Are you a builder....or a buyer?

[Goldfinger71]

My buddy and I have done alot (bodywork,etc.)But I also farm some of the work out if I don't have the time/space,full knowledge,experience to do it myself.My Charger has taught me alot about Mopars!Even though this is not my first Mopar it is the first I have taken apart to this extent!(Was barely a shell ).

[Tilar]

Other than the obvious like rechroming bumpers, dash plating and such, I'm doing 100% of my 68. Now if I do another one after that, I imagine that a lot of it will be farmed out just for the sake of time.

[Chatt69chgr]

So far, I have done everything myself.  I plan on doing everything that I can figure out how to do.  Some stuff will obviously have to be done by others like rechroming the bumpers and the machine work on the engine.  I bought a welder so am going to try to do that work if I can manage it.  I have no facilities to do the actual painting or media blasting or powdercoating.  I look forward to getting the car on the road but I took the project on to learn everything I could about restoring a car.  If I just went out and bought one, I would miss out on all the learing.  And I am a perfectionist.  I would have not been happy with others restoration work.

[RD]

I do all my own work except Automatic tranny work... That I farm out, It's Voodoo that goes on inside those things!

  man.. thats funny, i thought that too at one time.

[MoParMetal]

I don't know how to machine a block...


as far as everything else goes, it's either me or my wife doing it.
mostly me. 

[TK73]

Apparently neither... no mechanical skill and too much of a broke d!ck MF to afford anything... 

[68charger383]

I do what I can and farm out what I can't. I've restored a car or two in the past and now just want to drive. Between the family and the job, just getting an hour or two to drive or work on the car is my vacation.

[73charger528cid]

the only thing i farm out is the auto trans

[myk]

I'm a buyer that does what he can at home.  Especially with these newer cars and their new-fangled electronics and excessively complicated systems, there's just some stuff that the shadetree guy can't do.  The Charger's pretty easy to work on I guess, but I wouldn't be able to do 'diffs, 'transmissions and whatnot...

[1969chargerrtse]

I do everthing I can myself.  I have way to many stories of incompetent people out there.  I just bought alignment tools to align the front end in my garage(very easy and cheap).  Can't tell you how many garages say they did the alignment and didn't.  I send out major body work an paint, plus engine and trani rebuilding.

[BMOTOXSTAR]

I am limited to the tools and limited knowledge.

[Back N Black]

I'm doing my first nut and bolt restoration, i only farmed out the body and paint so far. Man its allot of work, those little parts can be very time consuming.

[69charger440]

Everything but machine work!! No Tools!!! It is a great learning experience!!

[Magnumcharger]

  How's this, we're not all as talented as you Robin.        

Thanks for the vote of confidence!!

[MoParMetal]

I do everthing I can myself.  I have way to many stories of incompetent people out there.  I just bought alignment tools to align the front end in my garage(very easy and cheap).  Can't tell you how many garages say they did the alignment and didn't.  I send out major body work an paint, plus engine and trani rebuilding.

where did you get your alignment tools. i don't want to pay anyone to do it anymore.

[Brock Samson]

things change,.. I've done very little in the past few years,..
but back in the '80 & '90s i was doing something every week pretty much,..
...chasing down parts, rebuilding what i could,.. and alot of reading and phone calls because these were the days before the internet...
I think my intrests have changed, I will always have a soft spot for these cars be it Chargers or any vehicle, but my days of laying upside down under a dashboard for four or five hours at a time are pretty much over...
come to think about it and so are my band days of trying to herd cats and get the concert promoters to actually pay me what they promised..

    things may change again, who knows? but for now all my vehicles run pretty well knock on wood, and that isn't by accident. 

[Mefirst]

Having worked on my Charger now for a couple of years, I have to say that I'm getting more and more into the building thing.. -Yes, I do love to drive, but for some time Ive been more or less planing for the next race car project Id want to do... My dream project is a 67-68 Plymouth Barracuda, that Id make into a Super Stock racer.. and -No, I would not cry cause I would have to sell my Charger to accomplish that project...

Then again, these old cars will never be 100% finished, there will always be something that requires attention...

/Tom

[Moparheaven]

I started out doing everything, because I wanted to do everything, plus I didn't have the money. Well......I still don't have the money....but, I like to put them together. I can do the body work and paint but don't like the days of hacking up grey matter and having my sinus passages clogged for weeks. So....  I have my friend from High School do it. We trade. I like the disassembley process and like getting the dents and scratches out of trim. So, we trade.  I also like putting them back together. Carpet, door panels, headliners, detail work. I don't mind doing engine transplants and tranny swaps but getting the carb set right and linkage perfect I have another friend do.

The older I get the less I do. I look forward to the time that my boys will do the work and I can tell them what to do.

[billhillytim]

I'm doing most of mine myself, but like most everyone else, machine work, paint, and auto tranny are going to be farmed.  Entire motor build, most body straightening, priming, interior, exhaust, brakes, steering, and suspension are all my little puppies to tinker with.  I wouldn't trade them for the world.  Nothing like building high horsepower dependability with your bare hands and hearing the exhaust notes thinking, "yeah, I remember that day when I was putting in the cam and nearly broke my hand when the engine stand gave way, but that was nothing compared to the pain I'm going to inflict on that poor Mustang in the lane next to me".  Enjoy every second of every day.

[BMOTOXSTAR]

things change,.. I've done very little in the past few years,..
but back in the '80 & '90s i was doing something every week pretty much,..
...chasing down parts, rebuilding what i could,.. and alot of reading and phone calls because these were the days before the internet...
I think my intrests have changed, I will always have a soft spot for these cars be it Chargers or any vehicle, but my days of laying upside down under a dashboard for four or five hours at a time are pretty much over...
come to think about it and so are my band days of trying to herd cats and get the concert promoters to actually pay me what they promised..

    things may change again, who knows? but for now all my vehicles run pretty well knock on wood, and that isn't by accident. 

Same old story here man......

[Mike DC]

   
I'm way too specific about how I want everything done on my cars.  I couldn't pay someone else for 2/3rds of the work even if I wanted to.   

 
I only pay someone else to overhaul some of the "closed box" items.  A rear diff, or a power steering box, an auto tranny, etc.  (And even in those cases I tend to have some input about how & what I want done.)

[BlueSS454]

I like to buy rusty junk and bring it back to life myself.  Not only does it give me a sense of accomplishment, but I could never afford to have someone else do this stuff for me.  The only thing I can't and won't do are automatic transmissions and engine machine work only because I don't have the equipment to do it.

[Dans 68]

i'm a buyer. i don't have time to build one myself. it would take years. what's the fun in that? i don't buy trailer queens, i buy nice painted drivers that are ready to go. you only live once... so why spend 10 years staring at a non running disassembled car? i don't need the "self pride when done" feeling THAT much.. i'd rather be DRIVING! 

I'm kind of in agreement with Trav on this, if you have the money. Both of my Chargers came pretty much intact, and only need an occasional fine tuning and continuous maintenance to keep them going. I do like working on the cars, though, but would rather be driving it earlier than later. While I've never rebuilt an engine or transmission, or repaired sheetmetal,  i've done everything else car wise in my life. Now I'm saving up funds for the future restoration of the '68, having bodywork and paint done by others, in time for my daughter's High School graduation in 10 years.     And I'm driving it every week. It's all good.   

Dan

[suntech]

I am also way to spesific to farm out a job, and pick it up done!! Think i must be a nightmare for shops!!  One time, when my mashine shop buddy was so buzy that he could not do a overbore job there and then, i went to another shop, and gave them measurement to rough bore, measurement for first honing, before ballend hone (two-stroke, with ports), and grit and measurement for final honing. The guys looked at me, with that WTF look, and said: no, not nessasary to do it like that!!!!!  I said: Well.......... in this case it is, and i sat there watching them do it!!
And when it comes to components that i buy, i want what i THINK is the best available out there! If it really is, thats another story!!
I guess i am a control freak, with stuff like that!!

[Ghoste]

I do pretty much everything that I can.  I don't have an alignment rack or the equipment to do machining so I have to hire that stuff out.