Thread: I'm overwhelmed, help PLEASE

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RJ & CJ, you haven't been on the forum very long, so you may not have a feel for who the old timers are who have provided the most "negative" comments about the car (to include myself). Bob, Tech, lt1s10. and others are guys who have building cars for many years, and as Bob has mentioned the lessons we've learned have in most cases come the hard way.

From having read the comments of the old timers over the years, I've come to realize that in most cases these guys are like me and are actually prolific builders and in most cases have either run their own business in the automotive field or worked in the industry.

In many cases our comments are not what a newbie may want to hear, but by and large are the most realistic as to what the person can expect to run into on their project. The advice while not always cheerful is ALWAYS given in the spirit of helping the individual rather than dissuading someone from building their dream.

You presently committed to building THIS car so I would suggest you proceed in the following order (these are things that the primary investment will be your labor). Right now, you have a relatively small investment in the car and I would suggest you do this prior to spending the BIG bucks on components.

Go ahead and finish stripping the car.

Rather than sending the car out immediately for blasting go ahead and start sanding down the body to determine how extensive the rust problems are. As I said earlier it's going to be worse than it presently looks. I think you are going to find that a lot of the rust is coming from the inside out, so you will also have to look at interior structure repair and sealing. Pay particular attention to the structural components as they are critical on a unibody. After you get the car to that point and actually know how much rust you have you can move on to the next step.

Replacing rusted sections of body panels sounds a lot easier than it is, but go ahead and give it a try. I'm sure that some of the body guys here will be more than happy to walk you through it or refer you to sites that can help you out. Start on something simple like the rusted out lower front fender section, and actually go all the way through doing the repair to include welding in new metal, filling/smoothing priming and actually putting on some shinny paint (spraycan gloss black will suffice) to give you an idea as to whether you have the ability and desire to actually see the body work portion through to completion.

JUST GOT TRU WITH THE BUDDIES '58 CHEV DELRAY, TWO YEARS
AND A COUPLE PRETTY TALENTED PEOPLE MANNING THE TOOLS
THIS WAS A COMPLETE RESTO ,FRAME UP, STARTED WITH THREE FACTORY MANUALS AND $20,000(CAN)[IMG]

heres a good site for ya!!!! http://www.autobody101.com/ read this and it will give u the fundamentals and good idea where to go next and what to do!!

Some would say they're glad I'm not twins....................but Mike P. comes close. Just to add to his comments about rust being more extensive than you expect. When trying to convey that idea I tell newbies that if they can see a dime size hole expect to replace a piece the size of a dollar bill. Not a precise measure, but close. Also, along with doing the pre-sanding Mike suggested, take an awl and go poking around all the areas you THINK aren't too bad, give it a good jab. If it's decent metal the awl will bounce off, if it's junk metal.....................you'll know right away! Be prepared to learn more than you probably want to know.

BTW, most seasoned bodymen HATE rust repair.................there's a clue there.

I just realized that you are from Suffolk, Va. is that salt water rust? I'm not to far up the road near Lynchburg, Va. Bob and Mike P and some of the others have giving ya'll some good advise. I just wish you had started out with something a little better. if you're gonna do it I'm sure everybody here will help where they can, good luck.

The nice thing about this board is the people With very little exception, you'll find all the folks on here are willing to help other rodders with problems. Some of the guys have been building cars for over 40 years & have a vast amount of knowledge on just about any subject relating to automobiles. Now, as most of the guys have already stated, they just want to prevent you from making a mistake by tackling a project you may not be prepared to see through. I suspect all of us have had our own "project from hell" at one time or another, that's how we learn what not to do.
For your first project, you have picked something that (when finished) will certainly be kool, but it is difficult & WILL take resources that you may not have planned on (experience, cash, time & equipment).

I have to agree with what most have already tried to tell you,that car might not be your best bet. If you insist on proceeding,gut it out,get a cheap sandblaster [ I use one from Sears,I think I paid about 50 bucks] several bags of play sand from home depot etc. clean away to good metal on any questionable areas. The roof,firewall, rockers and rear panel must be in as new condition for this car to be used for your intent. When you strip it to this point,put it on a trailer and go get estimates from a pro as to how much just to bring these areas up to snuff. Then you will see why we've tried to tell you to start with a better car. Some Mustang parts will cross over,but not many,all the rest is custom fabrication. Notice I haven't included any outer panels,thats extra.

i believe the reason for building this car is more of a buddy thing for you and your dad. i admire that. i've been doing this for a living for a long time and if you brought the car to me i would try to talk you into a better start just as others here have said. now you CAN get this done but it's going to be a long hard road. first off blower motors are big bucks as are the trans and rearends to hold them. money wise going the route falconstien is going would suit you better. mii for the front maybe a bronco 9 in for the rear. you cna back half it and mini tube it fairly cheap. as for the body ? your going to be a pretty good hand by the time you finish. just build it your way and dont try to build a killer show job. it only has to please you. main thing is saftey. theres a few hundred years of exsperence on this board that will gladly help but keep in mind we wont tell you what you want to hear but good luck.

first thing....no play sand!!!! get some starblast from 3m. no silica. play sand is bad juju. the starblast can be recycled and does a good job.

Originally posted by Mike P
RJ & CJ, you haven't been on the forum very long, so you may not have a feel for who the old timers are who have provided the most "negative" comments about the car (to include myself). Bob, Tech, lt1s10. and others are guys who have building cars for many years, and as Bob has mentioned the lessons we've learned have in most cases come the hard way.

From having read the comments of the old timers over the years, I've come to realize that in most cases these guys are like me and are actually prolific builders and in most cases have either run their own business in the automotive field or worked in the industry.

In many cases our comments are not what a newbie may want to hear, but by and large are the most realistic as to what the person can expect to run into on their project. The advice while not always cheerful is ALWAYS given in the spirit of helping the individual rather than dissuading someone from building their dream.

You presently committed to building THIS car so I would suggest you proceed in the following order (these are things that the primary investment will be your labor). Right now, you have a relatively small investment in the car and I would suggest you do this prior to spending the BIG bucks on components.

Go ahead and finish stripping the car.

Rather than sending the car out immediately for blasting go ahead and start sanding down the body to determine how extensive the rust problems are. As I said earlier it's going to be worse than it presently looks. I think you are going to find that a lot of the rust is coming from the inside out, so you will also have to look at interior structure repair and sealing. Pay particular attention to the structural components as they are critical on a unibody. After you get the car to that point and actually know how much rust you have you can move on to the next step.

Replacing rusted sections of body panels sounds a lot easier than it is, but go ahead and give it a try. I'm sure that some of the body guys here will be more than happy to walk you through it or refer you to sites that can help you out. Start on something simple like the rusted out lower front fender section, and actually go all the way through doing the repair to include welding in new metal, filling/smoothing priming and actually putting on some shinny paint (spraycan gloss black will suffice) to give you an idea as to whether you have the ability and desire to actually see the body work portion through to completion.

I can tell generally by the demeanor of the poster whether or not they know thier stuff or not, I have also been reading a lot around here and I have come to see which users are called upon for answers, which ones can provide and which ones seem to know it all, literally :P.

About wanting to hear this or that. I need to get this point across, I may not know every single thing that this car will require, but I in no way estimate that it will be any bit easy, quick or simple, especially for my father and I. It seems some of yall think that I expect just to coast through this with just being told what I need to do. That's not the case. I started this thread only for some sort of guidline, not in an attempt to be schooled through every little bit of information. I have an idea what I will need to do, all the time I will invest and all the resources I will need/have to invest. I'm not just trying to build a car here, I'm trying to get myself started in building cars. Once I graduate, I imagine i'll be making enough money to indulge in a vehicle or two of my own, and when it comes time for that, I want to have experience and I want to be able to do it on my own, and be one of the guys on here helping others. So this is not just to get a car built, it's to learn and teach myself, along with getting a badass car built.

I will continue to strip the car as soon as we can find a place to store the stuff. We will be getting a shed soon so that will allow us to move the majority of the crapola in the garage out, freeing up a lot of space. Then we will sand and see what we are up against. He got a blaster that the engineers on the ship were gonna toss out so we have that taken care of, we just need a place to sand at.

Bob
I'm up for it. May sound foolish to you but I know I for sure am up to the work and dedication needed for it, and I know my dad is as well. I'll try to use the awl this weekend, it's my mothers birthday though so I may end up waiting for monday or tuesday.

DynoDon
I understand what everyone is saying, and I'm continually trying to reassure yall that I am ready to do all it takes. We arent looking to make this showcar quality, I think that was one of the things I should have cleared up earlier. We know blowermotors are expensive, and we know everything else is expensive. That is the primary reason I set a date of 4-5yrs until driveability. Alog with the time needed to teach ourselves.

I understand what yall are trying to say, and what you're trying to help with, but I think we can do it, and why there may be better starting spots out there, we have this one and I think we are going to follow through with it.

I will make sure to start reading up on the autobody forums, when it comes time for blasting I will make sure to get something from 3m, whatever suits our needs. Ill make sure and let yall know how progress is coming along once we start making it.

Thanks again everyone, I really appreciate your help

Randy

You know I think you can do it. Finish stripping down the rest of the car. remove all of the front suspension, engine and trans. From what I see there is not much floor to contend with.this is a plus. Your main structure is the front rails floor pans. rockers, rear rails. Chris Alston has a mustang chassis that is real close. If you purchase your frame, this will speed up the process and reduce the bank considerly. I will look for some other chassis fabricators that I looked at when we were putting together our plan for the 62. If you need more help let me know.

Auto Weld has several chassis packages and the prices are reasonable. They also have a complete how to section with pictures. They are good people to work with.

Thanks for the companies. I will check them out once we get the car stripped. We just got our fence and are about to build out shed and porch so as soon as we get teh shed done, we will be able to clear out the garage. Then I will be able to complete the stripping.