When you undertake a car restoration inevitably you will make restoration process mistakes as you do not know what you do not know. After some sort of blunder, we may think, “How stupid was that” but it is more about ignorance of a procedure or an approach than stupidity. Most of them come from inexperience and doing what we believe to be right. We are here to help you get it right the first time with a string of mistakes and corrections, some of which we have made ourselves during some 30 years of working on and restoring classic cars. There are a lot of places where you can make a restoration process mistakes, and some will be large, and some will be small. Let us address some of the most common mistakes.
Beginning The Restoration Process Without a Plan
It is remarkable how many of us begin a restoration project without a plan, and this is how most projects immediately go off the rails. We grab tools and WD-40 and get to work thrashing and trashing a rusty old muscle car just to get it apart. We wind up with a shell on four jack-stands wondering what to do next. Every project, no matter how small, should begin with a written plan. Be prepared for detours in the road but stick to the basic plan which paves the way to avoid other restoration process mistakes.
Unorganized Workspace
We can tell you from miserable experience that you must have an organized environment in which to build a car. Clutter makes restorers crazy because you cannot find anything. When parts are just thrown on the shelf in piles, you are in trouble from the get-go. Buy a bunch of disposable food containers in assorted sizes from small to exceptionally large. Keep felt tip markers handy. Load and mark each container with what are inside and skillfully place them on the shelf or in your attic. Methodically go through each container and restore parts. You are not going to keep all the parts. However, keep the old parts until the job is complete for reference purposes.
Buying a Bogus Vehicle
Horror stories have drifted through the muscle car hobby for decades. The sting of a bad buy. The advertised Plymouth Cuda that is not. The Cobra Jet Mustang that never was. Or the big block Camaro that was a six-cylinder car. Best advice? Know what you are buying. Do your homework and do a lot of it beforehand. Know the numbers and the physical properties of the muscle car you want. Be on the lookout for reproduction body replacements (rebodies). Once you buy a bogus ride, you are stuck with it. Do extensive research before you go shopping and learn all of the important details about the muscle car you want to buy. Forewarned is forearmed. Look to the auction companies and professional restorers for valuable information.
Unsafe Support System
It is frightening what some people use to support muscle car bodies and chassis during restorations. We have seen it all: milk crates, blocks of wood, and worse. There is but one important truth in muscle car restoration—safety. What is your life worth? You may not be able to afford a rotisserie, but a heavy-duty quartet of jack-stands should be within reach. Carefully place one at each corner of your muscle car project. Get the body/chassis as high as possible and check it for stability before getting underneath. Never leave anything to chance. And never support your project with hydraulic jacks or those flimsy sheet-metal jack-stands. Those cheap stamped steel jack-stands are dangerous and can maim or kill you. Harbor Freight can help with just the right support equipment to get your body and chassis up in the air and keep it there.
Not Doing Your Homework
We have seen it repeatedly. Enthusiasts stung by less than reputable shops, engine builders, body shops, upholstery facilities, plating shops, and more. Before enlisting a shop to do any work, research its reputation. Check the chat rooms/forums. Talk with people you know in the community. Visit shops and inspect examples of their work. Find out how long it has taken on average to get work accomplished. Does it use quality materials or do it on the cheap? How experienced are the techs with your particular type of muscle car? Aim for the shops that know your brand and all its quirks.
Not Getting a Written Estimate
You would be amazed how many of us contract work with a shop without a written estimate or signed agreement. The unwritten agreement is extinct. The humble handshake is meaningless. Trust no one. Shops have selective memories when it comes to what you agreed to months or even years earlier. Then, it is their word against yours. Once they have your money, you are at their mercy. If a shop is unwilling to ink out a written agreement when the work arrives, find another shop as starting off on the wrong foot will inevitably take you down the road for further restoration process mistakes.
The consequences can be heartbreaking. We heard about a guy who shipped his project to a hot rod shop in Northern California some 550 miles from his home. He left the car with a handshake and a verbal agreement. He handed the shop a $40,000 deposit to build the car. After five years and countless delays and excuses, he returned to the shop and brought his car home largely unfinished. He is $40,000 poorer and without a prayer. Always get a written estimate and be stingy with your deposit. Pay a modest deposit and spot the shop cash as the work is complete and inspected.
Buying an Unknown Engine
How many of us have purchased used engines without knowing what was inside, only to knock it apart to find cracked castings or cylinders so oversized the block was not salvageable? Never buy an engine without knowing its integrity, or at least get a purchasing clause that enables you to inspect and confirm condition prior to laying down your money.
Doing It on the Cheap
This is another one of those annoying “think ahead” aspects of restoration: budget. With the economic crash of 2008 came all kinds of project failures and shattered dreams. Lots of muscle car projects came up for sale. But oftentimes shattered dreams come from failure to budget for a car project. Car restoration has never been cheap if you want exceptional results. Restoration projects take large sums of money, time, and patience. Before you even turn a bolt, examine what it will cost to complete your restoration. And never kid yourself. There are always surprises that involve even more cash flow. It always costs more than you budgeted.
Did You Perform a Mock-Up?
Street-rodders have understood this process for generations: the humble, time-consuming mock-up to make sure everything fits. A mock-up consists of pre-fitting and gapping all body panels when they are in raw steel or primer prior to finish work and paint to ascertain fit. Few things are more emotionally taxing than trying to fit doors, fenders, hoods, and other sheet-metal in fresh paint while trying to prevent damage. And if it does not fit, you are faced with an even bigger problem—how to achieve fit without paint damage.
Bought the Wrong Part Casting Numbers
Each Detroit brand name has the rare and desirable engine, transmission, and rear-end castings everyone wants. With that desire have come the underhanded who try to pass a run-of-the-mill “low-po” casting off as something it is not. When you are building an out-of-the-ordinary muscle car, such as a Cobra Jet Mustang or Super Duty Pontiac, you want the correct parts and castings for your restoration project. This is where you must do your research and learn how to identify critical parts and castings for the more desirable muscle cars. The information is out there, on the web and published periodically in magazines, including this one.
Not Protecting the Car's Paint
It seems there is always a certain amount of combat damage when you’re assembling a painted body. But does there have to be? When you get your muscle car back from the body shop in fresh paint, paint protection should be your first priority. Keep it covered when you are not working on it and keep a heavy layer of padding beneath the cover. Keep anything and everything away from the body that could fall and do damage. This means bicycles, lawn equipment, trash cans, and the rest of it. When you are working in a specific area of your car, keep painted surfaces covered. Resist the urge to get in a hurry or get frustrated to where you slip with a wrench or screwdriver and do the unthinkable. Build your muscle car with the mind-set of a neurosurgeon. National Parts Depot and Classic Industries stock a variety of fender protection systems designed to keep your paint safe.
Finally
A complete car restoration is no easy feat. The first step is to be realistic as to your capabilities as most restorations become garage art due to the overwhelming nature of the process. So, if you can do it then having enough room for your project is key. If you want to go outside a retain a professional, there are a number of ways to go about the process which we have discussed. Classic car restoration is a complex job with many avenues that afford the possibility to make restoration process mistakes, but it is a rewarding endeavor for those who are patient and prepared.
You are a great person to take your time and to help us to do the best for our babies Brad winderl I will say it again I have gas and oil in my veins insted of blood and I run on high test (hard to find)
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