It is always a car person’s dream to repair or restore a car on their own. There is nothing quite more fulfilling than piecing together their dream car over a long period of time. It will be considered as a labor of love and will probably be specced to live-out longer for further use.
Even if a person is not that well-versed and experienced with the more mechanical and technical side of cars, it is still something worth trying. A good training module or technical course with automotive maintenance and repairs should be enough to get anyone started.
But for more complicated projects, a dead-set car repair will require its owner or handler to learn more mechanical, electrical, and metalwork modules and training. So for those interested in a new project car, you should expect these few things.
Hours and days of hard work
A project car cannot be done overnight. Even with dozens of mechanics and technicians at your disposal, it will still take at least a few weeks for everything to be finished. So when tackling a large project, you should know that it will probably take more than just a few days for it to finish.
Things like part takedowns and engine overhauls will take a whole day. And it will probably take a few more to remove the paint on the metal body fully and to clean any rusted parts. From there, you would also have to order certain parts and tools for the car, which can also take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks.
Once everything is ready for its actual repair or restoration, things like AC motors rewinding will take some time and some experience to finish – so make sure you have professional to do it for you. You would then move on to more laborious tasks like rebuilding the engine, installing electrical wiring and other components, repainting the body, and so on.
After all of that is done, only then would you be able to test drive the car – in a controlled and safe road, of course.
Massive expenses
It will be hard to find a project car that will not cost you a fortune. On certain occasions, people can argue that instead of repairing or restoring a car, it would be better just to buy a new one. While the logic is sound, there is just something fulfilling about the whole restoration process for a car person.
So even with the massive expenses, it may not be much of an issue for the owner or handler. But even with a massive budget at your disposal, you should be wary of the money pit your project car can be. Depending on the model and year, certain parts may be hard to source.
On certain occasions, you may even have to order those parts from another country or to have them custom made at a local manufacturer. You need to be ready to fork the necessary cash if you want your project car to be finished correctly and on time.
A major car repair or restoration project will not be easy – as written in this short guide. But with enough determination, anything can be possible.