Anyone tired of this ???

As someone who once ran his own restoration and build shop I can see things from the other point of view on this.

Very few of my customers were just the "cut the check type." Most of them had the money to cut the check, yes, otherwise I wouldn't have been doing the job, but for most it took a matter of time to have that money in the account for them to afford to cut the check. I was witness to many an argument between husband and wife about how much money it was going to take, what might have to be trimmed from the budget for such a build, and how long it would take for the customer to save that extra bit of money to be able to afford that extra amount of work the car needed that was hidden from the owners eyes.

Of those folks, most of them were having the car restored for sentimental purposes. Most of the cars were possessions of deceased or honored family members and the current owner wanted the car brought back in such a way as to relieve the memories of youth. A few were building the car of their dreams, the one that got away from when they were kids.

Most of them wanted...wanted...to build the car themselves, but after doing the necessary research on tools it would take, such as paint equipment, air tools, welder, rotisserie, etc, they realized that it would take that much more money to even start the job. Better to turn the job over to someone who'd already made the investment in tools and equipment.

Most of them wanted...wanted...to build the car themselves, but when it came time for them to analyze their own skills they realized that they weren't restorers, they were market analysts, secretaries, doctors, whatever. They'd never held a ratchet in their hands before, let alone a welder stinger or a paint gun, and the way they wanted the car restored, to an exacting standard, was beyond the limited skills they had. Better to turn the job over to someone who'd already spent years honing his skills and was continuing to hone them.

Hard to find parts? Forget about it. I did this in the days before the widespread use of the internet. How easy is it come on here and look and search for that part and put the word out that you need it amongst thousands of members? I already had the contacts. One of my customers spent months trying to find the climate control sensor for his '66 Caddy. I made two phone calls and had it in my hand just a few days later.

There's any number of reasons to turn your build over to the "professional" or to buy a car already built and I've witnessed most of the reasons in my career of turning wrenches and laying in paint.

The owners were very proud of the job my old man, brother, and I did for them. We took pride in the fact that they were able to cruise and have fun in a car they'd dreamed about cruising in for years as it sat in the yard or in the barn waiting for the day they'd finally have enough money to bring it back to life.