Document!!

[Jon Lundberg]

Folks:

As an appraiser, I am called upon from time-to-time to hypothetically value a subject. That most often occurs following some traumatic event when that subject has been seriously harmed, fully destroyed or that plus removed such that no hulk remains. When facing such a task, owner documentation of what the subject was, how it was created, built, restored, re-created or modified and how it was conformed as a finished project. Lacking such information, I am - all tool often - required to make "Extraordinary Assumptions" so as to provide some basic perspective upon which to found a value opinion.

I write this having just completed such a project. Much of the necessary information outlined above was missing. The claimant suffered thereby.

PLEASE ... as you go forward with any restoration, re-creation or custom project ... OBSESSIVELY DOCUMENT both process and results (digital color photographs, no cell photos, please). And keep receipts and/or photocopies thereof. Otherwise, should "life" happen to what you value, being made whole for that loss is a vacant dream.

PLEASE.

Jon Lundberg, ASA

[Loren]

Good advice. I'm the worst that way...

[Barry Donovan]

do that in realtime and share it...
you'll find how far people do not dig as an average to the toilet bowl of the subject getting restored.
time goes by and the value is suddenly "holy shit", because they did not acknowledge the realtime slow path of torture back to stronger and more valuable than ever.

my own path to playing obsessed with documentation..
learned a lot about internet people.

Not many actually work into a new value, stay crooks to shiny plaint and a book value/market bank game.

this continues to make it difficult, stand ground.

I suppose I announced a need for an independent appraiser.

[NewEnglandRaceFan]

I take photo's as I go, and photo's of the receipts and burn to a c/d or dvd
and then the receipts go into a 3 ring binder along with services(oil changes,tune ups,upgrades,etc) with parts used,(and any other vender part# that crosses , good for when you are traveling) vender,date, and miles) and that all goes into the binder

[Dan Barlow]

10- 4 Jon
Loren - thanks for the picture change. The motor home wasn't doing it for me.

[Monk]

My best documentation is my build thread.

[Beagle]

Document? How about just insure it!!!



no insurance.

[SuperBuickGuy]

My best documentation is my build thread.

I actually used my thread when I had a claim on the Skylark - adjuster told me that he has to be careful when he looks at threads because they've been known to suck his entire day away

[SuperBuickGuy]

Document? How about just insure it!!!



no insurance.

I thought they were supposed to be quicker then lightning....

[Beagle]

I thought they were supposed to be quicker then lightning....

That would be Flipper...

[oj]

When i work on projects i take many pics - a recent mustang floorpan replacement got about 500pics - the pics get recorded in a 'master catalog' with a brief description of what you are looking at a picture number and a referance drawing number from the mfgr assembly manual; the photo album is numbered to the catalog, a few words of description and it also refers you to other pics of the same area. For instance, a picture of a wheelwell patch panel will refer you a picture showing a rusted hole and another picture of the area in primer before paint.
It is a lot of work doing this level of record keeping but if you look at a picture of a close up shot of a shock mount that you took 10 years ago you won't have a clue what possessed you to take it or if it before or after the 'fix'.

[Loren]

thanks for the picture change. The motor home wasn't doing it for me.

Do not disrespect the motor home. It will come to you in your dreams and give you bad thoughts. As it does me.

The Corvette ('72 454/4spd) got the chassis completely done as well as the engine machine work, and now it sits like just another project. Fiberglass...ugh.

It would be a good one to document though.

[Dan Barlow]

I went from a kid to thinking they were cool in the 70's to you couldn't give me one in my 20s thru 50. Then something happened and now I wouldn't mind one with a sand rail to go with it. No disrespecting the motor home probably would kick the but of my 15 second trans am! Just.the cuda / changer and the Bette are more candy like to me. LOL

[Barry Donovan]

When i work on projects i take many pics - a recent mustang floorpan replacement got about 500pics - the pics get recorded in a 'master catalog' with a brief description of what you are looking at a picture number and a referance drawing number from the mfgr assembly manual; the photo album is numbered to the catalog, a few words of description and it also refers you to other pics of the same area. For instance, a picture of a wheelwell patch panel will refer you a picture showing a rusted hole and another picture of the area in primer before paint.
It is a lot of work doing this level of record keeping but if you look at a picture of a close up shot of a shock mount that you took 10 years ago you won't have a clue what possessed you to take it or if it before or after the 'fix'.

it seems tedious while doing it, waiting a year and looking back is priceless.

my only problem is what cameras do with weld appearance, or high dense carbon steel. No worse than amicrophone not capturing exact sound, and still better to record versus nothing at all.

[milner351]

One of the best things I've done (should probably re do bi annually or so) is a tip I picked up here I think - Take a video of the shop, everything in it. Open every drawer of every tool box and cabinet, take a look inside the engine compartment underside, interior of each vehicle, look at all equipment including model numbers, etc. Then save it to a DVD and put it in a firebox/safe / safe deposit box.

Faster than taking pictures, you can read model numbers and specifics and talk about details while recording, and you're covering the whole inside of the building and the vehicles - there may be stuff in the background you don't talk about that will be good documentation of contents in the event of a fire, etc.

I've heard some dings against Hagerty insurance - but the one thing they have that's unusual is "project car" insurance - no coverage for on road accidents, but lots of coverage for storage of vehicle, parts, etc, vehicle does not have to be registered.