Failed Restorations
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 954
Likes: 2
From: San Jose CA
Failed Restorations
I've read countless posts about owners starting frame-off restorations. We follow in pictures while the car is disassembled or stripped of paint. Then nothing. We never hear from them again. I'm just assume another failed restoration.
It is much, much easier to take a car apart then put back together. That is probably 5% of the job. I'm thinking owners get over their heads not realizing the amount of work required. That is the quickest way to lose interest when the hobby becomes a dreaded full-time job consuming all free time. Or maybe the owner ran out of money.
Props to all of you who successfully completed a restoration.
I admire you. I bet more C-3 Corvettes are permanently taken off the road by failed restorations
rather than accidents.
What percentage of body-off restorations fail? I'm guessing 70%?
It is much, much easier to take a car apart then put back together. That is probably 5% of the job. I'm thinking owners get over their heads not realizing the amount of work required. That is the quickest way to lose interest when the hobby becomes a dreaded full-time job consuming all free time. Or maybe the owner ran out of money.
Props to all of you who successfully completed a restoration.
I admire you. I bet more C-3 Corvettes are permanently taken off the road by failed restorations
rather than accidents.What percentage of body-off restorations fail? I'm guessing 70%?
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 2,270
Likes: 375
From: Randolph nj
I dont know I am restoring a car I never posted pictures .
I dont need ncrs looking over my shoulders and I like to take my time..I always ask for advise and find this fourm very helpful ,These cars are like giant puzzles some times you just have to walk away form it for a while and regroup your thoughts ,,I must agree with you some people walk away from there cars but then again if they didnt we would not have a parts supply!! 
I dont need ncrs looking over my shoulders and I like to take my time..I always ask for advise and find this fourm very helpful ,These cars are like giant puzzles some times you just have to walk away form it for a while and regroup your thoughts ,,I must agree with you some people walk away from there cars but then again if they didnt we would not have a parts supply!!
Safety Car
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 4,458
Likes: 331
From: Indy Indiana
mine failed, started in 2003, gave up 2007 after it sat in the garage for 2 years with parts in tubs in the attic. got an pretty penny for the basket case.. frame was shot, rust in all the usual places...
yup, kid in sports, overtime at work.. no way i was going to find 2000 hours to complete the job.
sold it and bought a completed car. it is absolutely true that you can buy someone else's restored car for alot less than you can restore yours. I came out many thousands ahead and saved the 2000
hours.
yup, kid in sports, overtime at work.. no way i was going to find 2000 hours to complete the job.
sold it and bought a completed car. it is absolutely true that you can buy someone else's restored car for alot less than you can restore yours. I came out many thousands ahead and saved the 2000
hours.
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 954
Likes: 2
From: San Jose CA
My limited restoration (interior, exhaust, and now suspension) has taken very much of my time. I just can't imagine what it would take to do a frame-off.
My one rule? Keep it drivable!
My one rule? Keep it drivable!
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 3,164
Likes: 7
From: CA
This is a good thread . Assuming you are talking about first timers , I would guess about 70% fail also . What about the restorations that look complete but dont perform well at all and are unsafe ?
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Burning Brakes
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 889
Likes: 0
Define 'restorations'? Rehabing an interior...refreshing an engine...redoing suspension & brakes...paint. Is that a "restoration"? What are you pointing at? Body-off??? Let's establish an understood set of ground rules before we all start shooting from the hip...
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 2,709
Likes: 3
From: Savannah GA
Unless the car ends up buried in weeds with a tree growing up through the floorboards, I suspect that most "failed" restorations (where the base car is worth the effort) might pass from owner to owner for a couple or more cycles, but eventually wind up back on the road again. I have reconditioned many many "project" vehicles in my time, starting with vintage British sports cars, then graduating to Datsun (yes Datsun... pre-Nissan) Z-cars, followed by a number of years doing vintage Triumph motorcycles... and now my first Corvette. Those projects mostly started as "projects" in varying completion for the POs as well. I have never cared to afford complete ready to register and drive projects because the cars are not a family priority in this house... I build what I can afford using side work as funding. Lost interest and a fed-up life partner have garnered me some killer deals on vehicles I could not otherwise even consider!
Melting Slicks
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 2,456
Likes: 10
From: Somerdale NJ
St. Jude Donor '11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16-‘17-‘18
Unless the car ends up buried in weeds with a tree growing up through the floorboards, I suspect that most "failed" restorations (where the base car is worth the effort) might pass from owner to owner for a couple or more cycles, but eventually wind up back on the road again. I have reconditioned many many "project" vehicles in my time, starting with vintage British sports cars, then graduating to Datsun (yes Datsun... pre-Nissan) Z-cars, followed by a number of years doing vintage Triumph motorcycles... and now my first Corvette. Those projects mostly started as "projects" in varying completion for the POs as well. I have never cared to afford complete ready to register and drive projects because the cars are not a family priority in this house... I build what I can afford using side work as funding. Lost interest and a fed-up life partner have garnered me some killer deals on vehicles I could not otherwise even consider!
I 've found my '69 with 3 previous owners had some prior work done which saved me from having to do major work if it had not been kept up with over it's first 40 years. I use all sidework money on my cars as well and follow a priority list for repairs/replacement, etc. as I drive them.
It's also a good stress reliever to go out to the garage and work on the car - as long as you leave and take a break when something's not coming together as planned, etc. and come back to it later with a clear head.
Burning Brakes
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 1,042
Likes: 1
From: Greensboro NC
I'm betting the number is higher....
Look around Craigslist, Autotrader, Ebay classifieds, etc, etc, and you'll find thousands of projects.
Project.
Another word for failed restoration, forgotten relic, junk yard selling some very old rusted out hulk..
Look around Craigslist, Autotrader, Ebay classifieds, etc, etc, and you'll find thousands of projects.
Project.
Another word for failed restoration, forgotten relic, junk yard selling some very old rusted out hulk..
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 954
Likes: 2
From: San Jose CA
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 3,363
Likes: 32
From: Bowtie, Pennsyltucky
St. Jude Donor '13-'14-'15,'21
It's easy to get overwhelmed staring at piles of greasy, rusty parts and being a million miles away from actually driving the thing. Twice I was offered tempting trades for my car when it was completely apart. Once for a black '66 SS Chevelle and once for a Ducati 998s. REALLY glad I kept and finished (LOL)! mine. Quite a sense of accomplishment!
Last edited by Mick71; Jun 16, 2011 at 12:42 AM.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 3,189
Likes: 111
From: Tolland CT
I took mine apart in 1992, frame off. It is just now becoming roadworthy again, far from done. It sat apart for many years, no work being done for several. For me the delay was arrival of kids, new house, and comfortability spending money on this hobby which is mainly for me, not much in it for the rest of the family. Now much depends on confidence in the economy. Some years I spend a bit and make some good progress, others I find myself holding back.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 7,186
Likes: 45
From: detroit area
when i started mine i made a decision to make it a street car that i can drive and not get pissed if it gets scratched....so it's not a trailer queen but built to be a cruiser... i also limited my funds into the project.... but there were times where i wanted to bail on it
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 31,267
Likes: 4,362
From: Westminster Maryland
Hi,
I think the number of "must sell, lost interest" cars is distorted because those are the cars we hear about. There are many cars that dissappear into garages and pop out years later...done.
I agree that many people find that it's far more work than they thought, and takes far longer than they thought.
I think there are people working on restoring a car for whom it's not a race to get it done, or don't always need to have a drivable car.
There are many people I've met that have gotten great pleasure from doing a complete restoration.
Regards,
Alan
I think the number of "must sell, lost interest" cars is distorted because those are the cars we hear about. There are many cars that dissappear into garages and pop out years later...done.
I agree that many people find that it's far more work than they thought, and takes far longer than they thought.
I think there are people working on restoring a car for whom it's not a race to get it done, or don't always need to have a drivable car.
There are many people I've met that have gotten great pleasure from doing a complete restoration.
Regards,
Alan
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 3,164
Likes: 7
From: CA
I agree with alan as always . Here is a thought , would you buy a car that has been frame off restored by an unknown person ? if the car was taken completely apart and put back together , wouldn't you want to know who did it ? Unless you did it yourself and know exactly how it was put together , I would want to know who did it and I would like to have heard of them before . Nabors or a well known experienced shop ?