Classic Car Restoration | Where To Go For Help
So you need some help restoring your classic car or truck and you need some help with finding parts, how to replace floor pans, or possibly even some body work tips. Well guess what, everything you need to know or get can be found right here on the internet.
I would love to tell you my site is the absolute best place to find all the information you need, and even though I am building it bigger every day, I still don’t have all the information you need……..YET!
But have no fear, I do have some information on here already that may help you out, but there are other places out there as well. Classic Car Forums are a great place to go for info. because they allow you to ask questions and get responses from people that have restored classic cars and may can help you out with your project.
Google can be your friend so you should use it as well. Just type in what you are looking for and you should be able to find some websites that have the information you need.
So there you have it. With gas prices soaring through the roof, most of us can’t afford to drive around for hours looking for parts or info. on classic car information. So instead of wasting money on gas, then just pull up a seat in front of the computer and good luck finding what you are looking for.
Car Shows | More Than Just Looking
When you think of car shows, you probably think of shiny cars and trucks displayed in a row and people walking around looking in awe. Well for the most part that is true but if you look deeper you can usually find parts and even entire cars for sale.
A good bit of people who want to sell their rides wash and wax them and take them to the car show. I mean, let’s face it, look how many people are going to see the cars in a given day, so it’s not a bad idea.
Now, if you are in the market for parts, you may can find some help in this area too even if it is just a car show and not a swap meet. If you see some people with a car or truck like yours on display, go up and introduce yourself and start talking. You never know, they may have exactly what you have been looking for in their garage or they may can tell you where to find the part since more than likely they had to find the same at one time.
Get out, the weather is nice. Look at some nice rides and get some ideas. But more imortantly, make aquaintences. They can be more valuable than you realize.
Happy Memorial Day From Old-Car-Parts.com
My family and I would like to take a minute away from business and say thank you to all the soldiers that have given their lives so that we may enjoy what we do each and every day.
I hope you will stop sometime today while you are eating that hamburger, drinking that beer or even driving around in your car and realize that these people paid the ultimate price so that we can enjoy all these things that we sometimes take for granted.
So again, we remember you and we thank you and you are always in our hearts and minds.
God Bless America!
Classic Car Insurance | Should You Get It?
O.k. so you have been working tirelessly on your pride and joy and you want to hit the road. You’ve kicked the tires, filled the gas tank, you even went to the courthouse and got your specialized vintage plates. Well, there is one more important thing you need to have before you go ripping down the road……. insurance!
But what kind of insurance should you get, a regular policy or a classic car insurance policy? Well, that is going to depend mainly on what kind of car you have and how much it is worth. If you took a car and just fixed it up a little and it doesn’t hold any value other than your run of the mill car, then you could probably get by with a regular car insurance policy like you may have for your daily driver.
But what about the real classic car you restored, like your ‘57 Chevy, and you spent thousands of dollars restoring it to like new condition. Well, you are going to want a special classic car insurance policy on this. This isn’t some gimmick created by insurance companies in order to get money from a different class of people. It is simply a special policy for a special vehicle. You will pay more for this policy, but you will get more in return. The insurance company will have an agreed value of your vehicle, perhaps $50,000 for that ‘57 Chevy you restored. Where as if you had a regular insurance policy, then you would just get a fraction because they would go by the actual value of a car like that instead of the appraised value.
There are some stipulations that come with a classic car insurance policy. One of these is how many miles you are allowed to drive the automobile at one time. So if you are going to drive cross country to various car shows rather than towing your vehicle, you will want to make sure you have a policy or have chosen the right company that will allow you to do this.
So it all comes down to this… You have spent time and money on your classic car and hey, accidents happen. So make sure you have yourself protected my choosing the right classic car insurance policy to suit your needs and then you can ride down the road with some piece of mind.
Hot Rod Or Classic | Which One Is For You?
So maybe you are contemplating what to do with the car or truck you just bought or better yet, you are waiting to buy after you decide. There are some questions you should ask yourself that may help with the decision process.
- What is the difference in price? Well, this can really go either way. If you find a popular car like a ‘69 Camaro or a ‘57 Chevy Bel Air, then you can pour a lot of money into these cars fully restoring them to like new condition. You can spend a fortune on parts alone. On the other hand, if you buy a ‘56 Ford truck and want to lower it and soup up the engine and add a badass paint job, then you can break the bank that way too.
- How much is the vehicle worth restored? While you need to be happy with the finished product, you have to also look down the road for possible resale. While you may make an awesome looking hotrod out of a ‘56 Chevy, you may never get the money back out of it that you put in it, especially if nobody likes the same thing you like. A classic restoration job on the otherhand that is done right is always going to be able to sell to people that like that car or truck.
- What are you equipped and able to do? While it is best to have a nice workshop full of tools and equipment, a person can start a restoration project with general knowledge and equipment. However, when you start getting more involved with the niceties that make a hotrod what it is ( souped up engine, specialized paint jobs, lowering, modified body work ) then that requires not only special skills, but also special tools and equipment that end up being a pretty expensive investment.
When it is all said and done though, you have to be happy with whatever you decide. All I want to do is try and lay out some things to think about that may affect your decision. Money isn’t everything and I hope you really love working on your project and you get to enjoy the finished product. Just keep in mind that you may want to sell it one day and you want to make sure you get out of it what you put in it.
Classic Car and Truck Events
Do you have a big car show coming up? Let us know and we will put it in our events section so people can find out about it. Make sure to include all the pertinent information including date,time,location and any fees if applicable. Send info. to rich@old-car-parts.com . Don’t wait until the last minute, make sure you give your potential customers plenty of time to mark it on their calendar.
Classic Car Pictures | Show Off Your Ride!
As you can see, I don’t have any pictures in the photos section yet. I am planning on taking some pics. of my father-in-laws cars and trucks this week-end and putting them up. Want to see your ride on my site so you can show it off? Cool, no problem, just send me a pic. with your name and a short description and I will put it up on the site for ya. Send pics. to rich@old-car-parts.com .
*All pics. submitted become the property of old-car-parts.com, old-car-parts.com reserves the right to remove any pics. at any time.
Bringing Your Classic Car Or Truck Out Of Winter Storage
O.k., so you are one of the lucky guys who has already finished their project and you have just been waiting for some decent weather before you get your classic car out and show it off. Well, slow down fella, let’s look at a few things you should do before you just turn the key and take off down the road.
You do routine maitenance on your daily driver, right? Well, you need to do the same if not more to your pride and joy. I mean, I am just assuming you would want too since you have poured months and years of blood sweat and beers into it. So let’s see, what do we need to make sure we do?
- Check your tires….. While your ride was in that cold garage all winter, chances are that you have lost some air. You want to show off your ride, just don’t show it off on the side of the road stranded with a flat.
- Change your oil….. But I haven’t used the engine? That is true, but there is a chance that condensation has occured in the engine while it was left sitting for all those months, so let’s go ahead and spend the little money now and put in some fresh blood. Trust me, your engine will be thankful.
- Check your coolant…..Yes spring is here and summer is just around the corner, make sure you are topped off and ready for the heat.
- Wash and wax…..This should be a no brainer because you want to turn heads with a shiny car. However, my motivation for telling you this is you want a good protectent to keep that paint job in check. Nobody likes a faded paint job, so be nice to the paint and it will be nice to you, for years to come.
- Nut and Bolt…..This is a good time to check all the nuts and bolts that you put together when you were puting your ride together. It also gives you a chance to check all your wires and other sections of your car to make sure you don’t have any leaks ( seals ) and you will lessen the chanes of any problems while you are driving down the road.
- Fresh Gas…..Hopefully you left a minimum of gas in your car before you parked it and have cranked it periodically to run some through the carborator. Don’t forget to put some fresh premium and possibly even some gas treatment in so you won’t be sputtering down the road.
I hope I have joggled your mind a little here and you will take the time to do these things and more. I am serious folks. This is your baby, you need to put as much if not more time into caring for your classic car or truck ans you did restoring it. Hey, if it was so easy, then everybody would have one, right? Be sure to check back often to see tips like these and more. As always, thanks for visiting old-car-parts.com and be safe on the roads this season.
What color should you paint your classic car?
When you first start the restoration process on your classic car or truck, one of the first questions you ask yourself is ” What color am I going to paint it? “ Well, this is a question that can be narrowed down by asking yourself a few other questions first.
- Are you restoring the car back to its original state? If so, then you need to paint the car the color it came with, or at least a color it was offered in. If you do change the color to one it which it was offered, then make sure you change the tag on the car as well that tells you what color the car came in if applicable.
- Do you want to be like everyone else, or do you want to be unique? Yes, we have all seen the pretty teal hotrods and the ghost flames. It’s hard not to…..they’re everywhere. Buy some magazines with lots of pictures from car shows and see what everyone else is using, then find something you like and do it different. One thing that can decide if you place at a car show or not is if your ride stands out.
- How much money are you budgeting for paint? A nice metal flake paint job with some ghost flames does look sweet, but your wallett starts hiding when you think about it. A nice paint job can be very expensive by itself and this isn’t including any body work that may need to be done. You can get a nice 2 tone paint job on your ride and enhance it with some pin striping if your budget won’t allow you to go all out.
I hope this has helped a little in your journey to restore your classic car or truck. Make sure to visit old-car-parts.com often for more tips on restoring your classic car or truck.
Frame On or Frame Off Restoration
So you bought that heap and you are fixing to pour tons of time and money into it. Before you get started you have to ask yourself do you want to do a frame on or frame off restoration. Well, the answer can pretty much be found by asking a couple of questions.
Number one - What amount of restoration are you going to do? If you are primarily interested in fresh paint and the interior, then you can probably just get by with a frame on restoration. If you are wanting to place big in shows and want a top notch trophy winner, then you should probably go with a frame off restoration. This allows you to replace all wiring, brakelines, paint the frame and other stuff with ease.
Number two - What does the underneath of the car or truck look like? If there is a fair amount of rust, it would probably be better to do a frame off restoration. This will ensure that you are taking care of everything. Remember, it only takes a little bit of rust and then it can spread.
In my opinion, if you are able, the frame off restoration is the way to go. The only flaw with this is that you must have more room than if you leave the body on.
Well, I hope this may make your decision a little easier. Check back often for more tips and thanks for visiting old-car-parts.com
