Am I too tight to finish this project I wonder?

[Paul Coleman]

I started adding up the cost of parts on SJ's website that I need to finish the restoration of my Series 1 and came to the worrying conclusion that I may actually be too tight to shell out for the bits I need!! That was a bit of a downer really, it's not that I can't afford it, it's just that I can think of a thousand other things I'd rather spend the money on

I'm not happy with the paint finish on it at the moment so I might just throw a sheet over it and forget about it

Some of the bits were...

orange carpet £450

rear discs £160

chrome glass trims £200

s/s exhaust £500

grey paint for the dash £130

waist trim (including door bits) £100+

chrome trim for the centre console £130

radiator £150

tyres £££

engine rebuild

carb rebuild

gearbox ????

All plus 20% VAT of course. The list goes on and on and on...

And when you've spent £1,000 you get a very small box with just a few bits in it - well that's how it seems anyway. I never assumed it was going to be cheap and as I say it's not that I can't afford it, just maybe too tight to spend the cash on a 1:1 scale Airfix kit with a propensity to catch fire

Paul.

Edited September 6, 2011 by Paul Coleman

[silverfrost]

Hi Paul,

If you're doing a full restoration like yourself as you know yourself its going to take money, and i know exactly what you mean about been able to afford it but been to tight,

I think your very wise and i do the same myself, funds go in all sorts of directions, living, mortgage, etc they all come first and take priority over everything else, Just buy bits as you go, get the car on the road and worry about the carpets etc later as they are easy to fit afterwards.

Remember its not tightness mate its common sense that your feeling. I know plenty of people that have thrown vast amounts of money at a project in a short time and its come round to bite them on the back side financially.

Regards danny

[cbclotus]

Paul one thing to one your side is that the car should be worth good money when finished .Good luck MIKE

[Nelly]

Paul, I know exactly what you mean. My S2 has just been a comsetic external and internal resto - but pretty much everything has needed replacing.

It seemed every other month I was placing an order with SJ for £200 - £250 and I have avoided adding up what I must have spent with them over the last 18 months. Its one of the reasons its taken me so long - well, thats not true, I have been held up quite a lot by pretty much everyone involved with the project - but the advantage is that it helped me to spread the cost. There is no way I could have afforded to do this in a shorter timeframe, and its resulted in a better job too because I then did not have to compromise on anything.

That would be my only suggestion - don't put too much pressure on yourself, put the sheet over it and buy the bits over a period of time. You will then get to a day when you will have loads of stuff ready to do, If your life is anything like mine, 6 months is nothing nowadays and it doesn't seem like 2 years since my car has been off the road. Rushing it just stressed me out even more in the end which is why I backed off for the sake of my sanity and the end result of the car.

Trouble is you will get bugger all for it as an unfinished project, even if its potential when its done could be £12k-£15k. So do you lose money in the short term or money in the long which you stand a chance of actually getting back when complete?

Just my 2p, but I have enjoyed your updates as you have been doing the project alongside me and I know words of encouragement kept me going - but good luck regardless.

Neil

EDIT - the "catch fire" bit sacres the shit out of me - I REALLY don't want that after the money and effort of all this!!!

Edited September 6, 2011 by Nelly9000

[slewthy]

Keep going Paul!

As I expect you do, I have a spreadsheet outlining the jobs to do on mine along with the order. It lets me colour them green when they are done or add notes like "dont forget to torque the hub nuts"

I also have a list of what parts I still need. Next to it is the SJ price and then a column for others if available. I daren't look at the total at the bottom - its too scary, and like you say, its not like you get a great big box when you spend a grand. What I do is to place them in a 'must have ' list; and a 'can wait' list. It doesn't cost less but looks better. I've avoided a big SJs spend for a while now using this method but I too have screen finishers, waist trim, etc etc to get before I finish. That will be a nice bill though - it will signify the end.

Re paint finish. Unfortunately, you cant un-see what you have seen. However, I can only think of one job I've done so far on my car that I would give myself top marks for. I guess thats what happens when you are real close to a project like this. Take a step back perhaps, give yourself a break, spend a bit of cash elsewhere but give yourself a return date to begin again. I'm sure thats healthy.

Best wishes.

Simon

[molemot]

When I started on the restoration of my MG TC back when I were a lad, it was obvious that a) I didn't have any money and b) I was going to need to spend quite a bit! So I bought something out of every month's paycheck...ended up with the house as a parts store, bits under beds, in cupboards, the loft etc.etc.! It took me about 4 years to complete, and by the end I was using parts I'd bought years before...but which now cost substantially more than I had paid! I can still remember buying a brand new crankshaft and set of bearings for £8 15s 6d...in a nice wooden BMC box! I would never have finished it if I'd tried to buy all the parts in one go...and there were times when the work schedule changed as I couldn't afford parts, so I did something else instead!

There always comes a time when you develop doubts of an existentialist nature...why am I doing this? what is the point? etc.... but you have to keep a mental image of what you are trying to achieve...I found that the fantasy of the final result was a good way to revive flagging interest. The final assembly, when a lump under a grey plastic sheet was transformed in two days to a shiny red supercharged MG TC is still, after 40 odd years, one of life's high points!! We did the RH side first, and in the evening I sat on the kerb on the other side of the road and just looked at her. The exact image I had had four years previously when I started the task....The day the Lotus got it's MOT after several years of paintwork and mechanicking is another. I strive for perfection, but accept "it looks perfect from across the street" as being a realistic outcome.

Be of stout heart, and "bon courage" as they say...

Edited September 7, 2011 by molemot

[rogerch]

We will fight them on the beaches, never surrender, all that stuff.

Mine was in a show here in Coffs Harbour last weekend, and felt immense pride, knowing I had taken from an ill handling, poor preforming, very tatty car, to what it is today.

I had a (strict) budget, which I went $2000.00 over, that was difference between spraying myself and having it professionally done (good decision)

Don't give up, you'll never forgive yourself.

[mr.oogieboogie]

You might be able to save a couple of hundred between the carpet and exhaust by having someone make the carpet and the same with the exhaust

[Paul Coleman]

Well from what I've read it seems that once you've shelled out £600 for the s/s exhaust (including manifold) you then have to take to it with an angle grinder and TIG welder to get it to fit. I quickly added up what I need to finish the interior and exterior - not including the exhaust, carpet, engine & gearbox and it came to £1,500 which I'm not willing to spend at this point.

I don't intend to sell it though as my son wants it. So I may just put the body back on the chassis to make some room in my garage and throw a sheet over it and forget about it. If he still wants it later on he can finish it!!

Paul.

[simonb]

Easy to get stale on a full restoration. Do the bits that you need to get it MOTed, then see if you fall back in love with it; if not finish it for sale (or pay someone to finish it for sale) - and move it on

[GavinT]

I agree with what Simon says above. Get it running and drive it. If driving it doesn't re-ignite your enthusiasm then it's time to say bye bye.

[Paul Coleman]

This really sums it up... I need to replace the 4 door hinge bushes as my doors were sagging badly when I got the car. On SJ's website the bushes are £26.30 each, so that's £125 with the VAT for 4 bits of plastic!!! Okay, they may be polyurethane but you get my point.

I agree that getting it MOTd may be the way to go but I still need to sort the paint out first.

Paul.

[silverfrost]

Paul,

Have never stripped the bushes out on esprit as my doors luckily have never sagged, I would suggest that on some things on the car like this you can probably save yourself a lot of money, Remove the old bush, I have not looke dat one but presume its the inner diameter that wears causing the sag, so measure the width of the door pin or what ever goes through.

Then buy some polyurathane plastic take to machine shop, the stuff is fast to machine, you could probably find some friendly chap to make them over his dinner break for a few quid,

Worth a shot if it save you a few quid.

Regards danny

[Paul Coleman]

Yes that's what I was thinking of doing. I don't mind paying through the nose a bit but there is a limit!!

I've given in and arranged for somebody to come and have a look at finishing the paint for me. I took 2 weeks off work recently to have a go at the paintwork and whilst I wanted to do absolutely everything myself there are only so many hours in the day. I didn't even manage to finish doing all the spraying and I worked all day, every day, sometimes for 12 hours/day.

I've got to a real low point with this car and am in real danger of throwing a sheet over it and just leaving it to rot - which would be a shame after all the time and effort I've put into it.

Paul.

[mr.oogieboogie]

Don't give up on it get it mot'd and when you see people looking at it it will give you the boost to finish it . As for the paint must be hard to put the time in and not getting the results

[Nelly]

Paul, I am glad you are keeping it going!

Its been really frustrating for me recently and its only the thought of seeing the car in all its glory thats keeping me going - I thought that day would be a while ago though!

I also know the feeling to have put a lot of time and effort into something, only to see your efforts fall short of what you were hoping. Its a double edged sword, on the one hand you want to learn but at the same time you want it to be right first time with so many jobs to do, and its doubly hard when it doesn't come off.

I admire you for doing the paint, that was something I would never have attempted!

Edited September 8, 2011 by Nelly9000

[TAR]

As everyone else has said....its hard to keep the enthusiasm. I know from experience, as my car hasn't moved in 16 years and its in a state of destruction in my back garden. I regularly fall in and out of love with it and I regularly buy odd bits when I see them for sale. I have very little funds for the car as my living expenses are rather higher priority.

I want my car restored and I want to enjoy it but I cant spend thousands doing this. Its a very hard choice but I for one will persevere so that I achieve my boyhood dream.

Walk away for a little while and see if it tugs your heartstrings again....if it doesn't, let your son have it and be happy its going to a good home.

[CHANGES]

Paul, If your paint had been perfect your thoughts would have been different, you knew what was

needed to complete the project before you painted it...because the paint isn't right you have lost

heart and the parts cost has become the excuse...

I do restoration for a living and have seen your situation many times, I have purchased abandoned

projects mostly because the body appearance did not turn out as expected...I have helped save

projects by doing their body's some of which went on to become show cars for the owners...Its all

about appearance...AS i said in the recent news feature get the body right and the rest will follow.

There is a bit more to paint than mixing it and putting it on, that's why it costs so much when

done correct. the cheap jobs always come up short...

That does not mean to say you can't do it. you just need to learn a bit more about the tricks of

the trade...

My advise is forget the rest and concentrate on the body get that right first, even if it means

another coat... Talk to people first. understand what needs to be done then do it...

Cheap paint is like cheap parts it won't work or last

Once the body looks great you will enjoy the whole project and the costs get absorbed in time.

One bit of advise, DON'T throw a sheet over it, (1). it will stay there forever, (2). It will cause

the new paint to micro blister. if thats your thought sell it.!! you will get more for it as it is

now than a piece of seized up micro blistered crap in five years time..

Decision time..

I am happy to talk through any issues with you and put you on the right track should you choose to

carry on..

Dave

[molemot]

2 weeks to do the paint???!!!!!

Took me FOUR YEARS......on and off......I think concentrated amateur effort leads to disillusion and project fatigue. Doing a bit when you feel like it works for me!! Paintwork has very little to do with paint, anyway, as most of the effort is preparation and rectification....spraying is a weekend deal....then you follow that with flatting, compounding and polishing...until you're finally satisfied!

[Nelly]

I agree John with you about the amatuer effort and project fatigue - it has certainly affected me. However it definately had the opposite effect when I did something I had never done before, such as fitting carpets, and it came out well. That was a big satisfaction.

Its just when things don't go quite so well....

Edited September 9, 2011 by Nelly9000

[robington]

Hi Paul,

Re the Orange carpet you may be able to save a bit by going to Mad Matz at Higham Ferrers or Headland Carpets in Irthlingborough, both not too far from you. You give them your old carpets as patterns and they match them. That's what I will do when the time comes.

Rob.

[Paul Coleman]

John - That was 2 weeks JUST to spray some colour. Prior to that there was 4 years of effort repairing the body and dealing with the star cracks. I spent hundreds (literally) of hours block sanding it prior to shooting any colour.

Dave - I shall take you up on your kind offer and give you a ring tonight.

I've got a guy coming round tomorrow to have a look at it and then I'll make a decision.

Rob - thanks for the tip

Cheers, Paul.

Edited September 9, 2011 by Paul Coleman

[The Veg]

Paul, I know how you feel about the money...I just did a C-service w/ new hoses & cam sprockets and the outlay for that is going to have me living thin for months to come yet. Ah, but driving the car...that makes it worth it.