How to make sure your classic car restoration is a success
Embarking on a new car restoration project is both an exciting and incredibly daunting task. Due to the nature of how old the car is and how brittle many of the parts will have become, you need to really know your stuff and know how to treat the car with care and precision. Before you do begin the car restoration, it’s important to make a note and follow these do and don’t principles.
Do’s:
Read the original factory manual
No matter what your level of experience is, every new restoration project can and will throw up new challenges and by making yourself well aware of the original manual, you will be in good stead for when these challenges arise. You can’t use the excuse of not being able to find the manual, as if you search the internet and eBay well enough you can find almost any manual you need. Once you get it, be sure to know it inside and out.
Say no to authentic reproduction parts
By this, it means that you are more than welcome to go ahead and make savings where possible using old parts. Purchasing authentic replica parts for every aspect of the restoration will lead to you spending a lot of money and won’t always bring back any greater value than by using old parts that you can clean up. Obviously, if money isn’t an issue and you want the best quality possible, then reproduction and original parts can be the way to go, but be aware it will be more expensive and will likely take a lot longer to track them all down.
Don’ts
Don’t always seek period technology
Obviously, with any classic car restoration, you want the car to look as original and authentic as possible. However, what this doesn’t mean is that you can’t make some modern technological improvements under the hood. If you are able to implement some parts that will improve its performance, and better yet its reliability, then go for it, and don’t feel bad in doing so.
Don’t overlook the minor touches
The majority of your time will be spent on refitting major parts of the car and you will likely have many a long night under the bonnet of your project. But once it’s up and running and looks the part, you can’t get lazy. By adding in the small finishing touches you can bring so much old life back to the car. Painting faded lettering and using the original door handles and locks will finish off your project and when around other classic car aficionados you will be able to show off the level of care and detail you went to.
The most important lesson to take from this is that experience and attention to detail is key. Before embarking you need to be sure you have the right knowledge that it takes to get this car up and running. If not, then you should speak to an expert who knows their stuff. In Dubai, we do exactly that and between us have decades of useful knowledge and guidance. So for help and assistance please do feel free to get in touch on 04-2858989.
