It’s no surprise that the UK classic car market is projected to surpass £1billion by 2024. After all, classic cars are some of the best-looking cars around. That’s what motivates many people to restore them back to their original condition.
Yet, although it’s an attractive project, it isn’t something that you should rush into. To help you avoid the most common pitfalls, we’ve written this article with 4 critical things for you to consider before restoring a classic car.
Do you have the skillset?
Inevitably, you’ll need to learn some new skills in the process of restoring a classic car. You may even need to outsource some tasks to professionals. It’s unlikely for any one person to have all of the skills and equipment needed.
For instance, you may have to send off parts to be fitted by professionals, who will use micrometres like those sold by RS Components to get precise measurements. This will save you from struggling for hours to fit the parts yourself.
Do you have the time?
When people think about a restoration project, they picture tinkering under the bonnet, oily rag slung over shoulder and music blasting from the radio. But the reality is that a lot of your time will be spent researching online and doing other less glamorous jobs.
Unless you’re willing and able to sacrifice your evenings and weekends for the foreseeable future, this might not be right for you.
Can you afford it?
Restoring a classic car isn’t cheap. You’ll feel that this is especially true if you underestimate the size of the job before you start. It’s critical that you don’t buy a car just to find out you can’t afford to restore it.
Instead, you should create a budget before anything else, and purchase a vehicle that matches it. This doesn’t include the initial price only, but also the model and manufacturer also since this will affect the availability of parts and expertise.
What do you plan to do with your restored car?
Before you begin your restoration project, you should begin with the end in mind.
Do you want to sell it? Then you’ll need to consider how cost-effective the restoration will be. Do you want to keep it? In that case, make sure that you have the space for it and the means to keep it in working condition.
Whatever you want to do post-project, ensure that you’ll be able to achieve it before you spend a single penny.
Restoring a classic car will always be a challenge, but it doesn’t have to be a hassle. Consider our points above to make your project run as smoothly as possible! Sometimes you need to buy som AMC parts for finishing your classic car restoration project.