Good enough or perfection

[Kheughens]

I am with the guy who mentioned 20 feet away the truck looks great. The inside of my bed is all original scratches and chips. Love it for hauling and I have no worries in loading it. Once put 2.5 ton of rock in the bed and it ran like a champ! Much more fun to use it than just look at it!

 

[Dejure]

I will note that it pays to record everything you do in a journal and with a table or spreadsheet giving dates and prices.

About 5 decades back, my old 57 1/2 ton was primered for years. Meanwhile, I worked the engine, front end and so on over. I was looking at new rigs and asked what that they'd give me. Even though 57 weren't worth much compared to today, the offer was laughable. Then I pulled out the receipts and the journal. The trade in price went way above what it started at.

THEN there is the sad comedy: My 69 1/2 ton had a custom interior that required me to build my own harness (I did a bit of that for a living, working for the feds). The loose-leaf manual I made detailed the wiring diagrams, bulbs and everything needed to keep that one pickup going (tire size, engine specifics, transmissions that would fit, etc.). It even listed the U-joint brand and number that tied the Lemans 4 speed to the drive line. The guy was an expert and didn't need it when he bought the truck. What a dumb ass.

SIDE NOTE: My notes were not average. They were carefully drawn out and clearly printed details. The feds used notes I made on the job to update equipment manuals. So it wasn't like the manual was composed of scribbles.

 

[84GMCSierra]

My 84 was a farm truck for awhile, but is rust free and has dents and scrapes all over it. It's out for another engine now(guy sold me a bad engine 3 months ago and got less than 24 hours out of it ). Just going to take out some of the dings , throw a quick spray job on it and run it. As mentioned above you don't want it so nice you can only show it and not use it as a daily.

 

[Tonimus]

My favorite rides over the years have been rough around the edges. My drag car is downright ugly. To quote David Freiburger, "Don't get it right, just get it running." Plenty of time to work on it later.

 

[peats]

I can show you picture and tell you stories of cars that ended up too nice to be fun. 100% restorations down to the under hood stickers and tar top batteries. But when they are that nice you can't drive them anywhere,you might get a chip,a ding. Idiots in parking lots wanting to look inside or under hood if you leave them unattended. Best situation IMHO is build it to be a decent driver,but not so nice as to be un usable. Both of these were my Dads we spent countless hours on them,they were drivers when purchased,but done they were Imaculate,notice 1957 Elorado Biarritz and 1957 Eldorado Seville. Biarritz were convertible, Sevilles hardtops. These lived in the garage except when they were at shows. Not 100 miles a year. Dad got rid if them got 2 Chrysler Crossfires 1 hardtop 1 convertible,and likes them because he can use them.

I've had a few "tropheys" in my day. Too nice to take the dog in and bed too nice to put anything in. All are gone and the squares are untouched real patina trucks. No problems going to the Twp. mulch pile and filling it up. Blazer goes into restoration next month, that's a different story.

 

[ali_c20]

Hello all,

I am fairly new to the site but I am at a bit of a crossroads. I bought my 78 k15 sierra last September and haven’t had her in the road much. Every time I take one step forward I seem to find something else that causes me to take three step backwards. I seem to constantly take something out and decide well while I’m in here I should do xyz. I’m new to this and feel overwhelmed by the project. My question is: is it better to make everything “perfect” or just get it back on the road and enjoy driving it.

I make my vehicles nice but way not perfect. I want to use them and not worry about small scratches, rain or dirt. Build it how you want it, for me it's a mix on some stuff is perfection and a lot is good enough.

 

[WeaverK15]

“Smiles per miles” should be on a square body t shirt

 

[Trucksareforwork]

I have a '72 Chevelle that has been in different stages of complete teardown restoration for about 5 years now, it's off the rotisserie and on the frame but nowhere near being driveable.
I have my '85 C-10 longbed that I took from total surface rust (my profile picture) to repaint and rattle can on the frame in the course of a few months.

The C-10 is way more fun than the restoration project that I can't drive. Your mileage may vary.

 

[WeaverK15]

I have a '72 Chevelle that has been in different stages of complete teardown restoration for about 5 years now, it's off the rotisserie and on the frame but nowhere near being driveable.
I have my '85 C-10 longbed that I took from total surface rust (my profile picture) to repaint and rattle can on the frame in the course of a few months.

The C-10 is way more fun than the restoration project that I can't drive. Your mileage may vary.

Usability seems to be where I am headed. The fender rust etc will be done in stages as I go. My bed is in terrible shape so I am building a wood flatbed for the short term or possibly long term if I like it enough. My plan is to keep the old bed and work on it off the truck, as I am new to welding, body work etc. I feel as though the pressure will be off to get it done because the truck will be on the road.

 

[YakkoWarner]

Usability seems to be where I am headed. The fender rust etc will be done in stages as I go. My bed is in terrible shape so I am building a wood flatbed for the short term or possibly long term if I like it enough. My plan is to keep the old bed and work on it off the truck, as I am new to welding, body work etc. I feel as though the pressure will be off to get it done because the truck will be on the road.

I'm a big fan of perfection where it matters (make sure those brakes and steering are 100% right), good mechanicals and nothing blatently unsafe in the structure.

Even the British car I'm reassembling is not going to be a "restoration" - I want to be able to drive it, and drive it like a sports car not carefully tiptoe around the neighborhood in fear of getting a scratch or rock ding.

My square is the same way - I bought it to use for camping and hauling stuff. If its so nice I'm afraid to have a tree branch touch the paint, I'd never get to use it for what I wanted. Mostly straight and rust free is what I go for, prefer not to have body panels of different color. Beyond that, as long as its safe and reliable (which regrettably my square has been proving NOT to be at the moment) I'm happy. I'd rather spend the money on getting it working right than looking perfect.

 

[Ricko1966]

Usability seems to be where I am headed. The fender rust etc will be done in stages as I go. My bed is in terrible shape so I am building a wood flatbed for the short term or possibly long term if I like it enough. My plan is to keep the old bed and work on it off the truck, as I am new to welding, body work etc. I feel as though the pressure will be off to get it done because the truck will be on the road.

The whole bed bolts together with exception of 2 tack welds. You can buy all replacement parts to rebuild it.

 

[TotalyHucked]

If you're not doing it to be a 100% restored "collector", stages is absolutely the best way. That's how I've done my truck, a little at a time and keep the down time reasonable. Get it up and driving, plan the next phase. Do it all again. I try to not have my truck down for more than a couple months at a time if I can help it. Usually it's just a weekend or two, depends on the job.

 

[xm20k]

If you're not doing it to be a 100% restored "collector", stages is absolutely the best way. That's how I've done my truck, a little at a time and keep the down time reasonable. Get it up and driving, plan the next phase. Do it all again. I try to not have my truck down for more than a couple months at a time if I can help it. Usually it's just a weekend or two, depends on the job.

Same last time it was down for a month, and I so badly wanted to just drive it. I'm so not looking forward to winter, but It's my excuse to buy another and leave it stock and just rust proof it, and set it up to make good heat.

 

[TotalyHucked]

Same last time it was down for a month, and I so badly wanted to just drive it. I'm so not looking forward to winter, but It's my excuse to buy another and leave it stock and just rust proof it, and set it up to make good heat.

I haven't touched mine in 3 months this time around but that's purely because it's been so hot lol. It'll likely be down several months for this next round of mods but that's more because I'm trying to budget better and spread out the spending. I'm really, really bad about "while I'm here"

 

[Grit dog]

I am with the guy who mentioned 20 feet away the truck looks great. The inside of my bed is all original scratches and chips. Love it for hauling and I have no worries in loading it. Once put 2.5 ton of rock in the bed and it ran like a champ! Much more fun to use it than just look at it!

Love that truck! That was basically my dad’s truck when I was little. But his was a 74 big block. It succumbed to the rust belt by the mid 80s.
That’s why I did the side pipes on the brown truck, that’s what dad’s truck had.