Re: Sanding Car ready for Paint

Posted by BigKev On 2010/12/26 14:54:08

Gary I know you are ready to jump in with both feet and your questions have been all over the place (from paint to engine, etc). But I would try to focus one one task at a time, or the project will bury you. The is were the "Basket Cases" come from. Guys but these cars, and in their excitement start taking everything apart. Then it gets to a point were they have bitten off more than they can chew at one time and the car sits....and sits...and sits. Now they dont have the energy, time or money to put it back together, and it ends up being sold off for parts, or getting crushed.

So first thing you need to ask yourself is what is the final product you are going for. A show car? A nice well sorted driver?

I would concentrate on the mechanicals first, as really they are the most important. Everything else is cosmetic after that.

Go through the systems one by one from start to finish, and then move on to the next sub-project. For example, fully sort out the brake system, then the fuel system, then the electrical, and then the steering and suspension. Then you dive into the motor and driveline components now that all the supporting systems are up to snuff. This way you are only taking apart what you can work on at one time and keeping the rest of the car together.

A disassembled car takes up about 4 times the physical space of an assembled car. So keeping the car together as much as possible will not only give you an easier working area, put with help keep the parts from getting lost or misplaced.

Paint and Upholstery are really the last stages. It's good to have a general plan for them, but I wouldn't obsess over them at this point in the project.

Just my