You can quickly drop a big chunk of money on car restoration. According to the Specialty Equipment Marketing Association, 55 percent of all people who restore cars spend between $1,000 and $5,000 on their vehicles. Odds are good you, too, will be spending that kind of money if you’ve decided to commit to a restoration project. It’s important to know how to prioritize your spending.

First Things First

It is best to begin the projects that are the least technically demanding and those that make the biggest impact on the appearance of the car. While there are other attributes to car restoration aside from appearance, it is a major objective. So, when restoring a car, start from the outside and work in. However, that is based on one assumption. Does the vehicle start?

Get the Motor Running

The first thing you have to do is get the darned thing running. If the vehicle won’t start, start from the beginning. The first two things you want to check are the battery and the starter. If the starter turns over, but the vehicle won’t start, check the fuel lines, fuel filter and the carburetor. Oh, yeah, and don’t be the silly guy who spends a week trying to start a vehicle without any gasoline. While we’re talking about silly, change the oil before you even attempt to start a vehicle that hasn’t been run in some time. While you’re changing the oil, change the oil filter.

Get Into It

• Body – Once you have the vehicle started, start repairing or replacing body parts. If you can knock the dents out of a vehicle with a rubber mallet, remove the part and beat it senseless. If you’re going to buy new parts for the vehicle, don’t rush. Make sure you check out all the cheap markets, such as eBay and Craigslist, before you purchase from an after-market specialist. There are often just as many people selling parts as needing them.
• Interior – After you get the outside of the vehicle in the shape you want, start working on the inside. Working on the inside often requires more research and searching than it requires physical labor. Most often, it’s best to purchase after-market accessories than look for original parts, because the interior parts are often the first to go and the hardest to find in good condition. However, it’s very respectable to restore a vehicle with original parts, so if you have the time, do it. A restored vehicle with original parts has a higher resale value than a vehicle with after-market parts, generally.
• Motor – Getting into the guts of the vehicle is the rewarding part. Not only is it difficult to find original parts that are in good condition, after-market engine parts are expensive. In addition to that, it’s not always easy wrenching off old nuts and bolts. Still, nothing is more rewarding than hearing an old motor that once banged hum. If you get stuck, consult an expert. For an example, an Acura OEM parts division or similar service has experts and car restoration nuts who can save you time and hassle.

 

Finer Points

Most people never even get to them, but the finer points are what make a car restoration perfect. If you can manage to get past the engine, you’ll discover that the body work is relatively easy. It’s doing things such as replacing the shift stick with the one you dream of that takes time.

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