What is your favorite part of the car project ?

[Kern Dog]

Engine swaps? Suspension work? Hunting for parts? Bodywork and paint ?
I am no expert at this stuff but I get by okay. I like the mechanical stuff best. Rebuilding engines, resurrecting cars that have been parked for 20 years, suspension/brake and steering stuff....
I enjoy many aspects of the car projects that I have done. I've known guys that have their cars painted by professionals then handle all of the reassembly themselves. I recall guys in high school and beyond that never cared much for shiny paint unless it was on the freshly rebuilt engine!
Sometimes when a project is taking too long I find myself losing interest though. It is odd that a car can appear finished yet still need several days of work to address small details like polishing trim and fixing small leaks or electrical gremlins.
My next project in line is a 65 Dart. It should be a relatively quick turnaround. The body is straight but needs a RH door and paint. The 318 needs a new carburetor. I'm sure the brakes will need work too.

 

[Ranidart70]

Bodywork and paint prep.

I don't so much care for actually spraying the paint because I get nervous about runs.

I like the sanding, dent pulling, welding in patch panels and guide coat sanding the primer

 

[polywideblock]

driving the finished product

 

[Kern Dog]

I sometimes get runs, sags, dirt and fisheyes when I paint. This is why I prefer to spray product that can be color sanded after the fact. I live in a semi-rural dusty area where I'll never be able to be 100% free of contaminants. Color sanding can clear up lots of mistakes!
Last year I did a favor for a pal and painted his kid's 64 Valiant. He wanted a metallic and bought the paint himself...In SINGLE stage. Anyone that knows automotive paint knows that it is NOT recommended to color sand a single stage metallic because it often results in blurry and streaked areas when the metallic particles are sanded and disrupted. Because of this, a single stage metallic paint job is a "Pray and Spray" affair. Dirt in the paint? Runs? Too bad. You either live with it or sand it out and respray.

 

[kiwigtx]

I actually enjoy slowly pulling the car apart and documenting the parts etc. Part of that is the thought of how awesome the finished product will look.

 

[Richard Cranium]

Disassembly & reassembly. Although the older I get, the less I like the process of cleaning up and reconditioning all the bits & pieces. I'm finding that doing a little at a time on a running car is ok, but when you have taken a car completely apart and all the disassembled parts are scattered all over the house and garage, the entire project is now pretty big undertaking.

I have never been good at bodywork, so I leave that to the professionals.

 

[mmissile]

Assembly.

 

[MrJLR]

Driving it and knowing that I did it myself and it actually freakin worked!

 

[PRND21]

Refinishing all the little parts and reassembly.

 

[PRND21]

Bodywork and paint prep.

I don't so much care for actually spraying the paint because I get nervous about runs.

I like the sanding, dent pulling, welding in patch panels and guide coat sanding the primer

I don't know where you live but I wish you were my neighbor!

 

[Pops1967GTX]

sitting in the front seat holding the wheel........

 

[Larrry B.]

Getting the project home, laying eyes on it and going over it all in detail. Over the years I've restored parts to sell off, so I still like doing that too. Breaking down the motor and planning out a new rebuild. Buying new parts is alway fun. Going to car show swap meets for old parts, for the Fall Fling that's what I'm more interested in even though there's not much I need right now. Putting it together and driving it.

 

[72Fourspeed]

Chasing parts, and or projects in general. Once acquired, they lose a lot of luster. I have a miniscule attention span, which is why current project was, is, & will remain, a runner.

 

[themechanic]

When it's done and I can just enjoy it. But I'm not sure I will ever know that feeling.

 

[Brandy]

Sheet metal work obviously. LOL. I like to sit and "imagineer" what this , or that, part of the car would look like if it were changed, and how any changes would effect the overall look of the car. I don't care if it happens to be a 1965 Nova II front bumper on a 1967 Coronet. If It looks right, and different, and "fits" with the overall look I am going for then it's a winner. Other than that I like the wrecking yard journeys and assembly.

 

[Budnicks]

Engine work, building & tuning, than fab stuff

Opening the boxes from Summit & Mancini Racing
it's like Christmas all year round...LOL

Taking off old worn out stock/OE stuff &
putting on nice new speed equipment or aftermarket suspension stuff

Putting on a new pair of shoes & nice custom wheels
or slicks for the 1st beat run/test drive

 

[69L48Z27]

All of it!

Hitting the key for the first time when you have something that hasn't been alive in years or decades, that the top of the list.

 

[mmissile]

I'm actually bored with them, once I finish one....so, it's on to the next one.

 

[44070dart]

We usually have days where something goes wrong during the project, take it off turn it around and put it on the right way ..and then days where nothing goes right and after hours accomplishing nothing you walk away in disgusted with it all..... BUT every once in awhile you have a day where everything goes right, it fits just as they said it would, no knuckles bleeding, you really enjoyed the hours you just put in, man those are the best part of the project for me .. of course driving it is great too

 

[XMAN JR]

In order- body work, quarter & sheet metal install, painting Love to paint