Calling all Resto/Car builders!

[PHAT TONY]

Just wondering how many full time auto restorers and car/truck builders we have on the board. Being an inter-provincial certified Canadian journeyman bodyman turned self employed restoration shop owner (and only employee lol), I'm curious how many others pay the bills and keep beer in the fridge by saving lost 4-wheeled souls. I know a TON of people butter the other side of their bread nights and weekends but I'm more interested in the guys that spend some time counting hours and watching the nickels come in and go out.

I don't want to turn this into a site vendor/non-vendor schlamazzle, but if you're willing; stand and be recognised for your creativity and talents.

[bad6772]

Full time...Street Rod ,Hot Rod,builder, fabricator ,painter.

[Chips-resto]

Hi from Charleston SC. My Mother has 35mm film of me in my dipper in my grandfathers body shop. I've been able to make a real good living doing something I really love. Would be retired by now in any other job but just can't stop.

[oldspowered]

here in nebraska i'm the restoration guy in a collision shop. and i always seem to have some project going on...

[turp mcspray]

I own my own shop.
Scottrods...Hotrods & Restorations.
I do body and paint, on up to every nut and bolt, turnkey cars. Other than the ocassional "friend and family" job, all I do is old stuff. My wife calls the shop, my "mistress". LOL!

[PHAT TONY]

This is awsome! I work out of a little shop on my acreage in central alberta; I've got a Sikkens paint system, DeVilbiss cross-flow booth, rotiserie(?) etc. I've done nut & bolters to re-paints on clean U.S. cars brought up here; I like to hope I'm getting more skilled in my craft each time. I spent the last couple months re-entering the flat rate collision gig...thumbs WAY down! and I'm back on a customers '68 GMC.

[hugger6933]

I do late model wrecks and some resto work . Own my own shop and have since 1987. Jim

[Rokcrln]

Well I am one that for the last 10+ yrs I have just done it nights and weekends but with construction being slow (day job as a metal framing superintendent) and not wanting to go in the office and do bids. I took a leave and have been doing it full time for a few months now but plan to go back to the union job for a few more years before pulling the hot rod trigger and going full time from here on out.

I wil be doing more of the full out hand built hot rods (from 4x10 sheets of 16,18,19ga steel) that I will build as shop projects then show and sell them and start over. I have two more customer jobs in the shop now (1200sq ft in the back yard so a 30' commute ) before I get started on the proto type 34 roadster pick up. Once it is done and gets on the show circuit I will be even more tempted to go full time.

All I can say for guys wanting to go full time with this kind of work, start getting your tools slowly and pay cash for everything!! You don't want to have to pay for health Ins, mortgage, shop rent, food on the table and interest to a credit card company for tools you may or may not be using all the time but they charge you for all the time. I just dropped $18k cash for my english wheel, power bead rollers, deep and shallow shrinker and stretchers plus several other tools but that is just the tip of the ice berg. See I have a shop with almost every tool needed for this work and a lot more but if I just shut the shop door for a month or 2 it does not cost a cent! But if I charged it then I would have to do every job that came along weather I wanted to or not just to pay the note!

Buy quality so you only buy it once!

Kevin
LFD Inc.

[blue 72 gmc 4x4]

This probably dosent apply to me yet. But I am 17 and I did a frame up on my 72 GMC. I hope that someday I will have my own shop and be restoring old trucks and building some hot rods.

[oldspowered]

Originally Posted by Rokcrln

Well I am one that for the last 10+ yrs I have just done it nights and weekends but with construction being slow (day job as a metal framing superintendent) and not wanting to go in the office and do bids. I took a leave and have been doing it full time for a few months now but plan to go back to the union job for a few more years before pulling the hot rod trigger and going full time from here on out.

I wil be doing more of the full out hand built hot rods (from 4x10 sheets of 16,18,19ga steel) that I will build as shop projects then show and sell them and start over. I have two more customer jobs in the shop now (1200sq ft in the back yard so a 30' commute ) before I get started on the proto type 34 roadster pick up. Once it is done and gets on the show circuit I will be even more tempted to go full time.

All I can say for guys wanting to go full time with this kind of work, start getting your tools slowly and pay cash for everything!! You don't want to have to pay for health Ins, mortgage, shop rent, food on the table and interest to a credit card company for tools you may or may not be using all the time but they charge you for all the time. I just dropped $18k cash for my english wheel, power bead rollers, deep and shallow shrinker and stretchers plus several other tools but that is just the tip of the ice berg. See I have a shop with almost every tool needed for this work and a lot more but if I just shut the shop door for a month or 2 it does not cost a cent! But if I charged it then I would have to do every job that came along weather I wanted to or not just to pay the note!

Buy quality so you only buy it once!

Kevin
LFD Inc.

amen some day i will do my own just still collecting tools etc....

[Strut]

I'm 22 years old....my dad got me interested in cars and trucks very young. I graduated high school and went to Nashville Auto Deisel College. I graduated with honors in August 06 and have been working in the industry ever since. I work all day, 8-5 and then work on my 72 for a couple hours after and on weekends!