Rebuilding out of service cars...

[striker99]

After having a look at a thread before about a guy restoring a Landcruiser I thought would be somthing I would be interested to do as a learning sort of thing learn how the car works and all Just wondering anyone have some links to some pages about restoring cars at all?

Thanks

[striker99]

anyone?

[jtraf]

unless you have some type of idea as to what you are doing or very deep pockets don't do it........You will buy a car pull it apart and lose interest andor releasie too late I should have bought one already built or I could have bought a newer car.....

If you want to learn buy something that you can play with while it is on the road..........my two cents worth...

[Gwagensteve]

Do you actually mean restoring or just pulling apart and having a fiddle about with?

Restoring means putting back to as new. To do this, you will really need very deep pockets, lots of attention to detail, and when you are finished you will end up with a car that is..... exactly as good as the car could have been when it left the factory, and that is all.

If what you really want to do is fiddle about with a car and figure out how it works while not being fussy about if it stays 100% original (Oh no, VC commodores had the delco sticker on the LHS of the engine bay, not the right! tututututut) then

A) start with a cheap old car
B) something you can still get parts for
C) somehting light and basic
E) have a proper goal and
F) as James said start with something that runs and has reg.

If you start with a basket case I guarantee you will loose interest before you get it on the road.

My suggestion - buy a 1.3 suzuki sierra.
First thing to buy - A factory service manual for the correct model. Do not even bother with gregory's, haynes or whatever. Spend the money and buy the FSM. All the answers are in here.

In regard to the proper goal, IMHO this might be 31's, or and engine conversion or something - you need to have an outcome rather than just a newer looking version of the junk you bought in the first place in a different colour.

If you buy something too old, you won't be able to get parts when you need them and will either stuff the car by hacking in inappropriate parts or loose interest because it is imossible to get a master cylinder or brake piston or whatever it was you needed to get it going.

Do not buy anything that has proper collector value - if this is your first project you WILL stuff things up and it would be a shame to waste a properly collectable car. Remember, for what you are asking, the process is important rather than the outcome.

Just my 2c
Steve.

[ISUZUROVER]

As above - depends what you want to do...

I have built 2 series Land-Rovers. One from a $500 wreck that had been rolled by the previous owners while shooting, and a 2nd from a rolling chassis and a pile of parts (unfinished project of someone else).

The first one I bought when I was still at high school, learnt everything as I went along, regod it when I started uni, and still own it. It is a great truck and I will probably never sell it. I bought it about 15 years ago - as I was teaching myself how to do everything as I went along, I ended up having to redo some things later that I didn't do properly in the first place or wasn't happy with later.

It is a lot of time and effort , and if you are planning to RESTORE something to perfect condition on your first attempt, forget it now. For me I wanted a useful 4x4 with the important steel bits galvanised - not a show car. Even if you don't include labour cost, it will cost you at least as much as buying something with rego and a roadworthy (but you will have a better vehicle in the end).

[KiwiBacon]

I have built 2 series Land-Rovers. One from a $500 wreck that had been rolled by the previous owners while shooting, and a 2nd from a rolling chassis and a pile of parts (unfinished project of someone else).

Buying someone elses shattered dream would be an excellent start.
Then you're not going to lose too much if it becomes your shattered dream too.

[ISUZUROVER]

I have built 2 series Land-Rovers. One from a $500 wreck that had been rolled by the previous owners while shooting, and a 2nd from a rolling chassis and a pile of parts (unfinished project of someone else).

Buying someone elses shattered dream would be an excellent start.
Then you're not going to lose too much if it becomes your shattered dream too.

Only problem is if you have never done one before it is difficult to put it all back together from a pile of parts. I was glad I didn't do that first time around - I already knew every nut and bolt on a LR by the time I built that one.

[brentz]

do wat me n my dad have just done wif his fj45!
we bought three of them for under $2000 one with a 350 chev included and we just put the best parts of everything onto one and at the same tme completely restored it with paintin and stripping everything of the chassis and body exept we left the main part of the body on and painted that as is but still stripped everythng out of that!!!
i have had a blast helping him do it and would love to do it but somehow i dont think dat would happen while living at home!
i can definitley say i have learnt heaps out of it and it just makes me wanna get out there 4wdin more than ne1 could imagine and that will happen next month!!

[striker99]

Yeah I or meant rebuilt/modify rather than restoring it to original state. Think i might consider getting somthing small and start from there some time..

[chunderlicious]

ive started from scratch 3 times...... lets just say bubs isnt the only one