Same here. Started tearing my 65 Tempest apart to freshen up the engine and swap in a Muncie 4 speed...I was 18, I'm 29 now and it's still apart lmao...
Thanks for your honesty!I bet you thought you were makin' great time on day 9!(I have what is supposed to be a Barracuda taking up my entire garage.)I feel your pain!
Tony, I've done a half-dozen cars usually customs resto's. I cannot tell you how many people have come to me wanting them to Resto some basket case that looks like it was pulled from the bottom of a lake. They see these Hot Rod shows where everything is buttoned up in half an hour and they expect me to do the same. I tell them a good can of clear coat alone cost 200 bucks, I might spend a week straightening a bumper. They never show the 60 guys standing off camera doing most of the work. LOL. Keep up the great videos
I drive my 53 customline daily in the summer. 302 c4. Built very cheaply on my garage floor with a $500.00 welder and a grinder. Primer and steel wheels. I want to drive it, it will never be perfect. Great video.
And get sold quite cheaply, compared to what the seller had already spent on them. Because let's face it, who really wants to try to work out how much of it is even there, and try to pick up where someone left off, when you can buy a project that's basically complete, and able to see what's missing from the start.
Mike Davis 100 000 certainly don't go far for sure. Our biggest build to date was a 1936 COE Ford hotrodded and fully customised onto a 1996 F250 frame with lengthened chassis, dually twin axle rear and fully functional sleeper cab with a 5th wheel hitch in the rear tray😮 That build ran over the $200k mark to finish!
I made this mistake many years ago with a 62 Bel Air wagon.Shoulda been a rolling restoration,I didn't even want it perfect,just freshened up,dragster push car kinda thing but got carried away then young family,,wife with a sense of responsibility! Anyway,a friend bought for not too much and it looks great now.Oh and he had a big workshop and all the talent I didn't have! Lesson learned.
426 Biggie Look for the vid 2018 Pebble Beach Classic Car Forum: Car Guys on TV On the channel Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance The setup > 55:05 , the 100 K starting price for a custom car > 56:28 . Actually the whole thing is worth watching. ( And they are not talking about a 1930's Pebble beach car either ) Also, have a look at this car and let everyone know what you think it cost to build. 200-MPH, Turbo Hemi Street Car! The Ultimate Belvedere - The House Of Muscle Ep. 3 on the channel MotorTrend Channel
First car my dad and I ever worked on together was a 71 Corvette. After we got the car together and driving, this guy kept bugging my dad about it. They eventually worked out an agreement where dad traded the Vette for a 49 F-1 restomod project and a very clean and complete 1960 Beetle. This was 1999. That Beetle became the car I drove daily for a little while after learning to drive stick on the Vette. The F-1 was a LOOOOOONG term project the guy had lofty ambitions for, and did very good work for what was done. But to put things into perspective, the aftermarket speedo cluster had thirteen miles on it and he installed it in the truck in 1980. In 19 years, the truck had 13 miles on it from just being pushed around in his garage. Don’t be that guy.
This video is spot on, my son used to watch all the Boyd Coddington shows on dvd, tore his dream car apart and it's still apart 6 years later, his dream shattered. I like to do things a bit at a time uncle Tony's way when money is there. I wish there was an antidote to the reality tv or a show where you can see the real resources building the cars in a week and the real receipts, now that I would watch, then as a backyarder in a shed realise it will take me 20 times as long evenings and weekends if I'm any good.
That carb brings back my childhood and my dad's 67 formula S baracuda 383 4 speed cupe all the options he refused to cut the fenders so no headers but the 950 tree barrel was there I sent my early years at the track watching him race switching diffs for track day on his daily driver great memory's they are. Thanks for bring them.
As usual, you're right on point with this. My pops let the floors rot out of 3 mid 60's Imperials, a '56 Chrysler Windsor Newport, a '59 Plymouth Belvedere, and a '35 Desoto while were he was tripping over from them for 30yrs. We had 2500sq ft of shop and all the tools in you could ask for. He would buy a car and immediately pull the motor/trans and interior and keep them in his shop. He finished one car in 30yrs.
I have a friend that is 65 years old that started watching those shows and bought 2 mustangs that were gutted with a bunch of parts, thought he could make a hot rod in his gravel driveway,we all know how that ended.shows what TV and alcohol can do.
Very well explained U.T. I've done full frame off restorations, and the hours you spend are insane! Not only does it take a ton of space, but you have really plan your disassembly process. Bag, and tag every nut, and bolt as you remove parts. Keep all related parts together. Sending an engine out for a rebuild can take months. We had one shop for the messy work. Another separate shop with a paint booth by itself to avoid dust, and contamination. And a clean shop for putting them back together. The stuff on tv just ain't the same as the real thing!
Took one apart and after 8 yrs about 25% done.It can cause depression and ruin your life if you let it. Don't try to build a (show car). Don't try to do it all by yourself. And don't be afraid to use rattle can underneath.
Ive got one apart for 10yrs plus now. Its scattered all over the shop and ive robbed parts. It was ratty to begin with and i was gonna make it nice. I havent given up, and getting back to work on it will happen soon. Ive resorted to just reassembling it and making it safe, i dont care about pretty. Haha just lower your standards and it'll happen 😝
You nailed it !!! Home improvement shows make a carpenters life a real nightmare . The customer will see a method or material that is in another part of the country and they want it . And just like TV they want it in 3 days lol
He Is so right about this. Distant example: I build scale model cars for fun, even a tiny project like that takes up my entire kitchen table with evening spread out. That’s 1/25th the scale of a real car. You need space to tear a whole car down and it takes money, lots and lots of money to put it all back together again
Excellent advice. My interest has evolved from cars to 4x4 trucks, but it's the projects are the same. I worked on a Jeep when I was younger and it was exactly like you said, I stripped it down to the frame and it took forever for me to finish it. I'm doing a '73 F250 "Hi Boy" now and this one is happening differently. One part of the project at a time. Let the new car/truck people learn from our mistakes!
Uncle T, you are the man. What a fun watch for a know-nothing boltless nut like me who drove his dream car in the '70's but never knew enough about the inner workings to get his fingernails dirty looking after it.
I love the message here! I'm a relatively young guy (although that's going away pretty quickly), but I was influenced by my dad. He had a body shop in our back yard and he proved that you don't have to do a rotisserie restoration to build a nice-looking and fun car.
THANK YOU Uncle Tony! You have just, single handedly restored my motivation. My workspace is a 26 x 13 foot carport, and I've been thinking I've bitten off more than I can chew, trying to rebuild a Valiant in that space. Started to do it piece by piece while the rest of it was still together, and began to lose all heart, seeing post after post on Facebook, of other Valiants completely stripped and on the rotisserie, slowly, with each one I see, being convinced (and sometimes told by their owners) that is the only way to do it 'properly'. Love your work man!
Great advice Tony and it can be used for many things say even cleaning your house. Lots of people look at mess everywhere and don’t know where you start.
I'm with you Tony. I'm going through a 67 Chevy I picked up a few weeks ago & I'm doing it under a carport on dirt. Every few days I take the time to clean & reorganize all the tools & parts. I take a step back to just look at it & think about what I'm doing. If I don't do this, It'll start to feel cluttered and not fun anymore.
Good advice uncle Tony. At every car show here there’s always that guy asking when I’m going to take it apart (any of my cars). They always look surprised or disappointed when I say “never”. And then I try to explain what the consequences are of taking apart a driving project, time, space and cost wise. And some of them will silently walk away, prolly thinking of their car that was a runner and they took apart to really fix it. A friend of mine actually managed to keep the costs down and doing a complete (rotisserie) restoration with his seventies Buick. It took him ten dedicated years and all of his free time. I rarely saw him anywhere else but in that small garage of his. He now has a new old car though. My ‘49 Buick is a 50ft beauty but it has some rust on the back of the front fenders and bondo where the rock guards should be. The paint is a combination of 70 year old original and a bad respray in the nineties. If people ask me when I’m getting it resprayed and I say never I always do the math for them. Say I wanted to respray my Buick. Nothing more than a body respray. What will it cost? Well, seeing as I have no garage I would have to strip some stuff off it and the rest has to be done by the paint shop. Then they sand it down, have to do body work (welding, smoothing et cetera) and spray it. So I’m probably in it for $20,000 to $30,000 already in labor and material (at least here in the Netherlands). Then we put back the chrome and then all the chrome looks horrible on a new shiny paint job. So the stainless has to be buffed and undented, the chrome pieces have to be sanded and welded, shaped, buffed and rechromed. Again, $30,000 easy. Then the engine bay sticks out like a sore thumb. Let’s remove the engine. Overhaul that. $15,000 (straight eight). Clean up the engine bay. $5,000. Redoing the Dynaflow ($8,000) or replacing the rear axle and Dynaflow for a non-torque tube design with a TH700r4 and a four link and do a suspension upgrade all round because those oil suspensions constantly leak ($10,000 to $15,000). Darn it, now the frame looks horrible. $10,000. All the while the car hasn’t been driven and enjoyed. And I have been working for nothing because I don’t have all that money and that would take me many years of saving up every penny I don’t have to pay my normal costs from. So no more holidays, new clothes, going out for dinner et cetera. And when the damn car is finished it will be so darn good looking I would be scared shitless to drive it because maybe someone would make a scratch or a ding. No, I prefer driving it. 😊
You are absolutely correct. Doing frame off builds are monumental undertakings even for the pros, let alone the home garage. I'm in the middle of one right now and am only 2 month into mine. It will be finished though. The biggest issue aside from the money and space are long waits for parts and sevices.
While I love working on my cars, I have learned over the years. to buy the car you want in nice condition is way cheaper than building it out of a piece of crap! Even if you borrow the money and pay the interest. Just do you'r homework first. Know what you're buying and if you aren't experienced enough to know what's good and whats isn't, pay someone who does.
You're so right Tony! It's easy for companies with a lot of money, resources and 10 mechanics to tear down and get a car together, but a completely different thing for 1 poor car owner. I myself run a rolling renovation and can also use the car
I personally do basic repair or replacement. I have a decent mechanical mind and can get through the straightforward stuff. I enjoy mechanics. I had a 49 Ford F1 fully customized by a pro shop that did a fantastic job. Took 1.5 years and $93K. No way i could've or would have taken that on. I continue to appreciate the advice your give. Solid and dead on! Thank you!
So true! The thing no one tends to think about is how many hours of labor a person has to put into a major project. It can practically become a second job. I've spent the last 4 years locked in my garage on nights and weekends to build a race car. You have to be willing to give up a big chunk of your life for a while. Also the tools and consumables becomes an expense that is hardly ever thought about at the start of a project but adds a lot to the cost.
Uncle Tony!! Firstly, I’ve been enjoying your videos!! As I watched this I thought this video looked familiar - I was right IT WAS MINE! Honestly flattered you watch our channel. I will agree, this is a large task; the car you see in this video is Joe’s 1971 Plymouth Barracuda FULL Restoration. For most people this may be too much to handle but this is definitely not Joe’s first experience with a full restoration. The shop is set up to handle large projects like this one. Stay Tuned to our channel to see how it turns out - We do it expect it to take a while as there are many other projects going on at the same time. Again, Thanks for Watching and Keep your vids coming we love em!
See..great minds think alike! I had surfed onto your channel the day we made that video and that scene captured what we were talking about perfectly. Just subbed to yours..looking forward to seeing the finished product.
Uncle Tony, you are so right about the cluster fu** scenario. If you look at piles of car parts it will deter you from working on it! I got a buddy with a 67 nova that is 10yrs into a build. Cluster fu** is an under statement!
Its a project management exercise. I am doing a 1970 c10 right now and I'm doing the same thing as Tony suggests, keep it together as much as you can even if its with only 2 bolts cause you need to take it apart again down the road. that way the parts aren't getting any more damaged than necessary, and it looks more or less complete.
Once again UT you hit the nail on the head!I stripped out the interior and electricals on my '65 Studebaker about 4 years ago.I have a plan, but it's verrrrry sllllllllowly coming together.In my favor, the body is in one piece and I fire it up every couple of weeks.
Wow, mind blown. So true, I keep telling people I know, the classic car/hotrod thing is mental, it's in the mind. You want it, you do it, but you're right, torn to pieces, it fades.
Great advice. I built my Camaro in stages and drove it in between the major stages when I had the time and money to do so. Its not perfect like the cars in the shows, but I knew that going in. You definitely run out of space quick especially when disassembling an engine. To be honest I'm glad its not perfect because then I wouldn't drive it.
Yes you are 100 % correct the automotive world is a big thinking game, I have been an Auto technician for 25 years and it is very intense, however that’s the challenge exercising the muscle up top 👍
I've now rebuild wrecks for a living, on and off for 20 years I did complete restoration and custom fabrication, it's not only completely overwhelming for a first timer, it's overwhelming for these shops full of guys getting together thinking they can all get together and build a car like.they seen on tv, junkyards are full of cars that where nice rides that have been ruined by people thinking it would be easy. You can buy 2 finished price you can build one. Yet daily people complain my work is too expensive smh, won't pay 10k for show paint but don't bat an eye at 20k for engine and trans, sorry for the rant, keep up the good work Tony. You inspire me daily to start my TH-cam channel
Hey Tony...Great advice that I wish I'd known when I was a young man. I've been messin' with cars since 1965 when I was in high school. Every time I disassembled a vehicle down to it's frame I lost interest and gave up in frustration and just gave it away....too many times to remember... If at all possible guys "Keep it running as you work on it" ...you'll not lose the love affair with your ride - PLUS - it'll cost you far less dough in the long run due to not losing parts and / or buying crap twice because you can't find that part when you need it. ...anyway, my 2 cents worth...
I've taken a car completely apart and put it back together again. It's doable, but I do agree it takes a lot of real estate. The hardest part is keeping track of all the nuts and bolts. When people say, bag and tag...they mean it!! Bag everything! Tag everything! Buy the heavy duty zip loc bags because bolts will go through cheap thing plastic zip locs. Document everything. If you can make a template for the nuts and bolts, DO IT!!! You might have them in a bag, but if they are different sizes then you might not know where each one goes even if it's labeled (case in point - engine bolts or something like that - make a template using card board of the bolt pattern with holes where the bolts go and push the bolts through and label it). I had the space and a rotisserie I would totally rebuild my Duster, but I don't have the space, time or money.
Best advice ever! I spent three years and $35000 (Canadian dollars) doing a body off restoration on a 70 Pontiac Tempest 2 door sedan (post), was totally sick of the car by the time it was finished and hated driving it because it was too clean and nice. Sold at a loss of 50 cents on the dollar and vowed never to do it again. I run my own general repair and had the tools and space to do it, subbed out the body and paint, machine work and trans rebuild. Did everything else myself including reupholstering the interior with kits from Legendary Interior, sucks to have a project beat you down like that!
Nice vid. It really needs to be called “Un-Reality TV”. And if your project becomes like a second job that you dread going to, don’t give up! Take a break and have a snickers or something. You may find a renewed sense of energy to put towards it.
I did a 73 standard Beetle as my first project. $350, ran and drove but it was Roached. Floor pans, heater channels, fender wells, luggage shelf, front apron, other shit, was all rotted away. I figured if I could pull that off I could do anything. I tore it completely down to nothing except the engine and trans, they were fine. People helped me get the body off and back on. I probably spent $2500 in sheet metal and a year and a half working on it. It was Amateur as hell when done but it was solid. Welds all over, seven different colors of paint covering those welds. No Bondo. I didn't do anything with the interior, just got it solid and road worthy. I just wanted to drive the damn thing. There was no schedule, just go out and enjoy it for a few hours every day. If it was a shitty day, skip it. Some days "Holy Fuck what did I get in to?". Never enough space. A few hundo could keep me busy for a week or so. Lots of scratch made panels from other old vehicles. It looked like dog shit when I was done but drove straight and was ready for the interstate. I even got it inspected at a decent shop. I sold it to a guy in Connecticut who bought it for his Daughter. I can only figure he wanted it because it was solid and if it got banged up it wouldn't matter so much. Space, holy shit yea you need space. Time is gold. Some muscle for heavy lifting (better have beer and sausage AFTER the job). Money is good but if you're creative you can get around it to some degree. I probably could have dumped $4K in my Beetle but I think making panels saved me a bunch. Just cost time. Eat the elephant.
You are absolutely right Tony. My father, (I love and respect the man to death) fell into this trap 20+ years ago with a 79 triumph Spitfire. The car ran under it's own power once since we took it down to the frame, at that point it was just a frame an engine and a shell to hold the seat. I helped him with on it before I went into highschool and I am now married with children and the car is still on Jack stands.
I’ve spent the last month doing a brake job on all four wheels of my truck. The learning curve for that wasn’t bad. Doing it was different. Little mistakes led to me thinking there was a bigger issue. I was successful in servicing the drum brakes but couldn’t figure out the abs issue that was preventing my front brakes from working. Or maybe there was that much air in the front lines. But after four weeks of ignoring the vehicle jacked up in my garage and looking for that wrench I swear I just had, I’m throwing in the towel and taking it to a professional to finish the rest. I was planning on doing a complete suspension job on my wife’s ‘99 mustang but that whole experience was demoralizing enough to make me second guess that idea. I probably should’ve taken it in to begin with.
I knew a guy in Tennessee who restored ‘59 Cadillac convertibles on a rotisserie frame up. He got them done, had collected the parts like a factory. Stuck to one model, offered to sell me a pink one, we were friends and I should have bought it. I did buy a ‘56 convertible, blue.
I've said that for a while a car apart takes up 4x the space it does when it's together. I'm getting done with a valiant build that has been a year and it's getting close to hearing it run but driving is still distant. Alot of times it's good to just re-evaluate and lower your standards, most people would be happy to enjoy the car rather then set on jack stands it's whole life. Even if it's not perfect get it back on the road
So true..i have a 64 dart gt that was going to the crusher a man had i bought it and kept it all in one piece i slapped on a carb some wheels and tires gas tank and brakes made it my daily driver..iv had more enjoyment out of that car all ratty with coat of black primer.for me i get em running do a little hear and there and leave it alone..love it
These shows have all the money and the parts and all the connections in al reality to do a frame off you have to have a ton of money like a ton a dump truck load they have 10 guys and they specialize in this stuff and if they don’t have the guys they have a shop around the corner an ordinary guy could not do this you might be able to afford it you would prob get sick of it and have a bunch of money into parts takin up a hole lot of space good vide so glad I found your channel love it
My cars are a reflection of me. My weakness and my strength. They are just as perfect as I am , and I am far far far from perfect. In many ways tinkering with my cars has taught me my limitations - mentally, physically, and financially. Screw the critics because I have learned to happy with who I am and what I can do through them. This is my reality!
Bought my 66 mustang as a roller in august. Put new quarter panels and new wheel wells. Atk high performance 302 c4 transmission b@m ratchet shifter. Gas tank. dual bowl cylinder. Finished it in oct.
I was at a car show and there sits a 2015 Challenger. The vanity plate read EZ-RESTO. Guy was right on and probably at least 50 grand ahead. Not as good as having an old one but a decent substitute.
I cannot agree with this more. Even of not rotissering a car, even a partial dismantle can take a long time to get back together. Nest thing is, just fix whats broke pr wore out. Clean it up (paint etc) reinstall the parts drive it, then do the next item of concern. A good rule of thumb: if it cant be done between friday night and sunday night and/or finished up that week , reconsider
At least the guys with Fords and Chevrolets or even A/B/E body Mopars can buy most of the parts they need. For a real challenge, try a C body Mopar. I managed to get mine to daily driver status in about 9 months. Totally worth it but running down parts can be tough.
There is another problem with those shows. Everyone who has a rusty pile of junk in their field wants a small fortune for it. Why? Because they watched a car show that just built a 68 Camaro(or whatever) and made 90,000 on it. Even if the car has been sitting in the field for 20 years and has the floors completely rusted out and a lot of the parts have been stripped off it. It is still worth 90,000 to them.
To expound on the issue, how many times have we read in the old car magazines how a repair shop, not a restoration shop, took in a car, and, after an extended period of time, did almost nothing.
You people don’t know how true this,I have a shop with 3 Mopars,not one running or driveable right,one real close,72 Challenger I,m an independent mechanic that has to make a living which as the saying goes you have time for everyone else just not your own With the money I,ve spent on the 70 Charger and the 71 Roadrunner I could have bought a decent Good Driver,but that’s not me,first I love working on them second I,m trying to save them to its former glory as there aren’t that many out there anymore Love your show by the way,I,d have a brew with you any day 🍻 cheers 🍻 from Chicagoland
So true tony.. I know a lot of people who have a car torn apart that will never go back together. I’m working on doing a complete rebuild of my 94 f150 (not a classic but it’s my first car/baby) and I’m doing it one part at a time, and taking it around the block every chance I get, it’s the only way to stay motivated when you don’t have a crew doing it for you and a huge shop, I myself am doing it between my driveway and a 10x12 shed lol
A friend of mine resto~modded a 67 C10 from the ground up, after 5 yrs it is absolutely magazine quality . He said he would never due it again but, would buy one that is close to what he wants. His final tab was in the $50k -$60k range.
I like the way you think. I agree with the logic and it is exactly the way my son and I rejuvenated his 68 Mustang. At only one point(while re doing the heads) was the car not driveable.
Years ago there was a car show that I thought was absolutely great. A British bloke had shared his journey, from buying an E-Type Jaguar and doing a complete ground-up restoration, including some mistakes he had made and needed to correct while he was achieving this build. I believe the show was called 'A Car Is Reborn' and it was, one of less than a few TV shows that I could actually stomach.
like your vids Tony (liked and subbed btw)...can relate...built my 72 Duster in 3 and a half months back in 2000, --took ten hour days and a lot of climbing in between parts in my one and a half car garage ...all mechanicals and drivetrain ...glad I left the body together or I'd probably still be working on getting it back resembling a car!
Another bit of advice, is start with a reasonable plan so that when the inevitable power creep begins, you don’t end up with a mismatched set of components. Don’t buy a Holley Dominator when you’re trying to do a period correct inline 6 rebuild and restore. Stay focused on the goal and assess needs by priority. So many people have a rusted out bucket and build a huge motor, with a tiny fuel system. Sometimes you have to tell yourself that the next one you build will have that big block, but this one just needs to be back on the road pulling down smiles per gallon.
my buddys 69 gto has been in this state for 40 years!!! He shoulda never pulled it apart! It was sweet in high school!!!! His kids will wind up with it when he dies and sell it!!! He has parts for it in his living room!!!
I agree a car in pieces is a bit overwhelming. Currently working on a 1956 Buick, that I bought as a basket case. It's currently totally blown apart in my garage, I'm doing a frame swap on it. You can see videos of it on my channel.
I have one of the 3 barrel Holley's, in pieces. For the life of me, I simply can't remember where or when I got it. Hording sometimes has it's down falls.
Years ago i had a friend that was going to big auto mechanic school . The students were encouraged to bring in their own cars if they needed worked on .I had just bought a 72 formula firebird needing paint , so I sent it with him to have the body work and paint done . Once or twice a month he'd come home for a weekend , and tell me how it was going, and what was going to be needed for my car . I'd hand him another blank check and tell him not write it over a certain amount , I was working 30 to 40 hours over time every week to pay for it lol. There was 5 to 6 students working on it as a project , that they were graded on . It turned out to be a lot rougher than it looked . After 3 - 4 months and about 5 grand later , I went down to the school to pick the car up . The car was gutted ,there was about 6 or 7 , five gallon buckets filled with nuts bolts , door locks , brackets , ect . The only bolts left in the body were in the suspension , wheels tires etc . About 4 or 5 years before this i had bought a mostly striped 71 Camaro , which i painted myself and reassembled it over a couple of years , as I found the missing parts on other cars . I no longer had the Camaro but I had a rough idea how the firebird went back together , it just seemed so overwhelming ! I had a hand full of friends that wanted to help me put it back together , and they'd come over every weekend to help but the only thing that would get done , is a lot of beer drinking and bench racing . After a couple months I got real discouraged with it , I had all that money sunk in it and had only drove it twice before it was torn apart . I toyed with the idea of selling it but the only offers I got were less than a thousand . Lmao I even registered and added the car to my insurance policy , hoping it would give me enough incentive to put it back together . It finally ended up taking close to a year to get it back on the road .it's a lot easier to tear a car apart than it is to put one back together . I don't think people realize how overwhelming it is ,I know sure didn't lmao
There are countless thousands of variations on your story, but only a handful end up with a happy ending like yours did. Congrats on seeing it through!
I got a cousin that had a 57 Chevy PU his dad bought him in the mid 70's and he was gonna fix it up to showroom condition and he got the engine together painted and chromed out, but after that, it just set for 30 years with him moving it everywhere they moved doing nothing to it and he lost it in a divorce on some land they lost. Restoration is a very time consuming and expensive job.
The frame is boxed, painted and black in place now. Something you said makes me want to swap the 200r4 i just rebuilt for the th350 that I wanted to upgrade (that worked fine). Maybe put it back in the t-top monte with the slop 305. No, I’ll just dump another hundred-or three in a shorter driveshaft, hope everything goes right. Check out my uploads to see my Hellwig Frame Boxing kit installation
Tony, I to have forever been pushed the " do one area at a time " method of restoration. Taking a car apart is easy, putting it back together is hard. In fact I push new people to start with something simple like a push or a riding mower that they have pulled out of the junk pile. If they can get a push mower running or rebuild a riding mower, they have a chance in getting a car going.
When ever I tell someone about my 950 3bbl they look at me like I'm retarded. Bought one in the late 60s. Put it on my 64 Dodge 426 wedge and ended up on my 69 Coronet 440 R/T. Good carb.
Good advise. I did my 69 Charger one system at a time. When I did the fuel system, I put in a new gas tank, sending unit, all fuel lines, fuel pump, and carb etc. I drove the car through the whole restoration. I wouldn't have had the mind to do it any other way.
Totally agree with you. I restored a 69 Mustang Mach 1 which took 4 1/2 years. It virtually took over my life and my house...parts in every room!! It nearly broke me and had to walk away from it a number of times. But it all came together in the end and became a beautiful car that I enjoyed for 2 years before selling it. Would I do it again?...absolutely not!! I only buy cars now that just need tlc whilst they are still driveable.
I live in the England. Theres a guy near me who has got a 1973 Buick Riviera Boat tail and currently doing a full rotiseri style restoration. He got a guy from the US to source the car and ship it over. He wanted a small project that was doable and bare in mind this guy has near NO car mechanic or body work experience at all. So when he got started to just spruce it up he found rust, worked on that panel, found more, further down the rabbit hole found more. The entire floor pan and boat tail section of the car needed completely replacing. Now i dont know about State side but here they were never sold on the entire continent of Europe let lone our little island. You want a tail for Cobra Daytona? Doable. Mk1 E type Jaguar lightweight hood? Sorted. Roof for Ferrari 250 GT? Dig Deep. Buick Riviera Boat tail trunk? HAHAHA! Dude had to actually panel beat one from scratch in sheet metal, and now currently undertaking the floor pan on. Unbelievable dedication required.
@@UncleTonysGarage I was thinking that. I dont know the guy personally myself but ive seen the car in the driveway. My neighbour knows him though. His driveway is about 10 feet wide 30 ft long and has a 350ftsq garage at the end. About average for the houses around here. So not alot of space to spin a Riviera on rotiseri. Apparently he has the engine block in the living room.
I think these shows drive people away from classics. People think EVERY classic needs a frame-off job. Having spent a month's worth of weekends crouched in a wheelwell replacing a flex box, I promised I would use a rotisserie "next time" - if there was one. I have since even acquired a workshop big enough. But replacing a flex box out of which 20 lbs of rust chips fell out when I poked it, on jack stands, though a huge pain in the ass, was possible. I did everything else on that car, section by section, since 2003, standing. Another thing that I think has cars hung up in shops un-touched are these tool shows. I think Eastwood has a very good channel, but watching that leaves the impression that you need 10K worth of sheet metal tools to restore a car. I used a ball peen hammer, a small harbor freight anvil, a flux core MIG (which I really want to replace), and vice grips. When I needed to bend something I used angle irons, vice grips, and my hammer. I would honestly say that an english wheel, if one can be found used for really cheap, is not a bad thing to have for when contours get really creative. But I'll still use my hammer if it's that or 500 bucks for a tool I'll use only once every few years. Overall I like the "mad max" cars style that appears to have surfaced at least people don't feel like they have to be perfectionists. I knew guys who would have some chalkline resto and not see them for a few months at the car shows, then catch up to them and I hear things like "Well there was a little bubble under the vinyl roof and I paid (insert ridiculous amount here) to have the entire thing replaced". It's not really like that. I'm living proof.
I took my 71 Monte off the chassis and changing the body mounts, did all the body work and POR 15 the car, sandblasted the frame then POR 15 the frame. Doing plumbing on frame now, hitting gun powder primer on the body, putting it back together. Total time 1 1/2 years. You have to do something everyday or you will never get it done, best tip I can give anyone. Even if you’re doing something small that day just do something every day. I will never do another one, but being a first generation Monte Carlo it was worth it, pick the right car to do also.
Worked off and on for five years on a 38’ ford that belonged to my brother in law. Complete restoration. My role? Giving up a weekend every time he needed motivation. People just don’t understand the time factor involved and what happens to you psychologically over the duration of a project.
True Story...that's why they call it a project. Basic projectmanagement skills is mandatory. Or separate the big project into small sub projects like engine, body, interieur etc..
Also when you get discouraged from the amount of work and money, you end up telling yourself if you part with it now you will end up spending way more on one in the future. All while paying thousands in storage fees.
Loving the vids Tony, keep uploading bro. I appreciate teh old school ways and love hearing the stories. And you have a certain charisma on the camera that cant be taught brother. Plus you are 1 step ahead by having a camera operator! I'd suggest spending 500$ and getting a better camera and nice microphone so the videos are higher quality as well. Just a thought, even just buying a microphone helps. I obught one for my phone's camera for about $100 and the videos sound professional. Keep uploading!
I took apart my 1971 Cutlass S . In 8 days. Took 8 years to reassemble. Good advice..
Same here. Started tearing my 65 Tempest apart to freshen up the engine and swap in a Muncie 4 speed...I was 18, I'm 29 now and it's still apart lmao...
Thanks for your honesty!I bet you thought you were makin' great time on day 9!(I have what is supposed to be a Barracuda taking up my entire garage.)I feel your pain!
@@Flat_3_6 Hey,you're still young,never give up!
@@Flat_3_6 put that shit back together
@@Flat_3_6 Muncie 4 speed was made 3 blocks from my house. Sadly, the factory was torn down a few years ago.
Tony, I've done a half-dozen cars usually customs resto's. I cannot tell you how many people have come to me wanting them to Resto some basket case that looks like it was pulled from the bottom of a lake. They see these Hot Rod shows where everything is buttoned up in half an hour and they expect me to do the same. I tell them a good can of clear coat alone cost 200 bucks, I might spend a week straightening a bumper. They never show the 60 guys standing off camera doing most of the work. LOL. Keep up the great videos
I drive my 53 customline daily in the summer. 302 c4. Built very cheaply on my garage floor with a $500.00 welder and a grinder. Primer and steel wheels. I want to drive it, it will never be perfect. Great video.
That's why 90% of project cars get sold.
And get sold quite cheaply, compared to what the seller had already spent on them. Because let's face it, who really wants to try to work out how much of it is even there, and try to pick up where someone left off, when you can buy a project that's basically complete, and able to see what's missing from the start.
Spot on Tony! I build those $100k+ cars for a living and it's not for the faint of heart or thin of wallet.
@426 Biggie I've spent more than that on a car. Total restoration. If you think that's too much, you probably build slappers.
Absolutely correct.
Mike Davis 100 000 certainly don't go far for sure. Our biggest build to date was a 1936 COE Ford hotrodded and fully customised onto a 1996 F250 frame with lengthened chassis, dually twin axle rear and fully functional sleeper cab with a 5th wheel hitch in the rear tray😮 That build ran over the $200k mark to finish!
I made this mistake many years ago with a 62 Bel Air wagon.Shoulda been a rolling restoration,I didn't even want it perfect,just freshened up,dragster push car kinda thing but got carried away then young family,,wife with a sense of responsibility! Anyway,a friend bought for not too much and it looks great now.Oh and he had a big workshop and all the talent I didn't have! Lesson learned.
426 Biggie Look for the vid 2018 Pebble Beach Classic Car Forum: Car Guys on TV On the channel Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance The setup > 55:05 , the 100 K starting price for a custom car > 56:28 . Actually the whole thing is worth watching. ( And they are not talking about a 1930's Pebble beach car either ) Also, have a look at this car and let everyone know what you think it cost to build. 200-MPH, Turbo Hemi Street Car! The Ultimate Belvedere - The House Of Muscle Ep. 3 on the channel MotorTrend Channel
First car my dad and I ever worked on together was a 71 Corvette. After we got the car together and driving, this guy kept bugging my dad about it. They eventually worked out an agreement where dad traded the Vette for a 49 F-1 restomod project and a very clean and complete 1960 Beetle. This was 1999. That Beetle became the car I drove daily for a little while after learning to drive stick on the Vette. The F-1 was a LOOOOOONG term project the guy had lofty ambitions for, and did very good work for what was done. But to put things into perspective, the aftermarket speedo cluster had thirteen miles on it and he installed it in the truck in 1980. In 19 years, the truck had 13 miles on it from just being pushed around in his garage.
Don’t be that guy.
This video is spot on, my son used to watch all the Boyd Coddington shows on dvd, tore his dream car apart and it's still apart 6 years later, his dream shattered. I like to do things a bit at a time uncle Tony's way when money is there. I wish there was an antidote to the reality tv or a show where you can see the real resources building the cars in a week and the real receipts, now that I would watch, then as a backyarder in a shed realise it will take me 20 times as long evenings and weekends if I'm any good.
That carb brings back my childhood and my dad's 67 formula S baracuda 383 4 speed cupe all the options he refused to cut the fenders so no headers but the 950 tree barrel was there I sent my early years at the track watching him race switching diffs for track day on his daily driver great memory's they are. Thanks for bring them.
As usual, you're right on point with this. My pops let the floors rot out of 3 mid 60's Imperials, a '56 Chrysler Windsor Newport, a '59 Plymouth Belvedere, and a '35 Desoto while were he was tripping over from them for 30yrs. We had 2500sq ft of shop and all the tools in you could ask for. He would buy a car and immediately pull the motor/trans and interior and keep them in his shop. He finished one car in 30yrs.
I have a friend that is 65 years old that started watching those shows
and bought 2 mustangs that were gutted with a bunch of parts, thought he could make a hot rod in his gravel driveway,we all know how that ended.shows what TV and alcohol can do.
Very well explained U.T. I've done full frame off restorations, and the hours you spend are insane! Not only does it take a ton of space, but you have really plan your disassembly process. Bag, and tag every nut, and bolt as you remove parts. Keep all related parts together. Sending an engine out for a rebuild can take months. We had one shop for the messy work. Another separate shop with a paint booth by itself to avoid dust, and contamination. And a clean shop for putting them back together. The stuff on tv just ain't the same as the real thing!
Too true, just stick to simple repairs or stuff you can manage. There are heaps of unfinished projects in sheds all around the world. Good advice
Took one apart and after 8 yrs about 25% done.It can cause depression and ruin your life if you let it. Don't try to build a (show car). Don't try to do it all by yourself. And don't be afraid to use rattle can underneath.
Ive got one apart for 10yrs plus now. Its scattered all over the shop and ive robbed parts. It was ratty to begin with and i was gonna make it nice.
I havent given up, and getting back to work on it will happen soon.
Ive resorted to just reassembling it and making it safe, i dont care about pretty.
Haha just lower your standards and it'll happen 😝
You nailed it !!!
Home improvement shows make a carpenters life a real nightmare .
The customer will see a method or material that is in another part of the country and they want it . And just like TV they want it in 3 days lol
Tony people need to remember you have to eat an elephant ONE bite at a time.
He Is so right about this. Distant example: I build scale model cars for fun, even a tiny project like that takes up my entire kitchen table with evening spread out. That’s 1/25th the scale of a real car. You need space to tear a whole car down and it takes money, lots and lots of money to put it all back together again
This is such great advice! Another mantra of mine is every old car is a project, no matter how good it looks!
Very true!
I put my stuff back together too even if I had to take it back apart again. Cant see stuff tore apart for very long. Drives me mad.
Excellent advice. My interest has evolved from cars to 4x4 trucks, but it's the projects are the same. I worked on a Jeep when I was younger and it was exactly like you said, I stripped it down to the frame and it took forever for me to finish it. I'm doing a '73 F250 "Hi Boy" now and this one is happening differently. One part of the project at a time.
Let the new car/truck people learn from our mistakes!
Uncle T, you are the man. What a fun watch for a know-nothing boltless nut like me who drove his dream car in the '70's but never knew enough about the inner workings to get his fingernails dirty looking after it.
I love the message here! I'm a relatively young guy (although that's going away pretty quickly), but I was influenced by my dad. He had a body shop in our back yard and he proved that you don't have to do a rotisserie restoration to build a nice-looking and fun car.
THANK YOU Uncle Tony! You have just, single handedly restored my motivation. My workspace is a 26 x 13 foot carport, and I've been thinking I've bitten off more than I can chew, trying to rebuild a Valiant in that space. Started to do it piece by piece while the rest of it was still together, and began to lose all heart, seeing post after post on Facebook, of other Valiants completely stripped and on the rotisserie, slowly, with each one I see, being convinced (and sometimes told by their owners) that is the only way to do it 'properly'.
Love your work man!
This guy constantly has a dart in his hand, very trustworthy attribute
Great advice Tony and it can be used for many things say even cleaning your house. Lots of people look at mess everywhere and don’t know where you start.
I'm with you Tony. I'm going through a 67 Chevy I picked up a few weeks ago & I'm doing it under a carport on dirt. Every few days I take the time to clean & reorganize all the tools & parts. I take a step back to just look at it & think about what I'm doing. If I don't do this, It'll start to feel cluttered and not fun anymore.
Good advice uncle Tony. At every car show here there’s always that guy asking when I’m going to take it apart (any of my cars).
They always look surprised or disappointed when I say “never”. And then I try to explain what the consequences are of taking apart a driving project, time, space and cost wise. And some of them will silently walk away, prolly thinking of their car that was a runner and they took apart to really fix it.
A friend of mine actually managed to keep the costs down and doing a complete (rotisserie) restoration with his seventies Buick. It took him ten dedicated years and all of his free time. I rarely saw him anywhere else but in that small garage of his. He now has a new old car though.
My ‘49 Buick is a 50ft beauty but it has some rust on the back of the front fenders and bondo where the rock guards should be. The paint is a combination of 70 year old original and a bad respray in the nineties. If people ask me when I’m getting it resprayed and I say never I always do the math for them.
Say I wanted to respray my Buick. Nothing more than a body respray. What will it cost?
Well, seeing as I have no garage I would have to strip some stuff off it and the rest has to be done by the paint shop. Then they sand it down, have to do body work (welding, smoothing et cetera) and spray it.
So I’m probably in it for $20,000 to $30,000 already in labor and material (at least here in the Netherlands).
Then we put back the chrome and then all the chrome looks horrible on a new shiny paint job. So the stainless has to be buffed and undented, the chrome pieces have to be sanded and welded, shaped, buffed and rechromed. Again, $30,000 easy.
Then the engine bay sticks out like a sore thumb. Let’s remove the engine. Overhaul that. $15,000 (straight eight). Clean up the engine bay. $5,000. Redoing the Dynaflow ($8,000) or replacing the rear axle and Dynaflow for a non-torque tube design with a TH700r4 and a four link and do a suspension upgrade all round because those oil suspensions constantly leak ($10,000 to $15,000). Darn it, now the frame looks horrible. $10,000.
All the while the car hasn’t been driven and enjoyed. And I have been working for nothing because I don’t have all that money and that would take me many years of saving up every penny I don’t have to pay my normal costs from. So no more holidays, new clothes, going out for dinner et cetera.
And when the damn car is finished it will be so darn good looking I would be scared shitless to drive it because maybe someone would make a scratch or a ding.
No, I prefer driving it. 😊
You are absolutely correct.
Doing frame off builds are monumental undertakings even for the pros, let alone the home garage.
I'm in the middle of one right now and am only 2 month into mine.
It will be finished though.
The biggest issue aside from the money and space are long waits for parts and sevices.
While I love working on my cars, I have learned over the years. to buy the car you want in nice condition is way cheaper than building it out of a piece of crap! Even if you borrow the money and pay the interest. Just do you'r homework first. Know what you're buying and if you aren't experienced enough to know what's good and whats isn't, pay someone who does.
You're so right Tony! It's easy for companies with a lot of money, resources and 10 mechanics to tear down and get a car together, but a completely different thing for 1 poor car owner. I myself run a rolling renovation and can also use the car
I personally do basic repair or replacement. I have a decent mechanical mind and can get through the straightforward stuff. I enjoy mechanics. I had a 49 Ford F1 fully customized by a pro shop that did a fantastic job. Took 1.5 years and $93K. No way i could've or would have taken that on. I continue to appreciate the advice your give. Solid and dead on! Thank you!
Exactly how I do old Honda motorcycles haha, learned my lesson the first time I took an XR75 all apart
So true! The thing no one tends to think about is how many hours of labor a person has to put into a major project. It can practically become a second job. I've spent the last 4 years locked in my garage on nights and weekends to build a race car. You have to be willing to give up a big chunk of your life for a while. Also the tools and consumables becomes an expense that is hardly ever thought about at the start of a project but adds a lot to the cost.
The journey is it's own reward...
You have to have a master plan, and then like you said, tackle each part of the car separately.
Uncle Tony!! Firstly, I’ve been enjoying your videos!! As I watched this I thought this video looked familiar - I was right IT WAS MINE! Honestly flattered you watch our channel. I will agree, this is a large task; the car you see in this video is Joe’s 1971 Plymouth Barracuda FULL Restoration. For most people this may be too much to handle but this is definitely not Joe’s first experience with a full restoration. The shop is set up to handle large projects like this one. Stay Tuned to our channel to see how it turns out - We do it expect it to take a while as there are many other projects going on at the same time. Again, Thanks for Watching and Keep your vids coming we love em!
See..great minds think alike! I had surfed onto your channel the day we made that video and that scene captured what we were talking about perfectly. Just subbed to yours..looking forward to seeing the finished product.
Uncle Tony, you are so right about the cluster fu** scenario. If you look at piles of car parts it will deter you from working on it! I got a buddy with a 67 nova that is 10yrs into a build. Cluster fu** is an under statement!
Its a project management exercise. I am doing a 1970 c10 right now and I'm doing the same thing as Tony suggests, keep it together as much as you can even if its with only 2 bolts cause you need to take it apart again down the road. that way the parts aren't getting any more damaged than necessary, and it looks more or less complete.
Once again UT you hit the nail on the head!I stripped out the interior and electricals on my '65 Studebaker about 4 years ago.I have a plan, but it's verrrrry sllllllllowly coming together.In my favor, the body is in one piece and I fire it up every couple of weeks.
I couldn’t agree with you more. Keep up the great work Tony.
Your realistic approach is a really valuable insight for enthusiasts and would be gear heads. Thanks for keeping it real!
Wow, mind blown. So true, I keep telling people I know, the classic car/hotrod thing is mental, it's in the mind. You want it, you do it, but you're right, torn to pieces, it fades.
Great advice. I built my Camaro in stages and drove it in between the major stages when I had the time and money to do so. Its not perfect like the cars in the shows, but I knew that going in. You definitely run out of space quick especially when disassembling an engine. To be honest I'm glad its not perfect because then I wouldn't drive it.
Yes you are 100 % correct the automotive world is a big thinking game, I have been an Auto technician for 25 years and it is very intense, however that’s the challenge exercising the muscle up top 👍
I've now rebuild wrecks for a living, on and off for 20 years I did complete restoration and custom fabrication, it's not only completely overwhelming for a first timer, it's overwhelming for these shops full of guys getting together thinking they can all get together and build a car like.they seen on tv, junkyards are full of cars that where nice rides that have been ruined by people thinking it would be easy. You can buy 2 finished price you can build one. Yet daily people complain my work is too expensive smh, won't pay 10k for show paint but don't bat an eye at 20k for engine and trans, sorry for the rant, keep up the good work Tony. You inspire me daily to start my TH-cam channel
Get one going! The hobby needs as many people like you as it can get
Hey Tony...Great advice that I wish I'd known when I was a young man.
I've been messin' with cars since 1965 when I was in high school.
Every time I disassembled a vehicle down to it's frame I lost interest and gave up in frustration and just gave it away....too many times to remember...
If at all possible guys "Keep it running as you work on it"
...you'll not lose the love affair with your ride - PLUS - it'll cost you far less dough in the long run due to not losing parts and / or buying crap twice because you can't find that part when you need it.
...anyway, my 2 cents worth...
Great advice and coming from this man means we listen.
I've taken a car completely apart and put it back together again. It's doable, but I do agree it takes a lot of real estate. The hardest part is keeping track of all the nuts and bolts. When people say, bag and tag...they mean it!! Bag everything! Tag everything! Buy the heavy duty zip loc bags because bolts will go through cheap thing plastic zip locs. Document everything. If you can make a template for the nuts and bolts, DO IT!!! You might have them in a bag, but if they are different sizes then you might not know where each one goes even if it's labeled (case in point - engine bolts or something like that - make a template using card board of the bolt pattern with holes where the bolts go and push the bolts through and label it). I had the space and a rotisserie I would totally rebuild my Duster, but I don't have the space, time or money.
Best advice ever! I spent three years and $35000 (Canadian dollars) doing a body off restoration on a 70 Pontiac Tempest 2 door sedan (post), was totally sick of the car by the time it was finished and hated driving it because it was too clean and nice. Sold at a loss of 50 cents on the dollar and vowed never to do it again. I run my own general repair and had the tools and space to do it, subbed out the body and paint, machine work and trans rebuild. Did everything else myself including reupholstering the interior with kits from Legendary Interior, sucks to have a project beat you down like that!
Nice vid. It really needs to be called “Un-Reality TV”.
And if your project becomes like a second job that you dread going to, don’t give up! Take a break and have a snickers or something. You may find a renewed sense of energy to put towards it.
I did a 73 standard Beetle as my first project. $350, ran and drove but it was Roached. Floor pans, heater channels, fender wells, luggage shelf, front apron, other shit, was all rotted away. I figured if I could pull that off I could do anything. I tore it completely down to nothing except the engine and trans, they were fine. People helped me get the body off and back on. I probably spent $2500 in sheet metal and a year and a half working on it. It was Amateur as hell when done but it was solid. Welds all over, seven different colors of paint covering those welds. No Bondo. I didn't do anything with the interior, just got it solid and road worthy. I just wanted to drive the damn thing. There was no schedule, just go out and enjoy it for a few hours every day. If it was a shitty day, skip it. Some days "Holy Fuck what did I get in to?". Never enough space. A few hundo could keep me busy for a week or so. Lots of scratch made panels from other old vehicles. It looked like dog shit when I was done but drove straight and was ready for the interstate. I even got it inspected at a decent shop. I sold it to a guy in Connecticut who bought it for his Daughter. I can only figure he wanted it because it was solid and if it got banged up it wouldn't matter so much. Space, holy shit yea you need space. Time is gold. Some muscle for heavy lifting (better have beer and sausage AFTER the job). Money is good but if you're creative you can get around it to some degree. I probably could have dumped $4K in my Beetle but I think making panels saved me a bunch. Just cost time. Eat the elephant.
You are absolutely right Tony. My father, (I love and respect the man to death) fell into this trap 20+ years ago with a 79 triumph Spitfire. The car ran under it's own power once since we took it down to the frame, at that point it was just a frame an engine and a shell to hold the seat. I helped him with on it before I went into highschool and I am now married with children and the car is still on Jack stands.
I’ve spent the last month doing a brake job on all four wheels of my truck. The learning curve for that wasn’t bad. Doing it was different. Little mistakes led to me thinking there was a bigger issue. I was successful in servicing the drum brakes but couldn’t figure out the abs issue that was preventing my front brakes from working. Or maybe there was that much air in the front lines.
But after four weeks of ignoring the vehicle jacked up in my garage and looking for that wrench I swear I just had, I’m throwing in the towel and taking it to a professional to finish the rest. I was planning on doing a complete suspension job on my wife’s ‘99 mustang but that whole experience was demoralizing enough to make me second guess that idea.
I probably should’ve taken it in to begin with.
You have to do a abs pulse bleed with a scanner
I knew a guy in Tennessee who restored ‘59 Cadillac convertibles on a rotisserie frame up. He got them done, had collected the parts like a factory. Stuck to one model, offered to sell me a pink one, we were friends and I should have bought it. I did buy a ‘56 convertible, blue.
I've said that for a while a car apart takes up 4x the space it does when it's together. I'm getting done with a valiant build that has been a year and it's getting close to hearing it run but driving is still distant. Alot of times it's good to just re-evaluate and lower your standards, most people would be happy to enjoy the car rather then set on jack stands it's whole life. Even if it's not perfect get it back on the road
So true..i have a 64 dart gt that was going to the crusher a man had i bought it and kept it all in one piece i slapped on a carb some wheels and tires gas tank and brakes made it my daily driver..iv had more enjoyment out of that car all ratty with coat of black primer.for me i get em running do a little hear and there and leave it alone..love it
These shows have all the money and the parts and all the connections in al reality to do a frame off you have to have a ton of money like a ton a dump truck load they have 10 guys and they specialize in this stuff and if they don’t have the guys they have a shop around the corner an ordinary guy could not do this you might be able to afford it you would prob get sick of it and have a bunch of money into parts takin up a hole lot of space good vide so glad I found your channel love it
My cars are a reflection of me. My weakness and my strength. They are just as perfect as I am , and I am far far far from perfect. In many ways tinkering with my cars has taught me my limitations - mentally, physically, and financially. Screw the critics because I have learned to happy with who I am and what I can do through them. This is my reality!
Wish you had put this out before I blew my Trans Am apart in the backyard.
oi
sooo
your sayyying
is your blew a trans am HAHAHAHAHA
HEHEHEHE
THE END
::))
So true!! my garage is full right now with my bright idea!!
Ha!, you and ten thousand (at least) other guys
Bought my 66 mustang as a roller in august. Put new quarter panels and new wheel wells. Atk high performance 302 c4 transmission b@m ratchet shifter. Gas tank. dual bowl cylinder. Finished it in oct.
I was at a car show and there sits a 2015 Challenger. The vanity plate read EZ-RESTO. Guy was right on and probably at least 50 grand ahead. Not as good as having an old one but a decent substitute.
I cannot agree with this more. Even of not rotissering a car, even a partial dismantle can take a long time to get back together. Nest thing is, just fix whats broke pr wore out. Clean it up (paint etc) reinstall the parts drive it, then do the next item of concern. A good rule of thumb: if it cant be done between friday night and sunday night and/or finished up that week , reconsider
At 2:40 when he said " it all becomes a cluster fuck " I never laughed so hard lately, had tears ...🤣
At least the guys with Fords and Chevrolets or even A/B/E body Mopars can buy most of the parts they need. For a real challenge, try a C body Mopar. I managed to get mine to daily driver status in about 9 months. Totally worth it but running down parts can be tough.
Awesome advice. I like daily drivers and when you do something like this it becomes a show piece thy your afraid to get dust on it.
There is another problem with those shows. Everyone who has a rusty pile of junk in their field wants a small fortune for it. Why? Because they watched a car show that just built a 68 Camaro(or whatever) and made 90,000 on it. Even if the car has been sitting in the field for 20 years and has the floors completely rusted out and a lot of the parts have been stripped off it. It is still worth 90,000 to them.
I see this on craigslist and fb marketplace a lot. asking a price that not to long ago would get you a running car.
.
To expound on the issue, how many times have we read in the old car magazines how a repair shop, not a restoration shop, took in a car, and, after an extended period of time, did almost nothing.
You people don’t know how true this,I have a shop with 3 Mopars,not one running or driveable right,one real close,72 Challenger
I,m an independent mechanic that has to make a living which as the saying goes you have time for everyone else just not your own
With the money I,ve spent on the 70 Charger and the 71 Roadrunner I could have bought a decent Good Driver,but that’s not me,first I love working on them second I,m trying to save them to its former glory as there aren’t that many out there anymore
Love your show by the way,I,d have a brew with you any day
🍻 cheers 🍻 from Chicagoland
So true tony.. I know a lot of people who have a car torn apart that will never go back together. I’m working on doing a complete rebuild of my 94 f150 (not a classic but it’s my first car/baby) and I’m doing it one part at a time, and taking it around the block every chance I get, it’s the only way to stay motivated when you don’t have a crew doing it for you and a huge shop, I myself am doing it between my driveway and a 10x12 shed lol
A friend of mine resto~modded a 67 C10 from the ground up, after 5 yrs it is absolutely magazine quality . He said he would never due it again but, would buy one that is close to what he wants. His final tab was in the $50k -$60k range.
Said so well. You nailed it!!
I like the way you think. I agree with the logic and it is exactly the way my son and I rejuvenated his 68 Mustang. At only one point(while re doing the heads) was the car not driveable.
Years ago there was a car show that I thought was absolutely great. A British bloke had shared his journey, from buying an E-Type Jaguar and doing a complete ground-up restoration, including some mistakes he had made and needed to correct while he was achieving this build. I believe the show was called 'A Car Is Reborn' and it was, one of less than a few TV shows that I could actually stomach.
The Brits have done quite a few shows like that over the years. Very enjoyable shit
@@UncleTonysGarage That's right. Better than the shows that have that bullshit drama in them.
like your vids Tony (liked and subbed btw)...can relate...built my 72 Duster in 3 and a half months back in 2000, --took ten hour days and a lot of climbing in between parts in my one and a half car garage ...all mechanicals and drivetrain ...glad I left the body together or I'd probably still be working on getting it back resembling a car!
Give me a carton of cigs and Mountain Dew and I’ll build anything.
C M lol I’m sure you will but how long will it take🧐
Every 16 year old needs to watch this, 100% truth.
Another bit of advice, is start with a reasonable plan so that when the inevitable power creep begins, you don’t end up with a mismatched set of components. Don’t buy a Holley Dominator when you’re trying to do a period correct inline 6 rebuild and restore. Stay focused on the goal and assess needs by priority. So many people have a rusted out bucket and build a huge motor, with a tiny fuel system. Sometimes you have to tell yourself that the next one you build will have that big block, but this one just needs to be back on the road pulling down smiles per gallon.
my buddys 69 gto has been in this state for 40 years!!! He shoulda never pulled it apart! It was sweet in high school!!!! His kids will wind up with it when he dies and sell it!!! He has parts for it in his living room!!!
I agree a car in pieces is a bit overwhelming. Currently working on a 1956 Buick, that I bought as a basket case. It's currently totally blown apart in my garage, I'm doing a frame swap on it. You can see videos of it on my channel.
I have one of the 3 barrel Holley's, in pieces. For the life of me, I simply can't remember where or when I got it. Hording sometimes has it's down falls.
Years ago i had a friend that was going to big auto mechanic school . The students were encouraged to bring in their own cars if they needed worked on .I had just bought a 72 formula firebird needing paint , so I sent it with him to have the body work and paint done . Once or twice a month he'd come home for a weekend , and tell me how it was going, and what was going to be needed for my car . I'd hand him another blank check and tell him not write it over a certain amount , I was working 30 to 40 hours over time every week to pay for it lol. There was 5 to 6 students working on it as a project , that they were graded on . It turned out to be a lot rougher than it looked . After 3 - 4 months and about 5 grand later , I went down to the school to pick the car up . The car was gutted ,there was about 6 or 7 , five gallon buckets filled with nuts bolts , door locks , brackets , ect . The only bolts left in the body were in the suspension , wheels tires etc .
About 4 or 5 years before this i had bought a mostly striped 71 Camaro , which i painted myself and reassembled it over a couple of years , as I found the missing parts on other cars . I no longer had the Camaro but I had a rough idea how the firebird went back together , it just seemed so overwhelming !
I had a hand full of friends that wanted to help me put it back together , and they'd come over every weekend to help but the only thing that would get done , is a lot of beer drinking and bench racing . After a couple months I got real discouraged with it , I had all that money sunk in it and had only drove it twice before it was torn apart . I toyed with the idea of selling it but the only offers I got were less than a thousand . Lmao
I even registered and added the car to my insurance policy , hoping it would give me enough incentive to put it back together . It finally ended up taking close to a year to get it back on the road .it's a lot easier to tear a car apart than it is to put one back together . I don't think people realize how overwhelming it is ,I know sure didn't lmao
There are countless thousands of variations on your story, but only a handful end up with a happy ending like yours did. Congrats on seeing it through!
I got a cousin that had a 57 Chevy PU his dad bought him in the mid 70's and he was gonna fix it up to showroom condition and he got the engine together painted and chromed out, but after that, it just set for 30 years with him moving it everywhere they moved doing nothing to it and he lost it in a divorce on some land they lost. Restoration is a very time consuming and expensive job.
Best advice Tony don't look at the big picture on a project always best to setting yourself manageable goals within your abilities.
So true, my frame off restoration has had my garage tied up for two years now 😥
The frame is boxed, painted and black in place now. Something you said makes me want to swap the 200r4 i just rebuilt for the th350 that I wanted to upgrade (that worked fine). Maybe put it back in the t-top monte with the slop 305. No, I’ll just dump another hundred-or three in a shorter driveshaft, hope everything goes right. Check out my uploads to see my Hellwig Frame Boxing kit installation
Uncle Tony is the car guy we need on TV.
Tony, I to have forever been pushed the " do one area at a time " method of restoration. Taking a car apart is easy, putting it back together is hard. In fact I push new people to start with something simple like a push or a riding mower that they have pulled out of the junk pile. If they can get a push mower running or rebuild a riding mower, they have a chance in getting a car going.
Graveyard Cars is great and it takes a year or more to finish a restoration
When ever I tell someone about my 950 3bbl they look at me like I'm retarded. Bought one in the late 60s. Put it on my 64 Dodge 426 wedge and ended up on my 69 Coronet 440 R/T. Good carb.
Good advise. I did my 69 Charger one system at a time. When I did the fuel system, I put in a new gas tank, sending unit, all fuel lines, fuel pump, and carb etc. I drove the car through the whole restoration. I wouldn't have had the mind to do it any other way.
Totally agree with you. I restored a 69 Mustang Mach 1 which took 4 1/2 years. It virtually took over my life and my house...parts in every room!! It nearly broke me and had to walk away from it a number of times. But it all came together in the end and became a beautiful car that I enjoyed for 2 years before selling it. Would I do it again?...absolutely not!! I only buy cars now that just need tlc whilst they are still driveable.
I live in the England. Theres a guy near me who has got a 1973 Buick Riviera Boat tail and currently doing a full rotiseri style restoration. He got a guy from the US to source the car and ship it over. He wanted a small project that was doable and bare in mind this guy has near NO car mechanic or body work experience at all. So when he got started to just spruce it up he found rust, worked on that panel, found more, further down the rabbit hole found more. The entire floor pan and boat tail section of the car needed completely replacing. Now i dont know about State side but here they were never sold on the entire continent of Europe let lone our little island. You want a tail for Cobra Daytona? Doable. Mk1 E type Jaguar lightweight hood? Sorted. Roof for Ferrari 250 GT? Dig Deep. Buick Riviera Boat tail trunk? HAHAHA! Dude had to actually panel beat one from scratch in sheet metal, and now currently undertaking the floor pan on. Unbelievable dedication required.
Wow! That would make a killer video..and yeah, total dedication.
@@UncleTonysGarage I was thinking that. I dont know the guy personally myself but ive seen the car in the driveway. My neighbour knows him though. His driveway is about 10 feet wide 30 ft long and has a 350ftsq garage at the end. About average for the houses around here. So not alot of space to spin a Riviera on rotiseri. Apparently he has the engine block in the living room.
I think these shows drive people away from classics. People think EVERY classic needs a frame-off job. Having spent a month's worth of weekends crouched in a wheelwell replacing a flex box, I promised I would use a rotisserie "next time" - if there was one. I have since even acquired a workshop big enough.
But replacing a flex box out of which 20 lbs of rust chips fell out when I poked it, on jack stands, though a huge pain in the ass, was possible. I did everything else on that car, section by section, since 2003, standing.
Another thing that I think has cars hung up in shops un-touched are these tool shows. I think Eastwood has a very good channel, but watching that leaves the impression that you need 10K worth of sheet metal tools to restore a car. I used a ball peen hammer, a small harbor freight anvil, a flux core MIG (which I really want to replace), and vice grips. When I needed to bend something I used angle irons, vice grips, and my hammer. I would honestly say that an english wheel, if one can be found used for really cheap, is not a bad thing to have for when contours get really creative. But I'll still use my hammer if it's that or 500 bucks for a tool I'll use only once every few years.
Overall I like the "mad max" cars style that appears to have surfaced at least people don't feel like they have to be perfectionists. I knew guys who would have some chalkline resto and not see them for a few months at the car shows, then catch up to them and I hear things like "Well there was a little bubble under the vinyl roof and I paid (insert ridiculous amount here) to have the entire thing replaced".
It's not really like that. I'm living proof.
I took my 71 Monte off the chassis and changing the body mounts, did all the body work and POR 15 the car, sandblasted the frame then POR 15 the frame. Doing plumbing on frame now, hitting gun powder primer on the body, putting it back together. Total time 1 1/2 years. You have to do something everyday or you will never get it done, best tip I can give anyone. Even if you’re doing something small that day just do something every day. I will never do another one, but being a first generation Monte Carlo it was worth it, pick the right car to do also.
Been through that several times love your videos thanks
I did a 54 Chevy pickup to a 75 stepside frame in a one car garage
Worked off and on for five years on a 38’ ford that belonged to my brother in law. Complete restoration. My role? Giving up a weekend every time he needed motivation. People just don’t understand the time factor involved and what happens to you psychologically over the duration of a project.
"When building a car, think with your head, not over it." Don't think under it either :D
True Story...that's why they call it a project. Basic projectmanagement skills is mandatory. Or separate the big project into small sub projects like engine, body, interieur etc..
Also when you get discouraged from the amount of work and money, you end up telling yourself if you part with it now you will end up spending way more on one in the future. All while paying thousands in storage fees.
Loving the vids Tony, keep uploading bro. I appreciate teh old school ways and love hearing the stories. And you have a certain charisma on the camera that cant be taught brother. Plus you are 1 step ahead by having a camera operator! I'd suggest spending 500$ and getting a better camera and nice microphone so the videos are higher quality as well. Just a thought, even just buying a microphone helps. I obught one for my phone's camera for about $100 and the videos sound professional. Keep uploading!
I took apart an 1969 cub cadet I did not think I would ever get it all back together. and that was just a lawn mower.
First build needs to be frame up, 1000 hp...
Lol so many people talk like that and have never picked up a wrench