There are several ways for you to take the first steps toward the restoration of your old truck. One of these steps is to start thinking about the restoration even before you buy the truck you want. Do you want to keep the truck original or replace the engine, transmission, suspension, brakes and so on? Make up your mind before buying the truck and you’ll have a better idea of where to start the restoration.

But if you already own an old truck and want to restore it you may also have to do a lot of thinking before you do any work. Do you want to do the restoration yourself? If so your first step is to decide where you’re going to do it. You can’t restore an old truck in your driveway and much less in the parking lot of your building. You will need a shop, a warehouse or a large garage.

Does your truck ride well or does it have problems? A truck that rides well can be restored in steps or all at once. It may need new tires, new shock absorbers, new springs, new glasses, a new paint job and so on. Start by doing whatever you feel is more urgent. Or if you can afford it, go ahead and do everything that has to be done, starting by the hardest part of the project. If your truck needs a rebuilt engine plus shock absorbers, tires and a new paint job, do the engine first. Paint it while the engine is out and install the new ties and shock absorbers after the truck has been painted and the engine rebuilt and installed.

If your truck has problems you may consider a restoration that will start by fixing the problems first. Decide what would be more urgent and start there. The drivetrain may seem like the most difficult part of a restoration project but it is not. Bodywork is more complicated because it may require you to remove everything, from the engine to the transmission, front and rear end and everything else. You may have to remove the body and the cargo bed from the frame, in what is called a “frame off” restoration. This expression means that the truck is going to go through a “complete” or “total” restoration. painted

Only you can decide where to start. It may all depend on the balance of your savings account. If you can afford, do everything at once. If you can’t, do whatever you can afford to do, starting by what you feel is most urgent.

Now let’s suppose you don’t want to do the work yourself or you don’t have a place where you can restore your truck. In this case you’ll have to look for somebody else you can hire to do the job. If you know somebody who can do it, great. If not, take your time and search carefully. I’m sure you don’t want to give our truck to somebody who don’t know what to do.

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