I thought I'd share some random thoughts and things I've learned working on and restoring cars. Add your own

TOOLS

Find the compressor you think you need and buy the next biggest one.

Buy a 3/8" air ratchet, a 1/2" impact, and a swivel fitting. Buy at least 50' of hose.

Always use teflon tape on your air fittings. Nothing is more annoying than a leaking air line that causes the compressor to constantly cycle.

Oil your tools regularly. Make sure you oil any bearings that aren't lubricated by air.

Never use plastic pipe for air lines. Even if it's rated at 300 psi, one good whack and you've got shrapnel flying everywhere and a shard of pvc in your eye.

Keep your tools organized. The best tools in the world are worthless if you can put your hands on them when you need them. Buy the little socket organizers and put your sockets back on them every time. Clean up every day, even if you are going to work with them in the morning.

Keep your work area clean. Crawling around in grit and oil is miserable.

Always account for all of your tools before taking your car on a test ride. My VW had a nice little shelf inside of the rear bumper. I've probably strewn a dozen different screwdrivers and sockets around the neighborhood..

Never work on a car that's held up only by a jack. Always use jack stands. Jacks rarely fail slowly.

Screwdrivers aren't chisels.

Gear wrenches are awesome.

Harbor freight tools are good enough for most people.

Have at least one trash can within line of sight. Keep it emptied. There is nothing worse than piling up trash.

SHEET METAL

A plasma cutter is the most awesome tool you could own if you're cutting a lot of sheet metal. Watch out for fire and your legs though. A recip saw is pretty useful too.

You will need a cut off tool and a grinder with a flap wheel and a hard rock wheel at the minimum.

If you're going to make several spot welds (rosette welds) in a panel, buy a hand punch from harbor freight or northern tool. they're $20 and will save you an hour easy.

A 110v MIG 140A welder will do 95% of the welding you could ever want to do on a classic Mustang. Gasless is almost worthless.

Always clean metal before welding. If it's not shiny, it won't weld nicely. Any rust at all will cause splatter and porosity. Clean at least 1/2" out from the weld line.

Avoid using a regular drill to drill sheet metal. Get a unibit. The knock-off bits from harbor freight work OK but they have two flutes which tends to oval the hole.

If it doesn't fit now, chances are that it won't fit after it's welded. Take your time and get it to fit.

Buy Clecos from airplane supply houses. The automotive guys seem to think they're exotic and charge 3x what they're worth.

1ST GEN MUSTANGS

They all seem to be held together with rust and wishful thinking. They made ~2m of the things, hope that you got a good one.

It's almost always better to find a car that's in decent shape than to try to fix one that's in bad shape. You will save money and time in the long run.

If you don't trust the seller, don't buy the car. Don't buy a car because you trust the seller. Bring a flashlight and look the car over- there is always hidden rust and usually crash damage somewhere. Ask questions and do your research. If you have any reservations, walk away. There is always another one out there.

Craigslist is an awful place to get car parts. Seems like everyone is trying to offload worthless stuff.

If you have a choice between a part that says it was made on OEM tooling and one that's a repop, get the OEM one. case in point - the front fenders for the '67/'68 are 3/16" or so shorter than the OEM tooling version.

Most repopped sheet metal is decent. Expect to do some massaging if it isn't OEM tooling.

Label and bag every piece and nut and bolt that comes off of the car if you aren't going to replace it that day. Chances are that you won't be able to find it or figure out how it goes together if you don't. Get one of those tupperware carts with the handle in the middle to organize bags.

Take pictures of things. You may not remember how they go back together when it's time. It's also nice to have a log for a potential buyer if you decide to sell.

Buy the factory shop manual. The chiltons is almost worthless.

Don't bite off more than you can chew. Don't blow the car apart down to the subframe if you aren't ready to spend at least $10k and at 2 years putting it back together. If you aren't ready for that level of commitment, approach the car as smaller projects and see them through to completion.

It will always cost more and take longer than you think.

Your real friends are the ones that come over to help and only ask for free beer or help on their cars in return.

 

i take it that "some massaging" actually means beating the crap out of it with a hammer

nice write-up.

 

depends on the part. usually it's a little work with a dolly and a hammer and a couple strategic cuts to get it to fit right. i haven't had to do any major hammering or reworking on any of the parts i've bought for the mustang.

 

also, the flat spot weld drills/cutters that look like a little end mill are 10x better than the ones that look like a little hole saw. a drill bit is a poor choice since you usually end up drilling through both pieces of metal.

learn how to use a drill bit. most people drill too fast and with too little pressure with metal. the drill should peel the metal away, not scrape it. if it's screaming at you, use more pressure and less speed. harder materials take more pressure and less speed than softer ones. use a little oil.

 

I know there is some people who want the huge project, but selling me first 67 and buying the one I have now (that runs, and drives) was the best decision I have made yet

 

ps nice write up

 

Nice.
I agree with all after our 2 year experience.
Things I would add:

Do something, ANYTHING, on the car each day just keep it moving forward.

Have a "work list board" of things to do and cross off items when they are done for motivation. Be sure to add to the list when you find something so it does not slip your mind.

Never EVER let the wife, ex-wife, girlfriend or anybody stack anything on the car. If it gets buried it will die.

Be honest with yourself and the time and money you can invest.

Have fun and BE SAFE working on your car

 

Agree 110%. The one thing that kills projects more often than money is lack of dedication. Once it starts slipping out of the front of your mind, it becomes an expensive place to store the stuff you don't need If you don't work on it for 6 months, you'll probably never finish it.

Work on it or get rid of it. You aren't doing yourself or anyone else a favor by having a car slowly rot away in your garage. Yes you will lose money if you sell a partially completed mess of parts. It's still better to sell it than to use up your garage space.

It doesn't even need to be physical work - you could research something or plan your next steps or whatever. just keep it top of mind.

 

1. Try all the projects first yourself. If unable to do it, hire it out and see if you can watch/help them as you'll learn a lot from doing so.

2. Save every receipt...no matter what...

3. Hide every receipt from your wife....no matter what...

 

And, don't ever add those receipts up, you don't want to know .....