Resto tip #1 01/07/2008
Keep your shop clean! When doing any sort of work on
cars in your garage, keep your stuff tidy and organized.
Frustration can build if things are out of order, things get
lost and such. When my work day ends, I make it a point to
put everything back to where it belongs.
When tearing down a beetle, parts can fill the garage quickly if
you have a small shop. I have made it a point to label and
keep things in large coffee cans for the small stuff and nice
sturdy boxes for the large stuff. Stay organized.
When your bug comes back from the body shop, (sometimes that
could be months without working on your car) you can go back to
your neat stash of stuff that is labeled and you will know
exactly where they go. I can't tell you how many times I
didn't label or make notes on how a part goes back on and wind
up forgetting how to do it or breaking it and ordering a
new one.
Resto tip #2 02/17/2008
Taking your time. Many guys that I know that are
wanting to restore a bug want to jump into a car real fast.
They want to find it, strip it down, buy the necessary parts,
slap some paint on the car and off they go. They rush to
get the car done for the upcoming show season. I will tell
you, I fell victim to this plenty of times. And what
happens? Pardon the french, but you half ass it. You
quickly put in a headliner and you get wrinkles. You quickly put
on the chrome moldings and your hands bend the strips, you break
glass, you tear the seat upholstery, and so on. If you are
in a rush, then hand your car off to a good mechanic or a good
cosmetic guy, you will have to pay more, but that's the breaks.
If you are all about saving, then you better take your time.
I usually figure when I get the car back from
the body shop and it is all painted and ready to be put back
together, it takes me a few weeks to get ready for shows.
But I like to over estimate, so I will say to myself, I will
give it a month or two to finish the car. I usually get
done earlier, and by then you feel like you beat your schedule.
Moral of this short tip is, take your time when
restoring your car, don't half ass it, forget the easy way out.
If you need to get your car done fast, hire someone, but be
prepared to pay. You are putting your hard earned money
into this resto, depending how intense you are going, it could
take months maybe even years to complete your pride and joy.
By rushing the job, you run the risk of making mistakes and down
the line losing money when you want to sell it.
If you get stuck on how to do something, there
are many DVD "How Tos" out there to learn, and of course GoOgLe!
You can go to my shop and learn section on this site to get your
hands on some of the best resources out there.
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