Weld's 40 Ford pickup

[waynieZ]

Originally Posted by Cosmo mentis

Greg,

Your posts on what to look for in a shop have been very helpful over the years. Thanks for taking your time to educate us once again.

Agreed! I hope it goes smooth for you.

[DBasher]

I've spent enough time with you to know how you roll and the expectations when you're paying someone for something....it's seems super simple for everyone, as long as you're dealing with a legit business that has its **** together, Brizio.

Not my pig and not my farm....but if I could make a suggestion. Be the guy that gets invoiced every two weeks, or whatever, and pays on time. Keeps you up to speed and keeps the shop honest, plus it helps build a relationship.

10hrs for every task and rounding up on shipping...hard no! That's a company that has a stack of Weld cash just sitting waiting to get used up, or more than likely, used elsewhere and back charged to you. F that

I'm still looking forward to your vision of a 40 pick'em up, lets hope this shop can get it done within the timeline.
If you need an assistant or even a project manager, let me know I'd be happy to help. If you need to borrow lunch money just say the word.

[dontlifttoshift]

This really should be another thread that could be useful for _everyone_.

[Ketzer]

Originally Posted by dontlifttoshift

This really should be another thread that could be useful for _everyone_.

That's our GW in a nutshell....!! "useful for _everyone_"

[GregWeld]

Originally Posted by dontlifttoshift

This really should be another thread that could be useful for _everyone_.

If I hadn't made such a last minute decision -- your shop would have been a top contender.... and Mike Redpath at MuscleRods.... and a couple others on here.... but this call came at the perfect time -- when my trailer was hooked to my truck and I have nothing else to do.... That - and Adrienne and SW and Gerno and Cope live in Austin - so I can go visit and kill everybody - er I mean - I can kill lots of birds with one trip. I've been to Denver ONCE since the project started.... and that's bad ON ME as well.... but I did have lifeus interuptus there for a bit too.

[kwhizz]

Glad to see that Greg posted his experiences with his builds........Real World and not the La La land stuff that everyone thinks happens at these Pro shops.............Thanks for being "HONEST" !!!!!!!!!


Ken

[GregWeld]

Originally Posted by Ketzer

That's our GW in a nutshell....!! "useful for _everyone_"

You meant Used and Abused by everyone.....



Funny --- a guy (gunsmith) at the range I shoot at (A LOT - LOL) tells me his grandfather had finally given him a '55 Tbird that Grandpa has owned since new..... and that he wanted "to fix it up".

I jumped back 10 feet at this.... and immediately told him "DON'T TOUCH IT!!" That's a $100,000 dollars.... and unless you can write a check for that right now... don't even think about doing anything to it!! And if YOU tear it apart - you'll have a pile of parts in boxes and the car will become nothing but a storage shelf for them.

He replied -- but I just want to get it running and make it a driver.....

Oh here we go...... So I started to run down the list of what that's going to look like after the car has been sitting in a garage for over 30 years....

Every rubber part needs replacing

The gas tank is full of goo

The gas lines are all full of goo

The brake master cylinder is shot

The slave cylinders are all shot

The cylinders in the motor have rust in them by now - and will tear up the ring seal the first time you crank it over...

The carb is full of goo

The hoses -- EVERY ONE OF THEM -- needs to be replaced

The radiator will need to be removed and boiled out

The water pump will need to be replaced

The fuel pump will need rebuilding - replacing

There's probably mice living in the wiring or the heater

Anything that holds fluid - will need to be flushed - or carefully drained and refilled and rotated etc and whatever it is will be a leaker


In other words --- don't even start.



These car projects are all the same.... home built or pro built... it's a HOBBY either way.... many ups and downs... many hours either working on them or working to pay for someone else to work on them. They never go smoothly -- they never cost what you planned and they certainly never cost less than you planned!

I've also found they don't build themselves....you have to get out there and pick up a tool and do something with it. 1500 hours is a LOT of spare time... and that's if you're starting with all brand new parts.... double that if you have to do "lace repair" - or like every project on the planet - you have scope creep.

Do the math. There's 50 weeks of work days - leaving you 100 Saturdays and 100 Sundays - figuring 2 weeks of actual real vacation away from everything including the stupid car. If you don't have anything EVER to do on a weekend - not a single party - not a single kid thing - not a single wedding or birthday or anniversary..... and you worked all day every weekend and had every part you ever needed at your disposal..... you're lucky if you could build a car in 2 years.... and it's more like 4 or 5 YEARS of being pretty productive.

Treat it as what it is ---- an enjoyable HOBBY..... and if you're like me - the minute you're "done" -- I'm bored with it and start dreaming about what else I could have done to it - or what other car I want to build.

Good god we're idiots!!! LOL

[SSLance]

Originally Posted by GregWeld

Good god we're idiots!!! LOL

Truer words have never been spoken!!

I tell everyone when talking about my car that if I was smarter, I'd just sell the car and everything part and tool I have and buy a C5 Z06 and go racing in it.

#Easybutton

[GregWeld]

Originally Posted by SSLance

Truer words have never been spoken!!

I tell everyone when talking about my car that if I was smarter, I'd just sell the car and everything part and tool I have and buy a C5 Z06 and go racing in it.

#Easybutton

Please don't do that -- then I'd have to disrespect you like all the other "corvette" racers around here. OMG. No!!

We're going to practically be neighbors -- I'd like to continue to hang out.

[65_LS1_T56]

Originally Posted by SSLance

Truer words have never been spoken!!

I tell everyone when talking about my car that if I was smarter, I'd just sell the car and everything part and tool I have and buy a C5 Z06 and go racing in it.

#Easybutton

Originally Posted by GregWeld

Please don't do that -- then I'd have to disrespect you like all the other "corvette" racers around here. OMG. No!!

We're going to practically be neighbors -- I'd like to continue to hang out.

This. This is what has happened lately. It has taken away from a lot of the fun at the events gor sure. It makes sense both financially and competitively, but it certainly has to be less satisfying. There is nothing better in my opinion than beating new(er) vettes and such, with a 50+ year old car. Glad you guys see it like that as well. And thank you for the call Greg, means a lot to me.