolted up then they can see and understand further - expanding horizons. A guy gets a nice model 'a' and starts to build a reliable cruiser, sbc etc th350 9" ford etc, and during that process he develops an appreciation for a traditional - but he never would have developed the appreciation for the traditional and the amount of effort & dedication it takes to do a traditional unless he built the typical cruising hot rod. No amount of planning or foresight can prevent this from happening, these are the steps that we all have to take to 'get there'.
Found my 1930 Ford Roadster body in 1962, finally have a finished picture in my head, good things take time. Still have no idea how it will get wired.
a. always if i buy a car and it is close to being able to get running and drive , then I would get it running and drive it for a bit stock. Gives you much more of an idea what needs done and how much. b. Here is a big one, when you do decide to sell a car or truck, have some buddy drive it away from your place as if it is leaving for good. That was some good advice from a friend that I got too late. Maybe I would have kept a car or two that I let get away...
I always plan every detail of a project before I start...and then I change my mind 10 times during the build. That way I spend way more money than I needed to and I have lots of extra parts I can use for the next project! Yeah...I know...
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