What would you have done differently?

[buhler86]

Where are you located? I am central AB.

I'm in Manitoba.

 

[69bigblock]

Looks like a solid car and that’s a very good start.. it’s about planning..
1-make a list what you want to do and price it out the best you can.
2- go over the list and see what you really need, oppose to what you want. Tubular arms, etc.. just to example to lower cost.
3-Rotisserie?? Depends I have always wanted to do a frame off with a rotisserie, so I bought one. My body was in good shape and was helpful in doing the underside of the car..
4- Plan on making end dates. kind of like goals that need to be done by certain dates to keep you motivated to finish.
5-Bag and tag. Take pics. Save every part, every bolt,

 

[69hurstolds]

A few posts talk about saving every part and bolt as you remove them. Typically, you find some or a lot of your used parts you replaced during the resto are in better shape than someone else's daily driver parts and they may be seeking such a part, However small or minor you may think it may be, Thus, after the car is done, you can sell or give away parts you don't need which does at least 3 things. 1) Makes you a few bucks to defray the cost of the resto (kinda like getting back core charges), and 2) it helps the community of G-body crazies like us in saving another one or more, and 3) it clears out storage space for your NEXT project(s).

As stated, do not do this UNTIL you are done. You never know. For example, I got a CAMARO fender in the box when I bought a pair of fenders from the GM dealer. The fender had a G-body part number sticker on it!!! If I hadn't inspected the parts in the box until I was ready to get them painted or bolt them on, I'd have found out way too late that I had a Camaro fender when I thought I had a G-body Olds fender. So it pays to keep everything you pull off, at least temporarily, just in case.

Good luck.

 

[BuickOldsPontiac]

Spend some time reading and looking through some of the detailed build threads here as you are developing your plan. Even if your goals or skills are not the same as theirs, they are full of things to think about.

And when you start, create a build thread with pictures!

 

[69hurstolds]

Spend some time reading and looking through some of the detailed build threads here as you are developing your plan. Even if your goals or skills are not the same as theirs, they are full of things to think about.

And when you start, create a build thread with pictures!

And post them here so we can all see what's what and maybe someone else can use your experience to learn in order to save more G-bodies!

 

[Northernregal]

Saving everything is the best advice your gonna get. I’m learning this the hard way. Save, bag and tag.

 

[69hurstolds]

So now you've heard a lot good suggestions in no particular order:

1) Save EVERYTHING until finished.
2) Take LOTS AND LOTS of pictures. Digital film is so cheap these days. 🙂
3) Budget accordingly. Then multiply by 1.5 or 2.0
4) SET A GOAL AND MAKE A PLAN (probably should be #1)
5) BAG/TAG/ORGANIZE all the stuff you pull off.
6) DO NOT RUSH AND KNOW WHEN TO WALK AWAY AND TAKE A BREAK BEFORE YOU BREAK SOMETHING. (ok, I just thought of this one) There are those antsy times you just can't get time to put on more than one part. Breathe!
7) Draw or get someone to draw you what you picture in your mind as what you want your car to look like. Or get a picture of a similar car. Post it on the wall near the car during the process and remember, this is what motivates you.
8) Nobody will like everything you are doing. If you like it, fugg 'em- they have no say unless they're financing it for you.
9) HAVE FUN learning. You will make mistakes. Learn from them. Learn from the forum before you do something you think is crazy. Chances are, someone already broke that before you did. Share what you learned.

 

[pagrunt]

Keep a good inventory of what you have, broke down to which area they go to (engine, body, interior, chassis...) It sucks when you forget you have something & buy it again.

 

[MissBreezy]

My opinion? Don't do a rotisserie resto on a car that isn't worth at least 20k when done unless the car has big sentimental value.

A car doesn't need a rotisserie resto to be cool and the percentage of home finished resto cars that actually get finished has to be less than 25%. Cars get gutted, sand blasted, primed, engine assembled, and then the person runs out of time, money, energy or all of them. They then dump the car on CL for 25% of what they have in it with the title "All it needs is paint" "Fresh engine, never ran", and "Over 25k invested". It's my opinion that there are only 2 types of people that can do a rotisserie resto in under 5 years (with rare exceptions). 1. People who are getting paid to do resto stuff 2. People that get paid to do resto stuff and do it on their own car for free

Of the 5 G bodies I have owned, 4 of them were is some state of "I am going to fix it up one day" and they never did.

If you want to modify it, there is no reason the body has to come off the frame to do 75% of the things you want. That monte looks in pretty good shape and doesn't need a ton. Put some newer wheels on, a crate engine, gages/interior, ect. None of those things are significant time savings to do a full resto. The day it takes to change exhaust, the couple weekends it takes to swap the 305 over to a 383 or something, the evening after work to swap gages, isn't worth it to me at least to tear a car apart and let it sit in the garage for 3 years in various boxes.

It's more fun to drive your not perfect but useable fun car than have a primer shell in the garage for 5 years.

Yup

 

[csstrux]

I have had several complete tear downs in my life that end up parted out, sold for what I had in it or less, cut up or given away. I have picked a few up like that as well. In addition to what you are reading here before me, I will add another thought. If it safe, enjoy the car as it is, or fix what needs fixing so you can enjoy the car as it is or while you plan. Collect what you need to to either finish the car, or the next stage of repair/modification as your situation requires, before ever lifting a wrench. Tearing a car apart without materials in place in advance makes for a hard pull and reduced enthusiasm in the project. Like others have stated, once lethargy, or life sets in... Just my .02. Nice find by the way.