Bought not Built (Read 218 times)

[Al Ramone]

i hear and see alot of this "built not bought" kinda stuff. and yeh, sure i am impressed by a lot of the work i see done by people on there own cars.

but i'd like to thank the people who put there hand in their pocket and spend money.
the ones who want a job done well on their pride and joy and would pay a specialist to do the work, because either they haven't the skills to do the job or just haven't the time and they want it done right.

I've heard people taking down those who have work done for them, "cheque book restorations" or whatever.
anyone who's willing to invest either their time or money, fixing or just looking after their old Nissan (or any old motor) just for the sake of it, has my respect.

[Damien4884]

I can't wait til geordie sees this

[Al Ramone]

edited. ;D

[roddyc130]

I would so love to be able to have the skill of fabricating my own panel sections, bending, shaping and being able to weld it all on ... but sadly i dont have that skill, and i really take my hat off to those that can do it and make it seem easy ...
I have looked into going on such courses and slowly learning, problem is i work away from home and the courses dont allow for this.
I do try to get most of the light mechanical stuff done myself, but i have to pay to get the panel work done and as im learning there are alot of cowboys out there willing to take your money but dont finish the work when they say it will be done and the guy that quotes the cheapest aint always the way to go .. he's cheap for a reason.
Im just about to get my Laurel back from one welder who was doing the more easy side of welding, but its going to a specialist to get the more advanced stuff done such as the complete windcsreen scuttle replaced, rear arches done, door skin bottoms replaced but for his experiance its costing £45 an hour labour ... plus he can do it alot quicker and better than me ... lol

I really dont have any issue in how a person gets there car looking good, the main thing for me is the car itself, how they get it looking good is up to the individual.

[Ricky180B]

I suppose there would be mixed comments about this one. I personally believe it really doesn't matter who does the work may it be a specialist or yourself. I believe it's the end result that counts. For example here in west London I was being quoted between 2 to 3 thousand to have one of my 810's resprayed ( DJT ) but up north I was getting 3,000 for a full resto on it. I suppose its really down to your bank balance. I would think if we were all minted we wouldn't bother doing the hard grafting but pay someone and sit back and watch

It's also down to the quality of workmanship. Personally I will be sending my other car to a specialist for a full resto because its to much hard work I'm not trained and I'm wanting an amazing end result.

[Damien4884]

You carry on buying 'em ricky

I actually prefer fixing them myself to driving them.

If i had the money would i pay someone else to do it? probably not cos once it was done i'd get bored and want to move on to the next one.

[geordie]

Jan 9, 2013 21:04:10 GMT 1 Damien4884 said:

I can't wait til geordie sees this

Not sure why I was mentioned in this thread? Can someone enlighten me please?

[spottedlaurel]

Jan 10, 2013 13:36:34 GMT 1 geordie said:

Jan 9, 2013 21:04:10 GMT 1 Damien4884 said:

I can't wait til geordie sees this

Not sure why I was mentioned in this thread? Can someone enlighten me please?

I think because Al started off by writing Brought instead of Bought?!

[geordie]

Jan 10, 2013 14:16:20 GMT 1 spottedlaurel said:

Jan 10, 2013 13:36:34 GMT 1 geordie said:

Not sure why I was mentioned in this thread? Can someone enlighten me please?

I think because Al started off by writing Brought instead of Bought?!

Ahhh, now I see lol.

[gainsb1]

Al seems to do one helluva lot of his own work on his cars and seems to know quite a lot about modifying (steering, axles, engine swaps etc.) but left his recently acquired A10 with Will to put it right for the MOT.

I am also grateful to Will for sorting my A10. It went in for a timing chain and ancillaries but ended up with quite a bit more needed elsewhere, due to Will's expert eye and knowledge.

I think we might all agree that just getting our cars sorted for driving is the main aim, but the objectives are down to the individual.

But (there's always a BUT...) I cannot see why, having "restored" the vehicle to the road, some owners tuck them away and won't drive them.
Don't get me started on concours cars (tooth brushing the tyre treads.... per....lease!)

Leigh (Area rep)

[Al Ramone]

yes i got Datman to sort the A10 for the MOT.

i also got him to look at and sort out the cam timing on my old 240K as i knew he'd be able to see any issues straight away (which he did).

there's no subsitute for using a specialist

[Ricky180B]

There's no doubt that Will is one hell of a datsun brain box. When ever I purchased a drive able datsun I've taken it to him to give it the final magic touch and he does. So I would defo give my cars to him but these days he's to busy laying concrete

[tommygoldy]

I've always interpreted "built not bought" as meaning modified, rather than DIY. I'm all for DIY (within the limits of my ability, time, and facilities) but personally prefer older/rarer cars to be either standard or at least somewhere close to "period correct". That's just me being nostalgic - what other people do is up to them!

My Cherry was built in Japan, by Nissan. It was bought (not built) by my great uncle in 1975 from Ironside Motors in Winchmore Hill.

In terms of who works on it now it it's 50-50. I've got a very friendly local mechanic who did a load of work on it very reasonably when I initially got it out of storage. It took months (he fitted it in around "regular" jobs), I sourced all the parts, and in the end it was embarrassingly cheap. Had I have wanted it done quick that wouldn't have been the case. And if I hadn't put a lot of love into it too, doing the more fiddly jobs to get it running right, as well as rust prevention, and cosmetic bits and bobs, it wouldn't be on the road now.

Similarly, the three previous owners in my family didn't always work on the car themselves, but they all did their bit to preserve it - from my uncle who had the car undersealed from new, to my grandad who kept it garaged and serviced religiously, through to my dad who stockpiled a load of Nissan parts in the early 90s. If the car hadn't been owned by enthusiasts it would now be iron oxide...but none of us built it. ;D

[wilko]

I hate paying anybody to do anything I can work our myself, but these days I work long hours and have a bit more money, so I could see it happening in future at some point!