Build parties in place of Open House?

[UpstateCobraGuy]

Guys,

Since there is no Open House this year, anyone building in the Northeast who wants help? I'm willing to drive a couple hours to help out a builder. I bet quite a few guys would be willing to help out.

Who wants help?

Pat

[wareaglescott]

Very nice offer and good idea. Another great example of how supportive this builder community is.
I am curious on this topic what people think?
Personally I did not want any physical help (lord knows I got my share of forum help!) I wanted to be able to say I did it myself for the most part. Of course there were times when I used buddies sets of hands for assistance.
What are others thoughts?

[Presto51]

Very nice offer and good idea. Another great example of how supportive this builder community is.
I am curious on this topic what people think?
Personally I did not want any physical help (lord knows I got my share of forum help!) I wanted to be able to say I did it myself for the most part. Of course there were times when I used buddies sets of hands for assistance.
What are others thoughts?

Keep in mind that a build party is not a complete build in one day, you will have plenty of opportunity to build with your own hands

If your well organized, and have a plan in place, you can get a good amount done, and move the build forward, by a great deal.

It's great to get like minded folks together and share good times, knowledge, and some war stories from time to time. (Nothing like seeing a bunch of hot rod builders getting together for a good cause)

Keep the adult beverages closed till after the build part is done, then fire up the grill, or order out, pop open some cold drinks and have a blast.

Finally you get to meet, talk, and make some really good friends, what's not to like.

Ron

[Jeff Kleiner]

I've been involved in a couple of build parties and to be honest am not a fan. I don't mind if friends or customers stop by to visit while I'm working but they know it's "hands off". I have several friends I'd build with but they are all in different parts of the country. Maybe I'm just a curmudgeon

Jeff

[Jstanding]

Maybe find a campground to invade. Go straight to the adult beverages and war stories around a well built bonfire.....

[erlihemi]

Build parties are ok when you have just a couple guys/gals with a real goal, but, no deadlines!! I'm kind of like Jeff in that I don't like extra chef's in my kitchen or chiefs around my campfire, but I like helping out somebody especially when its a unique or different car to me. We kind of batted this about with some of our local guys in another club and it had mixed results. I've had it go a couple different ways. As long as the project car stays in the "owners" garage and you allow time for the campfire talk then its ok. I have also seen this turn into someone's car setting in somebody else's garage for months. As long as no one has big expectations it can be a lot of fun with someone else's money!!
Since this started as a NY geographical range I'll throw in an offer to help within a 2 hour radius from Binghamton...

[cfriedman67]

I think it’s a great idea for the correct person. I myself for the life of me could not get passed the electrical part of my build. If I could have found someone capable I would have welcomed the help in a second. Instead I hired the Traveling Builder to help with the wiring. For me it was good learning experience and helped me to get passed a point I couldn’t seem to do otherwise.

[UpstateCobraGuy]

I have been involved in a few build parties over the years with members of my Upstate FFR (Cobra) Owners Group, sometimes it's simple, like "I'm installing my windshield and could use a few extra hands" or more involved, like "I'm stuck and don't know what to do." I think for the most part, they have been a total success. Agreed, expectations need to be framed, but I know with my group, there is a wealth of knowledge that is begging to be shared.

On another note, I threw this out there with a hope to meet more "FFR guys" within a reasonable driving distance. I have noticed over the last few years the number of new builds seemed to have decreased. I know I'm not as active on the forums as before but I do keep track of two different FFR Facebook groups, and I just don't see new area builds. Also, again within my group, but quite few guys have moved on by selling their cars.

Pat