whats the biggest mistake made while restoring your charger

[riggs626]

I was just curious about what peoples biggest mistake made while restoring there charger themselves

[Bob]

I was just curious about what peoples biggest mistake made while restoring there charger themselves

Cheap shortcuts. Trust me, I know.
Bob

[69*F5*SE]

Not reseaching every aspect of restoring one before you start.

[451-74Charger]

Thinking this would only take 3 years to complete !!

[69 OUR/TEA]

Painting it another color besides black.Just kidding,as others said,cheap shortcuts,and not investigating before you do something.

[PocketThunder]

I was just curious about what peoples biggest mistake made while restoring there charger themselves

Thinking that a restoration was a better idea than spending $15,000~20,000 more the first time and getting a car already done.   

[Khyron]

blowing up my first 440 :-(

Do it right the first time.

[challenger70]

I was just curious about what peoples biggest mistake made while restoring there charger themselves

Thinking that a restoration was a better idea than spending $15,000~20,000 more the first time and getting a car already done.   

[tan top]

not doing it now   
with the repop trunk gutters     took me a week of evenings to  fabricate & fit  

[mopar0166]

rushing some parts to get it on the road.  

[dodgecharger-fan]

I was just curious about what peoples biggest mistake made while restoring there charger themselves

Thinking that a restoration was a better idea than spending $15,000~20,000 more the first time and getting a car already done.   

Add me to the list. Maybe twice, since I'm having the bodywork done twice... 

[Magnumcharger]

Replacing all of the rusty panels with Goodmark taiwanese parts...which were the only ones avaliable at the time.
And they're way too thin.

Now I'm in a moral dilemma....to do the car justice, I'm forced to cut off all of this inferior sheetmetal and replace it with AMD panels.

[1969chargerrtse]

Getting expensive junk repo parts and not having the guts to take a stand and return them.

[moparstuart]

blowing up my first 440 :-(

Do it right the first time.

been there done that , twice  LOL

[68X426]

Wiring

[terrible one]

Underestimating the work involved.

[gasoline_24]

Hiring someone to do the body work and paint thinking it would cost $25,000 and paying $55,000.

[PocketThunder]

Hiring someone to do the body work and paint thinking it would cost $25,000 and paying $55,000.

Holy Crap dude!!!!!       See my comment above..   

[Back N Black]

No mistakes really, just cost alot more than expected. I had fun doing it.

[694spdRT]

All in all it was a good experience.....to now have behind me.

There are things that I would have done differently now that it is done. I would have spent more time making sure I had ALL the parts I needed when I needed them so that some little $5 part doesn't keep you from working on the car for a month until you find it.

On to the next Mopar project, just not as intense.  

[68charger383]

I was just curious about what peoples biggest mistake made while restoring there charger themselves

Thinking that a restoration was a better idea than spending $15,000~20,000 more the first time and getting a car already done.   

[Johnnys70SRT]

 Not stopping my friends from taking MY car apart !!!! Car was from California and the only problems it had were paint fading on the body lines and lots of small road dings. They took it apart only to desert me. Missed out on 20+ years of cruising because of it.
Now many bodyshops later and thousands of dollars lost, I am hoping to get it back by August 31st,2009. Yes, it will be better than new once I complete it, but 20 years lost on enjoying it can not be replaced.
Look for future updates as my car progresses.

[69*F5*SE]

So you see. All of the above and everything after.

[Brock Samson]

 i would have to say, not keeping a tight leash on the shops that did work on my car,.. some of it was communication Bad communication,.. and I have to take half the responsibility for not breathing down the managers' necks while the work was going on,.. Things were done incorrectly and some damage actually occurred while the car was in their possession,.. some examples:
Lug nuts only finger tight led to Pass front wheel coming off car while coming down a steep hill and making a turn..  seems some one went to lunch prior to tightening them...
Improperly tuned engine (vacuum line issues) led to a backfire blowing brand new mufflers right off car. This "Inspection/Tuning" was done at a California State Smog Certification station, (They were not liable and I had to eat the cost of another new set of mufflers and the tow home which also damaged my Charger... 
Rear seat side panels vandalised while in the shop getting new V.top. there the perfect Int. Vinyl panel was apparently slashed with carpet knives by young thuggish vindictive/jealous shop worker/s... I should have known something was up when they gave me the serious stink-eye when i came in the shop to pick up the car,.. I didn't notice the damage till much later and the shop owner claimed it came in the shop damaged. and refused to take any responsibility.
Not specifically specifying where S.E. Emblems and Gold Pass. side Pentastar were to be located, so the S.E.s were drilled into the very center of the roof panel  and the Pentastar was about 4 inches too high... 
I had to threaten legal action to get these problems resolved. Infact a friend who worked in a law firm actually impersonated a lawyer and visited the shop at which time everything got fixed pronto.
There was also the time my Charger was left outside in a sketchy area where "JOSE" was carved into the Pass side fender in one inch block letters.
sure there were other mistakes, but overall these cause me the most grief. Most of these damages would have been avoided if I had been much more adament and present visiting the shop to make sure the charger wasn't parked on the street and the items were to be installed properly in the correct location.
Not everything is avoidable however. if some young punk (shopworker) decides to screw your car up you can't defend against that.

[Neal_J]

Two interrelated things. 

One, underestimating the costs. 

Two, not understanding the poor quality of some repop parts.  While they may look great in the Year One catalog but don't fit, feel or last like the originals.  Consequently, I've bought many parts twice - the repop following eventually by an NOS or nice used original part.  Buying parts twice thus brings us back to the first thing I listed.