Restoration

-What's Involved-

Restoration of a military vehicle can go from the very simple, like just a new paint job, to the extreme of a full off-frame restoration. It depends on several factors that you must take into consideration. Some of those factors include:

Skill level - Have you ever worked on a vehicle before? If you have, do you think you can work on an old military vehicle? There can be huge differences between working on the family car and a military vehicle. There are also things that not everyone can do. Can you rebuilt the engine if needed?

Condition of vehicle - Is the vehicle you have (or are looking at purchasing) a good candidate for restoration? A vehicle that may look good on the outside maybe rotted through underneath. If it has an engine that hasn't run in a while; can you get it started again? Just throwing a coat of paint on it is rarely good enough. If the vehicle is to be driven on the road, will it have to pass a safety check first? What will they find if you do, and will be be repairable? A cracked frame for instance, could not only mean hundreds of dollars to fix, but could also pose a huge safety risk.

Availability of parts - Its all nice and dandy if you want to restore the vehicle, but if you need body/electrical/engine/etc parts to get it up and working, are they available? It could be something as small as a screw, but if you can't get a new one, what will you do?

Time - Do you have the time to do it? You might think it will be an easy job and only take a few weekends to do, but that is rarely the case. Unless you are retired, or have a large amount of time on your hands, most restorations can take years to finish. This is also the case when you start taking things apart and find other hidden problems underneath. You start by just taking a fender off to take out the dents, but then find the fender mounts rotted out, then find the frame cracked in 1-2 places, then you find the electrical needs replacing........etc, etc....

Help - You will usually need another set of hands at least a few times during your project. It can be from helping to lift a heavy part off the vehicle, or just holding a bracket in place while you put some new screws in.

Safety - Working on any vehicle can be dangerous. Do you have the proper equipment to work on it? Something as simple as a pair of steel toed boots could save you from serious injuries. It is also recommended to have someone with you as much as possible. You never know what could happen and being alone and trapped under a vehicle could cost you your life.

Information/References - Do you have any books on how to restore the vehicle or how it should look like when finished? One picture found on the internet is nice and all, but what happens if you have problems with the engine or electrical components? Without the right information, your project could get stalled indefinitely until you are able to somehow fix it. Which could be never if you can't figure it out without an original manual or other piece of information.

Space - Do you have enough room to work on the vehicle? You might be able to fit it into the garage, but you must understand that when you start taking things apart you need a space at least twice the size of the vehicle to work on it properly? You also need space for your tools, spare parts, etc.

Tools - Do you have all the tools you need to do it? If you only have that toolbox with a hammer and a few screwdrivers that you use around the house, you need to realize that it can take a garage full of tools to do some projects. To start off, you may need air tools, which also need a compressor to run ($$$$). You may also need tools for cutting off rusted parts, or cutting out new parts, like an acetylene torch, or even a plasma cutter. Some can be special tools. Or maybe you will have to make tools as original tools are no longer made or cannot be found.

Money - It can cost from $40 for just a simple can of paint to tens of thousands of dollars (if not more) to restore a vehicle. Can you afford to pay for the restoration? While the deal maybe good for buying the truck/jeep/etc, how much money will it really take to restore it to the level that you want? Even something as small as a jeep could easily run you into the thousands to restore.

Level of restoration - Are you just restoring it to make it clean and a vehicle to run around town or to the corner store with, or are you going to restore it to the point that it looks like it just rolled off the factory floor? While those two examples are the two extremes, you must take into consideration up to what point do you want to restore it to? If you just want something neat to drive around in, then maybe it all needs is a tune up, a little bit of body work and a new paint job. But if you want to bring it to shows, maybe enter into competitions, or have it on display somewhere, maybe you would need to perform a full off-frame restoration so that it really looks nice.

Dedication - Are you willing to go through it all till the end, or is it just something you currently think would be interesting to do. A vehicle half restored in a million parts can be worth less than having left it all together unrestored. While most restorations can last years, with long periods of idle time due to work/family/other concerns, you have to ask yourself, "is this something I really want to do?" Sometimes it could just be better to take the money you were going to spend restoring it to pay for someone else to do the work for you, or just not spend the money on a vehicle at all. Maybe use it on new windows for the house instead.

Please don't let all these point discourage you from taking on a project. They are just things to consider before taking the decision to work on a military vehicle. It can be a very rewarding experience to work on and restore a military vehicle, but there are just too many instances where people get ahead of themselves in the process. There are hundreds of examples of this where you find people trying to sell a vehicle because they got ahead of themselves, before they really thought it out. And after finding out how much work and money it takes, they are now trying to get rid of it and sometimes loose a good amount of money in the end. All points to consider.