Originally Posted by ach60

Lots and lots of cars get taken apart for restoration only to never be put back together again.
So here are my rules of auto restoration

1) Keep the car running as long as possible.

This means you will be doing the car in jobs, first fix the stuff that is broke.
Like if the reverse lights don't work, than fix them.
If you have the dumb fuel filter next to the carb, then replace all the fuel lines, and get the filter located under the gas tank up front.
If the motor leaks, than fix the leaks.
If the trans needs an overhaul, pull it and have it overhauled.
Notice I started with easy jobs, and moved to harder jobs.

2) Do something on, or with the car daily, even if it's just a 5 minute nothing job.

Restorations grind to a halt because "guys don't have the time",
But if the garage is part of your routine you will always have the time.

3) Control the costs, but don’t be cheap.

You need to know this going in.
Restoring almost any car is a sure way to spend 50% to 200% or more on a car
than the car is worth.
You need to set up a plan, and a budget for the car, and control that budget by working to your plan.
You also need to know that your wife and everybody else will have an opinion about the car and the money you are spending on it.
If you don’t think you can deal with an unhappy wife worrying about every dime you spend on “that mess in the garage”, than you need to get that situation under control first.

4) You need a place to restore a car.

You can restore a car in a one car garage, I know because I did it.
The deal is that you need a place to do your work, and it needs to be secure & clean so you don’t mind working there.
It also has to be secure so you can stop a job in the middle & come back later without having you stuff all messed by someone else, or having your stuff stolen.

5) Get help, but don’t waste your friend’s time

For most of the work you need to do working by yourself is fine.
But some jobs require an extra set of hands. When you know you will need help, please plan ahead.
Let’s look at an example: getting the transaxle overhauled.
Plan ahead, and do all the stuff that you can do by yourself. This way you are using your friend’s time most efficiently. By yourself you can remove the tin required, mark and unplug all the wires that need to be unplugged. Unhook the cables & stow them out of the way. Remove the drive-shafts if it’s an IRS, remove the brake assemblies if it’s a swing-axle.
Make sure all the bolts are loose, and can be removed
This way when you buddy comes to help, you are ready and the job goes quickly and painlessly for him.

6) Use local sources.

Mail order is OK for some things, but local guys can help you with advice, and parts in a pinch.
But if you don’t use the local guy, than the local guy will not be there when you need him.
You can control your cost, and still work with the local guy.
I spent over $700 on seals from West Coast Metric, if I bought them mail order or from the local guy it didn’t mater. The price of each seal was still going to be the same.
Buying them from the local guy means that when the seal which has a lifetime guarantee goes bad, that I simply drive down the street and get a replacement for free.
No BS, no waiting in the mail, no postage.
The same goes double for motors & stuff!

7) Mock-up.

Did you notice that the guys from Orange County Choppers actually build the bikes twice?
This is another reason to keep the car running as long as possible.
That way you know all your modifications, repairs, and installations of parts all fit & work correctly before you go to paint.
I bought 3 rear fenders for my ’78 to replaced crushed & rusted repair parts.
I got lucky because my “local guy” warned me that these were the best available, but to buy them in pairs so the little differences would be the same from side to side.
Yes I ended up throwing a repro fender away, that I bought at a swap meet.
But at least it wasn’t a painted fender that wasn’t going to work.
To do it all again, I would search Pick & Pulls for original German fenders.


8) My car is at the body shop

It’s wonderful if you can do your own body & paint work.
But if you can’t than this is another place were your car can fall into the auto restoration black hole.
Once you find a guy or shop to do you car make it clear you will be coming by to
Check on the car. If the car is not a priority job in the shop, than every 2 weeks would be fine. If you’re paying the guy high dollars, and the job is supposed to be a primary job, not a fill in job, then checking on the car weekly is the way to go.
If you going to the original color, or more importantly if you’re changing colors, have the guy shoot a color sample for you.
There is nothing like getting a car back from the body shop, and having it not be the color you wanted.
I had this happen with a customer’s car twice.
Once the guy said “paint it any color we wanted”.
We had a gallon of chocolate brown, on hand so we painted it.
The guy came back and said “Why did you paint my car S^&T brown?”
The car looked great, but they guy didn’t like it.
The second car was a ’71 Super I did for a lady in the 80’s.
Again the customer said any color but tan (the car was tan), so I pressed on her to pick
A color.
There was a blue Chevy Truck across the way, and she said paint it the same color as that truck.
So I went across the street, and got the year & model so I could look up the paint code.
We painted the ’71 a medium blue Chevy truck color for ’76.
The customer’s daughter had the best comment about the car.
“Dynamo paint job, too bad about the color”.
In both cases the customer had to pay, but they did not get the color they wanted.
The color sample is only way to insure this doesn’t happen is to you.

9) The Chrome

Any new bumpers you buy are going to be garbage. If you have your originals, then pay big bucks and have them re-chromed, the same goes for your door handles, front turn signals, and window frames.
Take a part into the Chromer, and have him do the part, if you like the job have him do more, if not get another Chromer.
When I got my bumpers back from my first Chromer, I knew I was going to look for another guy.
The second guy did such a wonderful job on the stuff that I brought him, that I had him re-do the bumpers.
Yes I spent over a $1000 on Chrome plating my Original German Chrome parts, and it was worth it.


10) Reassembly

Once you get the car back from paint. STOP and Wait a month.
Do other jobs, but don’t go near the new paint, and keep others away too.
After the month go ahead and get started on re-assembly.
Take your time, and don’t get frustrated or in a rush.
Learn to stop and think about it.