Team Chevelle banner
Cancel
Create thread New Garage Forums

How "deep" should I go???

Jump to Latest
1 - 20 of 29 Posts
S

SSnooj

· Registered
Joined
·
52 Posts
Discussion starter · #1 ·
Hey guys-
I've had my 70 Chevelle SS 396 since summer of '05, and I haven't turned the first bolt on it!! It's in good shape, and doesn't need a lot to be on the road; But I'm stuck trying to decide whether I should strip her down completely, and do the chassis, full body, and the whole nine yards; Or just put it together and drive it.

I've already got a rebuilt 396, rebuilt th400, new brakes, and I've been buying parts over the last couple years (gears, pulleys, seats, new bumpers, etc.) So, it wouldn't take a lot to get it running and driving. I just don't know if I'd feel like I'm "throwing it together" if I didn't do a complete frame off.

Has anyone ever got a car on the road and went back to detail things later?? Or should I go ahead and take the extra time and money (which I really don't have much of either) and go all out to begin with??

I guess I'm just looking for encouragement and advice.
Thanks,
Nooj
 
#2 ·
That's pretty much something you have to answer for yourself.

Me, I'm more into driving them, so I say put it together and drive it. Especially since you say the funds are short now. Who knows how long it will be until you have the funds to do exactly what you want.

But then again, there's no better time to restore it than now if it's all apart anyways.

I didn't really help much, huh?:D

My final vote is put it together and drive it. You've had it since '05, you have to be itching to get it on the road.
 
#3 ·
I would drive it! You can fix little things as they come up or are needed.
If you have a good ruuuing car I wouldn't tear it apart. The time between tearing it apart and getting it back on the road can be a long time, especially if you are new to the car business.
It is easy to loose interest when you can't buzz it around some.
Enjoy it now and start with the smaller things as you build confidence and have the time, then move on to the more detailed projects.

Tom
 
#4 ·
Only you can really answer this question. It is possible to drive and restore a car at the same time. But when you finally get done, most of the time, the first things you did will have to be retouched or redone. The problem with a frame off is $$$$$ and the amount of time it takes to do it correctly. Most people under estimate both. It sounds like your car does not need a whole lot of work. Fix what needs fixing, drive and enjoy! You can always do a frame off later! Do not make the mistake alot of people make, starting a frame off and running out of money or time. They either wind up trying to sell a car in pieces, or cutting corners and making an extremely nice frame off look cheap.Thomas
 
#5 ·
Yep, I agree; only you can answer. But a frame-off costs a big ol' garbage scow of $$$. You said you don't have much time or money and it wouldn't take much to get it together. Where I come from it's a short driving season for the old cars... Every summer I get a great idea to fix something or replace something, whatever... It always takes too long and I miss out on weeks of driving. This summer I'm putting thousands of miles on it even though there's a new built motor on the stand in the garage right next to the car. I'm making myself wait to put it in so I can drive right now. Bottom line: I say drive it!! Enjoy and take care of things as you go. A frame-off will still be waiting if you get a bunch of time and money!:beers:
 
Save
Reply Quote Like Like
#6 ·
SSnooj said:
Or should I go ahead and take the extra time and money (which I really don't have much of either) and go all out to begin with??

I guess I'm just looking for encouragement and advice.
Thanks,
Nooj
Click to expand...
Twins Fan said:
That's pretty much something you have to answer for yourself.

Me, I'm more into driving them, so I say put it together and drive it. Especially since you say the funds are short now. Who knows how long it will be until you have the funds to do exactly what you want.

.
Click to expand...
richietables said:
Yep, I agree; only you can answer. But a frame-off costs a big ol' garbage scow of $$$. You said you don't have much time or money and it wouldn't take much to get it together.
Click to expand...
I agree with what Brad and Rich are saying above^...only you can decide, because it really depends on the level of experience in car restoration that you have, as well as how much that you like actually WORKING on cars. :yes:

Keep in mind that there are a number of car guys who are not only very experienced in frame-off restorations, but who actually enjoy doing the work itself just for the sake of work (and in some cases, maybe even for the sake of having a reason to get away from their hen-pecking wives too). I know a guy like that.

But if you're like I am, and you only work on cars because you do have a little bit of knowledge and you do it when you have to in order to reach your goal of being able to drive the car, then you might want to think twice before embarking on a huge restoration project. I can garantee you that if you haven't restored a car before, there will be huge learning curves that you'll go through as the project unfolds (I've learned this the hard way over and over again with my current project).

Yeah, I'm one of those guys who likes DRIVING fast cars a whole lot more than WORKING on them, and if I had the $$ I would be like Jay Leno and have all my cars built for me by hired hands. Unfortunately I don't have that kind of $$. So I do the work when I can, and when I MUST. But I don't enjoy it. :noway: Another factor is how brutally expensive it is these days for parts, and the quality of many of the parts is in the tiolet due to overseas manufacturing (particularly with body parts such as bumpers and floor pans :mad: ) and such parts rarely ever fit right, and cause a lot of headaches and time consuming alterations. So think before you leap, because if you haven't restored one of these cars in the past several years, you can bet that it's going to require a lot more time and $$ than you might otherwise be planning on. Please don't ask me how I know this. :mad:
 
#7 ·
SSnooj said:
Or should I go ahead and take the extra time and money (which I really don't have much of either)
Click to expand...
Unlike the others I think I can tell you what to do. I can do this because of the statement you made above,and my own personal experience. If you're not totally driven to have a frame off car you don't need to go anywhere near that! You've had the car for 4yr's already,and I can almost guarantee you it could be another 4yr's if you start a frame off. Put the car together and drive it! Clean things up as you assemble the car. Don't reinstall any worn out part,but don't try to rebuild every component either. Put together a SAFE complete car. Once you have the car assembled and driving, the single most important thing IMHO is to get the car painted. Nothing will inspire you more about continuing to work on your car than to have people notice your car while you're out driving or parked at the gas station,etc.
Mike
 
Discussion starter · #8 ·
Wow- thanks for the responses and encouragement, guys!

I think I will take what most of you said to heart- and build it to drive. I never wanted to make a trailer queen out of it; But there are things that I would like to be very detailed about when I get the chance to do it (like painting the frame and suspension, a neat-n-clean wiring harness, etc). But I guess that's always something I can get into when my son gets older and has an interest in his old man's muscle car :)

I'm with you BillyGman, I'd take driving them over working on them anyday! But I do enjoy putting my own hands on them too.

I have worked on a handful of cars and hotrods, but haven't done any complete restorations. If I can't do something in particular, I know some talented guys that will lend a hand.

Thank all of you for your inputs!! Hopefully I'll be posting some progress pictures in the near future :-D

Nooj
 
#9 ·
get it running and drive it as it is, then fix stuff as it needs to be fixed.
life is too short to have a perfectly good car taking up space in the garage when it could be out on the road.
 
Save
Reply Quote Like Like
#10 ·
Good choice. I would do the same. I kinda wish I was doing the same. My 72 is torn apart and I wish I was driving it. It gets very little work done due to time and money restraints. If I had the money to do it all now, it would be getting done, but there it sits.

Maybe you can sock some cabbage away and get her done the way you want to, but until then you can have your fun with it. You'll probably change your mind a dozen times on certain details of the restoration and maybe even learn a thing or three that will help you out in the long run. Good things come to those who wait.
 
#11 ·
M.Maner said:
If you're not totally driven to have a frame off car you don't need to go anywhere near that! You've had the car for 4yr's already,and I can almost guarantee you it could be another 4yr's if you start a frame off..
Mike
Click to expand...
I for one can vouch for what Mike is telling you here^....especially if it would be your first frame off restoration (as I said ealier in the thread). I'm in the middle of my first restoration, and I'm close and have the car running, but it's been over 3 years, and the car still isn't ready to be driven yet. So 4 years isn't out of the question. My brother just completed his full resto, and it took him 6 years! And that's despite the fact that he even has a lift in his garage.
 
#12 ·
I completed a complete body off resto on my chevelle several years ago and I kind of wish I wouldn't have. I was in a similiar position as you and I decided to go with the full on resto. The upside is I now have a fully restored chevelle that looks great. However, the downside is I don't drive it as much because I don't want something to happen to it and I don't want to drive it in any weather. I know it won't hurt it but I just don't want to spend hours and hours cleaning the underside of it. I know they are meant to be driven but I just remember all the effort it took to get it restored and now some of the fun is gone out of a car I used to drive all the time. I'm sure I'll get over it but for now it spends way too much time in the garage while others are out cruzin. I say hold off on the full resto and have fun with it but thats just my opinion.
 
Discussion starter · #14 ·
All you guys are completely right. I've been sittin on this baby for long enough, waiting on the day I have the time and money to go all out on it. But, since as long as I've had the car I've always said that it was gonna be driven, no matter what. I mean- what's the point if you can't drive it and enjoy it, right?? I've got the time and money to make an attractive, safe, and enjoyable ride with it- and I'm gonna do just that.

6t7ChevelleSS, I have a feeling I'd feel the same way you do about my car, if I were to do an extensive resto on her. With my friend's help (who, lucky for me, restores old cars for a living), hopefully I'll get her on the road soon- pretty enough to be proud of, but not so emaculate that I dread having to detail her after a cruise.

I've personally seen several great old cars sit for way too long, waiting to be "finished" and driven... I'm gonna make sure my 70 SS isn't one of them.

Thanks again fellas!

Nooj
 
#15 ·
great subject, bought my 68 in 05 and just now have the body on and getting ready for paint, my son wants me to paint it red, says its his dream car, i told him get your own dream kid it was a teal metallic new and its a teal metallic now! i love the process,theres allways something fun to work on and it has a happy ending, what more could a 50 yr old guy ask for in these times? good luck. tim
 
#16 ·
bdbaggr said:
great subject, bought my 68 in 05 and just now have the body on and getting ready for paint, my son wants me to paint it red, says its his dream car, i told him get your own dream kid it was a teal metallic new and its a teal metallic now! i love the process,theres allways something fun to work on and it has a happy ending, what more could a 50 yr old guy ask for in these times? good luck. tim
Click to expand...
That's real good Tim. You sound like one of those guys who really enjoys working on cars. More power to ya. But I'm just not one of them. I have some ability, and I've been working on cars for over 20 years, but i do so because I have to. it's never anything I look forward to doing. I luv old muscle cars, and I like driving them, but working on them is just a chore to me, nothing more. So each person has to take into account which type he is. The driver, the worker, or in some cases both.

It reminds me of a line in an old movie: "A man's got to know his limitations"...(anyone know what movie and what actor? :D).....
 
1 - 20 of 29 Posts
About this Discussion
28 Replies
19 Participants
Last post:
SSnooj
Team Chevelle
posts
5.3M
members
131K
Since
1998
A forum community dedicated to Chevrolet Chevelle owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about restorations, builds, performance, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, maintenance, and more!
Full Forum Listing
Explore Our Forums
Bench Racing Performance Engine Chevelle Tech Body Shop