Just wanted to get everyone's opinion on the best method in restoring a car (not frame off). I've heard a few different viewpoints on other sites. Some people say that you should do the paint and body work first, saving the interior for last. Others say just the opposite (so you don't have to worry about overspray). I'm going to have the body work done w/ new paint (which will be done at a shop). I'll do the interior and the electrical. What does everone think.

Mike

Mike , if you feel comfortable w that you wont scratch it up doing the interior and electrical afterwards , paint it first.......
paint engine room first , then after the body paint , redo the over sprayed areas....,
my .02
Bjorn

Mike,
I believe that the condition of the car and what kind of end product you want dictates the course of the restoration. Also, what parts of the job that you have to farm out make a difference. What's important is to have a clear plan before you start anything.
Jim

Like Jim said, it depends on the condition, but it also depends upon your budget and schedule. You're calling it a rolling resto, so I presume you want to continue to keep it driveable, at least in the summer, and do major work in the fall.

If that's the case, I'd start with any engine room, drivetrain, body bushing, suspension and brake work that need to be done, especially if you plan to clean and paint the engine compartment. Once it's back in good running order, tackle the electrical and interior work. Just before it goes into the paint shop, replace the hood hinges if needed. Good paint shops will be able to mask the glass and interior properly to avoid overspray. One local shop gives a better rate if you leave the car with them over the winter for paint, so they can work on it as time permits. You get free winter storage plus a freshly painted car in the spring. They also do interiors, and have a repair shop next door if mechanical work needs to be done, so if you had the budget for it you could drop the car off in the fall and pick it up, restored, in the spring. But I like to do as much of the work as possible myself, and don't have the budget for the full-service treatment.

If you are replacing the doors or they need sheet metal work, you may want to reverse the order. If you have to replace the blower motor, you will want to do that before the paint job as it requires removal of the passenger fender in some cars. You don't mention what year or body style your car is, but my '69 with A/C was a project to remove the fender, swap the blower, and reinstall and realign the fender without chipping any paint. If yours is inaccessible, you may wish to replace it, even if it hasn't failed yet, before painting.

I am slowly working on my '69, one thing at a time. Last summer only minor improvements were made, mostly replacing missing original parts and replacing parts that were in poor condition. Over the winter and spring I replaced the timing chain, top end gaskets, hoses and belts, the radiator was flushed and new coolant installed, rear springs and shocks were installed, upper and lower ball joints and shocks and swaybar bushings and endlinks were replaced, and a stereo system was installed which required removal of seats and lifting the carpeting.

The car is undergoing only minor upgrades this summer, including replacing the exhaust system and replacing the missing power antenna and further tuning for better performance. As I remove, adjust or replace items, I also replace the associated weatherstripping, bushings, wedges, and other wear items.

This winter I will reupholster the seats, replace the tie rod ends, and probably replace the cam though that may now wait until the following winter. The rear wheel cylinders are also on my list, as are the rear brake lines, and I will replace the shoes and have the drums resurfaced. I should be done with these items in time for warm weather.

This may not be the fastest way of completing a restoration, but it allows me to enjoy the car during our May to September top-down weather. I have a month on either end of that for fine tuning the details for better performance or driveability. It also allows me to prioritize safety related issues, and still stay within a reasonable budget for yearly improvements while still enjoying the use of the car during good weather.

Analyze your car in three categories: safety, performance, and appearance. List the items in each category, examine the related items to determine their condition, sort them into logical repair groups, consider which jobs will affect others, order the necessary parts, and complete as time and budget allows.

Good luck, and have fun with your restoration.

Thanks for the words of advice.

Just FYI, it's a '68 400 Cpe. The front suspension is new and I'm planning on replacing the rear suspension in a couple of weeks. The engine runs fine, so there are no problems there (knock on wood). My initial plan was to totally strip the car down (not the paint), taking off all the bumpers, moldings, trim, ect. and in addition, completely taking out the interior. Once this is done, I was going to have the body work done and have it painted. Then replace the wiring while the interior is still out of the car (seems easier like this). Then replace the entire interior and put all the exterior pieces back on. I'll try to get it painted by this winter and have the electrical and interior done by next summer. Sound good?

Good in theory, but in real life those sharp steel molding clips and window beads have a bad habit of catching paint and scratching right through. As my car has a decent coat of paint over the metal already, if I were to take it in for same-color repaint I'd probably leave the trim on and have it masked if I wasn't doing a full rotisserie job. Having the interior out makes life easy, as long as the column and wheel are still in place. Either that, or see if the paint shop will remove and reinstall the trim and therefore be responsible for paint scratches. Just my opinion, though.

I agree with Vikki about the trim replacement. I am about ready to repaint and have everything off the car,mouldings bumpers,etc... However,taking the trim off i scratched my old paint here and there and i was concerned about when i went to put it back on it would scratch my paint.I was taking my sweet old time about the removal as well.I think i will just mask the car trim really well and hope for the best.

The car is currently black and I want to go back to verdoro green. I was thinking that by taking everything off, I would get the best job getting in all the knooks and crannies. Exactly what "trim pieces" are you all talking about that are so tough to deal with...maybe I'll just leave those on and take off everything else.

i 'm talking about the windshield trim,and i believe yellowbird is as well. The clips for those are pretty snug fitting.

Oh...OK...thanks for the info. I will just leave that on and have them take it off. Good to know this stuff.

not just the windshield trim, also the stainless trim on the quarter panels along the quarter windows, and on the doors (with the little brush-like strip).

My car had been re-painted 7 yrs before...and inside trunk and door jambs looked like new....(car was orig midnight green, painted red by prev. owner)but still had rust in one quarter , and one front fender had differenent red color (wreck),plus V-filler (69) and one headlight surround broken , so I made a 'total' re-paint w/o going into door jambs and trunk using same color paint....
also , I had my paint job done in two sessions...reason was that it is VERY hard here in Houston to get anyone to look at a classic car paint job, w/o quoting 6-8K , they are worried about classic car owners being "picky"...so I found out that its lots easier to get "repairs", so I did my front 1/2 = fenders , cowl, headlight surrounds etc first,(total of $1250) picked it up, drove 3,4 weeks , took it back in, repaired rear quarter, took out ding on opp side , painted doors , and rear end....(this time $1450)
making sure I bought enough paint first go around that it came from same 'batch'....so I had enough for the second job.....
Of course car is not 'perfect', but usually only I know the 3 spots of imperfections , but its to be driven , prob. will get dinged ,scratred at some time again...

the real killer was late last fall when visiting a friend , my tail panel was "keyed" , left to right above the tail lights....
But using up 2 weekends using almost all of my patience I fixed/repaired it,filled in the crevices w paint, sanded down w very fine sandpaper, polished, now almost not visible....