Restoring a classic car can be a scary subject for some people. There are many different types of work that go into restoring a classic car and most people are not trained in all of them. When you break the process down into the types of repairs that go into restoring your classic car, it’s easier to understand what you can and cannot actually do yourself.

A tally of your skills can help you decide how much work you can do yourself and how much of the restoration work should be done by a professional.

Restoring your classic car can be divided into a few repair categories.

• Knowing your car
• mechanical repairs
• Electrical repairs
• Interior design or upholstery work
• Sheet metal or rust repair
• Preparation and finishing of surfaces
• Body and paint
• Trim or trim repair and refinishing

Some of these categories are self-explanatory. Let me clarify the ones that are not so obvious.

knowing your car

Cars have always been available with options like sports equipment packages, air conditioning, V8, 6-cylinder or 4-cylinder engines, and the list goes on. As the car ages, some of these options are removed from the vehicle, replaced with something substandard, or never replaced at all. Option codes and shop manuals are generally available for most classic American cars that detail this information.

mechanical repairs

This covers a lot of what makes up a car and would be most of the moving parts. You’ll find the engine and transmission will need rebuilding, as well as all the regular maintenance repairs like brakes and suspension, and rebuilding of component parts like starters, water pumps, and generators. Other components that are rarely considered are the parts under the dash, such as heating or ventilation controls, window parts inside the doors, hinges, and latches. I’m just touching the subject, but you get the idea.

Electrical repairs

Electricity can be the scariest of all. In an older vehicle, the wiring coating can be rotten, cracked, and brittle, creating the risk of an electrical short. Switches wear out and even fall apart. On some vehicles where these parts are impossible to find, you will need to be creative and improvise using parts from another make of vehicle.

Interior design or upholstery work

Fabric, vinyl, leather, threads, and padding or padding materials dry out and rot over time and need to be replaced. Colors fade really bad too.

Sheet metal or rust repair

Any metal made with iron will rust, even aluminum will rust and even disintegrate under the right conditions. The body sheet metal will need to be replaced or repaired. This means knowing how to work with sheet metal, how to weld, and even how to shape metal.

Preparation and finishing of surfaces

In addition to the exterior of the car body, there are a large number of sheet metal surfaces that will need to be stripped of old paint and surface rust, then primed for no further rust, and then repainted. This includes the car’s frame, suspension parts, differential, fasteners, and more.

Body and paint

In addition to sheet metal work, the exterior of the car body will need to be smoothed and painted. This is a huge amount of work, which is why it can be so expensive.

Trim or trim repair and refinishing

Classic car trims and moldings were mostly made of metals. There are chrome steel, chrome pot, aluminum, stainless steel and even brass or copper. Until recently some parts could not be fixed and replated, pan metal being one of them. In extreme cases, you will need to solder new metal onto your moldings or trim, grind and sand them, polish them, and prepare them for re-plating.

That’s a lot to know how to do.

Fortunately, there are some really good instructional DVDs available that cover all of these topics. Still, you may want to specialize in just 2-3 of these skills and hire a professional to handle the rest.

Learning to do something like this can be entertaining. Even if you don’t plan on doing any of this work yourself, you’ll want to know how the work is done so you can recognize a job well done.