What are the top 5 things you learned from your first build?

Start with the best body you can find [this works for both cars and girlfriends] ........ don't drink any beer before your done working on the car for the night........ have a plan for your car........ just don't buy a part because it's cheap and you might be able to make it work...... Have ALOT of extra money that you can spend....

 

NEVER fabricate and weld up your engine mounts without having an engine AND a tranny to put them in place. You cannot eyeball it and get it right with just a block or an engine! Lesson learned.

I've learned all the other lessons, too......at one time or the other.

 

I found out something while learning to weld. Just because you can make a long welded seam look pretty while boxing a frame doesn't mean you aren't warping the hell out of it. Sometimes a teacher is better than learning on your own.

 

EXPENSIVE/CLEAN vehicle + time/labor/parts to make it what you want = A
CHEAP/ROUGH vehicle + time/labor/parts to make it what you want = B

A < B​

This is just my personal experience, but I've yet to save a buck by buying a cheaper rougher start to a project than what I could afford at the time because I'm either a cheap bastard, or I'm impatient, and then replacing/restoring/finding EVERYTHING, as opposed to finding a base that is farther along or in much better condition, but is unfortunately on the high side or beyond my price range.

My apoligies for bringing math in to all of this...

 

your math is backwards, but i know what you mean.

 

when having a rear end narrowed...make sure the people doing the work understand you want the pig centered...one of my axles was 16 inches long,the other about 28

 

When you are frustrated go inside, come back out in the morning with a fresh eye.
Every mistake made can generally be blamed on going to fast.

 

Sam all your items hit home with me. The only thing I can add is....What ever you figure it will cost to build double that amount and you will be on the money.

 

TIMING IS EVERYTHING!!!

ignition timing, at least

 

1. Sparks from a grinder can melt into paint from pretty far away
2. Welding your frame can make it warp.
3. Don't trust a fire extinguisher from the dollar store
4. Start out with one carburetor
5. Buy a project with good paperwork

 

so damn true!

 

Not to do it like that again !!!

 

Don't start driving it until it is finished,otherwise you may end up like me and still have a primered front end 20 years later.

 

For every change you make without thinking it through, five more will follow. If you think the change out well, you may get by with only one or two subsequent changes. This is especially relative to suspension/steering modifications.

 

I definately dont have the self control to follow this one.....

 

I'm not even finished with mine, but what I've learned so far...
1. For a first car, maybe I should've bought one that runs
2. Don't sell parts car, even for the "right price" before the car is on the road
3. Cadillac parts are 3X as expensive as Chevy parts
4. Don't trust tow truck drivers
5. Cars are truth meters, they let you know who is full of it, and who will stand behind their word. Some say they will work on it, but you come to find out that they only like the idea of helping a girl with a Caddy, not actually working on the Caddy.

And I know everyone else has said it, but I definitely learned this is more expensive I thought, take expense estimate times 3

 

#1. I thought I found the right project
#2. I live in an apartment
#3. I have an ole lady that $ay$ I don't $pend enough time with her
#4. I made $7.45 per hour
#5. RUST and ROT and no tool$ or a welder
#6. $$$$$$$
#7. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$
#8. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
#9. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
#10.$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

 

Don't listen to anyone with 'verbal credentials'.
A 'Bay Area' hot rod club member came to my shop and began stating all kinds of 'worthwhile information'. I smiled and listened, as he went on-and-on.
He pontificated all the woes of using a flathead: "Those things should be left to the experts," and "You should be using a 350 Chevy, nice simple engine you can have running with no problems." The final one was, "Why don't you join the club? Some of our members could help you."
There was simply one lesson learned here: Lock the front doors when working on your project.
I mentioned this to some of the old salts afterward...they gave him the 'rub'...

 

1. family first (sappy, I know, but if your wife goes sour on a project it's all over).

2. keep your workspace clean or you will constantly be looking for shit and won't want to work. MAMA NEEDS A PARKING SPOT TOO!

3. if you do something in a hurry and it didn't feel right or you wouldn't show it off DO IT AGAIN!

4. use a separate bank account

5. set goals and also be flexible

 

1) I will hit my head on the hood, even when i say i wont.
2) The $100 off brand wire harness will be more of a bitch then the full cost name brand.
3) just because you have a 750 Double pump carb, and you really dont wanna spend extra cash, you cant make it feed a 305 chevy, no matter how far you turn it down.
4) Dont POR-15 yourself into a corner inside the car.
5) Pressing your own U-Joints the first time, is worst then getting distributor shocked the first time.

 

#1: Start with the most rust free vehicle possible
#2: Don't put a thinner soaked rag in your back pocket
#3: If you start feeling burned out, stay out of the garage for awhile
#4: Research, plan, divide the build into smaller projects, make lists
#5: Don't half-ass anything because you WILL regret it...

 

1. Invest in a good grinder for those "bolt on" parts.
2.Cutting corners ends up the long way around X 2.
3. The money saved with technique #2 will end up costing X 3.
4. When you have $20,000 of car in a pile on the floor and the shop feels like prison, take a nice long break - don't give up.
5.Have a vision, make a plan, stick with them.

 

I didn't read this thread yet, but Sam and I just took the maiden voyage around the block in the '52. Of course, there are still loose ends to take care of tomorrow.

 

The greatest feeling I've had since April 10th 2010 was driving that car around the block! Thanks again Richard for all the help, you are definatley a die hard bad mutha trucka!

 

#1 - Measure once, cut twice
#2 - if ya dont do it right the first time, theres always next time
#3 - if your gonna take a blast down the road, make sure your (now ex)girlfriend is in the car to hold the battery with her feet while holding the door closed because you left the latches on the table.
#4 Door latches are as important as you think.
#5 A 305 can be anything from a 265 to a 400, depending on what you feel like that day.

I actually scrapped both my 305s because i couldnt give em away. TERRIBLE MOTORS

 

1.. you are a well practised contortionist , learned by using both hands ,a foot, and your left ear to hold that part in place while the toes on your other foot srcrew that nut on ...
2.. electricity... if there is no earth - you are - usually this discovery is made near an HT lead ...
3.. swearing at it ,, usually whatever part isnt fitting at well,, goes together much better after a string of curses
4.. gardening ... if youre on to it , you can get an hour or two working on the car if you go to the workshop to get a "tool" before she notices youre gone ...
5.. the last bolt you desperatly need but can never find, will turn up 2 days later in the bottom of the washing machine

funny that

 

Swarf is NOT your friend!
Sweep up before crawling under your project.
Don't believe a word swarf says to you..........or stop smoking peyote.

Doc.

 

The biggest thing that I learned is unless you were raised in a hotrod shop by a hot rodding father, (there weren't any of those in the 50s) don't try a frame off restoration on your first time in the water. Learn to walk before you enter a marathon. If all you can afford is a rough basket case...save more money and get a project that is closer to your skill level.

 

1-dont weld anything solid,,tack weld,tack weld ,tack weld,
2-dont rush to complete it,,mock up the entire car first,then take it apart and finish,,
dont finish a piece,paint it and move on,most likely you will have to cut it,drill it or modify it later,,
3-dont half ass your metal work or bodywork just to get it done,,it will come back and bite you,,,that goes for cheap primers and paints,,
4-brace everything before cutting it,tops,floors etc.,trying to line things up later is a bitch,,
5-if you dont have the money to get the part you need,and settle for something cheaper,you need to save up for it or it will bother you later on,or rip it out to install that part down the road,,
6-patience,,,,,
7-,,,,,,most important,,,have fun while doing it,dont turn it into work that you have to do,,,

 

1. If you farm out body work, check them out.
2. It cost a lost of money and your time to redo #1
3. Have a vision and stay with it. ( find the HAMB before you start a project )
4. It cost money to make a street rod a hotrod ( see #3 above )
5. Buy the parts before you need them, they are cheaper that way.