Bad Restorations

[JMotor]

@Dyslexic Viking

Yeah Kiwi doesn't half get some lash ups!

First one I watched was a Mustang that had been badly restored. Like it had to have massive amounts of shite chopped out. 

Yet, it looked perfect in it's resale red paint.

[chancer]

On 7/11/2023 at 12:36 PM, Merryck said:

I recently spoke to a Mini specialist as mine needs similar work to something he's been working on and the number was just shy of £20k. I think about half of it would have been labour from memory.

I can easily believe this. Having seen how little of a mini is left while being stripped for a proper resto is mind boggling....they rot just about everywhere. Luckily every panel is available, but the costs quickly mount. Sometimes its cheaper to buy a heritage shell

[Dippy]

Doing a full restoration correctly is very time consuming, I put 1500hours plus into a full nut and bolt restoration and I contract out the welding and paint which are both very time consuming as well.

I can see why lots of corners are cut as owners often do not realise the costs involved, I tell them straight what I expect it to cost but many other restorers give a get them in the door price usually between 30/50% of the real cost then get the car in and strip it down before letting the customer know the true costs.

I am involved with one car and the owner said he would take the shell away and get someone else to do it as my guys were slow which they are it will take a year to get a shell welded and another to get it painted but the work is amazing and the costs are quite reasonable. He told me the estimate was 25-30K welded and painted and I knew  he was taking it to a large restoration company where you can eat your dinner off the workshop floor and with big fancy offices etc and I knew this was the get him in the door price but didnt say anything.

The shell is now finished and looks superb but the owner tells me he spent 100K getting it done and the funniest part is it still took them 2 years to do it and not the 6 months they promised him.

[somewhatfoolish]

Do you specialise or is it anything that comes in the door with an owner who can pay?

[Dippy]

32 minutes ago, somewhatfoolish said:

Do you specialise or is it anything that comes in the door with an owner who can pay?

Heres what I do currently 2MK1 FFs snd an SP being fully restored plus a couple of Interceptors in from Spain for major works but not restorations. 

[somewhatfoolish]

An FF is tucked up in my fantasy garage, mostly a Mk1 due to the funky dash.

[Dippy]

I could turn that fantasy into reality with a bespoke built FF, all you need is a lottery win.

http://www.oilyragclassics.co.uk/http-oilyragclassics-co-uk/bespoke/

 

[Austin-Rover]

Related to bad restorations... doing 'too much' to a car for no good reason;

I've got a MK2 Cavalier that'll be going up for sale soon. There's currently a debate about the state of the engine bay. Years ago we rubbed down some surface rust where the suspension turret meets the inner wing. It's a common rust spot. It was treated and then brush painted in grey primer. Now the car is being prepped for sale, the o/h says it needs painting red to match the rest. I say it needs leaving in grey primer. My reasoning is 1) it is obvious why the work has been done and at the moment, it clearly looks like I'm not trying to hide any horrors, and 2) the paintwork in the engine bay is dull as it was never finished to the standard of the exterior paintwork, so me going there with a rattle can is then going to stand out like a sore thumb. 

Obvs, I reckon I'm in the right. 😄

[dome]

There was a 205 GTi at Goodwood looking at first glance immaculate but @Frazspotted loads of filler under the paint.

Suffice to say I never noticed...

[HMC]

I bought a volvo amazon in 2013 and that apprently had a lot of bodywork attention.

Turned out it was a right mess under the paint. Its one of those instances where it totally puts you off owning one again, however illogical that is; also happened to me with bmw e39s and triumph spitfires.

[bunglebus]

Yeah I'm a bit like that with Anglias now after levering inch-thick wob out of the rear quarter of one, and welding up the chassis rail to stop the steering box moving about.

During the rear quarter repairs we discovered the car was not green. The rear third was originally maroon...

[AdgeCutler]

I've mechanically restored many an old machine (my main interest being stationary engines) to operate as it should and be fully capable of doing the job it was intended for, however I'd rather leave original paint and finish as is, if any remains.

So here I am at a show with my engine slogging away driving an alternator at full output or perhaps just idling happily away after having been fully stripped, checked over and any issues rectified. You'd be surprised how many people say "you should restore that", meaning "slap some paint on it".

My Dad used to say "bullshit baffles brains" and he was right.

[danthecapriman]

44 minutes ago, AdgeCutler said:

My Dad used to say "bullshit baffles brains" and he was right.

Never a truer word spoken!

Where I used to work doing maintenance and repair on high voltage electrical equipment, we had an older guy who’d been there ages but had almost semi retired and mainly did the lighter work. Unless we were short and then he’d get stuck in to the heavier work too.   
I once watched him doing some switchgear maintenance, and after he’d finished all the work inside the equipment, and filled it back up with oil, he then poured a load of the old oil he’d just removed all over the switchgear! Obviously you just don’t do this because of environmental reasons! He then fitted new locks everywhere on the switchgear, which isn’t necessary if the old ones are still working ok…

I asked him why he did this every time he did a maintenance job and he said, pouring the old oil over the switch made the old paint go dark and look like new! The new locks were shiny brass and looked good!

Basically he said if anyone ever comes here afterwards they won’t see the inside of the switchgear, but they will see the outside. So if it looks good it doesn’t matter! It looks like you’ve been there and done a good job. 
Then he told me - ‘Bullshit baffles brains’!

It was so funny at the time because you just knew what the insides probably looked like!😆

[Dyslexic Viking]

It's a fairly common thing with old tractors. That some people have to paint them and it often end up with them being uglier than before. And these people also seem to believe that an old tractor with new paint is completely overhauled and worth a fortune. It isn't.

[goosey]

I once saw 2 crash damaged Austin Maxis get cut in half then the un damaged front and Un damaged rear get Brazed back together with Tar used to disguise the join underneath. Car lasted another 15 years after it was sold to the repairers Dad 

[EyesWeldedShut]

15 minutes ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

It's a fairly common thing with old tractors. That some people have to paint them and it often end up with them being uglier than before. And these people also seem to believe that an old tractor with new paint is completely overhauled and worth a fortune. It isn't.

"back when ah was ah lad" (well a spotty teenager)
We were 'gifted' two dead David Brown 880 tractors by the boss - one was red and the other (ex council) was yellow. Yellow one had seizedafter overheating whilst running unattended on a static water pump and the red one had a shagged rear end (ooh err!) Not sure exactly what - did they come with hydrostatic drive? Anyways - After hours we would tinker away at these two and eventually built one 'cut and shut' red/yellow mixed mashup thing that actually started after we towed it for about two miles.
Farmer looked at it 'well done lads - best ye paint it the same colour all over else you'll never sell it'
Brushes/tractor enamel and we were £500 better off after putting it through the Lanark Machinery Sales (no warranty implied or given  )

[Fraz]

16 hours ago, dome said:

There was a 205 GTi at Goodwood looking at first glance immaculate but @Frazspotted loads of filler under the paint.

Suffice to say I never noticed...

£30,000 they wanted too! 

[sierraman]

I don’t bother painting my Rotavators unless they’re rusty to prevent it rusting through. A wipe over with an oily rag and they’re fine. 

[grogee]

On 7/16/2023 at 7:57 PM, Austin-Rover said:

Related to bad restorations... doing 'too much' to a car for no good reason;

I've got a MK2 Cavalier that'll be going up for sale soon. There's currently a debate about the state of the engine bay. Years ago we rubbed down some surface rust where the suspension turret meets the inner wing. It's a common rust spot. It was treated and then brush painted in grey primer. Now the car is being prepped for sale, the o/h says it needs painting red to match the rest. I say it needs leaving in grey primer. My reasoning is 1) it is obvious why the work has been done and at the moment, it clearly looks like I'm not trying to hide any horrors, and 2) the paintwork in the engine bay is dull as it was never finished to the standard of the exterior paintwork, so me going there with a rattle can is then going to stand out like a sore thumb. 

Obvs, I reckon I'm in the right. 😄

I will be doing something similar in the Maestro engine bay. There are loads of small rust blebs all over the place. It will get a wire wheel then a dab of zinc primer with a brush. 

My theory is that when the car has been sat for a long time, the moisture in the air can get under the bonnet and start corrosion. With 'normal' cars the moisture is driven off by the heat of the engine which keeps the engine bay dry.