Restoration sequence question

[bull]

Since my Charger money is coming in a crawl speed lately I'm having to prioritize the sequence of events a little more closely. My thinking until recently was to save enough money to paint the car and rebuild the engine at about the same time but now I'm wondering if I should focus on the interior and get it finished first so I don't have a fresh engine and paint sitting around for God knows how long. I'm going to call my body guy and ask him how far I should go on the interior so it won't effect the paint job but I'm wondering if there's kind of an unwritten rule as to what gets done first or is it an individual thing based on disposible income.

As it site right now the basic body work is done (still needs block sanded and paint) and I'm currently working on some surface rust/pits in the floor, inner roof, trunk and engine bay.

[MichaelRW]

I would not do the interior before painting. The interior is typically one of the last things done. If I may suggest:

1. Start buying all the parts you will need as money allows.
2. Once you have all the parts, rebuild the engine.
3. Finish the bodywork & then paint.
4. Start putting it back together.

I know this is oversimplified but this is the order a Mopar restoration shop I am acquainted with does it.

[PocketThunder]

Do interior last.  Follow this order:

1) Get it painted
2) Install drivetrain
3) bolt the seats back in and drive it till interior money comes along 

Or better yet:
1) paint engine bay in your garage
2) install drivetrain
3) bolt the seats back in and drive it till interior money comes along    Life is too short to have your Charger sitting in the garage for years and years.

[bull]

I've been kicking that idea of painting the engine bay around for some time. I was considering doing a single stage enamel there so i could get the engine back in before I paint the outside but I'm a little worried about getting a match, even though it's going to be black.

[Drop Top]

If you buy the same brand of paint Black will allways be black. Just remember single stage will fade from too much sunlight much faster then Base/Clear. So after you get the engine compartment done keep the hood closed and out of the sunlight as much as possable. Black is the easest to match and touch up. I hope the best for you and have fun as your doing the car.

[41husk]

Wait on the interior, do that last.

[hemi-hampton]

Do the Interior last. Black is the easiest to match but Black is not always black. Usually no problems but not always with black. LEON.

[BigBlockSam]

no man . here's my deal. . i do the motor and trans. you can paint the engine compartment .drop the new motor and trans in . make sure it stops , do the brakes and have fun drive the car ENJOY! thats the deal. it ain't who's got the prettiest car  . it's who has the most fun. 

[Big Lebowski]

The body guys will trash your new interior w/ bondo dust. In fact, only give the paint shop the bare minimum, or stuff dissapears. the greatest feeling is installing a new dash pad in a freshly painted resto.
      Check this out, I know a guy who restored 3 '69 Chargers at a resto shop, and the parts got mixed up, the last Charger got the crappy, cracked, warped, and otherwise 3rd choice parts. Don't give a shop access to rare Charger parts that are not paint related. Trust me, I've dealt w/ too many paint shops.

[Hemidoug]

Look, everyone has a different way to slice it so I'll tell you mine. First thing is you have to identify how far you want to take your project. I believe (and practice) that the body work comes first! It's the biggest nut to crack and everything is downhill after that. It is also the messiest job, with no control on the proliferation of dust and overspray. Once the body is done next up is the suspension, rear, brakes, and lines. Once the suspension is done you can assemble the driveline and install it. You don't want to rebuild the engine and trans and have it sitting around waiting to be installed. NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO they WILL get grit, grime, and RUST inside. The worst thing you can do to a fresh motor is fire it up with that crap on the inside. You want to fire the motor CLEAN. Once the motor is in and fired, then you finish the car with the installation of the interior and various other "stuff" like emblems, trim, ect.
I want to say this again...DON'T make the mistake of letting a fresh motor sit around waiting for the bodywork to be completed. You will be making a big mistake........

[PocketThunder]

Look, everyone has a different way to slice it so I'll tell you mine. First thing is you have to identify how far you want to take your project. I believe (and practice) that the body work comes first! It's the biggest nut to crack and everything is downhill after that. It is also the messiest job, with no control on the proliferation of dust and overspray. Once the body is done next up is the suspension, rear, brakes, and lines. Once the suspension is done you can assemble the driveline and install it. You don't want to rebuild the engine and trans and have it sitting around waiting to be installed. NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO they WILL get grit, grim, and RUST inside. The worst thing you can do to a fresh motor is fire it up with that carp on the inside. You want to fire the motor CLEAN. Once the motor is in and fired, then you finish the car with the installation of the interior and various other "stuff" like emblems, trim, ect.
I want to say this again...DON'T make the mistake of letting a fresh motor sit around waiting for the bodywork to be completed. You will be making a big mistake........

  When i was 19 i drug home a 55 Chevy and the first thing i did was build up a nice 350 for it, painted the frame, and got the tranny bolted up.  Then the engine sat while i worked on the body that year, and the year after, and the year after that.  5 years later i finally got the car road worthy and the engine had sat for a long time.  That was a rookie mistake, now i'm older and wiser.  (well, older anyways if you ask my spouse)

[BigBlockSam]

i don't like having piles of parts around for 5 yrs . I'm usually driving my project within 2 months after i started it . alot of those cars that are disassembled down to nothing never make it back together again. i don't build show cars . i build # 1 drivers . Rene

[AutoRust]

As a shop that works on a lot of classic cars, I have learned several things
One thing I have found is that NO ONE wants a fresh painted car in there shop for work. If you spend a lot on paint, then start doing more major work, you are asking for trouble. Its easy to chip soft paint, putting a motor in, leaning over fenders, seats getting moved in and out, shoving rugs in place, climbing into back seats with upholstery and plastic, it can be a disaster

Think of it like a home

Foundation first.
Do the bottom first, get your rust issues resolved.
Do your drivetrain. Make it start and stop, make it drivable.
Now do your major body work, leave it in primer.
Get your interior done, everything else finished off.
Have it sprayed with your color
Install your trim and finish the exterior and any small stuff that was overlooked.

Them take it out and play with it.
And dont forget to have fun while your doing it all.
We build these cars for entertainment.

Dave