Older vehicles are a lot of fun and you may have an ambition to purchase one to restore. However, there’s plenty you need to know.
- Start Budgeting
The very first thing you need to do is determine your budget for restoring the vehicle. You can work with a small budget, however, you’ll need to be very deliberate about how you plan and spend money. This is important to make the best use of the available cash and ensure you don’t make any mistakes. You should avoid trying to do everything cheaply and only spend your hard earned cash on things that are important to you. This will ensure you’ll be satisfied with the end product.
- Purchase A Car
In order to restore a vehicle, you actually have to have one! So, make sure that you find a car to buy but don’t buy the cheapest vehicle. You shouldn’t purchase a rotted piece of junk since this will cost you more money to fix than its end value. Be sure to take this into deep consideration and check out my guide on purchasing classic cars to learn more.
- Ambition
Determine exactly how far you’re willing to go with your restoration project suggest the experts at Whites Body Works. For example, do you only want to do a minor restoration or would you like to go bigger. If you do choose to go bigger then you’ll need a lot of time to work on the project and more money of course.
- Site
You’ll definitely need a particular location aor site where you can work on your restoration project. When you strip the vehicle, you’ll need at least two car sized spaces since you’ll need to store all the parts that you’ve stripped from the vehicle. Be sure to keep in mind that you’ll also need space to move around the vehicle so make sure you have sufficient space.
It’s quite surprising exactly how much space car parts can actually take up when they’ve been removed from the vehicle. I’ve actually just completed a lengthy car project as well as sold another restored vehicle this year. Once the vehicle was sold, I was quite surprised at how much space was recovered, especially keeping in mind that the vehicles were quite small.
- Look & Theme
This is all about how you want your car to look in the end. So, make sure that you browse online, look at different car styles on Instagram and Pinterest so you can decide on exactly the style and theme you want to create.
This is very important since you need to know what you’re working towards before you even start. Avoid making any quick decisions without thoroughly thinking about them since you’ll likely regret those decisions.
You should think about the exterior, interior, rims, accessories, wheels etc and how they will work and complement one another.
- Timeline
Make sure that you think about how much time you have available to commit to your restoration project. You should get a calendar and create a list of all the things you need to do and a timeline for doing them. Always strive to create goals that are achievable and have deadline. To be safe, you should probably double the deadline.
- Who You’ll Hire
Consider who you’ll hire or get to help on your project. This can be your work mates, other professionals etc. If you intend on asking your friends for help, make sure that you talk to them about setting aside particular time slots to get the job done. If you’re hiring professionals, make sure that you talk to a couple of different people so you can get the best advice and quotations.
When getting friends to help, always give them something as a thank you. This can be as simple as a delicious meal. If you don’t, then don’t be surprised if they drop out in the middle of your restoration project.
So, make sure that you encourage their presence with food and follow through!
- Correct Tools
Lastly, you’ll definitely need the right tools to get the job done. You’ll need to either buy, borrow, rent or even steal tools. We’re just joking, make sure you don’t steal any tools! You should figure out the best approach and get those tools before you get started so you don’t experience any delays.
