My car is pretty much shot as far as the paint and anything rubber or plastic is concerned. So I going to have to strip it completely and have it painted and replace gaskets etc. Also I'm going to pull the motor and rebuild it. I don't want to ruin the paint putting the motor back in but I also want to clean the engine compartment up. Weld all holes hide the wires and paint it. Which should I do first?

 

Id do paint and body first.... theres covers and pads you can use on fenders etc. to help save the paint when working on the motor....
Or with the motor out do the work you need in the compartment then repaint it, you can fade the edges into the crease's of the motor compart etc... Then once you have the motor back in finish the rest of the car..... You can do it either way just personal choice I guess....

 

Go with the paint first and if you're pulling the motor then you can get the engine compartment too at the same time. Then get the motor back in and get it all set up.

 

I think you should do the motor first, get it out, clean her up, get everything fixed up and stuff, then if you can't paint it yet, put it back in and laugh ur *** off when ppl think ur piece can't run with the big boys and put some $$$ on it. Then go back home, count the bills, and put that into your paint job!

 

Depends on how long you plan on takin to do one or the other. I would rather drive a hoopty thats a fookin ROCKET , rather then drive a pretty putt putter. I would just hate to have a fresh paint job and then screw it up re-installing the new motor. I dont know about you, but when I work on my motors I pull the hood off and hop inside the compartment. That was on my old chevelle and chevy II though. Wouldnt do that to muh pony

 

Would be nice to get a fresh coat of paint in the engine bay as well though.

 

Yea, I think what I'll do is pull the motor and do the engine compartment and get the motor work done and later have the body work done. I just don't want it to rust any more than it has. Ultimately I'm more interested in performance than looks.

 

I would do the paint first. Attract the ladies. tell them that u can see the blueness of there eyes in the reflction. DRIVE HARD! GET LAID! LOLOLOL

 

I am getting rims in a week or two. so i will be blingin'. As xibit would say you've been officialy pimped. (chrome cobra R's)

 

Having done restorations myself...

It's a better idea to have the car operating to your needs first than it is to have it pretty.

You may get to doing the body work and realize you have yourself a car that needs more attention than you originally thought and will leave you with less money to do an engine rebuild and take care of any other parts that need rebuilding or replacing.