I think a lot of non-car people have the wrong impression of what's like to restore a vehicle-it's not simply a
question of just removing old parts and bolting on new ones, slapping on a quick paint job and maybe some new seat
covers and calling it done. That method works to get an old car back on the road-and it probably looks ok-...as long as
you don't get too close. The word "restoration" istself means different things to different people-to some it's taking
a car back to just the way it was when it brand new-researching correct paint color codes, available options for that
particular model and year, even down to re-creating the hand-written markings the assembly workers used on the
assembly line. Others use the quick and dirty method described above to pass off classic cars as something they're
not-for a profit. Most cars (and trucks) that get "restored" fall somewhere in between these two extremes-depending
on the owner's dedication (and pocketbook). Mine isin't strictly a "restoration"-it's more of a
"restoration/rebuild/upgrade", as I'm doing a little of everything-taking a lot of old parts and cleaning, painting, and
rebuilding them until they're as good as (or better) than new-replacing quite a few parts with new parts that better
fit my vision of what I want the car to look like, and what I want it to do, and adding some parts that the original
designers never thought of-progress is indeed wonderful(sometimes, anyway.) What takes the VAST majority of time
in restorations is cleaning-just cleaning all those hundreds (if not thousands) of parts, big and small. Bodywork is
usually the second-most time killer, while actual mechanical work adds up to a surprisingly small percentage of the
overall time spent on the project. I've lost count of the number of hours I've spent in a Zen-like trance, happily off in
my own little world while wet-sanding fenders and doors to get that perfect, mirror-like finish so that the final coat
of paint would have a flawless surface upon which to lay. (Another tip-put a clock on the wall over the workbench,
and look at it every now and then-don't make your neighbors come over and bitch you out because it's 11:30 pm and
you're still pounding out dents in the bumper.)
Just a few thoughts concerning air tools-if you decide to invest in an air compressor, buy one a size or two
bigger than you think you need. If you only plan to use it to inflate the occasional flat tire or maybe just to run an
airbrush, you'll think you can get by with the cheapest, smallest model that's on sale. You'll quickly find, however,
that the uses are endless (plus, it's kinda fun to make like a pit crewman at a NASCAR race and zip the lug nuts off
the wife's minivan when it comes time to rotate the tires). A larger capacity air tank will allow you to run tools
longer before the motor kicks on again, and a higher horsepower motor will pump up the pressure quicker. I replaced
the motor on my old unit with a 5hp 110v/220v selectable motor and made an adapter cord with a plug that would fit
into the 220v dryer socket in my garage-this way I get the benefits of 220v operation, but I can switch back to
110v if I need to. The only problem with this arrangement is that it seems that everytime I want to use the
compressor, the wife suddenly needs to run the dryer. I forsee a small outside shed with it's own 220v socket for
the compressor to reside in soon-out of the way and a lot quieter. That, and it'll surely cut down on melted laundry
baskets(she has a bad habit of just setting things down on whatever happens to be handy).
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Just a few thoughts concerning air tools-if you decide to invest in an air compressor, buy one a size or two bigger than you think you need. If you only plan to use it to inflate the occasional flat tire or maybe just to run an airbrush, you'll think you can get by with the cheapest, smallest model that's on sale. You'll quickly find, however, that the uses are endless (plus, it's kinda fun to make like a pit crewman at a NASCAR race and zip the lug nuts off the wife's minivan when it comes time to rotate the tires). A larger capacity air tank will allow you to run tools longer before the motor kicks on again, and a higher horsepower motor will pump up the pressure quicker. I replaced the motor on my old unit with a 5hp 110v/220v selectable motor and made an adapter cord with a plug that would fit into the 220v dryer socket in my garage-this way I get the benefits of 220v operation, but I can switch back to 110v if I need to. The only problem with this arrangement is that it seems that everytime I want to use the compressor, the wife suddenly needs to run the dryer. I forsee a small outside shed with it's own 220v socket for the compressor to reside in soon-out of the way and a lot quieter. That, and it'll surely cut down on melted laundry baskets(she has a bad habit of just setting things down on whatever happens to be handy).