I wanted to get some feedback on what everyone has done or thinks would be the best route to go with my car. I get something in my head, like redoing the interior before anything else and then after a week i’ll think that i should do the engine first or then i should just get it looking good first. When i had my previous firebirds i didnt really have money to put into anything. Now im in a spot where i can slowly do some stuff a little at a time.

Where have you guys started your builds or think the best order is? Even as general as; 1)engine 2)interior 3)paint , would be helpful.

Thanks!

 

Quick list of what my car needs.

FORMULA
Exterior
-paint
-remove body molding
-wheels
-paint and attach spoiler
-adjust trunk/door/headlight and hood panels
-weather stripping
Interior
-recover original seats
-replace seat belt holders
-fix trunk cover shade
Mechanical
-350 swap/mild build
-new struts/shocks/bushings
-disc brake conversion
-change rear gears

 

1. Fix what's broken that can get you in trouble by the law - seatbelts, taillights, headlights, etc.
2. Fix what's broke or not right - engine not running smooth, window motor sometimes works, etc.
3. Probably would do paint last.

 

I've historically always tried to prioritize the mechanical side of things. Followed by the interior stuff, because a smelly, dirty interior, makes a car hard to enjoy. I've always saved the exterior for last, beyond basic clean up and removing tacky add-ons like mudflaps and stickers (seriously, what's the deal with beater thirdgens and tacky window stickers?). The down side of the way I've approached projects is that I've always ended up avoiding body work, to the point that when the mechanical and interior stuff is worked out, I end up with a comfortable, driving car, dead reliable, that looks like hell.

So now I'm doing things a bit backwards... Latest project I immediately tore down to the bare shell and started fixing rust and dents. The jury is still out on whether it'll work out in the end. The beauty of doing a thirdgen body first, is that is how GM did them. Everything on a thirdgen is painted body color. You can't really re-paint everything on a thirdgen without completely disassembling everything. The #1 downside, is that a thirdgen, completely disassembled takes up a ton of space. I've got parts of my project car everywhere. The thought has crossed my mind more than once to simply get a decent drivetrain in it, and make it drive so I can enjoy it while I'm working on it, but I don't think I can reach the goal in mind without tackling the body work first.

Long winded reply, but hopefully it makes sense.

TL,DR.

1) Body & Paint
2) Drivetrain & Mechanical
3) Interior & insignificant BS

 

I always thought paint and looks last but i feel like i’d never get to it. I should mention too thatvthe car itself is in relativley good shape. Major problem with the interior is it has somewhat work 4th gen seats and i want to recover the originals to put in. Mechanically it runs good, minus slight leaks in the engine and the rear diff, and a stalling problem that just started. And the exterior has a few tiny rust spots and fading as well as the wrap around spoiler sitting unpainted in the garage.

 

I think if the car looks mint you’ll make sure that it gets what it deserves everywhere else.. As long as it’s running good and enjoyable to drive..

If it’s running and driving good with no big problems I’d restore the exterior first, then make the car fun to drive, and then do interior last..

Temporary seat covers can get you by if your seats are ripped up and you won’t drive around a mint looking car with a cracked dash pad.. but I say chip away at the Interior last..

 

Never thought of it like that but makes sense! I was just worried about having a nice exterior and messing it up doing other mexhanical work, but i guess that doesnt happen if you’re careful!

 

Im approaching mine as messy things first. cleaning the grease/oil/ whatever from under the hood, fixing the leaking rear diff and body work, I want my garage as clean as possible before I start working on my new interior. don't want to go through all the work or replacing the interior then accidently getting oil, bondo, fiberglass, paint, whatever on it.

 

I worried about that too, but show cars need mechanical work too.. you should be able to do work without damaging the car.. people get their $100k exotic cars worked on without damage.. it’s not even more time consuming, just mindfulness.. I saw a $400k perfectly restored 67 Shelby GT500.. guy said it was appraised at $400k and cost him about $150k to do the restoration.. every inch of the car looked showroom brand new and interior even smelled like a new car.. said he had the engine sent out to be rebuilt to brand new stock and that went in last.. Paint was amazing and army green original color.. entire car was rebuilt to brand new.. insane..

Guy did an awesome burnout taking off from the show which was surprising..

 

1. Get stock power train running great. A few minor leaks, IMHO, are not worthy of attention if your longer term plan is to replace stuff.
2. Squeaks, rattles, interior.
3. Paint
4. Engine build

A few thoughts:

If you have a 305 TPI, the 350 isn't going to be a night and day difference. The 350 is only somewhat faster and swapping and building a motor before anything else invests you far more heavily in the car. You won't get all of that time and effort back if you decide to bail out.

Your car sounds like it is already in very nice condition with not a lot of work in each phase. If you can get to step 3 relatively quickly, then in this case, I would recommend swapping steps 3 and 4.

On my car I am doing 1-4 above. My car needed a lot of work in both steps. Right now I am in the wrap up phase of 2. Step 1 in my case was a lot more work than I was anticipating but I am past it. My plan for step 4 may involve a TPI stroker or an LS.