Restoration steps you wish you had taken sooner

[Roadster62]

Just cut a rubber floor mat to fit in a 1930 Roadster that was restored years ago, and it got me wondering. How many steps in a restoration do you wish you had done earlier, or out of step. This roadster was all done, but if it was a current restoration this step would have been much easier back in the finish primer stage befor the doors went on. What have you wished you had done earlier? Bob

[Mike V. Florida]

Many!!

The restoration shops use "spread sheets" or "gant" charts to show what should be done and when. These help them get things done in the "best" order.

Sometime my son and I will restore something way out of time but to get a sense of accomplishment.

[Hoogah]

Pulled my '28 Nash sedan apart in the early 80s and got no further! That's what I call something done in the wrong order, as bits of it have followed me around the country over the past 35 years and I only got it all back under the one roof at my (now) hometown a few months ago.

[John Duden]

i learned to sandblast first before assembling! stop the rust and dont just paint the body and make it look good, DO IT RIGHT!
"anything worth doing is worth overdoing"

[SeaSlugs]

Ahh ye ol quote:
There is never enough time to do it right but there is always enough time to do it again...

Ive already backtracked myself a few times. Or thinking well its not worn THAT much - then having to actually repair/replace it later. Much harder to do once its attached/painted lol.

Or thinking well i dont want to spend X amount of money now on this part - ill just clean up and paint what i have. Give it a year and seeing everyone elses model A all spiffy and shiny i find myself redoing/buying replacement shiny parts as i KNOW ill kick myself later for not doing it right the first time.

Should of bought stock in POR-15 with all Ive gone through and still have to go through as i hate rust with a passion...

[Fred]

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

Cut the gas tank WIDE open & clean it the right way.. The same with doing a Radiator, either do it right or get a Bergs rebuilt one...

[Doug in NJ]

Make sure you are able to commit the necessary space, time, and money for a few years, before taking things apart!

Doug

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

'Experience' is something you have after you need it.

The biggest problem I feel most people have is their lack of a written plan for the project. Realistically, a spreadsheet or a Gantt chart is great if you have all of the info to make the list, but I think most people lack the ability to make the list solely because they don't have the first-hand experience of knowing which specific task needs to done, -and when. It also goes without saying that what works for us here may not work for another shop.

My suggestion is that whomever is doing it, they need to make a list of everything they need to do on the project. This will be an ever-changing list too. Then break that itemized list up into sub-tasks for each item. Now assign realistic times to each tasks along with a parts list of necessary items. On many items, you will need to do the component restoration in phases. For example, rebuilding a transmission requires disassembly. Next is the degreasing and cleaning phase. Next is inspection of all parts and making a needs list. Next is ordering/finding those parts. Next is the order receiving and checking them step to make sure you have everything you need. THEN once all pieces are in a box, it is ready to assemble yet you must schedule the appropriate time to do that task. All of that is too much for the average person to keep track of in their brain, therefore a check-list (spreadsheet) is necessary where at a moments notice you can look at the list and tell if you are ready to advance to the next step or phase. Now, the entire project can be mapped out and scheduled by doing this same break-down on each and every component.

For us personally, while I have a general protocol of how the project is to be divided into phases (steps), it really is much more complicated for us since we generally have 12-15 projects going simultaneously. It is common for one area of my shop to become backlogged which can/does affect another area which is waiting for that item(s) to restore (i.e.: the body shop cannot begin until the wood shop has completed their tasks, ...which the sheetmetal shop is holding up the wood shop from starting due to hidden damage & delays.) Therefore for me to keep my employees productive, I often must move tasks out of their scheduled rotation and into a time frame that works with parts and/or labor availability for that moment. This same scenario can be applied to the person restoring one car yet is struggling to find one or two of those elusive parts which are delaying other areas of the project. Therefore Bob, to answer you, IMHO there really isn't a cut & dried answer to your question(s).

[pgerhardt]

Originally Posted by BRENT in 10-uh-C

'Experience' is something you have after you need it.

Best quote I have come across on this forum!!!

[Russ B]

For me, perfectly sequencing each bit of work is a goal, but there are always roadblocks to doing things that way. I try to move activities forward where the work could potentially lead to accidental damage if done later.

Currently, I am doing much of my interior fitting work now rather than wait for paint and final assembly. Any fitting modifications at a later stage can lead to accidental paint damage. It will require extra storage space while car is blown apart for painting, but I will worry less about paint damage later, during final assembly.

A couple months ago, I took my running car to the painter for review of any fit issues that might show up during painting, he gave my a number of details to correct. Previously, I had him over as i was assembling the car and the body. Each time I got valuable suggestions on changes to improve fits and potential for future paint damage. Each time, a bit of backtracking was required, but for me that is part of the process.

One other "inefficiency" I think is valuable, is to fully get the car together and running before paint, plating, and upholstery. Then drive it as much as reasonably possible to find any deficiencies, and correct them before disassembly and finishing. The new motor blew a head gasket, the front U-joint needed replacement, the brake drums were turned again, and other minor changes were made. Again, all the changes made it less likely that such problems would occur after the car were finished and when damage to finished work would be more likely. I have not gotten a lot of miles on the car in the last six months, but will likely drive the car a bit in January before pulling it all apart for paint. The shake down requires extra time and doing work, such as wiring twice, but hopefully, it will reduce problems in the future.

[Gunmetal blue2]

I work on restoring a 1929 town sedan in 1970 I was 15 years old. Today I am 58 yrs. old and I am restoring a 1929 AA CCPU and I am taking pictures so that by doing this people can see what has to be done. Or on how something comes apart or to put back togeghter.
http://s737.photobucket.com/user/1929oldlady/library/ If this help one more person that makes it all worth the time that it takes me to do all this.