FABRICATION FILE / THE UNFINISHED BUSINESS
The tarp was holding the project together
A customer wants to move a restoration project without changing its precise state of almost happening.
The customer needed to move a car he had been restoring since 2014. He requested that nothing be disturbed. This included the loose parts, their approximate locations and the belief that one good weekend would finish it.
Terry visited the garage. The car was beneath a blue tarp. On top of the tarp sat three boxes, an alternator and a mug that had acquired structural responsibility. The tarp was no longer a cover. It was a filing system.
Document existing conditions
Terry asked which bolts belonged to the engine. The customer pointed at a coffee can, then a second coffee can, then said he would know when he got back into it.
The design therefore included an uncertainty shelf with separate zones for ‘probably transmission,’ ‘came with the house’ and ‘don't throw that away.’ Each zone was photographed so any future loss of context could be blamed on transport.
A sealed enclosure preserved the dust pattern. Clean areas might suggest progress, and the customer's wife was already asking whether the move would be a good opportunity to make a decision.
Preserve the schedule
The loading plan allocated a Saturday. The customer asked whether they could do Sunday instead because his buddy might come help on Saturday. The buddy had been expected since 2017.
Terry added an empty folding chair to the equipment list. He understood the importance of maintaining existing project resources.
During loading, a socket rolled into view. The customer said he had been looking for it for years. Everyone waited to see whether this discovery would alter the completion forecast. It did not.
Acceptance criteria
The car reached the new garage in precisely its previous condition. The tarp was replaced. The mug returned to its marked location. The customer stood back and said, ‘Now I can really get started.’
Terry signed the delivery record: zero progress lost, zero progress introduced.
The customer has since asked about a larger trailer. He found another project that would make a good parts car for the first one. Terry has already ordered a second uncertainty shelf.