Complete bare metal restoration. Or not?, Opinions? Pitfalls? Options

[stevegm]

We are getting ready to have the little bit of rust in my '71 914-4 fixed. There isn't much rust. The car is in pretty good shape, and was complete when we bought it. Here is the build thread - http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=242895

Just curious on your opinions/experiences:

Should we do a complete, bare metal restoration. (i.e., remove every nut, bolt, wiring, etc.). We would do a complete media blast of the entire chassis, which is attractive.

or

Not remove the suspension, dash, wiring, and work around it. In other words, leave the hard to remove stuff in. With the latter, we would leave a lot of the original paint in the nooks, crannies, etc. But, it would be a lot easier.

I know that many say that you should not do a complete tear down restoration, because most people don't finish them. But, I have the time, and want to do it right. The car isn't one I am planning to sell. It is a keeper.

Opinions?
What are the biggest reasons you see people not finish their complete tear down restorations?
How long did you restoration take? What were the biggest slow downs?

[stevegm]

Thank you. All of your comments have been very helpful. It has confirmed what I already suspected. It will take much longer than I thought to do the full restoration.

But, for me, building the car is the most fun part. And, I have other cars I can drive until it is done. Perhaps most importantly, I know that if I don't do the full-blown restoration, as soon as I am finished I will wish I would have. So, it isn't much of a choice. I am planning to do the full shabang.

I am getting the little bit of rust fixed in November. I don't think there will be many surprises there (famous last words, right?). Someone else will do most of the body work and paint. I expect to have the car painted by February 1st. My initial goal was to be done in time for Octeenerfest, which is next September. So, that gives me about 7 months for reassembly, after paint. I know it is unrealistic. But, I work best under pressure.

It seems that reassembly is the part of the project that everyone underestimates (in addition to rust surprises). My main concern is sourcing nuts, bolts, plating things, and stuff like that. The car was complete when I began. So, I have everything, and it is being indexed and organized as I disassemble the car. But, I know I will want new nuts and bolts, plated stuff, etc. Are there sources for this stuff?

Any advice and experiences related to reassembly would be great. I'd love to hear about the things that caused issues in your restorations, so I can try to avoid as many as possible. Maybe I will start another thread specifically for - Full Restoration Major Hurdles.

UPDATE: I started a thread for this type of stuff - http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=244149