How Long Do Restorations for People With Decent Skills Generally Take?

[MechMan]

Hello all, brand new here. I am right now very new to the workings of automobiles. I am intent on learning how to build engines, transmissions, differentials, do suspension lifts, welding, fabrication, and machining, etc...and I would someday like to build up some really nice 4x4 project vehicles for the fun of it. My question is, for a person with decent skills, how long on average would something like that take? For example, I'll post some pictures of the kind of FJ40 I'd like to have someday. How long would it take for a skilled person to go from a junker of a vehicle to something like one of these:

 

[Mudder]

It depends on time and money. Something g like that isn't going to be cheap. With the money to do it and time probably a year or two maybe more depending on how in depth you go and what you have to learn.

 

[Gumby]

If it was your job and you worked 8 hours a day on it - 1-2 years.
If you have another job and unlimited funds and do it yourself - double that
If you have a job, limited funds and a life - 5 years minimum and 75% chance it never gets done.

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

A year or two working one weekend day and most week day evenings... it actually doesn't really matter whether it's a car or truck - they all require the same amount of labor. With that said, if you're going show car or ICON type build - 2 or more years. I'm at 6 months on my build, and about 1/3 of the way there.

 

[kcustom73]

X2 on what Gumby said. I'm on my 7th year of my build, but with a full time job, family, home renovations, limited build budget every year, etc.... there's only so much you can do with the time you have.

 

[Mudder]

Plus you need to consider all the tools you'll need to buy for some things and a decent welder, plasma cutter, getting some things machined, and all the little things that will come up and take the longest to deal with.

 

[Mace]

You kinda have a couple different concepts going there.
That first pic is of a cruiser that was built from the ground up. Which is sometimes easier than a restoration. Buying stuff and bolting it on is easier than trying to preserve old things..

The other two seem to be builds based off of stock(er) cruisers. 1 to 2 years is a good number. However, if you are really good and have the time and some help. It can be done in less than a month.

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

Mace is absolutely right... one thing to consider, don't start your mountain climbing career by ascending Mt. Everest. Buying something, fixing it, updating it all while driving it to work and/or school is an excellent way to build a vehicle and to learn what it takes to build something from the ground up.

 

[JackA]

Like stated above, the vehicles you have pictured are very different. I did a frame off resto on a 64 FJ40 and upgraded to a 5.3. Most of the rest was pretty stock. I did all the work, except sandblasting the tub, myself. It took me 15 months.
I also built my own rock buggy from scratch. It took me 3 months from start till the first test drive. Most of it was complete, but a few things I finished later. A few years later, I swapped in a V8, auto trans, and linked the front and that took me 4 months.
All this happend when I worked a 4/10 schedule and always had 3 day weekends. I am single and have no kids, so I could work on stuff whenever I felt like it.

 

[NCFJ]

Keep in mind also that the vehicles you are looking at generally are 30 plus years old. Age lends to all kinds of issues in a vehicle. A job that should take you 6 hours can easily double if you break a bolt in a bad spot etc. Experience counts for a great deal as well. Many guys on this forum have been turning wrenches for 30 years or more. Talent for the task at hand will take you a long way, experience is what will save you time by recognizing a situation that you have seen in the past.

Like stated above, start small and make your bones a little at a time. There are plenty of folks here willing to help you out a well.

Good luck

 

[MechMan]

Thank you all for the replies thus far

Plus you need to consider all the tools you'll need to buy for some things and a decent welder, plasma cutter, getting some things machined, and all the little things that will come up and take the longest to deal with.

Well I am preparing to become a machinist job-wise, so hopefully I will have machining things covered. Also hobby machining is something I am planning to get into as well.

You kinda have a couple different concepts going there.
That first pic is of a cruiser that was built from the ground up. Which is sometimes easier than a restoration. Buying stuff and bolting it on is easier than trying to preserve old things..

The other two seem to be builds based off of stock(er) cruisers. 1 to 2 years is a good number. However, if you are really good and have the time and some help. It can be done in less than a month.

I see; when you say that the first picture is a cruiser that was built from the ground up, do you mean taking a FJ40 and highly modifying it with new parts you bolt on, or do you mean completely building it from scratch using the specifications of the FJ40?

 

[Gumby]

there's some FJ40 in there, but not much. The tub, that's been modified, the hood, w/s frame and possibly the frame. Somebody started with a 40.

To be honest, i did my FJ45 SWB and my FJ45LV concurrently, but neither to the level of the vehicles you have posted. The SWB took about a year and a half and the LV took about three years. However, I had a job where I could spend a lot of time working on them, a s*** ton of tools and equipment, a fair amount of disposable income, and 25 years experience. I was also not going for perfect restorations. All of those factors make a huge difference. Both are driving, but neither are done and will never be. (at least by my hand)

The only TV show that's remotely realistic is Chasing Classic Cars. Wayne Carini spends years and hundreds of thousands of dollars doing restorations. All the other guys spend a few weeks bolting on parts, ignoring anything that doesn't jack up the resale price, and doing cheap and quick paint jobs. there's a lot of editing, a lot of long days with many people working on the vehicle, and a lot of money into a generally shabby final product, but it does make for interesting TV.

ICON spends a lot of money and employs many highly skilled people to bolt mostly brand new parts together. That's not a realistic model to aspire to either.

Im not trying to be a downer, i just see a LOT of resto projects that get part of the way finished. A lot of them get sold as projects for pennies. Both my SWB and LV were bought that way, in fact.

 

[Mace]

The tub, fenders, hood (and probably the bib) are aqualu units made out of aluminum.

With the link mounts and setup on the frame it's probably a replica as well. It may be stock, but who knows. Most likely, it's a repo frame that has a vin attached to it.

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

The tub, fenders, hood (and probably the bib) are aqualu units made out of aluminum.

With the link mounts and setup on the frame it's probably a replica as well. It may be stock, but who knows. Most likely, it's a repo frame that has a vin attached to it.

You're right, the frame is built by a local hero - Art Morrison... given the crap in my frame, I totally get why they do that - there is no way they could pay someone to go to the work that I'm going to have to do to get mine clean enough to box

 

[MechMan]

Im not trying to be a downer, i just see a LOT of resto projects that get part of the way finished. A lot of them get sold as projects for pennies. Both my SWB and LV were bought that way, in fact.

Yes, I know it will take time to build up to the requisite skills and so forth. But hopefully that will be part of the fun I also wouldn't mind, provided I have adequate money someday, of doing part of the work on a major project vehicle while having other experts do the other parts, which would shorten the length of time to completion.

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

the absolute best way is to buy the cast-me-off rig. When Rick Pewe got rid of his desert runner truck, he sold it for literally pennies on the dollar (IIRC, 20k) - which isn't bad for a top-of-the-line sorted desert truck. Then you learn without the curve - and you don't have to ask the experts... that line, ummm, a cautionary tale - I have a 455 Buick motor that's been at a machine shop for 2 years, when you have to rely on others; you may find they can't or won't come through. Or, my Fiat took 3 years to get the wiring harness done. Since it took 3 years, I've built: a 1983 4x4 diesel pickup with turbo, paint, axles, interior, a 1975 Corvette with roll cage, new motor, new trans, new rear differential, updated/upgraded/badass suspension, and a myriad of other projects. Point is the Fiat would be done had I been able to focus on it. Now I won't pick it up until the FJ40 is done (a year, at least).

There are so many ways for a project to be derailed that my advice remains, buy the best vehicle you can possibly afford - run, fix, update, and run some more. When that vehicle is done, then do a grandma-fresh (perfect condition) vehicle and update it, after that one is done, then do a race car. Once you've done those.... build the 4x4 of your dreams - a lot of the build is knowing what expert to use, what parts work, who to buy parts from, and not buying parts you won't end up using.

 

[MechMan]

the absolute best way is to buy the cast-me-off rig. When Rick Pewe got rid of his desert runner truck, he sold it for literally pennies on the dollar (IIRC, 20k) - which isn't bad for a top-of-the-line sorted desert truck. Then you learn without the curve - and you don't have to ask the experts... that line, ummm, a cautionary tale - I have a 455 Buick motor that's been at a machine shop for 2 years, when you have to rely on others; you may find they can't or won't come through. Or, my Fiat took 3 years to get the wiring harness done. Since it took 3 years, I've built: a 1983 4x4 diesel pickup with turbo, paint, axles, interior, a 1975 Corvette with roll cage, new motor, new trans, new rear differential, updated/upgraded/badass suspension, and a myriad of other projects. Point is the Fiat would be done had I been able to focus on it. Now I won't pick it up until the FJ40 is done (a year, at least).

There are so many ways for a project to be derailed that my advice remains, buy the best vehicle you can possibly afford - run, fix, update, and run some more. When that vehicle is done, then do a grandma-fresh (perfect condition) vehicle and update it, after that one is done, then do a race car. Once you've done those.... build the 4x4 of your dreams - a lot of the build is knowing what expert to use, what parts work, who to buy parts from, and not buying parts you won't end up using.

Thanks you for the information. Just to make sure I am understanding correctly, when you say to do a grandma fresh vehicle, do you mean get a vehicle that is in perfect condition from the get-go and then update it?

 

[Delancy]

"grandma fresh" sounds like a line from a Massengil commercial....

Think he's saying "perfect", build from there, and I couldn't agree more.

Can't offer much on "how to", but can write a book on how not to go about it, from every perspective.

In retrospect, the biggest mistake was not finding a mint base to begin, not only from a money and time investment standpoint, but also to enjoy a period where it's operational and a relationship develops.

Think that time is critical to formulating the end goal and ensuring endurance for the long haul.

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

Thanks you for the information. Just to make sure I am understanding correctly, when you say to do a grandma fresh vehicle, do you mean get a vehicle that is in perfect condition from the get-go and then update it?

exactly

 

[farpolemiddle]

That first truck you posted is SEMA quality type stuff and I am betting a easy $50,000 in parts alone.