[uforacing]

Originally Posted by NoMoCEO

Using an un-tried HVLP gun and a brand of paint you've never used before for the first time.

Shot the primer with my trusty old Binks Siphon Feed. Should have stayed with it. Trying to keep up with the times. Still don't like the HVLP!

Been there, never again.

[Judas]

Hmm...so many to chose from.

Besides "starting one" and "underestimating my wife's ability to spend the excess income from a huge wage increase (put another way: not having a pile of cash upfront and assuming you can earn it as you go)"?

Starting with too rusty a car - "If the frame is solid, I can fix the rest"
Buying a car in the dark (see above)
Not leaving a lip when cutting out the passenger side floor pan (replacements dont extend quite to the rocker/kick panels)
Thinking its only "a little" harder to weld in real-life as opposed to practice in shop...where everything is positioned perfectly.
Trying to work in a one car garage + carport
Thinking that anyone, (friends, family, ect) will ever lend you a hand, even if it's just to hold something. ("busy that day...")

I could go on but it did say "biggest". You pick. :|

[Half-Inch Stud]

Like Stocks: selling really nice parts that I did not need, only to find out years later that I need them.

[formulapk]

ahhh JUDAS! how i can relate!

blunder 1:
buying a set of doors b/c i thought mine were not fixable only to find the doors i bought with their pretty silver paint just hid more work then my originals needed....then selling them for half of what i paid for them.

blunder 2:
not knowing how to do any bodywork and thinking an 8 week class in Boces Auto Body would have my car finished and painted!

blunder 3:
thinking i can do all the welding myself.....not even owning a welder at the time!

blunder 4:
realizing i can't finish my car in 8 weeks at Boces...taking the course a 2nd time to still not finish it, to deciding i can do all the work at home.....outside and in a car port....with a 20gal oil less sears compressor....in turn leading to buying a wonderful 80gal porter cable. thankfully i moved into a house with a 2 car garage.

blunder 5......the BIGGEST!

selling my 97 ford explorer eddie bauer edition dirt cheap to buy the piece i bought!

[sdx455]

Thats funny you said BOCES havent seen that name in years. I grew up in Brewster NY went to BOCES during high school took the carpentry classes/should have taken the auto body..

[Judas]

[QUOTE=formulapk;3613313]ahhh JUDAS! how i can relate!



I finally have the "zen" of mig welding with my cheapo (actually it seems to work pretty well IMO) Campbell/Hauself mig welder. I am almost afraid to replace it now that I know where to set it to weld under different conditions. I still can't weld fully upside-down, but I can if the metal is, say, the minute hand on a clock pointing between 8-9.

Still, I shudder when I look at the incredibly ugly welds I laid down early on. Sometimes I just want to cut/grind them out, but these are also 'hidden welds'. I dont trust myself to ever weld on "skin".

The most amazing thing was probably the income. I went up by 30K a year in 2001. This was the same year my wife got pregnant (planned ) and quit her job to raise..which paid about 30K a year. :| What great planning...

[mgoblue]

Biggest blunder - Just about any work that was farmed out. It never ceases to amaze me how someone can do such a poor quality job when it would take just a little more effort to do it right. That said, I have found a few people who take genuine pride in their work and I make it a point to recommend them to others.

[padacter67]

Thinking i could tackle a project(entire car), screwing something up...takeing it somewhere to have it fixed...to have it done in the same quality as i could have!

had the roof skin replaced... got a roof off a rotted field car, the guy laid the new skin over the old and welded it on!

Why-why-why-sob...

[R68GTO]

Not my biggest, just my most recent.....installing a brand new Pypes manifold-back x-pipe exhaust. To mark the pipe on the inlet side of the muffler I wrapped a piece of 2" wide tape where I wanted to cut the pipe. Cut it on the wrong side of the tape....guess what...2" too short I tried to cut it again and it was still too short!

[stimpy]

sending a car out to be blasted and forgetting to ask if it was soda or sand , and winding up with a warped car because the owner decided to let the rookie blast the car and did it with sand . needless the car has all new panels .

[1967Tempest]

The real blunder that I made was going into Pontiac build with a Chevy mind set ( i.e.. the thrust bearing is in a different position) Only after 9 years with the 67 Tempest do I realize that Pontiacs are in no way like a Chevy........................................They are MUCH MUCH MUCH better.

Dave

[Old Goat 67]

They are MUCH MUCH MUCH better.

Amen, Dave. AND prettier.

Charles

[GREATGTO]

Havent had any blunders yet but if I do Ill let you all know. I did paint my frame silver and everyone keeps telling me I should have painted it black, I like the silver so I dont know if it counts as a blunder? Plus it looks good

[Judas]

Originally Posted by R68GTO

Not my biggest, just my most recent.....installing a brand new Pypes manifold-back x-pipe exhaust. To mark the pipe on the inlet side of the muffler I wrapped a piece of 2" wide tape where I wanted to cut the pipe. Cut it on the wrong side of the tape....guess what...2" too short I tried to cut it again and it was still too short!

If only I had a dime for every time I did this with sheet metal...

I usually mark with a soapstone 'pen' or sharpie, plus the thickness of the cut-off wheel, yielding about 1/4-inch error. Strangely (or not), this seems most common when I cutting a piece for a butt weld- where the fitment is crucial. My best for this was a complicated piece to repair rust out at the bottom of the passenger-side cowl cover. I think it took about 45 mins to layout because I had to figure in bends (the part was not goign to be flat in the end). I cut it out, held it up...then threw it over my shoulder. At least laying it out the second time went much faster...

-J

[67blackcherry]

My biggest mistake?

Being a musician for 31 years and thinking I could start working on old cars all the while possessing VERY LIMITED MECHANICAL APTITUDE OR KNOWLEDGE.

Yeah, that was my biggest resto blunder. I'm learning though, and having fun.

[george kujanski]

Measure with a micrometer, mark with a chalk, cut with an axe,.......that's my method.

George

[jokerstime]

My worst mistake -selling the first 67 gto I ever saw and bought. Bought it for 700 bucks sold it for 700 bucks at Mather AFB in California in the 70's.
2nd was buying another 67 gto
3rd was buying another 67 gto before I finished the 2nd gto because I missed the 1st gto----LLLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSSSSEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRR RRRR

[Blue '66]

Letting 2 guys restore my car back in '85.They would only do it if they fiberglassed the top and put a vinyl top on.No fiberglass under the vinyl top when we pulled it off.
They used paintable HOUSEHOLD caulk to use as a seam sealer.They layed a replacement quarter panel over the old panel and used a ton of filler.They didn't even strip the original paint off the original panel.
We are fixing all the old mistakes and no vinyl top.

[turbo69bird]

Originally Posted by mgoblue

Biggest blunder - Just about any work that was farmed out. It never ceases to amaze me how someone can do such a poor quality job when it would take just a little more effort to do it right. That said, I have found a few people who take genuine pride in their work and I make it a point to recommend them to others.

your not in CT are you.LOL

It always blows me away that no matter how much I pay comes back right!!

I have given up paying too much I figure if I am gonna get screwed at least I can save a few dollars doing it.LOL

[turbo69bird]

Originally Posted by turbo69bird

your not in CT are you.LOL

It always blows me away that no matter how much I pay nothing ever comes back right!!

I have given up paying too much I figure if I am gonna get screwed at least I can save a few dollars doing it.LOL

My buddy sent his 55 chevy out to have the cage done. the work was perfect. the nicest welds you could find.
He asked the guy to wait for the front kicker bars util he brought the inner fenders down cause the class he was running required them. of course the guy welded them in and the inners didnt fit.


The guy charged him $500 to move them even though he was clearly told they would be down the next day with the inners.