So, hey- it's been a couple months and there have been no updates on the car.  What's going on with it?  Well it is sitting securely in a corner of the shop waiting patiently for us to get back to her.  Business is booming  and we have been having a blast restoring customers' cars.
​      Remember that  last post I made about the importance of budgets?  Initially we had planned on selling the 1982 Collectors Edition Corvette and use that money to restore the Mach 1.  However, I have been having so much fun driving it, we decided to keep it.  Therefore the initial budget has shifted.  Though it might not get finished in the time frame first imagined, it will still get done.  
     Slower might work out even better in this case, as it will allow time for more customization that the original plan of going back all stock.  Now there is time to fabricate a new dash, console and other 'wild imagination' possibilities.   I am thinking stock on the outside, but when you look inside- all updated, streamlined, and lots of toys. After all, it is my #2 dream car (#1 is a chopped '33 Ford).  

1.  Budget.  This is the total amount of money you are prepared to spend on the build.  Regardless if you plan to keep or flip the car, you need to have a firm number in mind before you even start.  You can research what a car should be worth all day long, in the end you have to fork over those hard earned dollars to get it there.  The Budget is your friend. Without one, a build can quickly get out of control as you you choose those new, bright, and shiny  part  and finish options.  Having a budget ensures your dream does not become a bankruptcy nightmare sitting unfinished under a tarp in your driveway or garage.

2.  Hours of Labor and Materials.   Even if you  can do some work yourself, chances are you are going to need to help to get it finished. Estimates from reliable shops help, but they are estimates.  Always figure extra with older cars as things not seen at first , i.e. rust, bondo, etc., will get found once work starts.  Those factors add into the labor hours and the amount of materials used to correct any problems.  Also, if you are going through the process of building or restoring, do it right the first time.  Nothing worse than spending money only to have to do it again in the near future because you wanted to try to save a couple hundred dollars.  You will thank yourself later.

3.  Parts.  You will need parts.  It never fails.  Even if the car is complete something somewhere will need to be replaced, repaired, or remade.  It is why you got the car for such a deal to begin with, right?  On older cars not all parts are easily found and some must be fabricated.   That will tie in with #2 and hours of labor and materials.  Other parts will have to be shipped from who knows where so there is also that cost.  

4.  Paint-  No matter how much  money you pay for it, if the body and prep work on a car are not done perfectly the paint will never look as good as it should. The paint job is what takes your build from ehh to WOW!  Let's face it, if the car does not look good,  it won't draw attention- not even yours! This is not the place to skimp.
There are, of course, many other factors especially when it comes to customization.  But that discussion is for another day. 

One more thought.  Sad as it is to say, not all cars should be restored.  I have had to tell people their dream car sitting under that tarp in the  yard needed to be given up for scrap.  Some are too far gone no matter how much money you are prepared to throw at it.  Find the best car you can for what you can afford.  The better shape it is in, the better it is for your budget.
 

It was a busy week.  Despite that, we were able to get a little more work done on the Mach 1.  In our post last week we discussed replacing the entire floor pan on the passenger side and only the back half of the driver's.  However, after some discussion we decided to change out the whole driver's side as well.  There is just something about symmetry and knowing we won't have to worry about this part of the car for a very long time. 

With the floors done we can  now move to another section of the car.  This week it was the driver's door.  Rust on  lower doors is pretty much expected on a 44 year old car, and this one is no exception.  The driver's side door had rust of varying degrees along the entire bottom.  On the outside, the rear corner had to be cut out and a new piece welded in place.  While there, Matt ground off the tabs that held on the chrome molding since we will not be putting them back on for this car.  

Most of the work was done on the inside of the door.  With each corner eaten away by rust, Matt was busy welding new metal to both inside corners as well as fabricating the outside edge to look factory.  Also, one design flaw in this car was the where the weather stripping attached to the car along the bottom of the door.  For some reason the metal strip used to attach the weatherstripping was placed over the drain holes in the lower door.  This caused water to pool between both pieces of metal encouraging rust.  Though we could have covered it with rust converter and left it, we opted to cut and replace the metal since we already had everything we needed to do so.

That's it for this week. Hopefully next week we can get the passenger door done.  Until then, have a great weekend.  I"m still  going through the NPD catalog circling parts and marking pages!

Even with super high temps and regular work load it has been hard to keep everyone from wanting to get a jump start on the Mach1.  So far this week  the fenders were removed before sandblasting the front to ensure all rust was uncovered. Rust was removed from where the battery sat  and replaced with a new battery apron that is now fitted and ready to be welded into place. 

Next on the cut out list was the floor pans.  The passenger side had to be completely removed and a new pan welded in, but on the driver's side only the rear part needed to be replaced. 

The rest of the week will be finishing up the floor pans as time allows as well as me kicking up my feet and looking through the bright, shiny NPD Parts Catalog that just arrived in the mail.

We are excited to be bringing this 1971 Mach 1  home to the shop today, especially after hunting for one for the past year!  So glad Brian was willing to part with it and reclaim some much needed garage space at the same time. He knew it was going to a great home, and wants to see it back on the road as much as we do.  

 I have  more pictures I'll be sharing in future post as we get started.  For now, I"m just going to order pizza, have a small " Welcome Home" celebration and watch them roll her into the shop.  Stay tuned!