Build-Time Estimate....BMW Isetta

[Wil Ferch]

How do I find myself in these things?.....

Story....good friend and body shop owner finds himself being asked to re-assemble a BMW Isetta ( for a collector)....who has had the major sub-components all rebuilt and ready for re-assembly back into a complete car. My friend wants to split the wages for doing this if I help him. BUT.....the money being discussed amounts to about 100 Manhours for the re-assembly time, total

Is 100 MH a reasonable assessment of re-assembly time for a project like this? I came across "IsettaBob" as a website for this....but have never gotten a response from the experts.

???? Anyone ???......... Are we even in the ballpark?.... or is this a 500 or 1000 hour job? Never done one...so I have no idea.

[stomachmonkey]

Hmm,

If it's simply reassembly then I think it's doable.

Buddy and I put together a 65' Dodge in about that time.

[Tim Hancock]

Pretty tough to judge without spending a bunch of time looking everything over. That said.... It sounds like too little time to me for any kind of showcar quality work even on something that small especially if everything needs to be orignal looking and perfect. I would imagine tons of time will be spent just researching/locating/buying little stuff that is probably missing. You may also find that some of the prior work may not be up to snuff and may require re-working.

[McLovin]

My neighbor had an isetta in the 80s, I'd see it around and he'd work on it himself.

It's a very small "car" that seems closer mechanically to a motorcycle than a normal full sized car. It was by design made to be very simple.

As far as the time, I suppose the answer is "depends," but if one were broken down to it's main components, and all the parts were present and accounted for, I think an experienced Isetta guy could put it back together in a day.

So, for just reassembly (paint work already done, mechanical work all done, all parts there ready to go) I'd think 100 hours is more than enough time. 100 hours at 100/hr is $10K, that seems like a lot for just labor to reassemble an Isetta. (Even at $50, it's $5K). But that's a lot of assumptions being made (i.e., that everything is there, is done, etc. and it's just a matter of bolting it back together).

[MotoSook]

Give a 100 hr estimate, but bill the collector on a time and material basis. If the collector wants a ceiling, then give him 150 hrs not to exceed time and material.

Like stated above, it's a small vehicle and you'll probably spend a lot if time findIng the parts or finding out where they go.

ETA: funny timing. We're buying a place from the estate of a guy who has an Isetta in the barn. I looked complete and may be a "survivor." Don't know what the estate will do with it, but they have 60 days to clean out the barn after close. So maybe I'll get to look it over better.

[widebody911]

I'd love to get an Isetta!

[Wil Ferch]

Tom ! ( widebody 911)..... my suspension angle-calculator partner-in-crime.....you re-appear ! Greetings !

Thanks all for your thoughts....I need to presume this is all a re-assembly project with none of this "hey, it doesn't fit"...or "we have to emergency fab this part"....stuff. Just give us a big bag of parts and let us loose. It sounds at least do-able on the optimistic-side of the equation...and not "hey are you nuts it'll take at least 500 hrs" kind of answer.

[Jagshund]

Think it would depend on the level of fit your friend requires. When I first started in body shops many years ago, I remember the shop output on the days before holidays nearly doubling. Now, I'll spend hours on a 4" patch just to make sure it's perfect and even longer making sure panels fit- like the "2.5 to 3.5 mm" on a certain decklid.

[Zeke]

I budgeted 1000 hours for most simple restorations that were straight forward and not trashed. Think early Corvette or Mustang. Off frame.

Once you've taken the car apart, done all the preliminay work, reassembled for fit and then paint, you know the car well enough to put it back together rather quickly. The only disadvantage I see in the 100 hour "estimate" is that you didn't get the benefit of the earlier work.

I'd say you and your friend the shop owner should agree that the both of you can do this in 5 days flat. It will take you the whole 7 or so in my mind even when you think you can do it in 5.

Now, if this is an off hours type of thing, just remember how long it takes to get into the zone where you are producing each session. If you were thinking of working on the car for 3 hours at a time, that's 33.3 days. For 2, it's half. In that case, I'd give it a month.

That's how it works around here.

[dafischer]

I've owned two Isettas, and they are extremely simple. (Think large, enclosed garden tractor). If all the bodywork has been done, and it's just re-assembly, 100 man hours is very doable. There are no shut lines to worry about, since the only openings are the front door and the engine hatch on the side, neither of which are a precision fit. The shift mechanism can be "fun", IIRC.

[daepp]

Ask isettadude@aol.com

[rattlsnak]

we have one at the shop that has been "up in the rafters" for at least the last 20 years i have been there.. lol. maybe one day someone will start working on it.

[daepp]

Seriously, if you want any real (and recent) info on Isettas email Greg at Isettadude@aol.com. He is a neighbor and he has done many restorations.

[Wil Ferch]

Thanks guys....this gives me something to go on.