I would like to save a few dollars and attempt a restoration in my garage. I've never restored a car and was curious as to how hard it could be? Im looking into ordering all my panels from OPGI and am curious and hoping it fits like it should? Time is Not an issue, no rush, can learn in the process. My trunk is completely rusted. Will replace both quarters and floor pan. Here's the questions; will i need to disassemble the whole car and do it piece by piece? I assume its more easier and detailed that way? What's the most difficult part of a restoration? In a nut shell, what tools should be purchased? Im sure i'll have some more questions when I get some responses, thanks :-)

 

Hi, I noticed you said you wanted to order all parts from OPGI. That site is great but can be very expensive, I would recommend ordering parts from Summit Racing or JC Whitney and even your local advance auto or autzone. OPGI may come through for you with hard to find stock parts but they tend to be a little on the pricey side with some of their products. Personally I order from summit and advance auto and they tend to treat me well. Good Luck
-Alex

 

Have you ever welded before or done body work? What is your experience level & how much space do you have in your garage?
For parts shop around. OPGI is a Chevelle parts guy selling other lines.

 

The body panels are all made by the same companies:

Tabco says "Made in USA" and is in Ohio.

http://www.tabcobodyparts.com/html/t...f_contents.htm

Goodmark is offshore.

http://www.goodmarkindustries.com/

The prices are competitive I don't know about the quality of either

Shipping kills you on body panels. If you can pick them up you'll save a bunch of money

And JMO......You won't save any money over buying a completed car but you'll have lots of fun

 

69Cutlass - Yea I've saw stuff in Summit and will consider them if they are cheaper. I just didn't know if one made the parts better than the other..

Droptop - I used to be a welder; mig, tig, stick, moved on to something else. Burned my eyes and kept me dirty daily I Don't have any experience with body work though but have plenty of room to learn..

Ally - Thanks for the links. How come you feel like I won't save by doing it myself? A completed car that's mint cost big bucks. I'm thinking I may have 5 grand in parts total? But like I said I'm not the expert on bodywork which is why I'm here..

 

My car came with all the replacement panels, uninstalled

I did all the metal work. The only outside work on the car that I had others do was

1) Build the motor ($3,500+ $500 core)

2) Bodywork and Paint ($6,500)

I paid $2000 for the car. We're up to $12,500. That doesn't include probably $4,000 on incidental expenses that my wife doesn't even know about . (emblems, tires, rims, rear end, trim, wire wheels, paint stripper, .024 discs, 4 speed console, interior, towing the car to my house, etc, etc, etc)

I financed a lot of it through buying and selling parts.

My car's worth about $25,000.

I also have probably 3000 hours into it just in physical work, not including a tremendous amount of time researching and looking for parts.

Did I save money, sure, but mostly I had fun & learned a lot