Technical What order do you build a car?

I'm SLOWLY getting back into working on and buying parts for my 37 chevy after a 4 year break. I have worked on plenty of cars but never redone a whole car, so where do you start first? On this project I started with a complete non running car, I stripped the car of its drivetrain, gas tank, plumbing, wiring and interior and cleaned it up. I was getting ready to move so I loosely installed a ford 9 inch instead of packing it to move. I recently got the rear centered in the car and now I need to decide what to do next. The car still needs the front brakes converted to disc and 5 lug, need to build a cross steer setup, needs a motor and trans, needs a brake system, needs wiring, needs plumbing and everything else. I know some things need something else, like steering box and linkage placement need to be made to clear the motor.

So short question made long... What order makes the build go smoothest?

 

Make it sit on 4 tires, make it steer, make it stop, make it run.

Add various amounts of mocking it up, taking it back apart, and putting it back together as needed

 

Yep, start at the bottom, work to the top. Frame stuff first, suspension, brakes, steering. Then engine and drive line. Then body outside, then inside. Not to say you can’t do two things at one time, frame stuff and body stuff. My train of thought usually runs so I concentrate on one area at a time, but keep an eye out for parts I will need later.

 

Might be a good idea to collect parts for a while, then start mocking it up after you have everything there...so you don't have to redo the steering to fit the motor in, etc. Have the radiator, and exhaust, and stuff too, because things like that can cause real headaches if you didn't leave enough room, because you didn't have the parts when you were mocking up something else.

 

Do the frame first. Everything attaches to the frame.
Make it sit on 4 tires, make it run, make it steer, make it stop, in that order.
then paint, upholstery is last

 

Find the parts that you think will work, find out that they don't work, and proceed to plan B.

 

Yep....what they said - mechanics first.....then put a seat on the frame and dive it around the neighbor hood - maybe they will donate money for the (a) body (work)...........

 

If you own a I-phone, take pictures of EVERYTHING before you take it apart. Because you'll go, where did this go? What are those holes for? Document the car first. Then blow it apart and start with the frame, go from there as was stated get the chassis on it's wheels and proceed to get the chassis ready for a body then do as the factory did and add parts. LOL. It ain't easy. but you can do it if you do it in sections. We have faith in you.

 

remember, there are a ton parts in the junkyard to check out.Say if this exhaust manifold doesn't work, most engines have different style manifolds that may fit better

 

Engine, transmission, exhaust

 

I have this problem that always involves getting stuck at the stage of wherever the progress was at the time I made it driveable.
I fix it up, and fix it up, and it gets better and better.
The problem comes up when I get it running and street driveable a little too early.
It often gets STUCK at whatever stage I was at when I started driving it.
In the past it was not uncommon for me to have one door panel looking great, and one door panel ... well, someday...
When I start driving it a lot, somehow it gets registered in my mental priority list as "good for now" and then gets stuck there...
Watch out for that trap

WHY BE ORDINARY ?

 

First fully evaluate the vehicle, next make a clear plan of what you want as a finished product. Only then you can plan the order of work. As previously said it will generally go from bottom to top, but parts acquisition may need to be an early step if you want to use particularly difficult to find parts. On my cabriolet build, I was saved by getting some of my parts years before I needed them as sources dried up for some critical parts during the time of my build.

Even with a good logical plan, be ready to back track when the unanticipated problem shows up once you open new areas of work. I took more than a year for shakedown before tearing it all apart for paint and upholstery. That lead to occasional backtracking, but led to a much better finished product.

 

You need a plan first on what you want the car to be, look like and what running gear to use. Otherwise you might get into the situation whereby you keep redoing things to suit whatever parts you obtain for use. Then like squirrel said, get the parts ready first so you don't have to stop to find them.

 

I blow the car apart and start by sandblasting the frame and all the suspension components I intend to use, followed by painting and assembly, engine & transmission and then run the brakes and hoses.

Then I start on the body, sandblasting will revile and areas that need attention, then repair the areas, cutting out any rusty metal and replace , body work & paint or primer if that's what you want, wiring and glass,etc.

Rome wasn't built in a day and hot rods are not ether, sit there and make a list of what you want to do, then arrange the task how you want to approach each one, it's certainly not rocket science and it's not that hard, but you need to make up your mind to dedicate how much time and how many days a week you want to invest in your project.

I built my '32 pickup in less that 3 months , start to finish but I already knew what I wanted it to look like, I was purchasing the parts and they were on hand when I needed them, and having the extra cash on hand also speeds up the process, the Ranch Wagon on the other hand took me 7 years but the car was rough and like you I let it sit for a couple of years. HRP

 

For me- Save money, plan, collect parts, break it down into small projects, collect parts, start from the bottom and work my way up.

 

I stripped my car down to the body and frame, then did the rust repair first. Then I built a new frame and set it on there. Steer/stop/run seems like a pretty good baseline. I wasn't planning on driving it unfinished, so some things didn't really matter much what order it went in, as it all had to get done. Whatever aspect I felt like working on that night got attention.

 

In my younger days I gathered all the steel and parts. Then I wiped down my frame/build table. I measured, bent, and welded up the frame. Added all the relevant mounts. Built my front/rear axle, brackets, radius rods, steering, drag links, and tierods Dropped in motor/tranny, cut and balanced drive shaft. Slapped 23/27 body on (new fiberglass), mounted pedals, and seats. Took care of wiring, made it run move and stop. Then I'd call my buddy with his forklift to come lift it off the table. A quick test drive. Done. I kept 'em simple. Took one week, start to finish.

 

Step one: Save up lots of money.
Step two: Spend said money.
Step three: build car.
If you have money left over you've done something wrong!

 

I read something on the "Tire Age" thread that made a lot of sense : "Tires and wheels last".

 

OK, I am the king of flow charts. My wife and I are planners by nature.
On my desk at work I have 5 different folders. One for each of the projects I am building. I label them and then any research I do on them goes into that folder, so I don't have to rely on my memory, which isn't that good these days.
We have about 5 big white boards all over the house. When we start a project we list everything out in a logical disassembly order and then in the reverse.

We try and source parts far enough in advance that we have them for the weekends and/or vacation. Don't buy too far in advance or you may need to warranty something that is brand new but ends up being 5 years old by the time you actually get around to driving it.

We start with disassembly, bagging and tagging as we go. Blast the frame and get it all cleaned up before we ever touch the chassis. Then I try and start at the front and work my way towards the back, paying attention to all the details. I do this until I get a rolling chassis, then I start thinking about the cab or main body. I usually build a simple dolly to hold the body and work it on that for ease of moving it around. Then paint the bottom and marry the body and frame back together. The rest is piece painted and then reassembled. I usually have the engine on a stand and it has it's own whiteboard.

You get the picture. I have to do it this way or my ADHD takes over.

 

Although you might want to get wheels and old roller tires early, so you can make sure everything fits. Just don't buy new tires first, if they're going to sit for years.

Sent from my Trimline

 

As stated, you gotta have a plan! Lots of good, on point advice in this thread. However, you pretty much answered your own question! Basically, follow the order you posted in your original post. Just remember....when building a hot rod, there are a million small tasks that must be completed. Focus and complete each task one at a time. Pat yourself on the back for each task completed then move on to the next one. After completing a certain number of tasks, you'll have finished a section then move on to the next section and complete all its tasks.
If you tend to look at the project and say 'I've got a million things to do, I'll never finish this', you'll become overwhelmed, loose interest and wind up selling the project. Don't be one of those guys!

 

I would get it rolling, because you never know when you might have to roll it out in a hurry (like a fire), then engine/trans, radiator, steering, brakes, plumb and wire.

 

I first get it tagged in my name so I'm sure whose car I'm spending money on.

 

I always thought If I had the coin It would be great to start there. But when you do have the money you can't find the time.

 

That's what I've been trying to do, but if a good deal comes up on a part out of order it's going on

Sent from my moto z4 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

As far as the wheels and tires last idea, you need to mock it up with the size of tires that you want to end up with so that it sits right. This best before date on tires messes things up, unfortunately.

 

I do it like they to on television. It only takes a few days that way.

 

Make sure any large house projects are done first! And don't buy or start any more cars until this one is finished!!!!

 

Some things need to be done before some other stuff can be done. I make out a list of things that need to be done, then put them in the order they need to be done in.
Each thing on the list has a process that also needs to be followed, so I will write that down as well. That way I can have the parts I'm going to need on hand when I need them. Every time I finish something on the list, it gets scratched off, and if I think of something I've forgotten, I will add it to the list.
Sometimes there are parts you know your going to need, so if they come up for sale, I will get them as long as they are not time restricted items.
For instance, I'm building a 49 Dodge truck. My truck came without glass, and the truck has corner windows that are pretty hard to find, and I know I'm going to need them at some point. A few months ago I ran across a company that is making a run of the corner windows and they are selling them at the price used corner windows are bringing. As soon as I had the money, I ordered those two corner windows. It going to be a while before I need them, but I knew I was going to need them, so I bought them while the new glass was available. When I get to the point that I need them, they may, or may not be available, but I have a pair. Gene