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Originally Posted by NJSPEEDER
i was refering to databases outside the business function stuff.
you woudl need to have around a tone of assembly, parts, cross reference, specifications, color chips, blah blah blah....you get teh idea.
at minimum you woudl need access to a stagering amount of info, if not have a good portion of it on hand at all times. some of these things are very easy to get,
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Ah yes, absolutely correct. There's no real happy medium between being able to cater to a wide audience and having a small operation. Unfortnately, the shops that seem to have the best reputation, also have the experienced mechanics who seem to have all the obscure knowledge in their heads - not on manuals. Like they say, there's no substitute for experience.
It's a lofty goal for a small operation to be able to tackle a large range of cars for resto work. Those who specialize, can often maintain a great wealth of information about specific vehicles, building a great reputation for those vehicles, however they cater to a much smaller audience, and consequently, make a smaller amount of money. If all he plans to do is 2-3 cars a year (definately a part time job) then taking time to do the research and acquire the (written) knowledge about the vehicle becomes a little more attainable. I agree with you there. Pouring through webpages, catalogs, shop manuals, yellow pages, and purusing car shops/shows, swap meets, other clubs, etc. becomes very important and time consuming. Certanly lots of things to consider when opening a "small and simple" restoration business.
Thanks for the input, Tim.