{"id":86278,"date":"2022-06-23T19:25:59","date_gmt":"2022-06-24T02:25:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/?p=86278"},"modified":"2022-06-23T19:25:59","modified_gmt":"2022-06-24T02:25:59","slug":"how-to-prep-for-your-project-car-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/how-to-prep-for-your-project-car-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Prep For Your Project Car Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"jetpack-slideshow-noscript robots-nocontent\">This slideshow requires JavaScript.<\/p><div id=\"gallery-86278-1-slideshow\" class=\"jetpack-slideshow-window jetpack-slideshow jetpack-slideshow-black\" data-trans=\"fade\" data-autostart=\"1\" data-gallery=\"[{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.racingjunk.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/06\\\/1-min-e1656037466561.jpg&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:&quot;86280&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;How to Prep For Your Project Car Part 1&quot;,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;How to Prep For Your Project Car Part 1&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;Click Here to Begin Slideshow\\n\\nDon\\u2019t you wish you could go down to the used car lot and pick up the exact car you want, with the right color along with the right trim?\\u00a0 It needs no paintwork, it has few miles on the clock and underneath, and the thing is spotless.\\u00a0 Working on it is, well, perfect.\\u00a0 After all, it\\u2019s a perfect world.\\u00a0 Right?\\u00a0 For most of us that\\u2019s just Fantasyland.\\u00a0 In the real world, your project car most certainly won\\u2019t be exactly what the doctor ordered. You can bet you bottom dollar, when you\\u2019re starting from scratch, it will have to go to either a chassis shop or a body shop.\\u00a0 And before it goes there, it\\u2019s going to need work (in some cases, extensive work).\\u00a0\\n\\nWhen the time comes to restore a car, or to construct something like a quality drag race car, the likelihood of stripping and cleaning the shell is pretty high.\\u00a0 If the car in question isn\\u2019t stripped and cleaned, you can rest assure the chassis shop or the body shop punch card (with your name on it) will be busy.\\u00a0 You see, most professional car builders (chassis or body) demand a clean shell.\\u00a0 If it\\u0026#8217;s not clean, they\\u0026#8217;ll perform the dirty work and pass the expenses on to you-know-who. In some cases, there might be 100-200 hours required to strip and clean a car. Factor in a shop rate of $80 to $100+ per hour and you can see costs can prove to be epic.\\n\\nThere are a number of options when it comes to prepping your project car.\\u00a0 It\\u2019s not a big stretch to call a tow truck and drag your project shell to the local paint stripper and have them peel off the exterior finish, but in many of those cases, a total disassembly of the vehicle isn\\u0026#8217;t really required.\\u00a0 You might not want to remove the glass, doors and other hardware.\\u00a0\\u00a0 Each method of removing the finish from an automobile has its drawbacks (stripping media cleanup, chemicals lurking in body crevices and so on).\\u00a0 Finally, some cars really don\\u0026#8217;t need the exterior sheetmetal \\u0026#8220;laundered\\u0026#8221; at all \\u0026#8212; just the undercarriage needs attention.\\n\\nNo matter what direction you take, how do you get a real grip on the cleanup?\\u00a0 It\\u2019s pretty simple actually.\\u00a0 You just have to get down and dirty.\\u00a0 Before you begin sanitizing, remove anything flammable.\\u00a0 Most chassis shops mandate the complete fuel system be removed, along with the exhaust system, brake lines and the interior (good body shops appreciate that too).\\u00a0 Remove the vehicle electrical system, including the battery.\\u00a0 In addition, some items like gas charged shock absorbers should be taken out (they can explode if heated excessively), and if you\\u0026#8217;re working with a late model vehicle, disarm or remove the air bags.\\u00a0 A word of caution here:\\u00a0 Use extreme care in removing the air bag system.\\u00a0 Buy a factory service manual and follow it to the letter.\\u00a0 Sudden air bag discharges tend to be both violent and hot. You don\\u2019t want to be in the neighborhood if one goes off accidentally.\\n\\nThere\\u2019s more too:\\u00a0 Some cleaners give off ugly fumes and worse yet, the residue from cleaning can turn the floor of your shop into a disgusting cesspool of a mess. Because of this, the best place to clean a chassis is outdoors.\\u00a0 At this point, it\\u0026#8217;s also a good idea to slide a 4X8\\u0026#8242; sheet of plywood under the car.\\u00a0 Some of the cleaners used can raise havoc with concrete or asphalt driveways.\\u00a0 If you\\u0026#8217;re working on gravel or good old-fashioned Mother Earth, then the plywood sheet makes life a whole bunch easier while you\\u0026#8217;re on your back.\\u00a0 Support the car solidly.\\u00a0 We usually include wheel ramps on the rear and two axle stands under the nose along with an extra set of \\u0026#8220;just in case\\u0026#8221; axle stands at the front.\\u00a0 We also keep a floor jack and a healthy fire extinguisher within arm\\u0026#8217;s reach.\\u00a0 On the other hand, if you\\u2019re fortunate enough to have a rotisserie, then the drudgery is significantly simplified.\\n\\nYou have the car supported. It\\u2019s stripped clean of parts, and you\\u2019re ready to prep and clean the chassis.\\u00a0 Now what?\\u00a0 The tools of the cleanup trade are basic and for the most part, a bit crude:\\u00a0 For a clean car, you\\u0026#8217;ll need a propane torch along with a couple of bottles of propane (and no, a heat gun won\\u0026#8217;t get the undercoating hot enough to peel away \\u2013 we\\u2019ve tried it).\\u00a0 Two spray cans of Easy-Off oven cleaner and three or four spray cans of heavy-duty brake cleaner will usually get the job done.\\u00a0 Collect a half dozen heavy duty Scotchbrite\\u00ae scouring pads as well as a stack of heavy shop rags.\\u00a0 You\\u0026#8217;ll need a sharp putty scraper (likely your most important tool), a medium size flat blade screwdriver and finally, a small gasket scraper Spend the money on a good set of heavy rubber gloves.\\u00a0 Don\\u0026#8217;t use disposable gloves; they usually disintegrate while working under the car.\\u00a0 If your car doubled as a toxic dump in the past, then double or triple the amount of cleaners required.\\n\\nIn our next issue, we\\u2019ll dig deeper into the cleanup. As a rule of thumb, start with the easier jobs and progress to the bigger messes.\\u00a0 If you keep plunking away at it, you\\u2019ll end up with a pretty slick car.\\u00a0 Watch for part two of the series.\\n\\nClick Here to Begin Slideshow&quot;,&quot;itemprop&quot;:&quot;image&quot;},{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.racingjunk.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/06\\\/2-min.jpg&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:&quot;86281&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;How to Prep For Your Project Car Part 1&quot;,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;Here\\u2019s a \\u0026#8220;before\\u0026#8221; look at the engine compartment in our Nova.  No chassis builder or pro painter wants to see a car with all of this stuff installed.  There\\u0026#8217;s too much hardware to work around, and in many cases, you have to remove virtually everything before any fabrication can begin.&quot;,&quot;itemprop&quot;:&quot;image&quot;},{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.racingjunk.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/06\\\/3-min.jpg&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:&quot;86282&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;How to Prep For Your Project Car Part 1&quot;,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;This is the \\u0026#8220;after\\u0026#8221; shot.  Everything is gone, including the subframe.  Independently, the Nova subframe was chemically stripped and then powder coated.&quot;,&quot;itemprop&quot;:&quot;image&quot;},{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.racingjunk.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/06\\\/4-min.jpg&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:&quot;86283&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;How to Prep For Your Project Car Part 1&quot;,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;:  This is the laundry list of hardware required for the clean up: You\\u2019ll need a can or two of oven cleaner (we use Easy-Off).  You\\u0026#8217;ll also need at least three or four spray cans of a good heavy duty degreaser (brake cleaner, Purple Stuff, etc), a stack of shop rags, a putty scraper, a medium size flat blade screw driver as well as a small gasket scraper.  Buy a propane torch (if you don\\u0026#8217;t have one) and a couple of bottles of propane.  A half-dozen Scotchbrite\\u00ae pads will also come in handy \\u2013 the heavy duty pads can usually be found in the household paint section of your local hardware store. And don\\u2019t forget about a good set of heavy rubber gloves with long gauntlets. Your hands will appreciate it.&quot;,&quot;itemprop&quot;:&quot;image&quot;},{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.racingjunk.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/06\\\/5-min.jpg&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:&quot;86279&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;How to Prep For Your Project Car Part 1&quot;,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;This is how far down we stripped the interior on the Nova.  Eventually, a part of the dash will be loosely reinstalled along with the front seat.  Why?  Simple.  These components, along with the headliner, front kick panels, rear quarter panels and door panels dictate where a roll cage goes exactly. Those bits will be reinstalled (loosely) prior to shipping it off to the chassis shop.&quot;,&quot;itemprop&quot;:&quot;image&quot;},{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.racingjunk.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/06\\\/5B-min.jpg&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:&quot;86284&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;How to Prep For Your Project Car Part 1&quot;,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;itemprop&quot;:&quot;image&quot;}]\" itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageGallery\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>When the time comes to restore a car or to construct something like a quality drag race car, the likelihood of stripping and cleaning the shell is pretty high.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":86280,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5007,3697,17,11,3470,4879],"tags":[4008,281,41,4764,321],"class_list":["post-86278","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-body","category-galleries","category-guest-column","category-how-tos","category-news","category-slideshow","tag-guest-column","tag-how-to","tag-news","tag-tech","tag-wayne-scraba"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/1-min-e1656037466561.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p42YSK-mrA","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86278","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86278"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86278\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86285,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86278\/revisions\/86285"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/86280"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86278"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86278"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86278"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}