How long did it take you to build yours?

[mikec4193]

Hi All you vintage Chevy truck guys...

I have been grinding and welding and cutting and chopping on my 1952/53 "low buck" farm truck since October 2014. So going on almost 10 months...still no end in sight...(so many loose ends it seems)...

There is a fellow on one of the vintage AD style facebook sites called Purple Monkey Kustoms....he can turn one of these trucks around in like a month...

Just wondering how long you guys took to do your rebuilds???

I am hoping to have mine (at least) yard driving before cold weather sets in....as long as the money tree doesn't dry up first....

MikeC

[DPowers]

Wait a minute- you mean they get finished at some point?

[FiftyTwo]

6 years to go from this



to this







Home built in my garage (and still not done)

[mr48chev]

We haven't found out where PMK keeps the Barrels of Red Bull but I'd have to think that he has a few members in his crew that never get mentioned.

I have what is probably the longest time unfinished truck of the bunch but after years of constantly making changes but never getting it finished I got burned out and took a few years off.

For most of us a number of things factor in that contribute to either the expedient pace of the build or to the snail pace of the build where not a lot gets accomplished or seems to.

1. Available cash to spend on the project, we all have different levels of what cash we can spend on the project rig and so be it.
2. Available time to work on it. Family comes first just as it does with the cash and you might only get to see your ten year old hit a home run once in his ball career or watch your daughter score the winning soccer goal for her age group team. That is more important than taking those precious hours to work on the truck while the kids are on the field.

3. personal skill level, we all have different skill levels even those of us who spent years in the automotive business.

4. the pace at which we work and how productive we are when we work on the project. Mark me down as not productive.

[Speedbumpauto]

Fifty two, that is a sweet ride! For me, 17+ years on and off, and it's on the lift for the last 3 months as we speak.... but the "run to the pines" is coming, so I'll get in gear.

[iowaboynca]

I'm pushing 3+ years and I just put the IFS in and i'm happy!

I wouldn't compare your timeline against a shop as they can increase labor to meet a deadline whereas unless you're going to clone yourself you probably don't have that luxury.

I'm actually looking forward to the cold months to get some more work done.

Keep at it!

[Atommik]

My build from a "field find" to legally drive able, painted, but not finished, was 26 months.

2 years later and the exterior is complete, but the interior still needs a few things.

[T Hilde]

My brother picked it up 24 years ago. It's been 6 years that I've had it. Road legal last month.

[59chev]

I got my 59 at 17, got it on the road mostly stock when I was 26. Im 35 now and almost 2 years into a rebuild. I hope to get it back on the road in another year or so.

[dyno]

3 years in my spare time.

[1project2many]

Dyno, I love that truck.

It took me roughly three years to go from from driving survivor to restored. Mine started as a clutch replacement. You've seen mr48chev's signature line? "While I'm in there I might as well..." Well that thinking got me too. And even though I haven't done anything major to the truck since '98 I'm not done. I have an unfinished NVG4500 conversion that I want to get back to, a factory power brake unit to install, a new computer to tune for the efi, and I think I'm talking myself into power steering.

[msaintg]

you have to factor in 'what you consider rebuilt'. Some guys love the patina and that shaves a lot of bodywork / paint out of the timeline. Some guys keep it stock and just go over the safety stuff like brakes and fuel lines and call it done.... others think it needs a frame off restoration to be 'rebuilt'. Low buck automatically means it will take longer.

I worked on my for 10 hours EVERY WEEK for a year and a half to get it to a state that I consider done. (750 hours) That is a lot of time, but I have more time than money. Now I have put over 15,000 miles on it and I want to put A/C in it because they are never really done.

[mikec4193]

Originally Posted by msaintg

you have to factor in 'what you consider rebuilt'. Some guys love the patina and that shaves a lot of bodywork / paint out of the timeline. Some guys keep it stock and just go over the safety stuff like brakes and fuel lines and call it done.... others think it needs a frame off restoration to be 'rebuilt'. Low buck automatically means it will take longer.

I worked on my for 10 hours EVERY WEEK for a year and a half to get it to a state that I consider done. (750 hours) That is a lot of time, but I have more time than money. Now I have put over 15,000 miles on it and I want to put A/C in it because they are never really done.

Oh my gosh Msaintg

You sound like me....I try to do 2 hours everyday on mine...its the only way I can keep the ball rolling along...never thought it was gonna take this long but when I rebuilt a 1947 Willys Jeeps that was 18 months start to finish..Yeah I dont do paint either...if I have to patch it I cover it with some rattlecan...other than that it is an old truck and it should (IMHO) look like an old truck...

I am only doing upgrades for safety and drive ability....keeping as much vintage stock as I can..

Cant wait to get it running on it's own...I hope it is gonna fun to drive...

Thanks for all the insight guys...

MikeC

[4DSEVEN]

5 years and still trying to get it right.

[biketopia]

Had mine in front of the house since 01 when my grandparents could no longer drive it. Did some tinkering, HEI conversion, headers, and intake while in high school, that was 10 years ago. Last month my brother and I starter actually tearing into it to get it blown all the way apart and get all the rust taken care of.

[msaintg]

wow, we are alike...... I am in the middle of restoring a 1957 willys CJ5

[2tractors]

Still collecting parts such as c4 front and rear,soda blaster for cleaning aluminum parts, welder from northern tool, millermatic plasma cutter off CL,flatout eng. cross member and rear brackets,new poly bushings installed. Still gotta get all new ujoints and disc brakes turned. Hold ups golf, cutting grass, refurbishing finish mowers, fixing tractors, golf, selling tractors, fixing tractors I've sold, golf, looking after garden, oh yeah golf.

[2ndGenRR]

6 years...still has a couple of minor stuff to be finished.

[OrrieG]

On year 15. But there have been unproductive gaps. First summer (2000) I took it apart and started stripping paint for what was going to be a quick rust replacement project. Then the "as long as I am doing this" kicked in. So a new plan was formed for a frame off effort. Then my business got really busy and grew, 12 hour days were common and any spare time were dedicated to house related projects.

Fast forward to 2006. Inspired by guys here and a promise from my wife that there would be no more major home or yard projects in the way I pulled the cab and stripped the frame down. I started the build thread and made good progress getting the frame and big parts of the body work (rust replacement) done over two years.

Then the reality of the economy hit, people stopped projects owing me a lot of money, projects were canceled and I laid off my staff and became a one person office again. For a couple of years I worked on tasks that used materials I had on hand. In 2012 business improved.

I placed a couple of large orders to get everything I need to complete the truck, except paint supplies. With that infusion of parts I started working in earnest in 2013 and have made steady progress even with winter weather related delays. Last year I got it wired and running, this year have focused on the AC and finishing the interior. All along I have been doing the hammer and dolly, priming and blocking work on the body.

With the economy taking off I got back to long work days with just half of the time on weekends available for the truck. Goal at this point is to get some paint, paint the jambs and window frames so I can get the glass in and start driving it this summer while I finish the final blocking and sanding.

I have not kept track of hours, but if you take out the down time there have been about 4 years worth of steady evening and weekend work for 8 months of the year.

[1project2many]

I have been grinding and welding and cutting and chopping on my 1952/53 "low buck" farm truck since October 2014. So going on almost 10 months...still no end in sight...(so many loose ends it seems)...

This is one other thing to consider. Quite often you can save money or time but not both. I would expect "low Buck" to become "many hours" just because that's the way it usually works.

[Advanced Design]

Truck in my icon took me about 2 years of focused effort during week ends and vacations. And I had some part time help. That was after I spent a couple years gathering all the parts.

How does Purple Monkey Kustoms go so fast?

[Old Crow]

Originally Posted by Advanced Design

How does Purple Monkey Kustoms go so fast?

Not sure. Maybe he has 5 acre of these old trucks out behind his shop.
I've been doing this on old cars for a long time, surely corners are cut somewhere, or he has a crew of elves who work at night for next to no money.

[Advanced Design]

Originally Posted by Old Crow

Not sure. Maybe he has 5 acre of these old trucks out behind his shop.
I've been doing this on old cars for a long time, surely corners are cut somewhere, or he has a crew of elves who work at night for next to no money.

Must have some kind of help. Or he stores up progress pics and puts them on FB time compressed.

Mikec4193, hang in there, maybe take a short break. I can spend all day doing a project or some kind of fabrication, show it to someone and they ask why that is all I got done. They don't understand what it takes.

Good thing about the folks on here, they do "get it" and are really supportive.

Another example, i spent about a year and a half on the 48 Burb to strip it, replaces the floors, mount it on a new chassis and install the engine and transmission. We used week ends and vacations hitting it hard and with some part time help. I am slower than most guys here I think.

While I enjoy the build, the older I get the more I think the next "project" will be done when I get it. Judt drive, maintain and enjoy.

[47 Fasttoys]

752 hours to go from field find in Colorado to regular driver in South Carolina.
Start:

Finish (for now)

[capnduane]

Bought this '55 2nd in August of 2013. It was a old time hotrod from the 60's. Has a Pontiac 400 and a Muncie 4 speed. It ran, and you could drive it, the ad on Craigs list said. We picked it up and trailered it home, And I set to work. This was a retirement present to myself, and a project to spend the time that I had been working at as a building contractor on hi stress projects. I treated it as a contract job and worked on it 7 days a week for 3 months. Electrical, brakes, steering, suspension, body work, and paint. Just about the first of December I had it pretty much where I wanted it. 3 months of enjoyable work and it was pretty well done, ready for use as a daily driver. I was lucky in that engine, trans, and rearend were solid. Body needed minor work, and being a Calif truck, rust was minimal. Parts were obtained from RockAuto, and off ebay. Some came from LMC also. It has been a fun truck and I have driven it almost daily for the last two years.