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I recently finished my restoration project, and since I learned a lot of information from all of you on this forum, I thought I would share my experience.
This was my first attempt at restoring a classic car, so I was a little uncertain that I could pull off a project of this magnitude. I accomplished all the mechanical and
body work myself, with the exception of machine shop work and final paint/clear spraying. For those of you out there wondering if you could do the same, trust me, it can be
done. With quite a bit of research, gathering the right tools and materials and a little help from my friends, I was able to complete it. For those of you considering it,
some words of advice:
Be patient and don't rush things. I was able to complete this in a little over 2 years only working on it about 1-2 hours a day, mostly weekdays after work.
Get the right tools for the job, makes all the difference in the world.
Tunes and a beer refrigerator in the garage are a must have.
Being divorced helped. At one point, every room in my house including my screen porch had car parts in them. I know my ex definitely would not of put up with that...
My story:
In October 2014 I purchased a 1970 Cutlass S that was in pretty bad shape. It had the typical GM A body rust damage, collision damage in several places, surface rust, needed
a new interior, and had a BBC 454 engine that was poorly installed and needed to be completely rebuilt. It was partially dismantled but it had almost all of the trim parts,
and anything else that was removed.
After I got into it I discovered that the cowling, top of the windshield sheet metal and rear window sheet metal were completely rusted out. I had to fabricate replacement
parts and teach myself how to weld sheet metal after borrowing a friends MIG welder. I did all the body work myself and the primer/prep work for painting. I then learned how
to wet sand and do the final polishing.
While I had the engine, transmission out and the front clip removed, I did a front disk brake conversion replaced all of the brake lines and replaced all of the front
suspension bushings with Polyurethane. I also did the rear suspension, and added a rear sway bar.
Engine was completely rebuilt with new crankshaft, cam, lifters, push rods, oil pump, fuel pump, water pump, ignition system and carburetor. I also completely rewired it when
I had it out.
Interior was pretty much redone with new carpet, headliner, and seats reupholstered. The only things repairable were the dash pad and the door panels. First time I had tried
upholstering anything, I'm surprised how easy it was.
March 2nd, 2017, 11:17 AM
