Classic Car Restoration! Is It Worth Restoring Dad´s Car?

Classic car lovers know that restoring classic cars is not considered a labored, dull and enjoy less work! Quite the contrary, it is a hobby that one can take pleasure in while preserving a piece of automobile history and making a bit of money on that same fun!

I do know a couple of guys that all they do is scrounge the market for classic cars that are thirty or more years old, give it good restoration where necessary and sell them off for a profit!

Yourself, as a classic car enthusiast will get more pleasure if you restore it on your own.

If you intend to start restoring that classic car that´s been in the garage for decades that once was your dad´s for example, keep in mind that as a novice restorer:

1^st - Restoring cars takes time and patience, but this will be a learning curve for you!

2^nd- The extra special tools you will have to get could be a good investment if you plan in doing more than one restoration!

3^rd- Tag the location of every piece from the car that you have removed to repair to avoid confusion when reassembling!

Inspect the car meticulously and jot down a list of the things about the car that needs restoration. Back home you will have to do your homework! All the parts that need replacing should be calculated at how much it will set you back! Is the figure too high? Is it worth taking on that classic car restoration?

The heart of a car is the engine, and if it needs rebuilding and your budget allows it, have a certified mechanic do it for you! Get a quote beforehand!

If you tested the car and it sounded pretty good gearbox wise I would still suggest changing the oil in these two! In today’s car that oil is for life of the vehicle! Thirty years ago it was totally different and the oil in the gear box and transmission had to be changed every 20,000km! So to be on the safe side and then again, the gear box and the transmission don´t take too much oil! Replace it!

Heavily rusted panels should be replaced, but i´m sure that you have decided in restoring a classic car that is not totally rusted up! Again, if it´s not your area or expertise yet, then get a quote!

Nowadays if there is a crack on one and you can´t get that window from anywhere, now don´t get all upset, it could be fixed! There are amazing products that auto glass shops have to restore an original window that the end result is a hardly noticeable chip or crack!

A good polishing should do the job! The chrome polishing products available today are amazing and with a bit of scrubbing you could have that chrome piece looking as new! Careful to have some fresh water at hand for the final washing of that chrome piece because some polishing products are very corrosive and could do more harm in the long run!

Get silicone spray for rubbers and spray on all rubbers! Do it again a week later and you will notice a big difference even as you close that door!

Such as window elevators, seat adjustment tracks and so on, I find that with a bit of patience in dismantling and finding the fault and applying WD-40, it works wonders!

It is always a good idea to remove all upholstery and give them a good wash out side of the car! This way you can clearly see in which condition the floor panels are in your classic car restoration and you could treat a bit of rust here and there in the mean time! You could find some old coins! I have on occasion!

A regular clothes washing powdered detergent is all you need for starters if the seats are not made in leather! I did this a few months ago on a forty year old Mercedes, two washes actually, but the seats came out looking as new!

If leather seats are installed then get some liquid leather solution, making sure that it matches the color of the seats that you are treating the scratches and ware! After this has dried up, allow a few more days pass and get the cheapest body moisturizing lotion you can get your hands on! Make that two bottles! Leather is skin! Just like our own skin it needs to breathe and on harsh climates, once in a while we need to moisturize it!

Do not apply directly to the leather seats! Do a 2 in 1 job and apply the lotion to your hands first and then to the seats! In a few minutes when the leather starts to suck in that moisturizing lotion you will notice the big difference for better! Repeat after a few days and your end result is almost new comfy seats!

Is your classic car in need of a new paint job or just a good polish? Remember when you removed the seats and upholstery and steamed wash the engine compartment? Did you notice a different color there than that of the exterior paint color? Probably this classic car of yours suffered a paint color alteration sometime in its life! If this is so the case then keep in mind that any classic car is worth more if restored with the original paint color on the year that the car was manufactured!