ClassicCar.com

Choosing Correctly

Starting a restoration begins by choosing a vehicle that fits your interests. Many of you may already have a vehicle in mind or all ready have one in your possession. Sometimes, these vehicles have been in the family or picked up in the name of a "Good" deal. That's fine, but if you're a first time restorer there are a couple of things that you should consider before making a vehicle choice.

The Process

Now that you're armed with the facts about your chosen vehicle, you're ready to shop. This is a process in itself.
A few years ago, I spent over a year looking for a 1979 Lincoln Mark V. During this period, I looked at 29 Mark V's before finding the right one. I didn't give up until I found what I was looking for. In this case, a beautifully kept, one owner car with only 22,000 miles showing. The underside was so clean you could eat off it. Now, this was not a project or restoration vehicle. I knew what it was that I was looking for and I knew it was the right car before I ever got to see it. By asking all the right questions and knowing the vehicles true value, I came away with a very nice Class 2 car for a very fair price. That's what you need to get out of an effort like this.

Buy a Manual!

Now that you have found the car or truck of your dreams, you're ready to plan your restoration. As describe earlier, there are several ways to go about restoring a vehicle. Since we are gearing this article toward the novice-to-intermediate restorer, we are going to assume you have purchased an operational vehicle and you will be driving as you restore. Now, those are a big assumptions, but you can adapt the following information to just about any type of restoration.

Totally Wrong? - Know Your Parts.

Good planning is the cornerstone to a successful restoration. One of the most difficult matters you will run into during a restoration is the procurement of quality restoration services and parts. In the parts category, learning and searching out the parts you will need is equally as +important as installing them correctly.

Case in point: My current restoration project is a 1969 Ford F-100. While there are a great deal of aftermarket parts available from various dealers, not all parts are what you might expect. Fords are fairly easy; every part has a Ford factory part number assigned to it. That being the case, I sat down with a couple of aftermarket parts catalogs and the factory shop manual to look up the part numbers I needed and place my orders.