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.
Firstly, make peace with the job never reaching completion. It requires a massive commitment of time and resources and has to be treated more like a hobby or a labor of love than a clearly defined project with a set deadline in mind. And despite the sizable investment of capital required to get the project off the ground, be realistic in realizing that s only the beginning. Even seasoned restorers regularly encounter issues they d never anticipated. So, unless there s a lot of love involved, one s feelings are bound to turn to hate.
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.
Having decided to proceed with the project in spite of it not promising any real financial rewards, you then decide which components to take home to your workshop, and which parts to leave in the garage. Bearing in mind it s going to be a long term project, having the option of working from home when weather conditions aren t conducive to working outdoors ensures the work doesn t become stalled by factors outside one s control.
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.
So, all trim should be heaped together and tagged so as to specify its exact location on the vehicle. Some sections look alike but don t serve the same function making them easy to confuse with similar looking parts. All the more reason for being meticulous when detailing them. Taking apart the window trimmings, and hopefully without ripping the rubber, requires much patience. And after having already spent a day removing the other trimmings, the tedious nature of the work might start becoming apparent at this point.
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.
By this point, you re only a couple days to a week into the process. And have yet to remove the rest of the glass, the side and vent windows. Which is why one should always maintain a proper sense of perspective regarding the scope of the work being done. Taking it all one day at a time while keeping one s eyes firmly on the prize will allow you to enjoy the journey from rust bucket back to hot rod, developing a much deeper appreciation for aesthetic and mechanical considerations that actually go into the production of vehicles as well.
Firstly, make peace with the job never reaching completion. It requires a massive commitment of time and resources and has to be treated more like a hobby or a labor of love than a clearly defined project with a set deadline in mind. And despite the sizable investment of capital required to get the project off the ground, be realistic in realizing that s only the beginning. Even seasoned restorers regularly encounter issues they d never anticipated. So, unless there s a lot of love involved, one s feelings are bound to turn to hate.
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.
Having decided to proceed with the project in spite of it not promising any real financial rewards, you then decide which components to take home to your workshop, and which parts to leave in the garage. Bearing in mind it s going to be a long term project, having the option of working from home when weather conditions aren t conducive to working outdoors ensures the work doesn t become stalled by factors outside one s control.
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.
So, all trim should be heaped together and tagged so as to specify its exact location on the vehicle. Some sections look alike but don t serve the same function making them easy to confuse with similar looking parts. All the more reason for being meticulous when detailing them. Taking apart the window trimmings, and hopefully without ripping the rubber, requires much patience. And after having already spent a day removing the other trimmings, the tedious nature of the work might start becoming apparent at this point.
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.
By this point, you re only a couple days to a week into the process. And have yet to remove the rest of the glass, the side and vent windows. Which is why one should always maintain a proper sense of perspective regarding the scope of the work being done. Taking it all one day at a time while keeping one s eyes firmly on the prize will allow you to enjoy the journey from rust bucket back to hot rod, developing a much deeper appreciation for aesthetic and mechanical considerations that actually go into the production of vehicles as well.
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