Using Subcontractors On Your Classic Car

As you begin to plan out the restoration tasks for your classic automobile, you are probably wondering if you should attempt to do all of the restoration yourself, or if you should call subcontractors and farm part of the tasks out to them. The benefits of restoring a vehicle by yourself is attractive for many reasons. From a financial standpoint, you will save a lot of money by doing the work yourself.


A certain amount of ego comes into play as well. If you rebuild it yourself, you'll be able to proudly point to the restored car and take the full credit for rebuilding it. Doing the work yourself also lets you do the work exactly the way you want it done. You know that you won't be taking any shortcuts to get the work done and can be assured that the work quality will be of the highest caliber.

However, on a realistic level, not too many of us actually have all of the necessary skills that would be needed to do our own automobile restoration. After all, what percentage of us could perform with necessary skill the upholstery, welding, painting, or mechanical  work that needs to be done? At some point most restorations will require an expert's touch that is beyond your level of expertise.

In this situation, what exactly are your options? Well, what many amateur restorers finally decide to do is to outsource some of the more specialty work to a subcontractor. And if you do it correctly, it's an investment and tradeoff well worth making.

If you want to get the best outcome from dealing with subcontractors, there are a few guidelines to abide by.

If you can possibly avoid it, don't hire a subcontractor outside his area of expertise. For example, if you require someone well versed in 1940 era Ford engines, do not hire a general automobile mechanic who sometimes dabbles in engines. As an alternative, try to find a subcontractor that is an expert in working with Ford engines from that general era. Can't find one? Then look for a subcontractor in Ford engines overall. The bottom line is try to find a subcontractor who is used to working with components on the specific classic car that you own.

If you have never worked with a specific sub-contractor before, you will want to talk to some of his clients and see actual examples of his work. Photographic can be doctored and are therefore not reliable. If you're not satisfied with the quality, continue your search.

You want to get at least five references from satisfied customers of his. Call them and talk to them. Ask about the timeliness and quality of the work they received and any other concerns that you may have.

After you have located a sub-contractor and made the decision to try him out, request from him a written detailed work, price, and time estimate of the work that you are asking to be done. If he is not willing to give you a "written" estimate, you should probably pass on having him do the work.

And, make certain that you inquire about warranties and guarantees of their work. You may or may not be able to get a warranty on parts. But a confident subcontractor will have no problem guaranteeing his level of work.

Try not to think of subcontractors as simply a necessary evil. Alternatively, try to see them as partners in the rebuilding of your auto. Subcontractors can be a great asset to you and potentially save you loads of time. And in many cases the use of subcontractors may be the only way you can get your auto restoration finished.

About the Author

By: Carl Phillips

Carl Phllips writes car restorations articles such as classic car pricing and classic car value. Please visit his site for additional contributions.

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