What is the best way for a do it at home frame off resto? By the way, is there a least expensive way? I want to tear the body off to sanblast the frame and POR it and also be able to get underneath the body. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks, Jack
My understanding is that a rotisserie is the best way to prep a body. But be warned, there are a LOT of pieces when you do a frame off. Literally every bolt and nut and piece of wire come off. You must bag and label every item, take a lot of pics and plenty of notes. Sending the body to get tanked is a good idea if there is a shop near you that does it. And also be warned, this type of thing very often leads to a car that eventually gets either parted out or junked. Be sure you are 100% commited to doing this before you start. Losing interest is a common result. Good Luck and keep us posted.
I'll second that opinion, Now into my fifth year of being broke and frustrated. :af: I'm finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Still wondering how I'm going to get it all back together. o No:
I'm alost done, only a year and a half. Should have the engine and trans in next week. It can be done without a rotisserie....but you will be cramped under there. I bagged all the parts as it came apart, write on the bag with a majic marker, remember the first parts off are the last on. Bag them and store them in the order they came off. Resist the urge to work on anything till it's all apart. The idea is to break the job into may small jobs, so only work on what you have room for. So when you get stripped to the bare frame and get it blasted and painted, then work the front suspension, then the rear, add the lines. Basicly backwards form the way you took it apart. I brought a bag of parts form the garage to the basement, worked on them from there, then took them back to the garage and installed them. Buy an assembly manual, they are on ebay all the time. You will need it. Read everything you can about it, there are hundreds of websites with resto projects. Stay organized, think of it as many small jobs. Try to not think about whats left. As I installed each group of parts it kept me motivated to do the next. Thats my 2 cents, PM me if you have any questions, I'd be happy to help.
Be honest with yourself about what you have to spend on this, both financially and your time. An at home restification will likely set you back $25K-$30k and 1.5 to 3 years if you have consistant funding. Having a pro do it for you will likely double the financial output but cut the timeline in half. Just today the completion of my exhaust system marked the end of my work on the underside/drivetrain of the car (well maybe I need to bleed the brakes again), but at this point with the aquisition cost of the car, the parts car, all the new parts and services I've paid for I'm knocking on the $15k mark (9 months), and I've still got body and paint to go, installation of my new top too (already have a new one in the box), wheels and tires, stereo, chroming services and a host of other things I'm sure I've missed. I make myself work on the car every day, even if it's something small I make some progress, bottom line is you really got to want it! This is the third vehicle I've done this to and I think it will be the last, from now on I'll buy them done.
I'll second that! And Len is correct, you need to have the funding to back it up. And take a good honest look at your abilities, experince and tools.
I had to move three times during my resto so far, Divorce, married again and four kids put a huge strain on finances. I would say that money is key issue. I have everything labeled and stored. I have had months where I have touched it because I ran out of money.
Figure on a three-car garage being dedicated to the resto. Also, several guys to help you lift the frame on/off. Oh yes, minimum 15 grand and 18 months. As said above, if you don't have the resources and commitment, figure on a junked car as the result.
Heres my 85 GN without a rotisserie.NOTE the GN is for sale now becouse the Stage 1 I now have was for sale.......NOTE....dont buy another project while your doing one:grin: Keith
I didn't do a frame off because... 1. My car will never be worth the cost of a total frame off. Buick made more 68 GS's than any other year, largest motor was a 400, and the styling is a little funky compared to 70-72. I figure the might bring $10-12k as it sits and could never possibly be worth more than about $18k, and the value will drop off as our generation croaks. I have less than $15k into it, so I'm not nearly as upside down if I had done a concours restoration. 2. The floor and frame on my car were really good. I still have the stock fuel and brake lines. I just crawled under and POR 15'd the frame and floor (and myself) 3. I like to drive my car. I spent a year working on my "mini resto" rather than the infinite time the frame off would take. 4. I have a two car garage and a wife who likes to park inside. She would have given up her space for me, but why push your luck? A frame off would have taken up way more space than keeping things pretty much together. 5. I did a pretty good job without taking the car apart totally - the interior came all the way out, the front end was removed, the engine and trans replaced, rear end changed. I didn't replace all the trim with N.O.S., I reused all parts that were in reasonably good shape. Let the rich fanatics fight over the "last of a kind" bits and pieces. So if you are really that into it, go ahead and rip the thing down, paying attention to all the good advice above. There are other alternatives though -
I did the same as John. Took abut a year of weekends and a few evenings here and there. I didn't total up receipts, but I'd guess I spent $3-4000. (did ALL the work myself other than engine machining)
Home Resto My biggest cost was purchase of the car ($3000), then body/paint ($2800), then engine parts ($900), machine work ($700), then tons of miscellaneous stuff. I'm scared to add it all up.....
Thought I'd add some contrast to this post, my car is pictured a couple of post up from this, I just got it back from the paint shop tonight, still a way's to go but definately seeing light at the end of the tunnel. Pretty dark out but you get the idea.
And another for good measure. Doors will get final adjustment after the window assy go back in and after the new weather strip compress' a bit.
Jack, Here is an inexpensive wooden body holder that I came up with made up from 2x6's with casters to be able to restore my 71 GS convertible. After we took off the body from the frame using an engine hoist with straps under the body and tied together, we mounted it on this holder and used 1 tie down strap and also used the hole for the outer seat belt retractors to bolt it down on each side. I put 3/8" strips of wood on the sides (underneath the rocker panels) to keep the body from moving side to side. We also used jack stands on the very back to give it extra support when working on body repair. The wooden holder makes it easy to roll the body around when we want. It also made it easy to roll onto a car hauler when I took it in to get the body sand blasted underneath. To be able to paint the underneath, I stacked up wooden pads on the one side of the holder and we were able to gently turn it over on the side with 2-3 people. It has worked so far for me and it is cheap to make. I tried attaching picture of this holder but it is too many KB's. If you are interested I could send a pic to your e-mail or maybe someone could resize it!
Len the car looks good!! do you have a floor shift handle(the chrome piece) you would sell? i am restoring a 68 vert' also. im not taking the body off the frame but i removed everything else. im starting from the front and working my way back. where did you get the new weatherstripping? did you replace all of it? my car is a southern car and you know how the stripping gets cracked and brittle from the heat. i need to replace all the stripping. heres a couple pics of the front.:TU: so far i dont have more than $3000 invested but most of the items that the car needed i had from parting out cars.:grin: or i traded parts so no $$ changed hands:Brow:
I did a frame on resto on my `67,floors and frame are solid,it wasn`t intended ever for show car,but a driving machine to enjoy,i know that if i had done a frame off resto that thing would be a trailor queen and dont want that. Thanks
