Owner involved Major, who would like to?

Some of the engineering on these cars is quite elegant. Getting into the oily bits can give you an appreciation you'd otherwise miss.

Of course there are a few "what were they thinking?" items, too.

Sounds like it might be good for people who have the time for DIY, but not the room or the experience.
And a good way to build your confidence, so you could DIY your own, next major.

(Is this sponsored by a realtor -- getting people to want to trade up to larger garages? )

 

if i had the time and they offered, i would think this would be a great opportunity

 

There used to be a sign in a workshop close by, something along the lines of

Hourly rate $100
If you help $200

 

Don't forget $500 if you attempted the repair yourself

 

Most insurance companies would never allow that.

 

Can you state the business offering this service?

 

The vehicle owner and shop owner have both requested that this remain private now. This was a special arrangement made 1 time only and not a normal practice for this shop.

 

As a smaller home based business I have found clients that I encouraged to be involved in the process of "helping" restore their own cars has always been a positive and trust building experience that lead to greater trust that always leads to future projects with the same client.. Also the owners generally get bored after a while and kind of leave it to you to finish... I encourage all my clients that are so incined and found it to be a positive.. As for the insurance angle??? Never worried about that other than all my clients are required to carry their own coverage on their cars while undergoing restoration.

 

Then why make the post; how are you involved??

It was DonJuan348 that made the query.

 

I do this with all of my cars, why should my Ferrari be different? (I don't have a Ferrari yet) All vehicles I have sent in for service I have at the absolute -least- observed.

 

GM must have worked out the warranty and liability issues--
For 2011 they have a $5800 option to let you build your own engine for your Z06 or ZR1 Corvette--under the supervision of a factory Tech.

http://media.gm.com/content/media/us/en/news/news_detail.brand_gm.html/content/Pages/news/us/en/2010/July/0712_corvette

 

I wouldn't mind assisting in and observing Ferrari V12 and V8 rebuilds.

 

Was thinking the same thing.

We used to let owners watch, but they could not step into the workshop, especially without enclosed shoes.

If they got hurt, all hell would break loose.

 

Hell yeah! You are talking to someone who jacks a Mazda RX-7 in the driveway to change the transmission fluid. Sure I feel involved - my head could be squashed. Learning the art of caring for a Ferrari is top. Beauty is in the details. Being swashed by a Ferrari seems different somehow...

 

I've had a few customers get involved in the process. If I'm doing a restoration on their car over several months, there are always parts to bead-blast or clean. Typically they think they'll do more than they really do.

Very little of what I do here is magic (although some describe it as such) so I'm not afraid of the "secret" getting out.

It builds trust and gives a real hands-on understanding of how long things really take and why the bills are as big as they are.

The whole "insurance" thing is mostly just an excuse to keep people out. I wouldn't let anyone in here if I thought they would get hurt.

 

but sometimes tools break... and send things flying across the shop etc... ive seen a lifts solenoid get jammed once and the lift kept going and going and going... sort of the murphys law thing... but i guess you can minimize the possibilities