Souped Up: 5 Car Restoration Projects for Beginners to Try

If you want to learn how to restore an old classic car, you are in the right place!

When an old car is filled with dents and scratches and can’t even start, fixing it on your own seems like an impossible task. That is why you should dedicate yourself to researching and learning everything you need to create the classic car of your dreams.

You also must be willing to invest money and time into restoring an old classic car. Although you will have to make many sacrifices to restore a car, the satisfaction that you will receive once you are complete will be worth it.

To help you restore your first car, we are providing you a comprehensive list of car restoration projects for beginners that you will need to start learning how to do.

Get ready to have the coolest car in town!

#1 Car Restoration Projects: Learn to Start an Old Vehicle

One of the easy car projects we want to go over with you is learning how to start a vehicle. One of the first things you need to do to start an old car is lubricate the engine. You will have to lubricate the engine to get it used to have oil running through it again. To lubricate the engine, take out the spark plugs in the car and pour a small amount of oil into the car’s cylinders.

Once you have lubricated the engine, you should replace the car’s fluids and fillers. This is necessary because old cars usually have old gas in them that mixes with oxygen and oxidizes. This causes deposits in the gas that clogs fuel lines, filters, injectors, and the carburetor.

Gas with ethanol in it will even draw moisture out of the air and contaminate the gas. Thus, you should pump fresh gas into an old car to help make its engine start.

You should also replace the antifreeze in an old car. This is because old antifreeze breaks down and forms an acid that hurts engines. People often recommend using water instead of coolant when first starting an old engine.

To get an engine of an old car started, you will also have to inspect the car’s electrical system. Batteries that are unused for a long time lose their energy and have a broken down chemical reaction ability. Thus, you will have to install a new engine if the old engine has been sitting there for a long time. Batteries that are not too old may generate a charge with added distilled water.

To start an engine, you should also check the ignition coil and coil wire. A good ignition coil’s resistance reading matches its recommendation. It is important to pay attention to car wiring because bad wiring can stop an engine from starting.

To further ensure that your engine starts, you should check the car for vacuum leaks. If you have numerous vacuum leaks or one big vacuum leak, your engine will not start.

Old cars tend to have vacuum leaks because the hoses of the cars deteriorate and develop cracks. To see if you have a vacuum leak, use a smoke generator. Smoke generators use smoke in the engine to see where vacuum leaks may lie.

To start an old engine, you should also check the engine’s timing belts. Timing belts, or chains, keep the distributor, crankshaft, camshaft, and pistons in sync. Timing belts that break keep the engine of a car from starting.

To get to the belt of an old car, take off multiple hoses, move electrical wiring, and remove other engine parts. Once at the belt, align the crankshaft and camshaft markings and put the top piston at top dead center. Messing up your alignments and placements will cause car metals to crash into one another and the engine to not work.

2. Working on Window Glass

First things first, figure out what type of glass is still in the old vehicle. When buying new glass, try to purchase ones that say safety glass on them. Also, make sure to purchase tools and equipment that can remove old adhesive and properly repair old channels. You may also have to cut your auto glass into different shapes and sizes to fit the windows in your old car.

Prior to inputting the new glass windows, make sure to clean and clear the car window’s channels and grooves. Because they are difficult to deal with, feel free to ask a professional for help to change the windshield glass part of your old car.

3. Removing Car Dents

Joining a car club is useful for restoring classic cars for beginners. There they will help teach you easy car projects. One of these easy car projects removing car dents.

To remove car dents, use car dent removing kits and tools. One classic dent removing tool looks like a metal bridge. This tool has legs that straddle dents.

There is also a hole in the middle of the tool, along with different sized pulling attachments. People put the pulling attachment in the middle of a dent where it acts as a suction cup. The bridge of the tool then goes over the pulling attachment.

Once every part of the bridge tool is in place, you use the tool to pop out the car dent.

4. Painting Your Car

One of the easy car projects we want to ensure you know how to do is paint your car. To paint a car, you will first need a place with good ventilation, lighting, electricity, and room. Once you have established your place of work, buy paint, painting equipment, sanding tools and supplies, and any safety equipment.

Prior to painting an old car, make sure that you repaired any car dents and removed any rust. Once you’ve removed the car’s dents and rust, remove any chrome or plastic trim on the car and later replace it. Then, sand the old car paint down to its metal.

Once sanded down, put automotive primer on the car. After putting the automotive primer on the car, put finish paint on it. Once finished putting primer and finish paint on the outside of the car, let the car dry for 24 hours to a week if necessary.

Once the car is dry, sand the finish coat of paint until it is smooth. Finally, for aesthetics, place a layer of clear coat on the car and/or put a power polisher on the car to help it shine.

 5. Car Interior Restoration

Working on cars for beginners usually includes car interior restoration. Car interior restoration is exactly what it sounds like it is. It is when you fix the inside of the car.

This includes seats, door panels, flooring and carpet, headliners, dashboards, and more. If you need a place to put the car and all its interior throughout the time that you are working on it, use a storage unit.

Storage facilities are also great places to find a car to restore. If you live in Texas, there are great self storage units near Livingston, TX. To learn the specifics for how to repair specific parts of a car’s interior, join a car club, watch YouTube videos on car interior restoration, read books on car interior restoration, take a shop class, etc.

Car Restoration Projects for The Advanced

If you are not a beginner and are looking for more advanced car restoration projects, purchase a car as old as possible. The older the car, the more wear and tear it has. To make car restoration projects even more advanced for you, never get a car professional’s help.

To learn more about car restoration, check out the Auto Repair Manual section on our website.