[MotorCityTA]

Hands down - letting an R&M paint rep talk me into using water born primer.. on a 72 Maserati. Ever seen paint come off in 8" slabs?

[BigCat4spd]

Sandblasting inside my shop. OMG! I had no idea how much dust is created. I will never begrudge ones singel dollar paid to anyone who does blasting for me from now on.....if I ever find another good blaster.

My old reliable went out of business, so I decided to do it myself. Results were good but that's pretty hard work. Cleaning up my shop is going to be a monumental task, whenever I get to that point.

[rohrt]

Resto blunders,

I can relate to many that were already listed, but here are a few of my own.

Bending my own SS break lines. Ended up replacing them all. You guy warned me too.

Not test fitting panels because they were used not aftermarket, thinking why wouldn't they be a perfect fit.

Piecing out my suspension vs getting a kit.

Piecing out my breaks vs getting a kit

Not measuring in the front sub frame with the factory manual and just using the allignment holes.

Using Stove Bright paint to paint the engine. Won't burn off the heads but it will rust through in a few months.

Not changing out the fuel sending unit when I had the gas tank out the last three times.

Not bench testing the Ralley Gauges to verify I had all the connections working before installing.

Doing the Guldstrand mod after the front end was together.

Using grease on the speedo cable rather then graphite.

Trying to rebuild my power steering pump. Not sure what went wrong. Ended up buy a AGR pump.

Who said getting Divorced in the middle of it. Yeah I can relate.

Using factory correct battery cables, 660CCA Delco Battery and starter on my 455. I wonder why I have hot starting issues?

I'm sure I could add several more if I thought about it long enough.

Now we need a What did you do right thread. Its a much shorter list for me.

[carcrazy]

Starting another one!!

[70 Lemans]

Not having a sound plan.

Not having $$$.

Not having time.

Not having proper tools.

All in all things get done sooner or later.

Finish date before I kick the bucket.

[rememberfireball#22]

Have been repainting my 68 Goat in my one car garage. Have not started car in the 2 1/2 months that I have been working on it. After the spraying of paint I left car where it was for the color sanding,buffing, interior cleanup, and just general cleanup and detail. I have a sissor jack that makes body work much easier. I have had three back surgery's and the jack enables me to work on rockers and lower area of car without having to bend over to bad.When I though I had finished this weekend I wanted to drive car and show it off because it did turn out beautiful. When I started car it is hard to describe the noise. It sounded like someone trying to beat their way out of a barrel with a sledge hammer.I looked and could not find any reason for it. My first cousin has a first class mechanical repair shop about 8 miles from me. I called him and he said he had a drive on rack free if I wanted to bring car down and work on it myself. I went and got his rollback and carried my car to his shop. To make a long story short, when I jacked car up with sissor jack I had placed the rubber foot on the left side of the trans crossmember instead of the frame and bent it up toward the floor. This mashed the driveshaft and front u-joint up against the floor. Evertime the driveshaft turned over, the u-joint cup would impact the floor.My point is, with me anyway, I am an ongoing blunder. Now I have the car on frame machine and will pull crossmember back in place tomorrow morning.

[6 Grrrs]

#1 - Starting a restoration on a car that is in pieces already, and alot of those pieces are missing. Most of the missing pieces ar small, expensive items that were not really worried about at the start of the resto.

#2 - Taking only the parts needed to do the work that is to be done (I.E. brought the car from my parents house & left alot of the bigger/akward items there until I needed them), then parents house catches fire & all is lost. Best to take everything at once & just find places to put them.

#3 - not setting a budget in the 1st place.

Even though these were my biggest blunders, the resto worked out great & all the aggravation was worth it in the end. I actually ended up spending twice what I originally planned on. I'm still into it pretty good, considering I got the car for nothing.

I'm mentally ready for my next resto project, just not financially ready.

[eaglesan13]

Biggest mistake, not starting with a bigger garage. It's hard to do a frame-off nut and bolt resto in a 2 car garage.

[Judas]

Originally Posted by eaglesan13

Biggest mistake, not starting with a bigger garage. It's hard to do a frame-off nut and bolt resto in a 2 car garage.

If it makes you feel any better, I am working in a single car garage (a small one that cannot house a truck) & carport. My parts are stored in a shed and in the basement.

Fun!

-J

[Old Bird]

The first pontiac motor I rebuilt when I was about 16 in the parking lot of a apartment. After getting it all back together it ran good but the timing was all over the place. Thats when I found the cam retainer in the bottom of a box. Ran great after the second tear down and retainer installed.

[70&71 TRANSAM OWNER]

Paying in advance to have rear Quarters and sale pan installed, Never did get it done

[6t7goat]

Welding up some body panels and not covering my vent windows or windshield. Weld spatter makes nice black pitts in glass. Had to replace vent window and windshield.

[wytnyt]

hmmm ive never had a blunder
but if you believe that,,,ive got a bridge for sale

[wytnyt]

Originally Posted by ctehan

7.) Working all day, falling asleep under the car and waking up startled, only to bash your forehead on an oil pan...

oh,can i identify with this one

[Anselcop]

I was restoring a 2 door 68 Chevelle that had a bad frame.....Found a new frame on Craigs List and drove 2 hours to pick it up. The owner of the frame said that it was a from a 1971 Chevelle coupe and had the old rusted body/shell sitting along side of the frame. I took the frame home, sandblasted it, painted it, bolted on all of the new suspension, installed the re-built rear-end and stood back and admired my work. My pride came to an end when I tried to install the new brake lines and they were 4-inches too short.....I found out that I restored a 4-door Chevelle frame, not a 2-door!! Anyway, after spending $500 at the local frame shop to get it shortened and a quick re-paint, I now have a 2dr frame.

PS.....my wife bought me a new tape measure for Christmas!

Dan

[Old Goat 67]

Originally Posted by Anselcop

I was restoring a 2 door 68 Chevelle that had a bad frame.....Found a new frame on Craigs List and drove 2 hours to pick it up. The owner of the frame said that it was a from a 1971 Chevelle coupe and had the old rusted body/shell sitting along side of the frame. I took the frame home, sandblasted it, painted it, bolted on all of the new suspension, installed the re-built rear-end and stood back and admired my work. My pride came to an end when I tried to install the new brake lines and they were 4-inches too short.....I found out that I restored a 4-door Chevelle frame, not a 2-door!! Anyway, after spending $500 at the local frame shop to get it shortened and a quick re-paint, I now have a 2dr frame.

PS.....my wife bought me a new tape measure for Christmas!

Dan

I applaud you sir!

Most would NEVER tell of such a blunder. Good for you in fixing it.

Charles

[wytnyt]

im doing a 68 mustang vert for my boss.the old paint only had a couple cracks in the paint but overall very solid.
being picky he had me strip it,,wow a real bondo buggy
spent most of the day pulling and rolling out dents that were just filled in
not my blunders but i did inherit them

[66 LeMans]

Buying a Lemans convertible while living overseas.

getting a 389 engine from Ebay, that "runs and is in perfect condition"
Getting all the parts for the 389 engine.
Getting it overhauled.
Buying a rear axle on ebay and have it shipped to the Netherlands.
Put a th400 longtail in a 66 lemans.

Actually, do all the above without having a garage!!!

engine, trans, rear axle.. all are overhauled and practically better than new, but... never again!!!

Oh, one more... put flex brakelines from Goodrich in the car.. it sure makes em Good.. ans especially RICH!!! Auch!! my wallet!!!!

No fun restoring an american car when living overseas... $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

But, still love my car... I hope to get it running in about a month

[x-bird2]

buying a car that needed restored ....8 years later buying an even worse rust bucket ....first is not finished, neither is the second )))

[Mark1968]

Poor planning, doing things out of order.

Not taking enough pictures.

Bagging and tagging, can never do this enough.

Most of this comes from never having done this before, not knowing what is right and how something is done.

The next one will go better, right?