In our first news letter we discussed the kind or (model) of vehicle, a theme for the restoration, and a budget on how much you would like to spend. Keep an open mind when it comes to money. Try to stay on track with your budget, but also understand that these classic cars and trucks are a money pit and you cannot build a champagne vehicle on a beer drinker’s budget.

When it comes to disassembling, make sure that you are able to follow through with this project. Many times I have seen people take a vehicle apart and not follow through and finish for a lot of reasons. This is when everything gets misplaced, lost, or simply mistakenly thrown away. If you are going to do a frame-off restoration have plenty of room for storage of dissembled parts. In doing a frame-off I like to start with the front of the vehicle, work my way to the rear, then come back and dissemble the inside. Removal of items underneath comes later.

Have a system of boxing or bagging and labeling the small parts that you remove. Don’t assume that you can buy everything that you might need for this project. There are some things that just cannot be purchased new, and the old parts have to be cleaned and refurbished . DO NOT throw anything away until the vehicle is finished. I recommend leaving things considered an assembly together until you are ready to restore them. Items such as vent windows, steering column, door hinges, window regulators, bumpers are some examples. When removing the headliner bows (passenger cars only), start at the front and label each one as they are removed—one, two, three, etc. This will make it much easier when it comes time to install a new headliner. Taking pictures of certain areas you are not sure of before disassembly can be of great help when putting back together.

Now that everything is removed—front to back and inside, prepare to remove the body from the frame. This will include removal of shocks, brake cables, body mount bolts, gas tank, etc. If you are not one of the lucky ones who have a lift, this is where you call in a favor from some friends to help lift the body off the frame. Always keep SAFETY in mind, and have a good support structure to store the body or cab on.

Now that the body is removed, disassemble the frame down to bare nothing—if it’s bolted, remove it. Pay attention to how the upper and lower control arms, steering linkage, and lower rear shock mounts are located, as these are left and right assemblies and need to be kept as such. If you have never removed coil springs before, consult someone who has or invest in a good book, such as a shop manual. These things are under enormous tension and will hurt you. Remember be SAFE, and use proper tools. If what you are doing does not feel or look safe, it most likely isn’t.

If you are not planning to do a frame-off I would recommend a total disassembly of the front clip, inside area doors and trunk or bed. This can work well as long as the body has minimal rust, and you will spend less dollars overall. This kind of approach works very well on pickups, where you can leave the cab but remove the bed to gain access to the frame area for cleaning and painting.

Now is the time to step back and take a good look at the mess you’ve made and organize all the parts in some form of order, and focus on your frame to see what repairs, if any, are needed before it goes off to the sandblaster.

Our ideas for disassembling are not the only way to do this, but it has worked well for us in the past. Even if you are not a neat freak, it pays to try and be one during this process. Having a clean and well- organized work area has it rewards in the long run, such as knowing where everything is located. You will save money by not having to buy things that are lost easily.

Next month we will start building a vehicle. Thanks for reading and see you next month! Feel free to give us your comments, good or bad, about the newsletter.