What parts to keep?

[lachie]

Hi guys.

 

Just after a bit of advice on what parts I should keep off my former project car now parts car. The problem i have is that my shed isn't big enough for 2 cars and with plans to get my 2ND 260( when I find something suitable) I have to make room. I've been slowly pull mine apart but i cannot keep it all. So I'm curious to know if there is a general rule of what to keep at all cost?

A few bits have gone ( bonnet, driver front 1/4, hatch, front bumper, maybe the gearbox(pending), clock, washer bottle) and I don't know if I'll regret it later,

but there are a few other things like, passenger front 1/4, passenger door, seats( front and rear), dash(cracked of course) and the engine. Now these are space consuming but should I keep them or are they easy enough to get?

 

I would be gratefull of any advice. Thank heaps.

Lachie

[Whittie]

Hi Lachie,

 

I'm rebuilding my car now and if I hadn't had of already replaced most things that needed replacing before starting the restoration it would be my advice to keep everything at least until you strip back your 'new' car and work out what is missing. Otherwise you'll probably find that you HAD a good part that you require and now have to go to the trouble of finding a new one, probably at a higher cost than you sold it at originally!.

 

You never know what will/won't fit, what is/isn't working on the new car, what is easy or not to find at the time, what you'll break pulling it out of the car, etc.. Clocks, for instance, are notoriously hard to find a working copy of. Fuel tanks are another doozy.

 

Most of the stuff on your list of sold items is stuff that I would hang on to at all cost until after you have bought the new car. Bit late now, but I would recommend not selling any more. There is no cost in keeping what you have, you certainly currently have space whilst only owning one car and trying to find stuff later can be expensive and time consuming. For instance, A body panel might look in good condition, but with these old cars you never know how much bog is really hiding underneath until you start pulling it apart.

 

At the moment you have plenty of space, so keep all of it. When you get the new car, pick the best parts that you need for the restoration and then think about selling the rest. Better off not needing it then selling it and needing it later.

 

If you possibly can't fit the car in the shed, what about leaving the stripped car under a car cover outside? That way it's not taking up shed space. For parts, do you have a spare bedroom? A lot of interior parts for instance don't smell and aren't dirty so they can be easily stored inside without upsetting the Mrs too much. I have put everything I have pulled off the car in stackable plastic boxes and they fit in the spare room too. Wiring looms, nuts, bolts, washers (all bagged and labelled) take up almost no space when packed this way.

 

The best time to sell something is AFTER you know you don't need it. You never know, you might find it's cheaper to buy a slighty worse off project car where the damaged/rusted bits are all bits that you have good copies of at home. Perhaps you find a project that has shagged mechanicals but a great body, well, you have all the mechanicals, you know what condition they are in, so this would be perfect cause you'd be able to pick up the project cheap and use what you have.

 

Just my $0.02

 

 

 

Also, another thing to keep in mind would be the direction you are taking the car. For instance, if your next car is definitely going to be a 2-seater, then you don't need the rear seats. If you want to put racing seats in the car, you don't need the front seats (hang on to the rails for mounting the seats tho). If you wan't to put a new gearbox in, you won't need that gearbox. If you're going to put bigger/wider wheels on and don't need a spare set, you don't need the wheels. If you're going to put in a fuel cell, you certainly won't need a spare fuel tank. If you want to put an L28 in the car and don't want to hang on to an L26 'just in case' then sell the motor. What sort of exhaust/carbies/cam etc do you have and what do you want to end up with, sell what you won't use. Then other little things like, what if your new project has a sunroof and you need a donor roof, well you may have a good roof, etc. There are plenty of things you may not know you need until after you get your next car.

 

However, if you want to build an original car, you'd be better off keeping everything until you have assesed what you do and don't need.

 

Really you need to work out what you want the project to be when it's finished AND the total bill of parts you are starting with on BOTH cars before you can work out if you need stuff or not.

[Ben]

+1

Well said.

If in doubt - keep it.

If not in doubt - keep it anyway! (if you can)

[lachie]

Thanks heaps for the advice guys.

Think its time to get a bigger garden shed(2nd bedroom idea didn't go down well with the Mrs), but i still won't have anywhere for the chasis :-\

 

Cheers Lachlan