Quote:
Originally Posted by 77Birdman
Sorry to hi Jack, but I have a question for Brent, I looked at your website and your resto's are amazing. You guys do fantastic work. Question and just a curiosity by how long does an average restoration take?
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Oh boy, what a question. Define "average"!!
Kinda like asking 'How long does it take to catch a fish?'
In all seriousness, there are many, many things about a vehicle that factor in to the length of time it takes. The bodystyle is a biggie. Fordors take longer than Roadsters. The condition of the sheetmetal, the wood infrastructure, and the mechanicals all determine the time necessary and no two vehicles are ever alike. Then, factor in the customer's short-term and long-term goals ...and their wishes all tend to factor into the methods we use to repair all of those items I just mentioned. For example, if their car is to be an heirloom to be passed on to a family member, the customers generally seek a higher quality-level of restoration over someone who just wants to keep their vehicle for a few years and then get something else. The same thing applies for the level of authenticity and accuracy they desire. And if all that isn't enough, a customer's budget dictates how fast we can go. Some choose a monthly budget to target while others say go as fast as you can. Then on our end, we must factor in work load in each discipline area which can spread the timeline out too. Most people do not realize that we fabricate our own body wood in-house, we fabricate our own sheetmetal repair panels in-house, we sew our own upholstery, do all the machine work & rebuild the engines in-house, etc. Because of this, if someone who has a Coupe being restored that happens to be scheduled behind a Fordor (that takes over 200 hours to do the body wood), then they will likely see some sort of a scheduling delay in the timeline.
Another thing that many do not consider is a 1,500 hour restoration performed by an experienced hobbyist may still be a 1,300-1,400 hour restoration by us. Some things we are faster at however there are also certain tasks that generally take the same length of time to do whether it is a pro or a novice doing them (i.e.: sweeping the floor up after making a mess.). The biggest advantage we have over a hobbyist is we have many jigs, fixtures, & specialty tools to help us do things that the average person may not have access to, or may not have due to logistics or costs. Additionally, when a craftsmen does the same basic craft for 2,000 hours a year, they tend to be efficient at it whereas a hobbyists, -or even a one or two man shop that must where all the 'hats' during the restoration process generally are not as time efficient.
Probably way more info than what you wanted, and I could go on for hours explaining but I hope this helps you better understand how there is no easy/standard way to determine the time it takes to do an "average" Model-A. If you need a number just to start from, to
completely restore a car could be anywhere from 1,000 - 2,000 hours, --and even more on a fine point. Now remember those numbers include sewing the interior, rebuilding the engine, fabricating wood, etc. on items that others might purchase 'kits' for.