One of the challenges with larger, long-range projects is keeping them rolling (literally) so they don’t get in the way. Body shops and restoration facilities get tons of mileage out of traditional wheel dollies. They’re great for maintaining mobility on complete, non-running vehicles, allowing them to be easily skated around
When I got serious about restoring my old Range Rover, I decided to track the time I spent doing so. My stint as a restoration shop manager opened my eyes to how many hours go into a quality restoration. And while I’d resurrected several cars in the past, none of
In the course of restoring an older vehicle, you may need to make a frame repair or two. That was the case with Project Sunny, our Range Rover restoration. We knew even before we took the body off the frame that there were some areas with rust damage. After blasting
When old-timers say, “They don’t make ‘em like they used to,” they might as well be talking about taillight housings. In the days before injection-molded plastic assemblies with highly reflective vacuum-metalized reflectors, most taillight and turn signal housings were metal. And over time, that metal would eventually oxidize and get
During a restoration or a custom build, you may need to replicate a part from scratch by making a pattern of the original. In the case of Project Sunny, the Range Rover we’re restoring, we came across some brackets that couldn’t be saved. One was a rear fender mounting bracket
The biggest hurdle in any “frame-off” restoration isn’t removing the rust or replacing panels. It’s figuring out how to get full access to the body. For DIY restorers and professionals alike, choosing the right body mounting setup can dictate the entire rest of the project. While a rotisserie rig might
I recently crossed a milestone on my current restoration project. I have every last wire free from the body of the vehicle. I’d pulled a number of smaller wiring harnesses from Project Sunny, my 1993 Range Rover, but one harness had eluded me. Packed up under the dashboard was the
I’m not a country music fan, but I did grow up in the ‘80s. In fact, I was 10 when Kenny Rogers starred in the TV movie The Gambler. As a result, I still have etched in my brain the title song’s hooky chorus, which played in heavy rotation for
The restoration process is about more than just taking a vehicle apart and putting it back together. It’s about total reconditioning, and quality restoration shops often spend more time doing work that’s never seen. Occasionally the professionals share their secrets with us, and here is one such example. It’s no
