Auto Restoration 101

The first thing we did when we recieved the car was to wash out the years of dirt, grime, animal droppings and nests. It also smelled like old gasoline and fertilizer. The car was delivered partially disassembled. After we got the car cleaned up, we sorted and tagged the parts before putting them away in large plastic containers. We still have some more disassembly to do with some wiring, the left door and some items on the firewall.

When restoring a car or truck from the ground up like this one the entire car will be diassembled. The best way to remember where and how everything goes back together is to document every little piece and part. Use a digital camera to take pictures of everything. HERE is an article on using a digital camera for restoration work.

Use plastic baggies to store all of the small nuts and bolts. Write the description of what they go to on a small piece of paper and put it in the bag also. I used to write on the plastic baggy with a permanent marker but found that after a year or so of being shuffled around the writing will wear off leaving me clueless to where they went.

Use large plastic storage containers to store the parts in. They work a lot better than cardboard boxes that attract spiders. I also use tags that have a string on them to attach to various parts.

1949 Mercury Convertible right after delivery.

1949 Mercury Convertible parts as delivered.

1949 mercury hood and various parts.

Plastic storage containers for parts.

Large containers are stackable and transparent to view the parts inside.