rebuild opinions

[StangNut86]

I'm debating over whether or not i should completely disassemble my car before starting to modify it. if i do, i can be much more through with the undercoating, wiring, fuel/coolant/brake lines, and paint, whereas if i do things one at a time i can get the car on the road sooner. i figure that complete disassembly will make my car much more meticulous and prevent a number of problems from cropping up. however, considering my limited budget i may have to wait much longer before streeting the car. what do you all think? thanks in advance

andy

[GTStang]

A lot of people tear a car completely impart with the best of intentions and it nevers finds itself completely back together. That is my warning, best of luck though.

[fordforlife]

mu uncle and I tore his bronce apart (76 i think, cant remember) down to the frame, and took our time, as we got money, 2 years later, we finished. This was working on it when were off and had money. We also had a garage to keep it in so we didnt have to move it or worry about storing it somewhere. So if u have patience and time, go for it.

[john67]

I've witnessed the "tear it apart and then forgotten" scenario many times. I would suggest writing down everything you want to do to the car and how much money you think the new parts will cost. Then estimate how long it will take to do each item on the list, then double or even triple that estimate to arrive a more realistic number. Can you live without your car that long? Don't forget that you probably won't be able to work on it all the time and that one missed weekend of working on it can quicky lead to another and then another. I would do it in stages but try to do the things that won't have to taken apart again to do something else. That isn't always possible but its the most efficient.

[StangNut86]

i find this interesting... the overwhelming response in the verbal section say to do one thing at a time, where as the poll score is 3-0 in favor of completely apart =)

anyway, at this point, the motor is more or less officially dead, so the plan is to flatbed the car across town to my garage. once there, i'll pull the driveline, suspension, dashboard, and wiring harness, and start working on the underbody + engine compartment.

so here's a question: should i go with a spray-on undercoat or brushes and some POR? i'm gonna gut the engine compartment and paint it the same color as the rest of the body. i'll also undercoat all of the new suspension components to both hide them and protect them.