Restoration Order

[SMS68]

Gathering my thoughts and trying to put a loose plan of action together for my upcoming project. Not going for a concourse restoration but everything will still have to be touched, so this car will take a few years. I do NOT have enough free $$ to do it all simultaneously so I am trying to prioritize and put things in a logical order.

I'd like to hear how others have approached their restoration in the same context. After photographing, documenting and stripping it down, what's been your order of restoration? Body work, mechanical, then interior or mechanical, body, then interior, or a preliminary body work (major rust/panel repair etc), then mechanical, then final body/paint, and then interior etc...

My gut is to strip her down, get any/all rust taken care of and then do the suspension while I gather parts and $$ to rebuild the motor. I'll probably outsource final installation of motor and trans to a shop, so I'm thinking it would be best to do that before final body and paint. I can tackle the interior myself, most likely last. I'm not beholden to any particular process though. Hit me.

 

[dadsbee]

Just follow Joel's 69 Road Runner thread that's up right now. He'll show you the way..

https://www.forbbodiesonly.com/moparforum/threads/my-69-road-runner.212496/

 

[#41]

Gathering my thoughts and trying to put a loose plan of action together for my upcoming project. Not going for a concourse restoration but everything will still have to be touched, so this car will take a few years. I do NOT have enough free $$ to do it all simultaneously so I am trying to prioritize and put things in a logical order.

I'd like to hear how others have approached their restoration in the same context. After photographing, documenting and stripping it down, what's been your order of restoration? Body work, mechanical, then interior or mechanical, body, then interior, or a preliminary body work (major rust/panel repair etc), then mechanical, then final body/paint, and then interior etc...

My gut is to strip her down, get any/all rust taken care of and then do the suspension while I gather parts and $$ to rebuild the motor. I'll probably outsource final installation of motor and trans to a shop, so I'm thinking it would be best to do that before final body and paint. I can tackle the interior myself, most likely last. I'm not beholden to any particular process though. Hit me.

Proper Steps:

1. Get it running good enough to occasionally drive it and have fun.
2. Meanwhile, save enough money to complete the entire task.
3. Then start the resto.

Don't fall into the trap of taking it all apart before you have the funds to finish the job. Otherwise, do the body first so you have something to assemble things onto (suspension, interior, drivetrain).

 

[4mulas]

There are a lot of variables to this. But a general path for me is to determine what the car is to be (motor trans combos etc) and if there are significant changes made there, and also even if there is not, do a trial fit on all the mechanical items, check for problems, clearances etc. Then remove all the mechanical and proceed to body.

From there I like to start with the body and paint. For me it’s the most time consuming and expensive thing to do. I’ve seen many projects where the mechanical all get sorted first and then they run out of money or the car get held hostage in auto body hell for 3 years etc..... mechanical and finishing touches like upholstery are easily accomplished in a short time frame and can also be saved $ for while the body and paint is getting done, which will inevitably take longer than you want...

 

[1967coronet]

1st thing.
No matter what your budget is..... double it.
As mentioned interior kits. And the bling ect are at the end of the line.
Much of this can happen at the same time frame. As in perfect time for suspension rebuild is while front clip is off the car. Ect ect.
2 things you will want to research
#1 body shop. Do not jump at the cheapest deal. The ( my buddy has a friend working out of his ex wife's garage ) deals never end well.
Find a shop with a proven track record and has multi years in the same location, like 15 plus years.
Same with the machine work find a shop that has a good track record and multi years in the same location.
Most times , you get what you pay for.
One more thing. If the body shop wants money up front, run Forest run.
Never pay for work that has not happened.
If they have your car for a month or two and then want you to pay for hrs. Up to date that's fine as long as progress is made.

 

[SMS68]

1st thing.
No matter what your budget is..... double it.
As mentioned interior kits. And the bling ect are at the end of the line.
Much of this can happen at the same time frame. As in perfect time for suspension rebuild is while front clip is off the car. Ect ect.
2 things you will want to research
#1 body shop. Do not jump at the cheapest deal. The ( my buddy has a friend working out of his ex wife's garage ) deals never end well.
Find a shop with a proven track record and has multi years in the same location, like 15 plus years.
Same with the machine work find a shop that has a good track record and multi years in the same location.
Most times , you get what you pay for.
One more thing. If the body shop wants money up front, run Forest run.
Never pay for work that has not happened.
If they have your car for a month or two and then want you to pay for hrs. Up to date that's fine as long as progress is made.

Yeah, I'm not worried about the money angle. I've been down this road before and know that no plan survives contact with the enemy. Just trying to figure out the best approach this time around.

Funny story on the body shop part. When I did my '68 Charger many years ago, I went with a local shop who's owner was willing to come to the house to give me an estimate (because the car wasn't road worthy). They did a decent job, but it took twice as long as estimated because they basically fit my car in between insurance work. It cost more too, which was my fault for adding stuff after the fact like putting new door hinges on etc...

Many months in, I left on a deployment to El Salvador, When I got home, one of my first trips was to the body shop to check on the progress of my car. The place was empty! Cleaned out. Lamps dangling from the ceiling kind of empty. My gut dropped. Mind you this was pre-cell phones. Landline number came up as out of service. I thought the guy had packed up and left town with my car lol. I walked over to the nearby Dodge dealership and found out the guy had just moved to another location in the next town over. Found my car safe and sound and nearly done!

 

[Runcharger]

Most guys blow it all apart, let it sit and then sell it. Personally I think the best approach is to take a bunch of photos as you go, Take an assembly off and restore that assembly, wrap it up and store it and then on to the next assembly. That way you don't have a double garage filled up with a rusty shell and a ton of filthy 50 year old parts. That's why guys get overwhelmed and give up. When you look at your restored dash, rebuilt and painted engine, restored K-member it keeps up the motivation and you want to do that block sanding on the body.