look before you leap
If you've never done a complete restoration, you may want to seek professional help and I don't mean having your head read (maybe).
Doing a complete restoration is a huge job, particularly if you're trying to return the vehicle to 'factory correct' specs, or NCRS specs. It is not for the faint of heart or pocketbook.
Don't get me wrong- taking a car apart to restore it is easy. Pulling parts and pieces off isn't all that difficult. Putting it back together, however, can be next to impossible. If you don't have a plan, you'll soon find you own a pile of parts and pieces, but have no idea where each piece goes. This is generally referred to as a 3-D jigsaw puzzle with no instructions.
It requires a great deal of organization, planning and effort to complete a restoration successfully and that's if you're experienced at doing restorations. As someone who admits they're new to the game, it can be daunting.
The best advice I can give is threefold-
1) Record where it came from- this means methodically putting pieces into baggies and labelling them and sometimes photographing how it looked before and after disassembly. Time consuming, yes, but essential.
2) Never throw anything out! Even if it looks like junk, rusted and pitted, hold onto it because it may be the last one in existance and, if nothing else, it may be useful for comparison when new part are ordered.
3) Where possible, restore one assembly at a time. If you're working on one particular mechanism or system, complete all repairs before moving to another. It's easier to keep going when you have concrete goals and each mechanism or system is a goal.
All the books, guides and manuals in the world can't prepare you for doing a restoration. They will provide a great resource but unless you're organized and prepared, you might never get it all back together. How many times have you seen project cars for sale? Why do you think that is?? Some guys claim it's because they lost interest in the car but they're not being honest with themselves. They got frustrated by a lack of progress or overwhelmed by the reality that their lack of planning and/or documentation made their project almost impossible to complete. Don't fall into that trap!!
Good luck! I hope I don't sound negative because I'm not a negative person. It saddens me to see guys lose that shine in their eye when a project goes sour and I hope my words will help you avoid that.
