General process for restoration 914 Options

[Stuckon914]

I just started restoring my mostly rusty 914/4, 73. I’m looking for parts and a donor car but want to start. Plan is complete tear down and then repair, replace and reassemble. Likely years beginning to end. I took all weather stripping off, carpet and seats out to clean and inspect but need advice in organizing.

For the more experienced what works? Do you start in one area, take everything off, clean, record, label and store away based on section of car? All left door bits go in ‘left door’ tote with each part labeled.
Do you track parts working condition or is that more assembly section.

I’ve worked on cars before but never to this level of tear down.
I’ve searched and got more lost.

[bbrock]

+1 on ziplocks and sharpie labels. Also, take lots of reference pics and tag or organize them so you can easily find them later. No matter how many you take, you will wish you had more.

Where my system failed was in the tote department. I used pretty big totes and tried to separate parts roughly by the categories in the parts catalog (e.g. body, interior, engine, etc.) but adjusted to what would fit in totes. For example, I wound up consolidating front/rear trunk and engine bay. Like I said, the system failed and I have wasted a lot of time trying to figure out which f-ing tote/category I put a part in. Smaller totes and more precise categories might have helped but I'm kind of an organizational disaster no matter what.

I did not clean and catalog condition up front. Instead, I would pull a tote out and work on it in the evenings while watching TV, evaluating, cleaning, ordering replacement parts and reassembling. That worked well for me as it kept me making progress even when I didn't have time to complete major tasks. It is paying huge dividends now that I'm in reassembly mode because most of the parts are already refurbished and it just a matter of bolting them in.

[Stuckon914]

+1 on ziplocks and sharpie labels. Also, take lots of reference pics and tag or organize them so you can easily find them later. No matter how many you take, you will wish you had more.

Where my system failed was in the tote department. I used pretty big totes and tried to separate parts roughly by the categories in the parts catalog (e.g. body, interior, engine, etc.) but adjusted to what would fit in totes. For example, I wound up consolidating front/rear trunk and engine bay. Like I said, the system failed and I have wasted a lot of time trying to figure out which f-ing tote/category I put a part in. Smaller totes and more precise categories might have helped but I'm kind of an organizational disaster no matter what.

I did not clean and catalog condition up front. Instead, I would pull a tote out and work on it in the evenings while watching TV, evaluating, cleaning, ordering replacement parts and reassembling. That worked well for me as it kept me making progress even when I didn't have time to complete major tasks. It is paying huge dividends now that I'm in reassembly mode because most of the parts are already refurbished and it just a matter of bolting them in.

Heading back to home depot to return my 8 huge Rubbermaid totes. I’ll pick up more of the smaller Tupperware style and box of ziplock bags.
I’ll print out parts diagrams and circle what I have and leave in the bag.
Sharpies seem to always wipe off for me. Maybe they have some that are less prone to that.
I should find my old Nikon digital camera in the garage.

Any other suggestions, specially for smaller bits like screws.

[Superhawk996]

Sharpies seem to always wipe off for me. Maybe they have some that are less prone to that.

Ziplock freezer bags have a nice white area on them designed for labeling. No issues with wiping off or smearing which I have sometimes seen on just the clear bags.