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I'm hoping others will add to this but here is a half hour of my life I'll never get back. Hope it helps someone.
I thought I would share some of the knowledge I’ve picked up over twenty some odd years of doing complete restorations as hobbyist. I’m no expert and hope others will add to this post to help others who share our passion for automobiles. Much of what I know came from following good advise and at times ignoring good advise thus learning the hard way. Most of what I know came from working with my Father who was a very well respected body man that did custom work and rare cars. I learned a ton from my Dad and got to work on some stellar cars. A 1970 Hemi Cuda, 454 Monti Carlo SS, 1967 RS/SS Camaro, 67 Vette, 440 six pack super bee, Austin Healys and a few E-Type Jag’s just to name a few that I can remember. My favorite was a 1950 Mercury he pick, hammered and filed as the owner wanted no bondo. I’ve done half a dozen frame offs on my own and learned many hard lessons. Her is some of what I’ve learned.
Money, space and time. It will cost twice as much, take twice as much space and take you twice as long as you think. If this is your first project count on three times as a multiple. Think about how many half complete projects you have seen for sale over the years. The add always reads “don’t have the time or money to finish” just before they tell you how much money they have invested. . A half complete project is very difficult to sell and you will loose most of what you have into it. Some of these partially complete projects can be a great deal as the base of your project or a parts vehicle.
Picking the project vehicle is the most important step. Buying the less expensive vehicle that needs more work and is missing parts is usually false economy. Spend the extra money, buy the most complete solid example of what you are looking for. Chasing down hard to find missing parts can put you in the poor house or mental institute. Be cautious of those just painted and only needs to be reassembled projects. There are a plethora of back yard hacks out there trying to make an easy buck. Anyone can slather on bondo but very few do good bodywork. If you have no practical experience with body work take someone with you who has. I can remember being livid with my Dad after he picked apart a few cars I really wanted. The times I discounted his advise were expensive learning opportunities. In my humble opinion, your almost always better off with the ugly car that has the original paint job so you don’t find any, or as many surprises. The last thing you want is a shiny new paint job that turns out to be a Pandoras box or as my Dad called them, a nicely polished turd.
Parts vehicles are a worth every penny on a major project if you pick the right one. Your parts are right at hand when you find those broken or missing parts on your project vehicle, and you will but you have a visual reference to look at. Parting out whats left usually pays for the parts vehicle and more.
Tools, buy good tools they will last a life time. Princess Auto does not sell good tools! It’s a neat place to visit but their tools are all made in China garbage. An impact wrench is your best friend and electric impact wrenches work very well. I’ve used my electric Makita impact wrench for over a decade with no issues. Hitachi make very good tools as well. A grinder with a thin kerf cut off wheel is a must. Pullers, if you have twenty you still wont have the one you need. Larger tools can be rented but I’ve done well buying them used and re selling them after a project. I’ve bought and sold several engine hoists and either broke even or made money. They are a big item to store and easy to find used. A rotisserie is a ton of work to build, buy one used and resell it after.
Techniques, this is not all inclusive and I’m hoping some of you will add to this. Right from the simple stuff like whenever possible use the box end of the wrench, your knuckles will thank you. To the complex like replacing quarter panels.
Stubborn Rusted fasteners: I’ve always put a dab of break fluid on them the night before and used an impact the next day. A wrench or ratchet will let it heat up and seize before you get to the end of the bolt. An impact keeps it moving so it does not get the chance to seize unless you stop. Some guys heat them with a torch, use nut splitters or just cut them off with a wheel.
Brass Bushing removal: Sunken ones like the pilot bushing in a flywheel come out easy with this trick. Pack them full of grease, wrap a rag around a piece of wooden dowel and pound it where the pilot shaft would go. The grease will hydrauliclly push out the bushing.
Head Gaskets: If the block does not have alignment pins cut the heads off two old head bolts and make a slot for a large common screw driver in the top with a grinder. thread the modified bolts in the block, place the gasket on, place the head over the modified head bolts and remove them once you have a few more head bolts in.
Semi Floater C-Clips: Axle grease and more axle grease. The grease will stick the c clips to the flat surfaces so they can be pushed around with dental picks into place. No more dropping them while your trying to hold everything else in place.
Tearing Down a Project: Dissemble it into the largest pieces possible. For example a complete dash. When restoring the project restore those pieces on at a time as its less daunting if you break a project into sections. Label everything you can, take pictures, put fasteners in there threaded inserts or tape them to the part in zip lock bags. Organization and documentation are key to reassembling it twice as far down the road as you planned on. Pictures are great references for this and easy to do in the digital age. Some parts are not worth taking apart. Old exhaust systems and leaf spring U-bolts are often corroded beyond salvation. A cut off wheel, sawzall or torch can save you some real estate on your knuckles. When removing body panels mark the location of the fasteners. Most body panels have slotted holes and captured nuts. Draw circles around the washers to avoid hours of lining up panels when you go to reassemble them. Lining up body panels is more difficult than you think as a small adjustment to a fastener location can make a huge difference to alignment. Making adjustments to correct this can be counter intuitive and frustrating to the beginner or novice. Save everything until your sure you don’t need it. Get your body work and paint done then rebuild, replace or repaint the parts and power train as required before reassembly.
Decide what the car is going to be used for. There is no point in spending thousands of dollars in materials and wet sanding clear coats on a 4X4 if its going to be used. A single stage urethane paint works just fine in scenario. Have a game plan and a budget before you start.
Bondo: Contrary to popular opinion Bondo is not evil. If its done correctly and not put on half an inch thick with a spade its fine. The trick is to keep it thin and apply it over clean, rust free metal. The other option, and my preference, is over a good EP primer. Surface preparation is the key. Most of the time when you see bondo cracking and falling off in glacial sheets it was way too thick and no attention or care was taken in the preparation of the surface. Often old school methods for dent pulling are to blame as well. Punching holes and using a slide hammer was the industry standard for decades. Often those holes did not get welded up and moisture was drawn into the back side of the panel. Some fillers like bondo will absorb water and the rust will start under the bondo eventually causing that plate tech-tonic effect on your quarter panel a few years later. If you can’t access the back of the dent use a stud puller or at least weld up the holes after you pull the dent.
Welding sheet metal: This is not as tricky as many would lead you to believe. A mig welder is easy to use and cheap to buy compared to body shop rates. DO NOT use flux core wire on sheet metal. If you don’t have a gas shielding set up on your mig get one before using it for body work or your welds will rust. Structural patches like large sections of trunk or floor pans should be lap welded. This means over lap the metal, spot weld it in place and weld it up solid from both sides. Non structural panels like quarter panel patches should be butt welded with no overlap. If you need to preform some hammer and dolly work on the panel afterwards, lap welds don’t move well are are very difficult to work. The welding itself it slow and tedious to do right and again a clean surface is key, use a good weld through primer for extra corrosion protection. The common methodology was to jump all over the panel to avoid warping it. I believe a better technique is to tack weld it in place every half to one inch and weld in the same direction three to five beads at a time cooling off the panel with an air hose in between short sections. This keeps the heat moving evenly down the panel and negates warping the panel. MIG Welding Automotive Sheet metal with Craig Hopkins is a fantastic instructional video and demonstrates this technique very well.
Boarding and blocking: Body work takes practice and nothing but time on tools will make up for that. The longer the board you can use the straighter your work will will be. Use a guide coat if you don’t yet have the magic feelie vision in your hands. I have stone hands despite thousands of "wax on, wax off" lessons from my Dad. I still use a guide coat and probably always will. If you have to hand sand do not sand in the direction of the length of your fingers this causes grooves that will show up when the shinny coats go on. Hide the tree in the forrest many small scratches hide the large ones and provide a mechanical adhesion for paint. Start from big scratches and work to small. 40 grit to clean metal, 40-80 for rough shaping of bondo and fillers, 120 for final shaping, 320 for paint adhesion and 1000 for wet sanding and polishing. There are many varying opinions on what grit to use these are my preferences.
Paint and Primer: EP primer is wonderful stuff. It has great corrosion fighting properties and in many cases can save you a ton of time. Check the data sheet on the product you are using for paint or primer before trying this but many products can be used wet on wet with EP primer. By that I mean you spray your final coat of EP primer on, let it flash down (loose the wet, shiny look) and hit it with your paint or primer right away. EP primer does not leach solvents and bonds chemically to what ever you spray on top of it. No drying time or sanding in between coats. Many claim the bond is stronger than the mechanical bond from sanding. I’ve done this with primers, high solids primers, urethane paint and spray on box liners with great success.
As far as paint brands go, everyone has their favorite brand and will give a thousand reasons why their brand of choice is the best. Personally, I like Glasurit paint as thats what I’m used to spraying and my Father always used it for the high end jobs. For a 4x4 land cruiser the single stage Glasurit 22 line is tough as nails and the scratches polish out unless they got through the paint. Touch ups are easier than a base coat clear coat paint job. Always wear the correct breathing regulator as many urethane paints are hardened with nasty chemicals.
It’s not a ton of information but I’m hoping others will add to it and help the less experienced gear heads out. Post some pic's of your large scale before and after projects for fun!
Dave
Major Project Tips
I thought I would share some of the knowledge I’ve picked up over twenty some odd years of doing complete restorations as hobbyist. I’m no expert and hope others will add to this post to help others who share our passion for automobiles. Much of what I know came from following good advise and at times ignoring good advise thus learning the hard way. Most of what I know came from working with my Father who was a very well respected body man that did custom work and rare cars. I learned a ton from my Dad and got to work on some stellar cars. A 1970 Hemi Cuda, 454 Monti Carlo SS, 1967 RS/SS Camaro, 67 Vette, 440 six pack super bee, Austin Healys and a few E-Type Jag’s just to name a few that I can remember. My favorite was a 1950 Mercury he pick, hammered and filed as the owner wanted no bondo. I’ve done half a dozen frame offs on my own and learned many hard lessons. Her is some of what I’ve learned.
Money, space and time. It will cost twice as much, take twice as much space and take you twice as long as you think. If this is your first project count on three times as a multiple. Think about how many half complete projects you have seen for sale over the years. The add always reads “don’t have the time or money to finish” just before they tell you how much money they have invested. . A half complete project is very difficult to sell and you will loose most of what you have into it. Some of these partially complete projects can be a great deal as the base of your project or a parts vehicle.
Picking the project vehicle is the most important step. Buying the less expensive vehicle that needs more work and is missing parts is usually false economy. Spend the extra money, buy the most complete solid example of what you are looking for. Chasing down hard to find missing parts can put you in the poor house or mental institute. Be cautious of those just painted and only needs to be reassembled projects. There are a plethora of back yard hacks out there trying to make an easy buck. Anyone can slather on bondo but very few do good bodywork. If you have no practical experience with body work take someone with you who has. I can remember being livid with my Dad after he picked apart a few cars I really wanted. The times I discounted his advise were expensive learning opportunities. In my humble opinion, your almost always better off with the ugly car that has the original paint job so you don’t find any, or as many surprises. The last thing you want is a shiny new paint job that turns out to be a Pandoras box or as my Dad called them, a nicely polished turd.
Parts vehicles are a worth every penny on a major project if you pick the right one. Your parts are right at hand when you find those broken or missing parts on your project vehicle, and you will but you have a visual reference to look at. Parting out whats left usually pays for the parts vehicle and more.
Tools, buy good tools they will last a life time. Princess Auto does not sell good tools! It’s a neat place to visit but their tools are all made in China garbage. An impact wrench is your best friend and electric impact wrenches work very well. I’ve used my electric Makita impact wrench for over a decade with no issues. Hitachi make very good tools as well. A grinder with a thin kerf cut off wheel is a must. Pullers, if you have twenty you still wont have the one you need. Larger tools can be rented but I’ve done well buying them used and re selling them after a project. I’ve bought and sold several engine hoists and either broke even or made money. They are a big item to store and easy to find used. A rotisserie is a ton of work to build, buy one used and resell it after.
Tricks and Techniques
Techniques, this is not all inclusive and I’m hoping some of you will add to this. Right from the simple stuff like whenever possible use the box end of the wrench, your knuckles will thank you. To the complex like replacing quarter panels.
Stubborn Rusted fasteners: I’ve always put a dab of break fluid on them the night before and used an impact the next day. A wrench or ratchet will let it heat up and seize before you get to the end of the bolt. An impact keeps it moving so it does not get the chance to seize unless you stop. Some guys heat them with a torch, use nut splitters or just cut them off with a wheel.
Brass Bushing removal: Sunken ones like the pilot bushing in a flywheel come out easy with this trick. Pack them full of grease, wrap a rag around a piece of wooden dowel and pound it where the pilot shaft would go. The grease will hydrauliclly push out the bushing.
Head Gaskets: If the block does not have alignment pins cut the heads off two old head bolts and make a slot for a large common screw driver in the top with a grinder. thread the modified bolts in the block, place the gasket on, place the head over the modified head bolts and remove them once you have a few more head bolts in.
Semi Floater C-Clips: Axle grease and more axle grease. The grease will stick the c clips to the flat surfaces so they can be pushed around with dental picks into place. No more dropping them while your trying to hold everything else in place.
Tear Down
Tearing Down a Project: Dissemble it into the largest pieces possible. For example a complete dash. When restoring the project restore those pieces on at a time as its less daunting if you break a project into sections. Label everything you can, take pictures, put fasteners in there threaded inserts or tape them to the part in zip lock bags. Organization and documentation are key to reassembling it twice as far down the road as you planned on. Pictures are great references for this and easy to do in the digital age. Some parts are not worth taking apart. Old exhaust systems and leaf spring U-bolts are often corroded beyond salvation. A cut off wheel, sawzall or torch can save you some real estate on your knuckles. When removing body panels mark the location of the fasteners. Most body panels have slotted holes and captured nuts. Draw circles around the washers to avoid hours of lining up panels when you go to reassemble them. Lining up body panels is more difficult than you think as a small adjustment to a fastener location can make a huge difference to alignment. Making adjustments to correct this can be counter intuitive and frustrating to the beginner or novice. Save everything until your sure you don’t need it. Get your body work and paint done then rebuild, replace or repaint the parts and power train as required before reassembly.
Body Work
Decide what the car is going to be used for. There is no point in spending thousands of dollars in materials and wet sanding clear coats on a 4X4 if its going to be used. A single stage urethane paint works just fine in scenario. Have a game plan and a budget before you start.
Bondo: Contrary to popular opinion Bondo is not evil. If its done correctly and not put on half an inch thick with a spade its fine. The trick is to keep it thin and apply it over clean, rust free metal. The other option, and my preference, is over a good EP primer. Surface preparation is the key. Most of the time when you see bondo cracking and falling off in glacial sheets it was way too thick and no attention or care was taken in the preparation of the surface. Often old school methods for dent pulling are to blame as well. Punching holes and using a slide hammer was the industry standard for decades. Often those holes did not get welded up and moisture was drawn into the back side of the panel. Some fillers like bondo will absorb water and the rust will start under the bondo eventually causing that plate tech-tonic effect on your quarter panel a few years later. If you can’t access the back of the dent use a stud puller or at least weld up the holes after you pull the dent.
Welding sheet metal: This is not as tricky as many would lead you to believe. A mig welder is easy to use and cheap to buy compared to body shop rates. DO NOT use flux core wire on sheet metal. If you don’t have a gas shielding set up on your mig get one before using it for body work or your welds will rust. Structural patches like large sections of trunk or floor pans should be lap welded. This means over lap the metal, spot weld it in place and weld it up solid from both sides. Non structural panels like quarter panel patches should be butt welded with no overlap. If you need to preform some hammer and dolly work on the panel afterwards, lap welds don’t move well are are very difficult to work. The welding itself it slow and tedious to do right and again a clean surface is key, use a good weld through primer for extra corrosion protection. The common methodology was to jump all over the panel to avoid warping it. I believe a better technique is to tack weld it in place every half to one inch and weld in the same direction three to five beads at a time cooling off the panel with an air hose in between short sections. This keeps the heat moving evenly down the panel and negates warping the panel. MIG Welding Automotive Sheet metal with Craig Hopkins is a fantastic instructional video and demonstrates this technique very well.
Boarding and blocking: Body work takes practice and nothing but time on tools will make up for that. The longer the board you can use the straighter your work will will be. Use a guide coat if you don’t yet have the magic feelie vision in your hands. I have stone hands despite thousands of "wax on, wax off" lessons from my Dad. I still use a guide coat and probably always will. If you have to hand sand do not sand in the direction of the length of your fingers this causes grooves that will show up when the shinny coats go on. Hide the tree in the forrest many small scratches hide the large ones and provide a mechanical adhesion for paint. Start from big scratches and work to small. 40 grit to clean metal, 40-80 for rough shaping of bondo and fillers, 120 for final shaping, 320 for paint adhesion and 1000 for wet sanding and polishing. There are many varying opinions on what grit to use these are my preferences.
Paint and Primer: EP primer is wonderful stuff. It has great corrosion fighting properties and in many cases can save you a ton of time. Check the data sheet on the product you are using for paint or primer before trying this but many products can be used wet on wet with EP primer. By that I mean you spray your final coat of EP primer on, let it flash down (loose the wet, shiny look) and hit it with your paint or primer right away. EP primer does not leach solvents and bonds chemically to what ever you spray on top of it. No drying time or sanding in between coats. Many claim the bond is stronger than the mechanical bond from sanding. I’ve done this with primers, high solids primers, urethane paint and spray on box liners with great success.
As far as paint brands go, everyone has their favorite brand and will give a thousand reasons why their brand of choice is the best. Personally, I like Glasurit paint as thats what I’m used to spraying and my Father always used it for the high end jobs. For a 4x4 land cruiser the single stage Glasurit 22 line is tough as nails and the scratches polish out unless they got through the paint. Touch ups are easier than a base coat clear coat paint job. Always wear the correct breathing regulator as many urethane paints are hardened with nasty chemicals.
It’s not a ton of information but I’m hoping others will add to it and help the less experienced gear heads out. Post some pic's of your large scale before and after projects for fun!
Dave
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