Package deal 73 Cuda

[willhaven]

Do you have a day job outside of this, or is this what you've been doing all day every day since you started the project?

It's coming along lightning fast man.

[farmboy70]

My wife wonders the same thing A little of both, I have split my time working on customers cars with this one. As time premits I sneek some work in on my car, but I have put a lot of evenings and week ends on it since October.
Dave

[willhaven]

How long did it take you to get that quick at your work? How long did it take for you to get good at welding?

I'm just wondering because I've never done any real metal work or welding before. I've done shop class stuff (spot welding) and I've done lots of component soldering and such (mostly on guitars and guitar amplifiers), but never anything like a car... yet.

[RUSTY Cuda]

Guess being a pro shows, in 3 months your almost finished, took me longer than that to take mine apart, going on year 6 now, hopin this is the last year & I think I get in more time than most guys can, self employed & there have been many weeks i put in more time on the car than at work, but other times when work rules & the car sits, gotta make the moola to pay the way!
car is lookin awsome, keep at it carlisle is gettin close! Rich.

[Lunchbox]

Looking good Dave, really wraping her up 

[farmboy70]

How long did it take you to get that quick at your work? How long did it take for you to get good at welding?

I'm just wondering because I've never done any real metal work or welding before. I've done shop class stuff (spot welding) and I've done lots of component soldering and such (mostly on guitars and guitar amplifiers), but never anything like a car... yet.

Hi
 Quick just comes with doing it for many years.
 The key for anyone is to take your time , make a plan , and check and recheck everything to be sure your are ready to move to the next step in the process.
 Working on these cars is a lot like doing the work you described. As you are doing detailed delicate work you should be fine working on your car,the the key is patience and asking questions.
 I have worked on many cars but the headliner for example was something I have never done in the past. But after checking with people who have and taking my time it went OK.
 I know a pro at interior work would have done it much faster but the end result is what counts when working on you own car.
Following posts on the restoration forums are a big help for some one getting started and again if your not sure just ask, there is a ton of knowledge on this and other sites just waiting to help.
Dave

[farmboy70]

Guess being a pro shows, in 3 months your almost finished, took me longer than that to take mine apart, going on year 6 now, hopin this is the last year & I think I get in more time than most guys can, self employed & there have been many weeks i put in more time on the car than at work, but other times when work rules & the car sits, gotta make the moola to pay the way!
car is lookin awsome, keep at it carlisle is gettin close! Rich.

To be fair it is closer to 5 months, and amen to the working for the bills. That is why not much got done on mine the last 10 working days but I was chained to it this week-end.
Dave

[farmboy70]

Do you have a day job outside of this, or is this what you've been doing all day every day since you started the project?

It's coming along lightning fast man.

I have a small body shop that I work at, I work on my own when I can.
Dave

[SilverChally]

Your a better man than me!  I can only concentrate at one car at a time.  I could never do two of these at once!

[farmboy70]

Your a better man than me!  I can only concentrate at one car at a time.  I could never do two of these at once!

I've seen your pictures, your well on your way
There are seven in the shop right now and THAT is a little hard to keep track of.

[Travis72]

      Amazing progress!  Very inspiring... that's why I love the threads in this section   

Travis
72 Cuda

[djdmotorsports]

First id like to say amazing work. I have a few questions i think might be up your alley.  Is it better to have the car sprayed with the fenders and front end on or off? Im not doing a back to originall in every way resto but i would like it to look as best as it could. Im hoping to have it ready for color by the end of the summer. Thanks, David

[farmboy70]

I like to do them with the car assembled for a couple of reasons. The alignment on these cars can be a adventure with the panels painted for reassembly.
Since the cars age is getting up there and the parts are not usually NOS or near perfect, I would rather know there is not going to be any difficulty with the assembly.
 Since we install the engine from a cradle from the underside it is easier.
The factory did it this way and most of my customers are going for over restored/OEM type restorations.
The factory used sealer between the fenders and engine compartments that needs to be in body color so for OEM they need to be on.Also the body bolts were in color too.
I competed against a guy who did his apart and he got beat up by the judges at a national event for this type of thing.
At times I will cheat it a little and paint with it out the doors to get a better finish on the jams and front door edges.
Color match can be a problem if it is painted in separate pieces also.
Another way is to base the parts and reassemble,wet sand the whole thing to shoot it assembled. This will get the hard to reach areas and keep from having the problem of  reassembling it and damaging the final finish but still get a better job on the tuff areas.
Apart or assembled either way is OK just some cars are a better idea to do together.It can be done either way it's just how I like to do it.
 It would also depend on what you have in mind for the car whether you want to  judge/show it or build it to your liking.
Dave 

[71bigblock]

From one farmboy to another,   

I just read every page of this thread, and it really makes me want to do my own bodywork.  I may have to ask many questions when I get to that point.  Thanks for the inspiration, everyone appreciates it I think   

PS, I love  to do this type of stuff.  Is there a demand for people doing this type of stuff, I love learning about bodywork.  The concept of resurrecting a car that looked like that just intrigues me.  I mean, I've done body work on 5 antique tractors, and they are all straight and look real nice, but those are easy.      I cant imagine doing a car   

[farmboy70]

One thing about doing it your self is you know what you have when it's done and appreciation for the work involved.
You also know who to blame if it go's bad
There is always a call for good auto body repair people,but it ain't easy getting started. Low pay ,the worst jobs but it gets better with time.
When you are ready to start on yours ask away, everyone here is willing to help! That is what I like the most about this site.
Dave