Posted by Eric B. on Saturday, December 14, 2002 at 10:30AM :
I always wonder why when I go to a show, so many guys show me pictures of their PW frame, sitting in a garage, under a tarp, etc, painted, unpainted, whatever.
Then I ask them how long they have had their PW, and the answer is 5 years, 10 years, etc.
Then I meet guys like Ron, he bought my 64 PW TW in November, and he was driving it at Fairfield the next July.
No I am just as guilty, I have owned my "convertable" for year and a half now, and I have done nothing but haul it around the country.
In my defense, I have had a hard time finding the correct cab, but I could be done if I wanted to be.
It took Ron's help to finish the 58 W100, and the 58 W200 took about a week to get in the condition it was in when I sold it.
What is it about a PW restoration that takes so long? Do we bite off more then we can chew? Do we try and get the details so correct that we stop from lack of information?
Does everyone underestimate cost so much that everything gets out of hand?
I am just wondering, as it is such a common thing.
Maybe a few of us brave souls should write a description of what we have done on our trucks, how long it took(in hours of labor, and years of time), and what it cost(from tools, to parts, to outside labor, plus buildings etc).
Then we could include a before, during and after shot to go with it.
That way people who were new to the hobby would have a better idea of what they were getting themselves into, and could plan accordingly.
Thoughts?
This might help people understand some of the prices that are complained about for finished trucks, and it should help many of us feel better.
Just think, you could bring up that page, and taking a page out of Roger's book(the tractor guy) say, "look honey, THAT guy has $22,000 into his FF, and I just bought TWO of them for $1,000 each!. Or, "Honey, look, THAT guy put up a 40'x40' shed to store his PW, and it cost $30,000, arent you glad I decided to use your stall in the garage instead?"
In any case, it could be a valuable tool to prevent many half finished PWs from never getting done, as people will see that while it is a long, hard process, it can be done, and maybe not lose hope.
Heck, Paul in NY claims what, 300 days?
I know others have done it faster, and I know that economics is a common cause for slowness, but we could all use a few hints from others to help us along.
Sorry for the long drawn out post, but I thought it was a good idea to share!
What do you think Joe?
Eric
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