Best Build Order/Sequence?

[iellis]

Hey everyone, new forum member looking for some opinions and experience. I have a 66 mustang coupe that I am about to start a restomod build on. This isn't going to be a show car, just a slightly modded and vintage looking driver. With that said, i am planning to do quite a bit to the car and I am having trouble deciding the best order to do things in. I assume interior is always last, so I guess my real question is paint and body first, or after the drivetrain/suspension/steering/etc.?

My initial thought was paint and body first, that way the car can be completely stripped, engine bay is easy to work on and paint, no worry about all the dust, etc. in the engine, get all the wiring and sound/heat stuff in there right away, etc. But lately I seem to see a lot of people doing the mechanical first... the biggest advantage I see there is having all the suspension and brakes in place makes it easier to figure out tire/wheel size and get the flares dialed in properly...

I would love some advice on this one. Below is a list of the plans, which I am sure will grow. (p.s. I know I am spending more than the car is worth, so you can save that comment)

• flared fenders (mild)
• new hood (stock or gt350)
• All new or eliminated exterior trim, etc.
• Coilover front suspension
• rebuilt rear suspension (3 or 4 link in the future)
• New spindles to allow larger front tires
• 6 piston disc brakes in the front
• decently built 302 and with T-5 5speed (already built and ready to go in)
• 17 or possibly 18 in wheel on all 4 corners (hoping for 295+ tires)
• thorough sound and heat shielding
• new wiring
• Complete new interior, mostly stock style but with 1 piece headliner and racing buckets
• rebuilt steering box and roller idler arm, possible EPAS
• More I am sure I am not thinking about now...

Thanks for any useful input!

[Zspoiler]

You can go with the suspension and body mods first,That way if you screw up it wont hurt the paint ,Then just collect parts as you can afford it. I built mine this way.Others may do it other ways.

[79 Camaro]

First step is a real review of the car. If it has rust and the torque boxes need repair I would strip it down and then do all the rust repair first. Put it up on a lift and poke around with a screw driver to find the weak spots. If everything is good underneath I would as said above do all the mods before paint and drive to see how you like it. No worries on messing up the new paint.

[SD67]

Here is the order that I decided on: tear down, mock up of suspension, chassis, motor and any metal work (which in your case since mods are light and hopefully rust is minimal, will be short), disassemble, blast/sanding, more metal repair if necessary, body work, paint, final assembly, mechanical shakedown/tuning, interior, glass. There will probably be lots more punch list items that surface but, as others have suggested, I didn't want to have to work around a painted car, because I can't repair it!

[KacyZ28]

Depends on the car you buy, if its a driver do the little mods that wont take it down for a long time, if its basket case project proceed as planned.

[WallaceMFG]

Get it running/ driving and spend some time just driving the car in unfinished form. It is really helpful to have that shakedown time without having to worry about hurting the paint job. No doubt you will find things that need changed, modified, moved, etc... Nice to do those jobs before things are shiny and expensive to fix.

We got our Chevelle driving with no body work, and minimal interior in place, but we had all the drivetrain & chassis work done. Drove it for nearly 1,500 miles, auto crossed it a few times and found some issues we needed to address. Then, once we were confident in the car we took it apart as far as we needed to paint it. Then reassembly was easier because things were already fitted on the car before.

As others have stated it depends on the condition of the car, but if it is possible I would do what I stated above.

[Barrrf]

Ive been pro-tinkering my car since I got it back in 2013. Buy parts, do mods, drive, rinse and repeat every spring. Eventually, Im going to get to the point where I need to strip it down and do the big job, the body work. Currently its not the cost, I just dont have the space.