hello all, i am goin to be driving in 6 months and i am hopin my car wil be done by then. I know the motor/trans/differential will be finished, but i still need to clean up the engine compartment, restore my interior, paint the car, get new chrome, get new wheels/rubber, get new windows (tinted a little), get new weather-striping etc, maybe do a rear brake conversion from drums to discs, and clean up the trunk and then it should be pretty close to being done. O ya, and i need to put in a sound system...but that can be done fast by Bestbuy. They have those cool decks you can hide in your dash (located some where on your dash but to the right and under your steering wheel so it doesnt stick out) thus you dont have to change the original look of the front part of the dash...and they install it all (deck, speakers etc). SO...do you guys think it can all be done (in about 6 months)...with quality, or do you think i will have to drive one of our crappy farm trucks? remember, i know the engine and trans will be done (the differential is already sound).

Unless you and your dad are going to tow it to a shop now, with a blank check, sorry, I don't think it's gonna happen. If the body is completely sound and you can do a "scuff n Shoot" in the same color, maybe. Sometimes the nicest looking car gets real scary real quick when the paint is sanded off. Was just talking to my wife about that paint job I've been talking tomy wife about for five years..lol. I am pure scared to death!

If you're thinking do it yourself, go to the bodyforum and stsart reading about what some of theseguys are going through.

Clean the manure out of the back and then you'll only have to drive a farm truck! LOL

I'm with Jim... unless you only have very minor work to do you'll be trucking it for a while.

I'm about ready to start restifying my 68 convertible and the stories in the body forum scare me to death. But at least they paint a realistic picture of what you better be ready for.

Good luck! graemlins/beers.gif

Hey Donald, nice to meet another '68 vert owner, your car don't look like it needs a paint job yet, at least compared to mine...lol

Jim

If you truly want a “quality job” you will need to completely strip down the car, not just the paint but also all of the interior and hardware. This takes a lot of time, but nowhere near the time it takes to put it all back together. I am gonna assume that you are hiring out all the work (since you mention Best Buy installing the radio, why not just let the shop doing all the other work put it in while they are there) All of the work you want could be done by a quality restoration shop in 6 months, the problem is most are backlogged 6 – 12 months. If you search around it could happen but remember things like this have two relative factors Time & Money and they are inversely proportional meaning the faster you want it the more it will cost. To quote a signature I’ve read in the forums (probably here) “speed costs, how fast do you want to go?”

Good luck graemlins/thumbsup.gif and I commend you for asking advice. You can never ask too many questions!

Alternatively, why not get it running mechanically, install the stereo and then drive it while you work on it. It's been done before by many of us here. Just a thought.

corbettes that is probably what i will do

bummer though..thanks for the info everyone

Hey JimM!

Yep, got to love those first gen drop tops... especially the 68s! :D

Yeah she looks good from a distance...

lol, same here, from a distance, and moving at least 30mph! lmao

i work at bestbuy for geeksquad smile.gif represent ...i wouldnt let best buy do it lol over priced and umm they take way to long ...i can install a really good custom built ...(not bulky boxes) and the head unit and everything in under 3 hours ... 4 if you wanna talk about running amp and ground cables and such ...

bestbuy will tell you like 6-8 hours ...basically all day ...but dont even worry bout the stuff you dont need to get it running ...your becoming another me ! lol

do what you need to do to get it road ready in 6 months ...the rest worry about as time goes on ...mines going to be finally on the road friday but i think im selling it due to the prices that im going to find out on friday :(

where do you live iroc? here in CA...close to my town?

btw everyone, as i look at alot of everyones pictures of there cars...i am reminded that if i do the full on ground up restos that most of you guys are doin...i will never have my car done! And i really want to drive my car during high school. I mean...should i just get it driveable and have all the stuff I mentioned in my earlier post done and then drive it...or is it bad to drive without EVERYTHING finished? it is just kinda discouraging and I know that i will have that huge burden over my head about gettin everything finished!

Here are some things to think about. They may help. its alawys good to look at a situation from multiple sides.

How bad is the car now? It is probably better to drive it unfinished than to rush it because you are anxious to drive it. Of course be sure all of the mechanical issues are done, but hey driving around in an unfinished Camaro may be better than the farm truck you seem to dislike.

Alternatively, it may not be a bad idea to go ahead a get it all done, even if it takes a year. So what if you have to drive around in a farm truck for a few months.

Only you can decide weather or not it is worth waiting for.

For the record my car that I drive daily has all the interior striped out and primer patches on the outside. I’ll have it finished someday! graemlins/hurray.gif

If I were in your shoes I'd take care of the mechanicals and drive it like corbett suggested. There is no way I'd do a full restoration and then drive it to high school. To many jerks who would trash it out of jealosy. Keep it a beater and they will be a lot less likely to mess with it.

Make it safe, drive it, and save the full out restoration for later in life when the car is full of memories (the best involving the backseat) and is then priceless.
graemlins/waving.gif

nah bro sorry i dont live anywhere near you ...unless you want to fly me out there for a few days and help me get back ...it probably wont happen


and i got my own issues on friday that i need to tend to my car with :(