i'd like to know what order most of you do your restoration in. do you start with the teardown and how far do you go? do you then do the metalwork, then suspension, then engine bay, paint, then start reassembling. then wiring and interior. just looking for some ideas as the sprint is the first car i'm doing from scratch. i plan on this being a daily driver but i'm not in any hurry as i have another sunny day car to drive, and my mustang for other times. thanks.
Uhh....I don't really plan stuff out.....I just git er done (after puttin it off till the last minute)
I'd just do it in the order it makes logical sense. Strip car, do all metal work, prime body, do suspension/brakes, do final body work and paint, install all wireing, put the drivetrain in, install the headliner, put the windows in, then put the rest of the interior in, install bumpers and exterior trim, done deal. Now if it were only that easy.
I tore my Grabber down to a rolling shell .. all glass out ... but did not remove dash or wiring. I swapped to the disc brakes and 5-lug at that time and prettied up the undercarriage. I did not do a complete resto on the undercarriage like Dennis and Craig. I also swapped the steering column and installed the pedals for my 4-speed. Next I cleaned up and painted all the engine bay (steering, suspension) parts that were going back in. I cleaned and painted the engine bay (rattle can) and put my new engine and 4-speed in and got it running. Drove it down the road to the body shop with no glass and the fenders hanging on with 2 bolts. They worked their magic including installing a new windshield and headliner and then I drove it home. I had the fenders, hood and decklid installed at the body shop. Once I got it home I put the interior back in, put the rest of the body together (grill, valances, lights, chrome, etc), put the Grabber stripes on and finally my wheels & tires. One thing that really helped me out is that I had all the parts I needed already purchased and ready to go. I put lots of NOS and repop parts on that I had gathered over the previous 2 years or so. Their was no rhyme or reason to the yellow car since most of what I did was just appearance improvements and upgrades. Good luck ..
I like to take them apart.....then......wait for time to go by..............then buy another one, take it apart.....then wait......I'm still waiting...
I bought my '77 from Frank. He had already done a lot of work to the floorboard and the enging compartment, installed a built 250 and C-4. I took the interior apart and the trunk, repaired all sheet metal, and had it painted. I then had the headliner installed and then the glass. Now, I'm putting it back together - doing the thrunk and outside stuff first and then finish with the interior.
I started with a lot of money, now I don't have any, and the car still needs finished. I started with all of the mech. stuff. I wanted a good solid drivetrain, then the interior, last(still) I need to finish the body.
I think it kinda depends on the extent that you want the restoration to be as far as order and level of tear down. if you want a brand new car once finished, then tear everything out, completley down, do the messy stuff first as in, get the body in order, start reassembling and finish with the interior.
I tear down to a bare shell. When stripped there is no wiring in the car, no dash, and anything that comes apart with bolts or screws is removed. Absolutely everything is removed and then the body work begins. Heavy duty stuff like frame repairs and floorpans are first. Cosmetics come next. Rotisserie ready at this point. Finally time to paint. After paint, suspension and drivetrain goes back in. Next I do dash, wiring harnesses, and all fluid lines and fuel tank. At this point the car can be started and moved on its own. Trunk spatter next, this is the last painting I do. Interior comes next including headliner. Then reassembly of the body that hasn't been put on for paint. This could include doors, hood, deck lid (depends on what way I painted it, on car or off). No set order, but glass, lights, bumpers, trim, badges, and all the little touches come last. I often think you are never really done -
The Comet... ...had the following: 1-engine/tranny,underhood wiring, radiator etc. removed and pressure washed 2-interior was removed except for dash 3-removed bumpers and as much trim as possible 3-delivered to paint/body guy where fenders,doors, decklid and all glass was removed before metal massaging and paint was done. All jambs were painted first as well as bottom of hood and decklid. 4-glass was reinstalled along with all weatherstripping and alignment of doors and fenders and bumper mounting 5-interior replacement was started (no seats yet) redyed headliner as it was fine 6-reinstalled wiring harness after cleaning and rewrapping, installed grill etc. 7-rebuilt/detailed front suspension (rear was just painted for now) 8-rebuilt motor/cleaned radiator/rebuilt tranny was installed 9-8 months later....I was busy!....motor was started 10-remainder of interior was installed-seats etc. 11-stripes were added 12-towed to muffler shop to have exhaust system installed Seth
Tear car apart, figure out what you need, open wallet and spend spend spend, wait for UPS or Fed-ex, throw everything into the garage, shake garage vigorously for ten minutes, open the door, and .......... uh----no, there's some cussing involved too. When I did my car, I went in a direction that suited the situation. I did't have money nor means for a motor I mean engine. So I did the tear down part, and the body next. Mocked up the trans location(hole in the floor for the Tremec). Brakes and suspension were next, and the motor and all the little piddly things were next, exhaust was last, I had no choice but to drive it to work with open headers. This is a condensed story, took a couple years.
thanks for the info. most of it seems to be in the direction i'm heading. anybody got some spare energy to send me.
I got plenty of energy to help with yours or anyone elses car.....I just wish I had the same motivation to mess with mine
I'm going step by step. Don't have a garage but bought one of those car ports that look like tents. I started taking all stuff off the body like bumpers and emblems and all that. I also took seats out and most of interior and left the dash in but I think I'll take most of that out too. Now I will start by sanding and painting inside, and will use sound deadener anywhere I can. I'll then paint inside and door jambs along with trunk to match future color of outsdide (grey). I have 302 that I'm building in my living room (not fun as far as space) and that'll go in later. In the meantime I'll pull engine/tranny and at least paint engine compartment until i finish building 302 (actually 331 stroker). I'm gonna paint interior panels in the meantime too and order a bunch of goodies.
