Bel Air Restoration Project

i just purchased a 62 sedan i6 similar. the body on mine is in great condition the rubberized coat needs done engine i wanna swap. i am wondering the same thing because idk if i wanna keep it the same color or change it. if i were u i would do engine and elecrtical first. if it doesnt run its usless so i would do those first and worry about cosmetics later.

Thanks. That is my thinking also, but I'm not even 100% sure where to start with that. I guess pulling the enging out, and tearing it down will be the best place to start off. Thanks again.

try to get it running 1st , dump the gas tank & get a new one , a car sitting that long is gonna have corrosion in the gas tank & fuel lines. You don't want that crap getting into the carb. If you plan on keeping that engine do a compression test to make sure the engine is good.

you first need to decide what kind of restoration you want to do frame off or just fix what you have and drive it. If you want to do a frame off start by tearing down the front end and gutting the interior being careful to save as much as possible and label everything so you know where it goes if you do this you can more easily get to the motor do you want to keep the motor and tranny original or do you want to upgrade are a couple decisions you need to have figured out before you start also. I researched a ton of material before i turned one bolt and made a plan as to what i wanted to do to the car and a list of what needs repaired or replaced will help out allot to keep you organized hope this helps MC

just my opinion of course. if you make it run, you can at least enjoy it a little while doing the rest. if you spend years getting it to look better first, you may lose interest with the lack of progress. No matter how bad it looks, taking it for a ride now & then keeps you wanting to do more to it. the last thing you want is to spend thousands of dollars & years dolling it up only to lose interest & sell it before completion, at least you will of enjoyed what time you had driving it till then. I just purchased a 56 Nomad the guy spent 35 years collecting parts, lost his eye sight & sold it before ever taking it for a ride, a shame he never got to enjoy it "ever".