Before lifting the first spanner, heck, before even popping the hood, one has to be prepared to invest a minimum of 1 000 hours to even the most straightforward restoration job, says Jackson Reed, an authority on the subject. Roughly 2 000 hours should be set aside by first timers hoping to refurbish vintage car. Which equates to 90 minutes daily for a solid year. And you must know it: everything will start from street rod chassis kits.
Which is why so many restoration jobs never reach completion. They re either stopped midway, or even at the very outset, once those involved become aware of the true burden it places on one s time and resources. Even with an enormous mound of cash set aside specifically for the task, it s impossible to predict the cost of finding all the vintage parts needed for the vehicle to become even a shadow of what it once was.
And after the small fortune put into getting the job done, consider yourself lucky if you see returns on even a quarter of that amount once you put the car back on the market. Unless the vehicle had previously had a celebrity owner, or is considered otherwise highly desirable by collectors, the odds of actually turning a profit in the business of vintage car restoration are slim to none.
But if time s on your side and money s no issue, it s good practice keeping both the inside and outside aspects of the project going at any given time. What that means is determining which parts of the project need to be left at the garage, and which could be hauled off to your workshop at home. So, if one s region endures particularly inhospitable winter months, for example, there s still the option of working on one s inside project from home.
With bolts and nuts being all that s holding the bumpers in place, they re easier than most trimmings to unfasten. If the bolts are rusty or otherwise too worn down to be unscrewed, heating them with a propane torch will usually help them come loose. The panel and side trims, along with hood ornaments and all lettering, must all be removed with great care. They re amongst the most difficult to find, and therefore most expensive, parts to replace if broken or misplaced.
Remember to keep a camera handy or draw diagrams of the layouts of trim and hardware. Next comes removing the window trims, arguably the most difficult parts of trim to get off a vehicle. Customized clips and fittings keep the molded rubber securely fastened and can be easily bent or damaged. Bundle all trimmings together, clearly marking to which side of the car they belong since many pieces looks identical but cannot be interchanged.
Next comes the glass removal. It goes without saying that glass is the most delicate of all a vehicle s components and should be treated with due respect. By this point, the windshield requires only the removal of its interior trim for the window s rubber molding to be eased out of its frame. After evenly prying all around the interior, the window should be gently pushed out from the inside, not pulled from outside.
The process detailed so far should give you a rough idea on how to get started with your planned refurbishment. The rear window is removed similar to the windshield. After that there s the side windows, vent windows, vehicle interior trimmings, the dash, and the drivetrain which would require some specialized tools especially for lifting out the engine, and so forth. Hopefully by now you realize your vintage car refurbishment won t get done overnight, so while its good to focus on the end result, for the time being, learn to enjoy the ride and it ll be a smoother and more enjoyable one for years to come.
Which is why so many restoration jobs never reach completion. They re either stopped midway, or even at the very outset, once those involved become aware of the true burden it places on one s time and resources. Even with an enormous mound of cash set aside specifically for the task, it s impossible to predict the cost of finding all the vintage parts needed for the vehicle to become even a shadow of what it once was.
And after the small fortune put into getting the job done, consider yourself lucky if you see returns on even a quarter of that amount once you put the car back on the market. Unless the vehicle had previously had a celebrity owner, or is considered otherwise highly desirable by collectors, the odds of actually turning a profit in the business of vintage car restoration are slim to none.
But if time s on your side and money s no issue, it s good practice keeping both the inside and outside aspects of the project going at any given time. What that means is determining which parts of the project need to be left at the garage, and which could be hauled off to your workshop at home. So, if one s region endures particularly inhospitable winter months, for example, there s still the option of working on one s inside project from home.
With bolts and nuts being all that s holding the bumpers in place, they re easier than most trimmings to unfasten. If the bolts are rusty or otherwise too worn down to be unscrewed, heating them with a propane torch will usually help them come loose. The panel and side trims, along with hood ornaments and all lettering, must all be removed with great care. They re amongst the most difficult to find, and therefore most expensive, parts to replace if broken or misplaced.
Remember to keep a camera handy or draw diagrams of the layouts of trim and hardware. Next comes removing the window trims, arguably the most difficult parts of trim to get off a vehicle. Customized clips and fittings keep the molded rubber securely fastened and can be easily bent or damaged. Bundle all trimmings together, clearly marking to which side of the car they belong since many pieces looks identical but cannot be interchanged.
Next comes the glass removal. It goes without saying that glass is the most delicate of all a vehicle s components and should be treated with due respect. By this point, the windshield requires only the removal of its interior trim for the window s rubber molding to be eased out of its frame. After evenly prying all around the interior, the window should be gently pushed out from the inside, not pulled from outside.
The process detailed so far should give you a rough idea on how to get started with your planned refurbishment. The rear window is removed similar to the windshield. After that there s the side windows, vent windows, vehicle interior trimmings, the dash, and the drivetrain which would require some specialized tools especially for lifting out the engine, and so forth. Hopefully by now you realize your vintage car refurbishment won t get done overnight, so while its good to focus on the end result, for the time being, learn to enjoy the ride and it ll be a smoother and more enjoyable one for years to come.
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