to paint or add components first

[sixty-niner]

Hello all,
My car is nearing completion of the body work phase and I wanted opinions about what to do next.  I realize both have their pros and cons but Id love to hear from personal experiences which is better to do, paint the car and add components or all components and then paint last.  I have planned a Hotchkis tvs and dr diff's brake kits,  the engine is done, wheels, and so is the transmission. The suspension is so bad that I would need to address the brake issue and leaf springs asap.  it needs new interior and wiring.  Should I take my time and drive it and work out all of the issues before paint or paint it and have it sit while I add things to it.  It barely fits in my garage.  like barely.  not a lot of space to work there to be honest.
thanks in advance.

[ht4spd307]

paint first 

[XH29N0G]

I don't know the right answer to this question, but I know that after I had my car painted, I started noticing every single little blemish.  I worry every time I do work on it and more if there is something that I need to have someone else do.  So if it were me, I would probably hold off on the paint until I had the things I could not do completed.

My garage is also very small which also limits what I can do. If there were more room, I would probably be more positive on the paint first option because it might mean driving it sooner.    [I put carpet on the walls, set up guides along the passenger side to push the tires away from the door/wall,  a tire stop and a barrier with carpet for the front bumper, dangling strings as guides when I bring it in, and a mirror to see along the side.] 

[myk]

Finish the body work and paint.  IMO paint and body is not something to wait on, especially if you've just cured the car of body cancer.  All of the trick parts in the world won't do you any good if the body isn't up to par.  BTW when you can, get that Hotchkis TVS; talk about a vehicle transformation...

[sixty-niner]

dying to get the hotchkis tvs.     Im in San Diego, if you are around the area I would love to check out your TVS system.  We have all seen cars on the street in primer and lots of guys use their cars so they are constantly in a stage of primer. I just thought it may be wise to get everything fitted and then paint but it seems the consensus is dont wait on paint. 

[Homerr]

Paint first.  The primer and and any plastic in it will just soak up moisture and have to be redone if you don't cocoon it in paint.

[Back N Black]

I stripped my car down and sent it to the paint shop, it frees up space in you garage to rebuild all item before its back from paint.
This is what i did while car was at paint:

1. restore heater box
2. restore dash complete
3. restore seats
4. rebuild rear end
5. rebuild transmission
6. rebuild motor
7. restore k-member and add all new components
6. restore wiper motor
7. restore grill
8. many small pieces that require strip down and repaint
9. clean all chrome/stainless trim
10. order new parts, rubber seals and bushing, exhaust system
The list goes on and it is very time consuming. With concurrent activity the build will go allot faster.

[alfaitalia]

......must have been in the paint shop one hell of a long time top get that lot done whilst it was there!

[Back N Black]

......must have been in the paint shop one hell of a long time top get that lot done whilst it was there!

2 years!!!

[HeavyFuel]

Depends.

How far disassembled is the car now?  If it's not completely apart, I could see the point of assembling now, working out the issues, then a total tear down, paint and reassemble.

But if it's pretty close to totally apart now, I'm with B 'n B......get sub-assemblies done while the body's away and then put it together once.


Sounds like you might run out of time, though, if the body work is just about complete, and you have a tight garage situation.   

[RallyeMike]

Can you live with overspray on all your newly installed stuff? Are you ok with areas remaining unpainted like where the K-member, shackles, upper a-arm bolts, or other things connect to surfaces that will be painted?

The best thing to do is pick it clean, paint, and assemble, but that doesn't necessarily fit the plan for every build.

[Dans 68]

Timely topic. I'm getting my new purchase up to the body and paint shop in the next month or so, and plan on getting it back a few months later (I told the shop I'm not in that big a hurry, but it is what it is). I will be putting the painted but unassembled car in my garage until the parts going back on are rebuilt. It will take a while, that's for sure.

I stripped my car down and sent it to the paint shop, it frees up space in you garage to rebuild all item before its back from paint.
This is what i did while car was at paint:

1. restore heater box
2. restore dash complete
3. restore seats
4. rebuild rear end
5. rebuild transmission
6. rebuild motor
7. restore k-member and add all new components
8. restore wiper motor
9. restore grill
10. many small pieces that require strip down and repaint
11. clean all chrome/stainless trim
12. order new parts, rubber seals and bushing, exhaust system
The list goes on and it is very time consuming. With concurrent activity the build will go allot faster.

At first glance that is a lot of work to do! And what I have to do myself.     but      I figure a month for each task. Best case in my case.

Dan

[b5blue]

  I did many repairs to body and had it shot white to get back on running gear overhauls. Unless a true restoration I found it much better to work on and have the car usable in my case. No worry about scratches and dings as the whole car will get redone better later. (Again mine is a daily driver kinda car.)
  Grant me that my end product is no where near many of the really nice cars here but by keeping the car together and running keeps my scope of work much more simple. I'm not storing huge piles of parts to keep track of and get to use and test changes right away. 

[Daytona R/T SE]

Build a bigger garage.