?? for those who drive their cars while building

[blown9746]

I'm going to get a car here soon and plan to do a slow build. Basically drive it while I upgrade components as budget allows. In the end I am looking to have a decent street car w/ the occasional track day or autox (maybe 3/4 times a year) not a wild showcar. I am planning on having this be a "learning" project for me so I will do as much of the work myself as I can.

So my question is with this type of build what order have guys done stuff in.

suspension / brakes / wheels
interior
body/paint

Motor will probably be solid as is for a while (350 rated at approx 350hp) and car will be a decent driver when I get it, just tired (older paint and original interior)

[protour_chevelle]

Thats exactly how I did my Chevelle and continue to do so. I'm going on 4 years now. Each winter it comes apart just enough that I can get it back together for the next year. That way the car is different each and every year it comes out. Rather then a 2 year resto that looks the same every year after.

I did brakes first because the car was 4 wheel no power drums. Then did a 2003 6.0l/4l80e swap. Upgraded the suspension and put new wheels/tires on it. Then some gauges to monitor stuff(getting rid of the dummy lights), then more aggressive suspension and brakes, bigger tires, then a turbo, and more interior lol

Break that up into 4 years and its been a fun ride. No regrets!!!! We need more builds like this.

[TonyL]

I did what i could afford. This seems to be the case for many of us in your situation. First i fixed the engine and got it mobile. Then I lowered my car with cheap springs, bought new shocks and bushings, kevlar brake shoes, and was set up with new wheels by the guys at PRRC. Last, i threw some black primer on it, a racing stripe, and then doctored up the interior with new seats, carpet and second skin sound deadner.

That's the order I went in. I still have to go back and install disk brakes, further hop my engine up, and so on. There's always the next thing to do.

[tjtucker]

Tony L

Where can I find out about that Monza? Is it your's? Any old posts you can refer me to?

Thanks
TJ

[Smock67]

I so wish i had done the drive it while you work on it. It would have been so much better. I'm still not done with mine and well that sucks

[Blown353]

I've been doing the build & drive thing for 13 years now... it's nice because you get to debug every mod piece by piece rather than being bombarded with problems simultaneously. On the other hand, you sometimes end up redoing things or having to take something apart you just finished in order to get to something else.

I would do the suspension & brakes first, then drivetrain, and then final details (wiring, interior, etc) and after all of that is done, on the road, tested and reliable then blow it apart for paint; that way you are assured everything works and fits and you don't run the risk of damaging the paint as all the difficult heavy wrenching & fab work is already done; all you need to do is reassemble something that was already working.

I would have been done years ago but I keep changing everything... so the body/paint has never been done.


Thats exactly how I did my Chevelle and continue to do so. I'm going on 4 years now. Each winter it comes apart just enough that I can get it back together for the next year. That way the car is different each and every year it comes out. Rather then a 2 year resto that looks the same every year after.

Break that up into 4 years and its been a fun ride. No regrets!!!! We need more builds like this.

My thoughts exactly. I have just as much fun, if not more fun, taking things apart, cutting them up, and building new stuff/changing stuff during the winter compared to all the spring, summer, and fall good weather driving. I always need to fiddle with or change something. If my car was "done" I'd probably get bored with it and sell it! Call it automotive ADD or whatever you want but I can't "leave it alone" for very long; if I'm not messing with it I get bored and lose interest.

Case in point: the car is already stupid fast with the Procharger, but this winter it's coming off and I'm going twin PT61 turbos and building my own headers... not because the car isn't fast enough, but because I want something to do. :seizure:

And besides, I never get tired of hearing "you did all that and you still haven't painted it?" every spring when I roll it back out. LOL!

[BonzoHansen]

IMO to keep the down time limited, your course of action will be dictated by 1) what it needs to be safe & reliable 2) what you want and 3) ongoing budget. The best way to move forward is to make a plan and then you can try to see the best way to achieve your goal.

My 77 Z28 was always supposed to be just a fun driver while I work on the 67. So I’ve maintained a low budget. Big wheels & tires were not in the budget, so big brakes were out too. Plus I like Z28 5-spokes, so I could live w/o buying wheels. So that kind of led me in a direction. The plan allowed me to take advantage of deals when I see them. I did what it needed to be safe and upgraded parts were I could w/I my plan.

So I 1) made a plan 2) made it safe 3) upgraded where I could 4) continually improve as time & money allows. I also got lucky I got the paint to clean up as well as it did. Damn car was pink oxidation dust when I got it and the metal is generally solid.

Tell you what, when I finally do get ready to paint this car, 80% of it will be done so even that won’t be a 3 year deal. My 67 will take me 4-5 years. Then I’ll gut the 77 and ’do it right’ – 2 years tops.

[Bow Tie 67]

I'll never again lay a car up on purpose for a full resto from start to finish. My first car took almost 6 years. The current one was apart when I bought it and needed alot of fabricating to finish. It took almost 12 months to get it on the road for a month then it went up on jacks and I started to install the roll-bar last winter. This year new engine, true-trac, power rack and pinion, door skins, repair quarter, suspension upgrades, ect..... I hope to get to all of it but will not start what I cant finish prior to spring.

I would suggest, doing brakes first, these can save you from making more work should you need to stop quick. Then suspension, then drivetrain in whatever order is good for you.

[1969CamaroRS]

Planning on getting my project on the road, while I build a transmission for it (700r4 now hoping to build a 4L80E). Same with hopefully body and paint later after power train is taken care of.

[Neil B]

IMO, spend a little more and buy a car with good paint and bodywork that you can live with. Then you can focus on brakes, suspension, and drivetrain in as many phases and in whatever order you like. The only downsides are that you have to be more careful when you're working on it and you'll never know what's under the paint.

[gearbanger]

Man, this thread is like my life story. I got my 67 GTO for $500 bucks like 18 years ago. It was a turqoius heap with no motor or tranny when I got it. I built a motor and changed it over to a 4-speed and drove it for about a year. Then had it painted and half way fixed up the interior. Then came college and the car sat for about 4 years with a blown engine. Then came wedding time and the wife to be said she wanted to drive the GTO to the reception, so the car got a fresh motor, new interior, and lots of wax. 8 years later, the car is almost the way I want it as far as interior, drivetrain, and suspension. My buddies give my ***** that my car has been in a 20 year mock up phase. I am planning a frame off resto this winter to finally have the car all new looking at one time. I just hate to be without it for a summer!!!!

[tjtucker]

Tony L

Thanks for the links. Very cool vair.

TJ

[BonzoHansen]

IMO, spend a little more and buy a car with good paint and bodywork that you can live with. Then you can focus on brakes, suspension, and drivetrain in as many phases and in whatever order you like. The only downsides are that you have to be more careful when you're working on it and you'll never know what's under the paint.
+1 let someone else pay for the paint.

[NOT A TA]

My approach after getting a car is to go over the car and get it running well and safe for regular driving first. Then tackle the thing that bothers me most about the car next. After that the next thing that bothers me most, and so on. The car may appear "done" to someone else but there's always something else I want to do as the car evolves, new products are made, new uses for the car come along etc.

During the season I stick to little quick upgrades and save the big time consuming ones for northern winters.

[Roadbuster]

I take my car in stages, plan out what I want to get done and budget it. When I have the money, I buy the parts and do the work. In between projects I enjoy my ride!

I got my car painted but in need of everything else. Front suspension and brakes was first due to the old stuff being unsafe (completely worn out). Rear springs and shocks are in work, wheels and tires are next. Then the interior and so on. At each point I can drive it but I also enjoy planning the next project and doing the work. I take my time and enjoy it.

Jon

[ProdigyCustoms]

Either find a car with great paint (if you can afford it) or if the body is ugly, rough in the rusty spots, use some bondo, Hot Rod Black it (flat black), spend a few hundred bucks, and get started on the suspension, brakes, drivetrain. Try to keep it down to weekend projects so you can continue to drive the car. If you blow it all apart, you will be parked for many years. Just look around here.

[Mr.VENGEANCE]

could you drive around a fairly rusty car for a while?

[stealth71]

I've had my car torn apart for about 2 years now and finally got the motor started last week. Hoping to get it back on the road in the next week or so and I haven't gotten any where near the body. I plan on slowly fixing up the body now while I drive it. My car really needed to come apart and have everything cleaned up. Too many years of leaky engine/trans covered the thing in grime and grease. It took a while, but is nice to work on clean parts now.

[bigvegan]

Can anybody recommend any books / guides for starting / planning out a pro-touring build?

With all the projects going up for sale at the moment, it's looking like it might be a good time to get a budget / streetfighter build underway, but in order to keep to the budget, it's probably better to plan things out first, so if anyone has any recommendations, I'd be much obliged.

Thanks!

[zbugger]

Can anybody recommend any books / guides for starting / planning out a pro-touring build?
Try looking here. https://www.pro-touring.com/forum/showthread.php?t=50947

[The Stickman]

Here's the thing. Every car that each person buys needs different things at different times. What I mean is one person might buy a car that is in desperate need of body work but runs well. Another person may find the car they want that needs an engine. Me I am upgrading as I go. The things that seem to need the most priority get it. My car came with a decent running 307 that had the computer controlled carb that was all way out of tune. So a $400 350 off of Ebay was installed. the wagon actully handles quite well as it is so suspension mods can hold off. But for appearance I lowered it a tick. more after I see what the wheels and tires do for the stance of the car. It has good wheels and tires but not the look I want so I now have wheels and will soon have tires. Now it needs an it needs a performance trans in it which means a floor shifter. And the interior needs a makeover as bench seats won't do for me. All of this will get tackled at once. So as I said each person and the car they get or have will demand different approaches. But normally I tell people that wheels and tires give and car the most bang for the buck.

[craigs73]

I've been doing the build & drive thing for 13 years now... it's nice because you get to debug every mod piece by piece rather than being bombarded with problems simultaneously. On the other hand, you sometimes end up redoing things or having to take something apart you just finished in order to get to something else.

I would do the suspension & brakes first, then drivetrain, and then final details (wiring, interior, etc) and after all of that is done, on the road, tested and reliable then blow it apart for paint; that way you are assured everything works and fits and you don't run the risk of damaging the paint as all the difficult heavy wrenching & fab work is already done; all you need to do is reassemble something that was already working.

I would have been done years ago but I keep changing everything... so the body/paint has never been done.



My thoughts exactly. I have just as much fun, if not more fun, taking things apart, cutting them up, and building new stuff/changing stuff during the winter compared to all the spring, summer, and fall good weather driving. I always need to fiddle with or change something. If my car was "done" I'd probably get bored with it and sell it! Call it automotive ADD or whatever you want but I can't "leave it alone" for very long; if I'm not messing with it I get bored and lose interest.

Case in point: the car is already stupid fast with the Procharger, but this winter it's coming off and I'm going twin PT61 turbos and building my own headers... not because the car isn't fast enough, but because I want something to do. :seizure:

And besides, I never get tired of hearing "you did all that and you still haven't painted it?" every spring when I roll it back out. LOL!


This is how my car will be done i have my g-bar setup and i am going to get a few other things for suspension. i have the wheels.I also have the patch panels to repair the rust this will all be done over time since i like to drive my car during the summer and i am thinking Hot Rodz flat black. until i save up enough money for a better paint job"someday"

[rogue]

Make it stop, make it handle, add power, run it hard, find out what else it needs.

Paint last.