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Who Did your Restortation?

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J

jazzy

Freshman Member
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Wondering how many Cars were Restored and who did their Restorations.??..Were you happy with the job and the shop??And the Price??
 
You guys can do your own, and your own Paint, thats pretty good .Ok-- but Do you guys work for a body shop or something???
 
Hello,

good question. Currently by my own.
With all mechanic work and welding . Also include painting of the "under level " areas ( Boot, engine compartment) . But my progress with two hands ,is in my opinion not fast enough .... To much days after work, who I sink before the TV.. The first priority in my live are my kids. Normally on saturday I work in the garage. Sometimes on Sunday morning some silence process.....
The final paint work, I will do by a paint shop, but the delivery condition is finally fillered and grinded.
I´m an automotive engineer(development of anti skid systems)but with 30 years hobby experience with classic cars.

Bye michel- who has recently not really the power as with an age of 28... :cry:
 
Did my own. At a cost of $15,000+.
Labor doesn't count!

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Paul;
It came out real nice, those wheels look great against the red paint..
 
I do all my own except seats, I farm that out. Just a suggestion, if you have to farm all or most of the work out,you will be better off buying a car that is already done. Saves money and easy on the nerves.

Marv
 
germanmichel said:
Hello,

good question. Currently by my own.
With all mechanic work and welding . Also include painting of the "under level " areas ( Boot, engine compartment) . But my progress with two hands ,is in my opinion not fast enough .... To much days after work, who I sink before the TV.. The first priority in my live are my kids. Normally on saturday I work in the garage. Sometimes on Sunday morning some silence process.....
The final paint work, I will do by a paint shop, but the delivery condition is finally fillered and grinded.
I´m an automotive engineer(development of anti skid systems)but with 30 years hobby experience with classic cars.
Click to expand...

Not quite completed and I'm already over 20K, and that's less the cost of purchasing.

Michel, I too thought doing the sanding and filling would save some money, not so. Every painter I went to said all that filler has to come off, it's not compatible with the primers and paint they use. You could argue the point but then they won't guarantee the paint work.
 
Hello Johnny good morning,

I know that, because of this ,I use completly the technical product and the layer requirements of Standox in coordination with my paint shop. As first I use a 2K epoxy primerfiller (all in one,very expensive,but very good) after that the paint shop can directly finish the paint .

Bye- michel who is far away from painting...
 
Mine's a hodge-podge; I did all the rust repair and paintwork in the chassis, all mechanical and electrical work, but I couldn't meet my own standards on the exterior bodywork. I am hoping to get and install a Heritage interior over the winter...

I used Paul Tsikuris, in Lakeland, Florida, to do the finish bodywork and contract a painter. Paul's portion was $8k, and so was the painter's.

Forget what I paid for the car ($4200 in 1978) and the thousands I have put into it, just to get paint on straight metal cost $16k back in 2002.

I will say though, wherever the car stops, it gets rave compliments on the paint (and therefore, the surface beneath it).

Would I ever use Paul again? Only if I could personally drop in and inspect the car once (1) per week. Too many decisions get made for you when you're not there to give the final word. I would advise against doing a long-distance restoration, or any portion thereof. Perhaps that wouldn't be an issue in a concours/correct level restoration, but with my modified, there were liberties and interpretations that I didn't approve of. Nothing against Paul's work though.

I can't resist...

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Full resolution: https://www.rfdm.com/albums/album107/IMG_5445.jpg

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Full resolution: https://www.rfdm.com/albums/album107/IMG_5455.jpg
 
Leo Gleason is out of business now. I took the car apart, had Leo do the body and paint work, had Custom Automotive do the machine shop work, had Linskog Balancing balance the engine components and then back to Custom Automotive to reassemble the balanced engine. Motor went to Leo and he installed that and all the suspension into the painted car. Leo also put in the wiring harness and the heat shields and a lot of the electrics on the firewall. The seat kits went out to Columbia for installation on the front and rear frames (I built my own rear seat backrest/parcel shelf frame) and then the car came back tome and I restored and installed the pedal assembly, hydraulics, steering, exhaust and all other engine bolt-ons, fuel system from tank to carbs, electrics and chrome, door guts, hood, rubber, restored the dash (sent the gauges to Nissonger) and am now installing the carpets and interior. I think I will send the top out to be done by others. I'm not sure about that yet, but I can see a lot of ways to wreck a very expensive Heritage soft top with the as original invisible stitching or whatever it is that I paid an extra $150 for so maybe a pro should do that. I also had a paint detial guy do the final buff out of the paint job. as the paint was 10 years old at the time, it was rock hard and came out great!!!
 
After nursing a TR4 restoration for nearly 8 years before finally selling it in pieces, I decided that restoring a Healey was way too big an undertaking...so I bought mine from the restorer, Kurt Tanner in So. Cal. No regrets.
 
The previous owner of my car was from Waynesboro PA and he had it restored in about 1996 by Bud Weikert who had a shop in the small town of Mountain Top, PA., about 15-20 miles SW of Gettysburg. I bought the car in 1998.

I had the privilege of meeting Bud in about 2005 when our club had a weekend event in Gettysburg. I called him in advance and told him that a number of us would like to visit him. We drove to his shop and met him. He had retired a few years earlier and my car was actually his last restoration--he was quite moved to see it and I was pleased to meet him.

It was a body-off restoration according to Bud but only the body--no engine or mechanical work and in 2001 I had the engine, interior, chrome, etc. done by Von Paterson of Fort Mill, SC. Von has since retired as well.

I don't know what the PO spent but I stopped adding up bills years ago--I really don't want to know what I have in the car! It has served me well--I have put about 50,000 miles on it since 1998 including one trip from MD to CA and back and another from MD to ND to TX and back--two "Border To Border" trips.
 
Did mine myself, paint, engine, suspension, etc. and am currently doing the same on my TR250. Farmed out the machine shop work, that is about it.

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The more I see.. of these Cars , The Healeys ----The more Beautiful I see that -They Really Are --- You ALL Have some Beautiful Cars. I have to admit that this site ..has made me really apreciate MY Healey even More , By seeing YOURS.- and I Have a Really Cool Healey..For 31 Years.,,.. And I am A- Newbe ---, And You made Me love mine more !! THANK YOU - So Please keep the Suggestions and Help coming.. Jazzy
 
I didn't mean to imply that I did all the work myself. There are very few hobbyists that can really do every piece of work necessary to restore completely a 40+ year car. I didn't do paint, engine machine work, fixing the instruments, fitting the seat covers or the top. Also sent the chassis out for media blasting. At the other extreme, bet there are few that can afford to just drive up to a restorer and come back in a year with a checkbook and Concours expectations.
 
I did my own. Built the engine, bodywork, paint, electrical, upholstry. I would have done my own chrome, but the chemicals are just too nasty. Had to have the car, couldn't afford to have anyone else do it. https://www.westvalleyalpacas.com/Jon/Jon.html
 
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