built67

I am going to start stripping down the car for its restoration. Only one more part of the cpa exam left and then i can devote all of my attention to the car! woohoo! my question is...being someone that has zero experience with bodywork, where/how can i learn? I planned on doing one part of the car at a time, working from front to back. So take the front end off, front suspension, brakes, steering, motor, etc and get the metal all nice and pretty lookin. Does anyone have any advice on how to learn? Maybe a good book? My one buddy keeps tellin me to just strip it down and send it off to a shop...get it back straight and painted and just drop the engine in myself...but i wanna have the satisfaction of knowing i did all that i could, and really understanding the car. not just forking out money to have someone do it for me.

1slow67

I just started on the car, learned as I went on. Never read a book or had anyone tell me how to do it.

MonsterBilly

well I approach it with both your methods. You really need to have a basis to work with or you end up doing it, redoing it and again. Because the more you learn the more critiacl you will be of yourself. Especially being a cpa. trust me. I went to the UofA for my accounting degree....I know

So here is how I would approach it. Watch a few youtube videos to get the basic Ideas and needed materials. Get a practice panel(hood,fender,door), place it on a couple saw horses and start working on it. sand, strip fill, sand, sand, sand sand then maybe some filling and sand. You will start to get the feel of it.

Next watch more videos on youtube. and apply the lessons to what you have done. then maybe paint your practice panel and clear it. Then you can compare your work to factory painted cars and others you may see.

This will give you an idea of what you can and will be willing to do and or learn to do.

I learned it when i was in high school and now I appritiate the work of others. I enjoyed it but will enver do it again.

enjoy

B

zmetalmilitia

You can only learn so much from a book. Hands on experience will trump any book on any topic out there. That's just the way it goes. I did learn a lot from the internet, you tube, books, etc. when I tackled the grunge work on my car. I threw in the towel when it came to painting however. I wasn't going to spend all that time and money on something that most likely I wouldn't have been happy with. And I must add, it was a load off my mind knowing I wasn't gong to stress over painting my car.

I'm not saying you can't paint your own car, just don't have high expectations with the outcome if you have zero experience doing bodywork and painting. There is definitely a lot of skill required to lay down paint.

I would suggest doing as much work on the car as possible, or at least what you feel comfortable doing. Once you get into it, you'll learn quickly what your good and and what you suck at. Most likely by then, you'll probably want someone to jump in anyways.

Good Luck. Progress pics are always welcome.

palerider

Agree with Zmetalmilitia. I did all the panel work on my car - fenders, cowl, firewall, floors, trunk, etc. Got pretty good with welder - put there is a lot of prep work into the paint. Have to have a lot patience. I farmed the fit and finish out. I bought some of the Paincutation DVDs and found them to be pretty good. Also Autobody 101 and SPI have some pretty good forumns.

built67

thanks for the tips guys...i definitely want to get it painted by a pro...but i'd like to get the body straight myself...how did you all do it? on jack stands, rotisserie, panel by panel or just strip it to a shell all at once? i don't understand how one can actually get all of the metal like new with the front/rear suspension components still on the car...i keep thinking i have to strip it down to nothing to do it

palerider

I built a jig and just starting cutting and replacing one part at a time.

https://mustangforums.com/forum/clas...milestone.html

zmetalmilitia

Yep me too. After doing a little research on "hoe to" do stuff, you'll feel what you need to do first. There really is no process in which order you do stuff. But if you are replacing frame rails, those would be done first since everything is built off the frame rails. Replacing body panels, rocker panels, etc. can all be one at a time. As long as the base is solid, start there and build up off of that.

There are many ways to do it. Build your own rotisserie, stationary frame jig, whatever. All you need is something solid to support the car to once you start cutting away support, you don't want the car to move or sag. I would build a rotisserie if I had to do it again. So much easier to work on the car, painting, etc.

It really isn't that difficult. Just decide what you want to do, research on how to do it, and make it happen. Most if not all the tasks are document online somewhere. Make it fun.

built67

cool...i'm trying to build up my air tool collection too because that seems like a must have when grinding/sanding/etc

built67

how did you build that jig? looks like a solid way to work on the car, that would be perfect for my project...i've been looking into rotisseries also, i can't tell which is better to use