Jim,
I was afraid someone was going to ask that embarrassing question:"How long did it take"?
Car #1 Red '57 Convt.
I bought this turkey in 1973. I drove it home ~150 miles. It was soooooo ugly' I didn't even take "before" pictures of it. It finally got to it's first CTCI National show in '94.
Car #2 Black '57 Convt.
This one was a wrecked, stripped junk with a Salvage Title that I bought in May '77 to cut up because it had such solid, straight body panels. While stripping the paint off this $300 gem, I decided it was too nice to cut up. It's first (and only) CTCI National showing was '96. This is supposed to be my driver but in reality, car #3 gets driven the most.
Car #3 Black '57 hdtp full pwr.
Have known and worked on this car since '87. Never had a body-off restoration. But, it was good enough to earn an AACA Senior award last year.
My stubborness in trying to maintain an impossibly high standard caused a lot of re-work and attrition among paint materials and plating services. This caused the project to languish for extended periods. Now I don't give a hoot anymore. Well, O.K.; I'm still a stickler for keeping them authentic.
This seems like a long time. The consoling fact is that I've usually owned an operational '57 for most of the last 46 years.
Good Luck, Tom D.
[ 08-21-2003: Message edited by: nomadbird ]
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