I used to have a 69 Camaro. It could pass anything but a gas station. I spent a lot of time dreaming about restoring it. I also spent a lot of time regretting selling it.
After seeing this restoration page, I realize there’s no way I would have gone through anywhere near this much work – but I still wish I wouldn’t have sold it.
I am replacing the stock subframe with a modern lighter one, replacing the stock rear suspension and updating the entire drive train. And I am welding in new sheet metal in nearly every part of the car. There will be new floor pans, quarter panels, roof skin, trunk pan, and rear frame rails. There won’t be a single nut or bolt left unturned in this project. ~ So I bit the bullet, and I enrolled in two 13 week auto body paint, and collision repair classes at my local junior college.
Thanks for noticing my car. I have really spent a lot of hours cutting, welding, fabricating, researching, and of course banging knuckles. It has been a lot of fun, and a big source of frustration. But the thing it really is, it is a place to go to get away from things. It is a conversation piece, and it is a hobby. It has turned into more than a car, it has become a family member. Everyone in the family asks, “so how is the car”, just like it was a child who just started school.
I wouldn’t recommend this sort of thing to everyone, or even to the casual Hot Rodder. But if you are someone who truly enjoys building something, then go find a solid bodied car (not a wreck like I got) and just build it. Take your time and enjoy the process. It truly is an escape.
-Clint Hart
Owner/Designer/Builder Project-Quicksilver.com
It’s good to hear that you’re taking the time to enjoy the process. Just reading about it is an escape for me too. Thanks for documenting the entire process. I can imagine the enormous feeling of accomplishment in doing it all yourself.
You just have to break everything down into little milestones. If you start looking at it from the perspective of it not being done, you will miss the details and really be disappointed in the end. Some weeks I don’t even work on the car. I have to take a break and recharge the batteries… go to a car show, talk to people on line about their cars and what they plan to do. That really helps get me focused and motivated again.
I hope all of your builds are going well. Clint had very good advise. Forget giving yourself a deadline and just have a good time with the build. Go to car shows and local races and talk to other hot rod guys to get ideas. The build is long, and you will find out that even when its done you will always be adding more! The end result is always well worth the time!