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<x-charset UTF-8>In a message dated 12/12/02 4:58:44 AM Central Standard Time, ajv@greebo.net writes: << Subj: [T3] Where to start a resto? Date: 12/12/02 4:58:44 AM Central Standard Time From: ajv@greebo.net (Andrew van der Stock) Sender: type3@vwtype3.org (Type 3 Mailing List) Reply-to: type3@vwtype3.org (Type 3 Mailing List) To: type3@vwtype3.org (Type 3 Mailing List) Hi folks, Iâm about to get going on my first resto, so please be gentle. :) I have no illusions about how long it is going to take, and I am going to outsource some of the work, like welding (I have no tools and no experience and more to the point, I want it to be good as well as structurally sound :) What Iâm after is this a reasonable set of major project headings, and in roughly the right order? * Carefully remove all interior bits, clean and bag âem for later * Remove all panels, replace the bodgy / boggy ones * Split the pan from the body? * Strip / sandblast paint from all panels and pan * Fix rust (Probably outsource some of this, can't weld for crap) * Powdercoat tinware and petrol tank (outsource this) * re-chrome all chrome bits * Repaint pan * Rejoin body to pan? * Smooth/fill and prime body, final sand * Paint (Iâm outsourcing the final coats to a body shop) * POR15 under pan * Steering overhaul * Engine overhaul * Brake overhaul * Interior re-trim (Iâll outsource a few things, like seat re-upholstery and fixing the dash, but I'll follow the excellent howtos on fixing the clock, et al) I have the ordinary set of tools lying around (luckily, we've been metric here since before I was born), and Iâll get what I need when I need them. Thanks, Andrew Start with an engine overhaul. That will tell you whether you want to go any farther. You can do it yourself for about $500, or you can have it done for about $1.700-$2,000. If you are handy. you will want to tackle the job yourself. Buy a good Brantley or similar manual. Buy a bug-me-video on engine overhauling. The bug-me-video will be a godsend, teaching you many things that you don't know. How about flywheel end-play, what you hafta have to squeeze the rings together, etc. Where is the carburetor, the distributor, what is the firing order, how do you get the engine apart? The easy way is to have someone else do the work. In such a case, expect to pay about three to five times as much as you can afford to get a job done. The engine, for example. $500, if you do the work versus $1700 -$2,000 to have it done. If you know how to overhaul an engine, you can do so in about one day. If you don't know how, you might want have it done. That's about what things cost today. Expect to pay about $2,000 for an engine overhaul, $3,000 for a modest paint job, and $3,000 for the rest of the stuff that crops up. That's about $8,000 to get started. You can multiply that by 3.0 to get a show winner. No matter what VW you are talking about, around $25,000 is a good starting point for a complete restoration, about $8,000 -$10,000 if you do it yourself. Those are the honest to goodness numbers for a late model bug. Costs can go up, up, and away tor earlier model restorations. If the size of those numbers scare you, you'd better not get started in the restoration business. In recent years, I have forgot about "restoration" and bought cars already restored, or so I thought at the time. That way one can get a quality job for about $10-$15,000. I recently bought a 1964 bug for about $4,500. I immedialely bought $1,000 worth of parts, and now I'm looking at around $10,000 to get a show winner. Don Garies dgaries808@aol.com ------------------------------------------------ To unsubscribe, E-mail to: <type3-off@vwtype3.org> For more help, see http://vwtype3.org/list/ </x-charset>