Breaking a car down for media blasting TIPS for a rookie

[Cudalbs]

Great thread, I just didn't know what I didn't know.......and now I know  this makes me want to go out and start another project. AND BE MORE ORGANIZED 

[Chryco Psycho]

I sort everything into totes , keep the hardware in the same tote as the parts while the body is being worked on blasted & paint start working through each tote cleaning & painting & rebuilding all of the sub components replacing parts as nessisary . Send out parts to be powder coated a lot of the suspension , K frame diff housing etc can be coated , you can always paint over to give it the correct finish after if the coating is not the right color .
reassembly cna be done the same way K frame diff etc can all be assembled as a unit & installed in one piece
I should write an assy guide .....

[RUNCHARGER]

I think the best method is to pull the assembly, restore the assembly and store it. Your memory is fresh as to any details so you can replicate the coatings, marking and order of the assembly. Also by the time you have the car torn down you are left with everything restored and waiting for the painted shell so no burnout.
Failed projects are always the ones where someone jumped in and tore apart the car and then lost interest, were overwhelmed or faced the reality that they didn't have the slightest idea how to proceed.

[nsmall]

@soundcontrol

You mention you put bolts into the car when sending it off to be blasted.  Will blasting the car ruin threads?  Do you do this to keep media out of the holes with threads?  Just curious why you mentioned that?

Thanks

[soundcontrol]

@soundcontrol

You mention you put bolts into the car when sending it off to be blasted.  Will blasting the car ruin threads?  Do you do this to keep media out of the holes with threads?  Just curious why you mentioned that?

Thanks

Yes, I put the bolts in to protect the threads from the blasting. Got the tip from another guy, I'm not sure if its really needed, but it sounded like a good thing to do.

[Aar1064]

One of the worst feelings is knowing you're wasting time looking for hardware, parts, etc. About 3/4 of the way through my tear down I started to get more organized and one of the ways I did it was to create a spreadsheet to help keep up with everything. This was mostly for hardware because it is the easiest to lose. I'd bag it, number it, then input into spreadsheet that told me what the hardware was for, how many there were, plating finish, any notes, and box number. I like the idea of the bins mentioned above instead of the boxes. Much less storage space needed.

When these items were shipped to plater I'd throw in the spreadsheet and bag the bags in groups of 10 bags. 1-10, 11-20, ETC. He returned the bags of hardware the same way. When it came time to re-assemble, I'd reference the spreadsheet.

I have the spreadsheet if you want to take a look and use it. I can send it marked up with plating finishes, blank, or both ways. Your call. I can send it via email.

[usraptor]

One of the worst feelings is knowing you're wasting time looking for hardware, parts, etc. About 3/4 of the way through my tear down I started to get more organized and one of the ways I did it was to create a spreadsheet to help keep up with everything. This was mostly for hardware because it is the easiest to lose. I'd bag it, number it, then input into spreadsheet that told me what the hardware was for, how many there were, plating finish, any notes, and box number. I like the idea of the bins mentioned above instead of the boxes. Much less storage space needed.

When these items were shipped to plater I'd throw in the spreadsheet and bag the bags in groups of 10 bags. 1-10, 11-20, ETC. He returned the bags of hardware the same way. When it came time to re-assemble, I'd reference the spreadsheet.

I have the spreadsheet if you want to take a look and use it. I can send it marked up with plating finishes, blank, or both ways. Your call. I can send it via email.

  I wish I had done this.  All the above are excellent ideas.  As somebody who disassembled his car himself and has been slowly re-assembling for the past 8 years, I can assure you that you will pick up a loose part/ bolt/ screw/etc and wonder where the heck this goes??     Or worse yet, "know" you have a certain part but can't find it for the life of you.     Even though I thought I did a good job of taking pictures and bagging and tagging, I should have taken twice as many pictures as I did and often the angle of the pic I took doesn't show what I need to see.  Don't make the mistake of thinking "I don't need a picture of that, I'll remember where it goes," because unless you have a photographic memory, you won't.  I also, learned that plastic tots are better than boxes.  You can write on the sides and tops with a marker to tell you what is inside so you don't have to dig through every box looking for a "lost" part.  When you find that lone bolt, nut, washer, small part that didn't get bagged/tagged with the other similar items, don't put it on the workbench and think I'll remember where it goes, because belief me, you won't.  Stop and go find the bag/tag that it goes with and do it right then, not later.  Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

[soundcontrol]

Yep,so true about organizing.  I'm on year 3 and it's already happening, 2 cars in pieces, and I can't find my hood latch bracket! Gotta be somewhere, I got parts in my garage, my house, the shed, my dads garage, the attic, my dads basements, my dads spare bedroom, my sisters shed, my recording studio....

[anlauto]

I love when I take over somebody else's project and they've "marked everything"... I have seats in my shop marked "driver's side" as well as glass etc.....I tend to think it's really only going to fit one way when you go to put it together....

[RUNCHARGER]

Yes: I've lived that nightmare the last two cars in a row.

[cataclysm80]

I tend to think it's really only going to fit one way when you go to put it together....

With most parts, that's correct, they only fit one way. (with a little common sense)
When I disassembled my Challenger, I checked every part that I removed to see if it could be installed wrong, and most parts only go on one way. 
Most of the parts that could be installed wrong only have 2 mounting holes, or are some kind of a clip that just pops into a hole.
I made sure to photo everything that could be installed wrong.

[fc7cuda]

Always good to have plenty of pic during disassembly too, especially on those parts that can be installed wrong/backwards like front disc brake shields. 

[RUNCHARGER]

When you're a stickler for the correct fasteners and finish on the fasteners that is what takes the time with a purchased basket case. Yes the parts are the easy part. I find anyway. This is what I started with twice, that and bags of parts and fasteners. It was no problem finding the homes for the parts but hours and hours measuring witness marks, looking for original cars to compare and mocking up the fasteners then blasting them and sending them out for coating or painting.

[cataclysm80]

The E body fastener guide is a big help, but yeah, more pictures is always better.

[anlauto]

You can also post a picture of any E Body fastener on this web site and we'll tell you where it goes.