Restoring Car Off Frame
Short answer: Which to do first (body/paint vs. engine/suspension) depends on your approach — DIY vs. farming out, and how detailed you want the engine bay. Here’s a middle-of-the-road order (adjust to your situation); 6 months between phases isn’t much in the long run.
- Remove all body panels from the firewall forward.
- Remove the engine.
- Remove the old suspension.
- Prep and paint the subframe (if DIY).
- Rebuild the new suspension.
- Prep firewall, front fenders and inner wheels, hood, hinges, core support, brackets (if DIY).
- Prep the remainder of the body.
- Reinstall the subframe with suspension.
- Mask off frame and suspension.
- Reassemble the front body (only because it’s going elsewhere to paint — if DIY, leave it off and shoot first).
- Send out to paint, or DIY.
- Shoot from the firewall back.
- Bring it home.
- Carefully remove the core support (DIY: never reinstall until after the engine is in; same for fenders).
- Install engine-compartment items.
- Install the engine.
- Reinstall core support and fenders.
- Alignment (it rarely stays true when painted off the car).
Think through overspray, scratch/spill risk, and access difficulty as you sequence it.
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Content last modified: June 13, 2026 at 10:06 am
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