hello,
i just go my 1970 chevelle and i'm in love!!! i don't know where to start on her yet. i'm doing an on the frame resto so i'm thinking to start with gutting the interior and tagging everything. check for cracks and do any welding. undercoat the exterior (bottom). then dynamate the cabin. i want yank the motor then paint the compartment to match and then the body. tell me what you think. oh i will be doing disc brakes and undercarrage work first. tell me what you think and if i need to go a different route. also does anyone know of a different or less expensive sound dampen material i can use. i plan on doing the entire car.

Steven,
I would start with the brakes and running gear first to make sure the car is safe. That way if you wanted to drive it some while working on other things you could. While the motor is out you can do the undercoating and engine compartment. The interior would be one of the last things I would do, once you have the other things completed.
Also welcome to the site.
Ray

The world is full of torn apart project cars in garage's ..
Slow down ...do some checking as Shadow g ..says and do a run through of mechanical issues ..
Then start writing down things that must be fixed ..and price them out ..that will give you some realistic goals ...

thanks i will def that your advice.

yep start with front suspension brakes, ball joints and bushings...Trust me do this first , even if its not running...

Welcome Steven, good advice above...since you're "new to the chevelle scene" also suggest a Chevelle book/assembly manual, save you some headaches!

yep start with front suspension brakes, ball joints and bushings...Trust me do this first , even if its not running...

Agreed. You will be shocked how much money you will put into it. Safety first then cosmetics unless you want to do a frame off.

Oh My......

Get a catalog from Ground-up www.ss396.com (http://www.ss396.com) and starting adding everything up to the nut and bolt on what you want to replace. Once you have that figured out.... then double it and you'll have your final figure.

A complete body on restoration can cost up tp $30K if your doing a Concourse correct type resto. (Not counting Body Work)

Sounds like you may be going for the Modded type of car. Realizing that Custom or Rodded type modified cars do not comand the resale of the bone stock cars so if your modifying, you need to be carefull to control your costs so you don't get too upside down in it.

Yes, i know it's not all about money, but the last thing you want is the car torn down in pieces and then realizing you bit off more than you can chew and out of Money with no hope in recouping even pennies on the Dollar as a project car needing finished.

Unless you have an unlimited flow of cash, I like the idea of doing it in sections.

I'd start with the frame and suspension as recommended as that's the foundation of every nice car. You want to also make sure you have no unsirmountable rust issues in the chassis or underbody that you discover after putting a lot of Money into the car.

Chassis and suspension is the dirtiest, nastiest most Challenging portion of the restoration and if you can make it through that, then the rest will be easy.

Hopefully you either have no paint or bodywork needed, or can do that yourself as farming out paint and body can get into the Thousands, especially with hidden rust repair that's needed.

Good Luck with her, it's definately a "make you or Break you" proposition.