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The Pros & cons of Body off/on vs buy done" thread
Seen many ask if its worth it what you encountered etc
Threads purpose is to share with others what you dealt with, mistakes you made good and bad to help them decide
Looking back buying one done and adding your touches is the quickest way esp if resale is important to you
Dont believe for one second what you see on TV
Buying one complete, restoring whats there, sticking to a game plan, avoiding the hp and bling but will save you TON$.
Doing a body on is smart...your car is usually running and can enjoy while you do a piece at a time. Removing that body just to see whats on top of the frame or to get those tough bushings is big bucks. Trust me
If you dont want to buy one done and find a good complete specimen and just want to clean up whats there go for it wont get hurt too bad
Started one back in the 90s when these old cars were shooting up in price fast. Did a body on but just wasnt getting it so removed those last couple body bolts.
Figured 2-3 yrs and 30k should get me a very nice driver with a stout drivetrain. Over 10 yrs and 90k I finished a lousy El Camino
Heres what I didnt see coming:
-Youll do many things over twice or more as stuff doesnt fit, defective or worse you change your mind.
-Falling for the cheap stuff.
-Body shops..this topic burned me out on the hobby to a point.
Pay the money for the "right" shop even if it hurts. After 8 yrs and 2 shops well....figure out the rest. It cost less for the first guy
-Chasing HP and bling is expensive. If your car is complete, youre Ok with making stock a little fresher youll save plenty
-Parts that look "good" look bad once everything else gets redone
-Whats your standard of whats acceptable?
-Problems you uncover once the car is stripped. No matter how good an eye you have it will be extensive, never buy one in primer either
-Did I mention waiting for machinists and body shops?
Building for "trends", "correct" or what you think the next guy wants. Youre wasting your time and will hate the car. Thinking youll get your $ out forget it.
these things are par for the course, theres a risk of getting burned out or life changing and not being able to complete it. Many cars for sale that arent done or are fresh with 0 miles and you wonder why they would get rid of it?
Result is very nice but would never do it again.
Its what I wanted though, all new, looks sharp and fast. well used to be, today there are bone stock cars that would blow it in the weeds. That will pizz you off.
If you have the time, pocketbook patience and dont care about its worth knock yourself out just dont expect the next guy to pay you for it/ If you truly want a brand new car thats all yours then this may be the only way.
Most guys will never admit how much they spent
Figuring the big stuff is easy, its all the little parts that kill ya...buying a project that isnt finished will drive you crazy trying to figure out whats missing and where it goes.
at the time I didnt care and kind of still dont its the headache, disappointments and the yrs lost.
Dont mean to sound negative, just a few things to consider there are many pluses to doing your own. Just not feeling positive today
I know how you feel, I'm three months into my body off, and I feel like I'm three months behind on it. Two weeks of dirty prep work, four weeks waiting for parts to come in, and then,,, ten minutes to install new parts, then another 4 weeks to sit and look at it while you wait for the next set of parts to come in. I gotta admit tho, I do enjoy looking at it.
I agree with MUCH of what was written above because it seems to be coming from REAL WORLD EXPERIENCES.
I have very IN DEPTH conversations with my customers who choose to travel down this path.
Mainly because I want them to UNDERSTAND FULLY what is going to possible occur.
And they are also told that they are in FULL CONTROL of the MONEY that THEY choose to spend on it. And...I do not want to hear about their woes on how much it is costing. If a person wants to kill my MOJO on a job....begin crying like a baby on the money being spent and they can take the car home. Simpekla dthat.
IF a person DOES NOT have a full understanding and IDEA on what they want...then they should NOT start it. Start it when you know what you want to achieve.
I understand that a person minds can change....and IF it does...and back tracking needs to be done...then I REALLY DO NOT want to hear about how much it is costing....because IF they had thought about it well enough before that specific area was completed...then money and time would NOT have been wasted.
Because I can tell you that even though I am getting paid for my time....there is a point that NO AMOUNT of money is worth constantly doing something over and over because a decision cannot be finally reached.
I can keep going on and on...but I think that of a person takes the time to figure out what they want...they will then need to be able to deal with the issues that will occur.
YES....I know and I am all to aware of the FACT that it can go CRAZY in no time due to hidden problems...but that is when a person has to decide to either....'cut bait' and move on...or stick with it and get it the way they want it. These areas where it can go INSANE on the money... I generally try to inspect FIRST.... so before we get to far into the project...we do not come across them when the owner is well into it by that time. For me ...I feel that would be doing them an injustice..
My view is a little different, and sorry you are feeling negative,
I didnt have enough money to buy finished turn key up front im not sure how many guys do, and even if i did it would have been tricky to find just what i wanted already built, i still look at whats out there, never seen just what i want, lifes too short to settle.
Perhaps that part is a hair easier for a cat wanting stock who is bucks up.
As far as body off the frame in my case that happened like dominos falling that old curse of vettes, one repair leads to another,
My broken rear strut caused me to inspect the frame closer, it had some compaired to others what i will call minor rust, but tina wanted things "as good as new"
I opted to buy a donor roller frame all rebuilt with vbp stuff, it was cheaper than the parts,
This body off showed me something and that is some rust can only be found and seen with the body off, period.
Doing a body on is a gamble, some feel like taking it, i wouldnt, if i planned to keep the car and know its sound.
I realize most people doing a frame off replace just about everything,
My interior for example, driver condition and just cleaning it up is what i desire some guys would toss it, but any mechanical parts, hoses lines bushing, are new or rebuilt on my car,
I have for example an ecklers one piece 68 69 front clip, paid 250.00 new in the box but some people see it as junk,
I bought used ansen slotted mags last night for 150.00, need cleaned and polished, my l88 hood 125.00,
Etc, point is i work hard to find good cheap parts, and in turn i build cheap.
I will paint my car my self, something some people cant or wont tackle,
It the point of having pretty much just what i want i have about 13k invested not including my labor, for me its the only way to do it, my only regret is i wish my health allowed me to work more and faster.
Back to your orginal question,
The right answer is different to each person you ask, opinion plays a huge part, being able to buy already built cheaper than doing it yourself sounds great but isnt the answer for people like me, who want it their way, or who do not have the tall stacks of toad pelts to spend,
Some would rather buy what they can now and work on it than save to buy more down the road,
Buying already built would likey work out well for a guy wanting a stock restoration and having the money, but some of those guys would rather take it to a shop and they have the funds to hire it restored, or restore it themselves is the part they love.
Everything has pros and cons, and in this one each person has to decide which is tge winner for them.
I have completed a frame off on two 65's, a 69 and now in work on a 71. These all started out as project cars in various stages of complete to rollers. I do all my own work including body work and than hand the car off to the body shop for paint. The only exception to that was my current 65 that I just ran out of time and let the body do everything, won't do that again.
It really comes down to time, space, tools and money. At the end of the day you will know everything on your car number to bumper. If you don't have the tools to to do everything you will have to out source stuff like trailing arms, engine rebuilds, transmission rebuilds Etc. that can get expensive.
I do mine in stages starting with rolling chassis, engine / trans Etc, body, interior. If I'm lucky I will only have to bend over for a paint job. The current 71 frame off I plan to paint myself.
I have done this enough to know what a frame off cost but if this is someone's first time I would say double what you think it will cost.
Much of this depends on what your personal standards and perceptions are. For me....while it may be true I might have found a car built as well as mine for what it cost me to do it myself, but I seriously doubt it. But many people look at things and are perfectly content with the quality of it, and I will see nothing but flaws. So, I think buying versus building has much more do to with what YOU are satisfied with. I have said this many times, and argued many times, but I don't believe its possible to buy a quality car for a low price, unless you find one of those fantasy deals, but even then, unless its recently restored, its still going to cost you money on top of the purchase price.
As they say, there is no free lunch.
Last edited by Torqued Off; 06-18-2017 at 08:13 PM.
Three years into my frame off, and I'm ready to roll the next one in. Biggest lesson learned is have all the right tools. I've done a few Chevelles / Camaros / Mopars, but the corvette is a whole different beast. I agree that the new parts look old and worn a year later down the road. Also, like many here, I don't think I could readily buy what I built.
In my opinion, a body on restoration of one of these cars is not a restoration. More of s freshen up, if you will. 6 months into the Dragons body off now, and can't believe how much I have learned. Not only by the experience, but also from the forum members. Can't imagine paying someone else to restore my vette, and missing the real ride.
My car had sit since 85, orig purchased in 79'. My FIL's car. We got it in 2012, started in June of 13'. It's being put back on the road for my wife. I have way to much money in it but tried to save by doing everything I
could myself. I sent it out to have my work checked by a pro and have all systems wrapped up. It's an expensive hobby...This car will be in our family forever. FIL in 80.
I purchased my 73 about one year ago. I drive it occasionally. It drives and looks fantastic. I'm totally enjoying my corvette while collecting and storing as many parts as I can before I start the body off resto/mod. So far I have my complete coil over suspension, complete Wilwood brakes system, new wheels, full set of gauges and a host of misc other parts. Next I'll be collecting all new motor components for my 496, OD trans, new steering, rear end components and everything else I can think of before I pull the car off the road. I won't start tearing it down until I'm ready and I don't have a time frame in which to complete it. This is a hobby and I'll take the time to complete it the way I want it and it will be as close to perfect as I can get it when it is completed. The cost from start to finish ????????
I agree with most everything the op said. It took double the money what I originally planned to spend. Much of that was the money spent on final paint. Trying to find a good painter who works for cheap is impossible. And quite frankly, after spending countless hours doing repairs and blocking, how could I be happy with a half assed paint job. You want quality? You will pay!
The other item you mentioned is the part about once you put the new shiny parts on, the original pieces you intended to keep just look old. Now that you've paid for a good finish, are you really going to use pitted door handles, faded and cracked light lenses, dingy emblems? Hell no!
Interior dash panels was another grand I had no intention of replacing, at first. But now that the outside is looking so cherry, you're going to use that old stuff? And dyeing the parts worked ok for the back half side panels, but just looked like lipstick on a pig when viewed from the drivers seat.
Would I do another big restoration? You bet, but it has to be the right car. Not sure that it would be another C3, I have that dream car checked off my bucket list.
OldCarBum said something that I do. The kickers is that sometimes parts suppliers sell you the wrong parts, then two years later when you try to install the parts you lose. Yes there new, but you’re screwed, no refund or exchanges after that long.
In reading this thread i see a fair amount of home builders still farm out this or that,
That was a major con in my rebuilt story,
My wife wanted me to hire out the chassis swap so it did. But i went with a guy that i simply didnt check out close enough, my fault, and i got it broken off in me,
Sure he boasted how long he has been in the business and how great he was but,
I didnt ask for a portfolio or resume from happy customers, i went on his word, lol.
And his great manor changed when my car was at his so called shop half apart and im at his mercy, sure he had the knowledge and ability to do good work,but didnt apply it at that point,
Long story short he didnt finish the job in 9 months that he said he would have done in a week, but did do lots of damage that he didnt care he did or make good on, it took a threat of getting law and osha involved to get him to even give my car back to me and of course it was all my fault, lol.
So IF you have to farm out work check out and then check out again the guy you might hire, make sure its a real business, with staff, not some wanna be living there playing shop, ask for portfolio and to see others cars the shop has fixed,
Word of mouth if a lot of mouths is great.
One great example comes to mind, willcox would be a wonderful place to take a car to.
As you see i am super jaded on this subject because so many shops are worthless.
My 2 cents - I'm almost 3 years into my project and there has been times when I thought maybe I should of got something that I could drive while I was working on it, that maybe a complete frame off restoration is just too big. But I still feel good about bringing back something that was forgotten and cast aside. It is moving forward even if it is not as fast as I would like. I am enjoying the process, learning stuff and planning things and seeing them happen. Feels good to use my hands. I like that I know every inch of the car and know that it is solid. I like that I can make it uniquely mine. And it's always nice to see boxes of new parts sitting on your door step. I knew it was going to be expensive but I am spreading the cost out and find that time can be just as limiting as funds. Will my smile be bigger as I row through the gears than the guy who went out and bought one ready to go? I don't think so, it's just a different road to those good times.
I try to do all my work, but there are some things that I rely on a professional to complete. When I do hire someone I'll ask car enthusiasts who own a car, mostly at car shows, about who they had do the work. I'll check them on line, visit their shop, ask for a tour, ask for references and inspect their work. I was burnt a couple of times many years ago and I've been very cautious since. I know that I'm lucky living in an area where there are many shops and services to choose from and I'm sure it is harder for many of us to find someone that can be trusted and relied on to do good quality work. It's a wonderful learning experience that takes time and patience.
06-18-2017, 05:06 PM
The Pros & cons of Body off/on vs buy done" thread
