College budget restoration, Trudging forward |
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College budget restoration, Trudging forward |
ThePaintedMan |
Dec 29 2011, 07:02 PM
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#121
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Advanced Member Group: Members Posts: 3,886 Joined: 6-September 11 From: St. Petersburg, FL Member No.: 13,527 Region Association: South East States |
Hello all,
I'm finally getting around to documenting my restoration after the past several months of work. This may not get updated immediately as I'm trying to get as much done as possible before grad school kicks in again in January. However, I'm going to try and post pics when I can. I purchased this car from a gentleman less than ten minutes from my house named Ray. He apparently is/was a member on the forum as well and was a very cool guy to meet. We talked several times about the car and he was very up-front about its condition (to the best of his own knowledge). He recommended it be used only for the drivetrain, which at this point seems like it was the correct suggestion. However, being 27 and stubborn, I saw it as an opportunity. Most of my experience in the past has been with American and Japanese cars from the the 1980s and newer, and most of that spent doing body work. This car I saw as a chance to learn something (mostly because I figured I couldn't make it any worse than it already was (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) . So, after seeing the thing run and falling in love, I gave Ray 1,000 for it and convinced my girlfriend to help me tow it home. Unfortunately I do not have pictures of this, but wish I did! The look on her embarased face was something like, "Oh my God, now I've become trailer trash." We towed it five miles clunking the whole way because Ray failed to mention that the CV joints had been disconnected from the wheel. What a ride home. I then set to work on it immediately, replacing a broken clutch fork and cable over the span of a weekend. Drove it around for two weeks to make sure I was still crazy enough to keep it, then began tearing it down. I should mention several things. First of all, this car always had an intention of being raced, which initially was to be in Chumpcar. However, I realized the amount of work needed just to get the thing safe to drive warranted me keeping it for more than just track use. So, at the moment, its going to race Chumpcar next August, and I'm going to PRAY it doesn't get clobbered so that it can be driven afterward. Trust me, I already know I'm (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wacko.gif) . Second, I have made it a point and a promise (to my forever understanding girlfriend) that I'm going to keep the cost to a minimum. That means a minimum of pre-fabbed parts, which also forces me to learn more about metal working as well. This build is certainly not up the past quality work of many of the folks on this board, but like I said, I'm a cheapskate (student loans ain't what they used to be). So, here it goes! I'll try to explain more as I go along. Attached thumbnail(s) |
ThePaintedMan |
Jan 24 2012, 04:40 PM
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#122
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Advanced Member Group: Members Posts: 3,886 Joined: 6-September 11 From: St. Petersburg, FL Member No.: 13,527 Region Association: South East States |
Thanks for the positive replies all. Dawn, I don't know if I'd call this inspiration, but its proof you can do this relatively cheaply as long as you're willing to put the time in and have an open mind to learn. If you ever have any questions, I'll do my best to show you what I did, whether its considered 'right' or ''wrong.'
I've got some more pictures to post here this evening. Took off the old suspension console and what I found scared the crap outta me. It wasn't pretty and it was rusted almost all the way through. Also, one of these posts I'm going to list some of the "do's" and "I wouldn't if I were you's" that I've learned. I've been keeping a running tally on what I've been spending and in some areas what I initially thought would be saving money probably has cost me some. The floorboards come to mind. While I'm happy with the way they've turned out, I do think that some parts should just be purchased instead of being fabricated. For example, I've bought well over $150 in Dremel and angle grinder discs which I had not accounted for at the beginning. If you buy pre-made parts you're not going to spend as much time or money cutting and grinding. It certainly equals out if not completely outweighing the money saved by making hard to replicate pieces on your own. Plus, no matter how much better I've gotten at fabricating, the replacement pieces are always going to look better. Like I said, this is a learning process (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) |
mepstein |
Jan 27 2012, 10:17 AM
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#123
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914-6 GT in waiting Group: Members Posts: 19,518 Joined: 19-September 09 From: Landenberg, PA/Wilmington, DE Member No.: 10,825 Region Association: MidAtlantic Region |
Also, one of these posts I'm going to list some of the "do's" and "I wouldn't if I were you's" that I've learned. I've been keeping a running tally on what I've been spending and in some areas what I initially thought would be saving money probably has cost me some. The floorboards come to mind. While I'm happy with the way they've turned out, I do think that some parts should just be purchased instead of being fabricated. For example, I've bought well over $150 in Dremel and angle grinder discs which I had not accounted for at the beginning. If you buy pre-made parts you're not going to spend as much time or money cutting and grinding. It certainly equals out if not completely outweighing the money saved by making hard to replicate pieces on your own. Plus, no matter how much better I've gotten at fabricating, the replacement pieces are always going to look better. Like I said, this is a learning process (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) Exactly what Scotty B told me at the start of my project. Buy everything you can and it will still need work but at least you're 90% of the way there. |
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