After you reach an agreement visit the shop, take pictures of the progress, and keep a good working relationship with the people who are doing the work. The last thing you want to do is make an enemy of the guy who ultimately determines the final outcome of your investment. Keep a written journal with dates and progress pictures.
Getting your car in paint is one of, if not the most important and difficult step of a restoration. Whether you build the car after paint, or have the shop complete the car, the paint is the first thing you and everyone else notice. It should be a source of pride and satisfaction, not irritation and frustration!
A clean and tidy work area is a must when restoring a Mopar B-Body. Here gaskets are in one area, nuts/bolts/fasteners in another, and fluids and cleaning supplies rest atop the cabinets.
The final step prior to actually purchasing your new project car is preparing a place to keep it and work on it (preferably these two places are the same). An enclosed and weatherproof garage with plenty of room to move around the car is best. Understand that much of the time during the build your project remains immobile. So wherever you’re planning to store your car, make sure that you’re not blocking foot traffic or an area that is accessed regularly.
In addition, make sure that the garage is uncluttered and free of shelves stacked with items that could fall on your car. It sounds unlikely, but you’d be surprised how often a box of Christmas decorations has fallen on a project car. Try to avoid anything hanging above your car as well. Simply make your new car’s garage as clean, organized, and safe as possible.
Make sure you have ample storage space for all of the parts you pull off, documenting, and storing until it’s time to restore and reinstall them on your car. A workbench is worth its weight in gold, as is an organized tool box or chest. Rooting through disheveled drawers of wrenches or searching through a pile of sockets for the right tool is time wasted.
Other tools necessary to any build include a bench or table vise, a quality air compressor (I suggest a 50-gallon minimum), an impact gun, a handheld as well as a bench grinder, a rivet gun, an electric drill and spot-weld cutter, a variable speed buffer, wool pads, foam pads, sanding discs, four heavy-duty jack stands, and a floor jack.
Although you don’t have to own them, having access to an engine hoist (“cherry picker”); a four-leg engine stand; a MIG welder, mask, and gloves; media or “blast” cabinet; and a quality gravity-fed spray gun and touch-up gun is good, particularly if you plan to do much of the restoration yourself.
Thankfully, many tools are available for rent or loan from large automotive part chain stores and from friends. Items including wheel pullers, timing lights, and torque wrenches can be at the ready when you need them, and save you hundreds of dollars over buying them, particularly if you plan to build just one car.
Although 50 years of exposure to the elements might leave a lot of potential projects “too far gone” (particularly for the novice restorer), many enthusiasts contend that plenty of cars are still to be found and brought back.
Tools
You need many tools and pieces of equipment to restore a car; here is a quick list of what I call “must haves.”
• Garage (two-car minimum)
• Air compressor (50-gallon minimum)
• Good set of wrenches, sockets, screwdrivers, Allen wrenches, pliers, channel locks, breaker bar
• Bench grinder
• Handheld grinder
• Drill and bits
• Impact wrench
• Heavy-duty jack stands (4)
• Torque wrench
• Ohmmeter
• Test light
• Droplight
• Floor jack
• Sawzall
• Eye protection
• Facemask
• Trim remover tool
• Rubber mallet
• Vacuum gauge and pump
• Ball-peen hammer
• Wire cutters
• Razor knife
• Bench vise
• Workbench
• Creeper
The following tools and equipment are recommended and can be borrowed or rented:
• Cherry picker
• MIG welder, welder’s mask, gloves
• Gravity-fed spray gun, touch-up gun
• Engine stand
• Trailer (18 feet minimum)
• Vehicle to tow trailer and car
• Hog ring pliers
• Blast cabinet
• Under-coating gun
• Ring compressor
• Rivet gun
• Spot-weld cutter
• Variable-speed buffer, wool pads, foam pads, sanding discs
• Die grinder with cutting wheels
• Corbin clamp pliers
• Air file
• Hammer and dolly set
• Dual-action (DA) sander
• Sanding blocks of various sizes
• Palm sander short throw
Upon seeing your potential project in person, some major identifiers must be confirmed before making a final purchase. First, verify if the title is clear and registered to the person who is selling it. Is it registered? Even if the car is a steal, the potential for exorbitant DMV fees could be a detractor.
How about the vehicle identification number (VIN); do the numbers match? Thankfully, Mopars are known for their marking of nearly every part with a stamp or part number, as well as a detailed fender tag and “build sheet” that can be referenced for verification.
The build sheet (or broadcast sheet as it is officially called) was the options list that followed the car down the assembly line, documenting the entirety of the options installed on the car, the paint and interior colors, accessories, powertrain, and much more. The broadcast sheet can completely reveal what your Mopar looked like when it rolled off the assembly line, though not all cars had one and some even had the wrong one. Always make sure to match the VIN on the broadcast sheet with that of the car.