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You know how taking up ceramics or yoga can be therapeutic after a long, hard days’ work? This can be applied to a slew of hobbies and activities. And some folks do that with more long-term projects, like car restorations.

Just think about it: you’re alone, for hours on end, pulling apart a car that was never supposed to touch asphalt ever again only to put it back together with new and refurbished parts. And then you drive it off into the horizon… hopefully, not into the nearest light pole because you accidentally connected the brake pedal to the accelerator.

#1 Before & After

Image credits: knuckleheadtj

#2 A Friend’s Aunt Gifted Me Her Deceased Father’s Car. “If You Think You Can Get It Running, You Can Have It”

Image credits: Whoiscw

#3 I Found A Rusty Morgunovka (SeAZ S-3A From 1960) In My Neighbor’s Garage, Installed A CVT And Made A “Candy” Out Of It ⁠

Image credits: andrew1

There might not be solid numbers showing just how popular car restorations are. But, the fact that everyone and their mother in the car industry keeps coming back to the topic—that alone is testament to how alive it still is today. Well, that and dedicated communities on Reddit.

While you might still see the classics on the road, today’s trends focus on more modern car models. It’s not so much the 1930s any more as it is predominantly the ‘70s, ‘80s, and the ‘90s.

#4 Nysa 522, Photos Shows The Restoration Of A Polish Car ⁠

Image credits: Prostoilogin

#5 A Little Before And After. Paid $1000 For A ’72 Ghia That Had Been Sitting In Yard 5 Years Under A Tree. High-Speed Wool Pad And Polishing/Cutting Compound

Image credits: AlabamaPodunk70

#6 This 1970 Chevelle Went Through A Full Restoration Process To Get Its Glory Back

Image credits: Dori_Servis

Gone (ish) is also the idea of backyard restorations. According to Rob Customs, an increasing number of people tend to turn to custom body shops and the like for help restoring whatever gem they’ve stumbled upon.

With that said, and considering the rich automotive history and the prevalence of the industry, folks now have greater opportunities and more options to take on car restorations. And it’s not just parts, but also expert opinion has proven to be invaluable with big projects that folks hope to drive one day.

#7 My Brother Finished His Bird After A Few Years. Pretty Awesome

Image credits: BrownZac

#8 1958 MGA Before And After

Image credits: flashdrivemotors

#9 Before, During, And After The 6-Year Restoration And Customization Of My 1967 Beetle

Image credits: RodMartinez

But, unlike most mainstream hobbies, like table top games or crafts, car restoration demands dedication. And seemingly loads of it.

Dean’s Autoglass has a comprehensive list of things to consider before taking on something as big as this. And as is with most projects, this one starts off with a plan.

#10 1969 Karmann Ghia Before And After – Restored And Converted To Electric

Image credits: flashdrivemotors

#11 Before And After From A Few Years Ago. I Work In My Family’s Glass, Interior, Sunroof, And Convertible Workshop

We also rent a building across the street that houses a body shop and an auto repair shop. Our customer bought the car like this because he thought he could fix it for cheap. It fell off a car carrier. After we finished it over a year later. My brother had to make the back seat from scratch out of pipe foam. He went off a picture of the seat and went from there. One of our trimmers made the covers. Pretty much a VW seat.

Image credits: indieemopunk

#12 My First DIY Post, But I Restored A 1969 Mustang In High School And I’m Very Proud Of How She Turned Out

Image credits: glang25

The plan determines your aspirations for the project, the budget (and how plausible that is), figuring out the time frame and plan of action, as well as other smaller, yet equally important details like location, tools of the trade and professional opinion.

There are a lot of variables and moving parts to consider, so documenting everything is key. A typical car has around 30,000 individual parts and you don’t want any of it to get lost in the works. Besides, you can document the progress and make a social campaign out of it.

#13 Here’s My Father And His Before And After Pics Of His ‘65 Bus Restoration Project. He’s Very Proud Of It And He Spent 4x Of My College Degree To Make It What It Is Today

Image credits: yeahrightgirlhg

#14 1971 Dodge Charger Before And After

Image credits: Power-Wagon

#15 Just Over Two Years Ago I Started My First Major Project, A Non-Running 1967 Triumph TR4A. Here’s A Before And After

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Next up is the business phase. And by that, we mean you start work on the car. Stripping the interior, removing the wiring, taking out the gearbox, transmission and other necessary parts, removing external panels and windows—pretty much everything that won’t be painted on, or shouldn’t be painted as part of the main body. This phase is also good for keeping inventory and seeing what you are missing and need to order.

#16 My ’64 Falcon Build Before And After

Image credits: grumpy__robot

#17 Challenger Restored

Image credits: GYC_Mark

#18 Restored My Dad’s Old ’70 Camaro

Image credits: dldecler

Phase three is pretty much cleaning the surfaces. So, gritting, removing sand and dents, priming, sanding, undersealing, stuff like that. This is all in preparation for a new paint job. While the guide doesn’t specify anything about the cleanup part, it recommends that the paint job be done by a professional car painter. But if you insist, then at the strict supervision of one.

#19 Before And After Of My Dad’s 2-Year Smokey And The Bandit Inspired Trans Am Project

Image credits: NBE01

#20 It’s Art And Requires Just Enough Passion

Image credits: alexmwanzo

#21 Before & After

Image credits: SecretOrganization60

Then comes time for the engine. Before doing anything, check it out and decide if it’s better to upgrade and refurbish, or to swap it out altogether. Whatever the case, it’s also best to take the opportunity—now that the engine is lifted out—to swap out the auxiliary parts as well as belts and water pumps and all that jazz. So you could sleep better at night.

#22 The Original Car My Grandpa Purchased At 16 Years Old: A ’31 Chevy 5-Window Coupe That Was Restored By Him And My Dad

Image credits: cantteachreddit

#23 Sometimes It’s Easy To Forget How Much Work You’ve Done

Image credits: CarltoneUkulele

#24 I Can’t Draw But I Consider This My Art. Restored A Classic Stingray In My Garage

Image credits: iCommunicateInGifs

Before the engine goes back into the car, fire it up, see how it works.

And if that goes well, reassemble everything else: the break system, the fuel system, the suspensions, the wiring, the gearbox, the cooling system, the rubbers and pretty much everything else that you need and want your newly refurbished car to have.

#25 Completed Restoration Of My Dream Car

Image credits: finallygotmymustang

#26 Arkady Babich’s Homemade Convertible “Leningrad” Has Been Restored ⁠

Image credits: wroom

#27 1963 VW Dune Buggy Restoration Before And After

Image credits: okie_gunslinger

Arguably, the best part at this point would be the test drive. And that’s actually the last phase. It’s a reward for all the hard work you’ve done, but also a time when you can tackle any kinks in the car left over from the refurbishment process. The way it sounds, handles, accelerates—keep an eye (and ear… and other sensory faculties) on it.

#28 At The Ripe Age Of 22, I’ve Completely Restored A 1984 Volkswagen Rabbit. What An Experience

Image credits: omgwutd00d

#29 1967 RS/SS Camaro Home-Built Restoration

Image credits: 67RS-SS

#30 I Don’t Know If I Have Posted A Before And After Pic Yet. Top Is Before, In Case You’re Wondering

Image credits: General_Vodka

So, what are your thoughts on any of this? Do you now want to take on restoring an older car? Share which one and your stories in the comment section below!

And if you want more car goodness, both of the old and new variety, then you’re in luck.

#31 Before And After Photos Of An E12 I Had To Refurbish In The Workshop Last Weekend For Our Exhibition

Image credits: mvpmp90

#32 The Red Wheels With The White Walls Make The Look Of This Truck, Awesome

Image credits: reddit.com

#33 1968 Ford Mustang Restoration, My First Car

Image credits: MustangGuy68

#34 My Very First Build. I Got The Car For The First Time When I Was 15

Image credits: eazy_does_it_now

#35 Got This Out Of A Hay Field. It’s Been Sitting For A Long Time

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#36 The Before And After Of Mine And My Wife’s Project Car. 2015-2018

Image credits: Luke-Mopar

#37 RX-7 Class Project, Before And After

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#38 I Restored A 1977 VW Bus For Under $1,000

Image credits: LifeWithAdd

#39 Before And After. My First Car I Bought 3 Years Ago For $700

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#40 After 3 Years Of Work, I’m Calling This Project Done

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#41 Restoration Camaro Z28 ’73

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#42 Rare 1967 Mustang GT500 Got A Second Chance At Life. And Women Say We Don’t Cry Enough

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#43 280Z Before And After. It Was A Lot Of Hard Work, But She’s Beautiful

Image credits: cody4king

#44 Before And After Of My 8-Year Project (1972 Datsun 240Z Restored)

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#45 Find Me At Drive-In Movie Theaters Or Cruising Down The Highway In California With This Car

Bought this car with my dad 10 years ago for $2,000, and we’ve been investing in it ever since, and now it’s finally here, still have a little more work to do, but at least I can drive to Chick-fil-A now.

Image credits: saulvgomez

#46 The Transformation Of My Green Car

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#47 Before And After Of A Project I’m Very Proud To Officially Consider Completed

One year ago I found a 1969 auto squareback in the weeds and bought it for $800. This afternoon I finished the final tweaks and it’s officially road-ready. Cheers!

Image credits: dlatusek12

#48 Before And After – Porsche Edition

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#49 A 5-Year Project, And All The Work Was Done By Me And My Father-In-Law

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#50 My (Wife’s) 1970 Fiat 500 L Before And After Restoration

Image credits: ForcedInductionGamer

#51 Before And After. Still A Work In Progress. Next are Coilovers, GTI Wheels, And Bumpers

Image credits: Red__Sailor

#52 Some Before And After Pics Of My ’68 Merc Cougar I’ve Been Working On For A Couple Years Now

Image credits: Overseer4

#53 A Before And After Of My Father’s ’79 Vette That We Restored/Modified During One Indiana Winter

Image credits: smiffhouse

#54 Power Wagon Project Before And After

Image credits: Power-Wagon

#55 I Did All The Work Myself, Even Though I’m 17. Before And After

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#56 My First Project Car Without A Carburetor And Countless Rust Holes. Before And After

Image credits: Luke_theb

#57 Before And After, 1964 Ford Fairlane

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#58 Here’s A Cool Before And After For You All

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#59 What Three Years Of Work Looks Like, Same Car, All Work Done By Me

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#60 A Plymouth Hemi Cuda Body Meeting A Dodge Magnum Chassis, Full Progress During 2 Years

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#61 4 And A Half Years Later

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#62 Before And After Of My 1977 280Z

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#63 Here’s A Little Before And After Of My ’72 Demon. I Wouldn’t Say It’s 100% Complete Yet, But It’s Getting Close

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#64 Great Restoration

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#65 How It Started vs. How It’s Going

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#66 Before/After – 1988 Crown Vic Lx – The Panther Has Had Some Work Done! Purrs And Roars At 89k Miles Along With Some Modern Upgrades

Image credits: AustinoDude

#67 Before And After Of My 1992 Mazda Eunos Roadster

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#68 Before And After Of Our 08 Mustang

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#69 Seven Year Later Viper Charger Restored

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#70 Before And After

The original color is Crocus yellow. It’s on the back seat panel, which you can see through the rear window. The car was built for the GM show car account and is the first Impala convertible built in 1965. SS package 327 with powerglide, power windows, tilt, and rear seat speakers.

Image credits: Sinpala

#71 Before And After. I Spent 2 Years And Too Much Money On Her

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#72 This Car Restoration Job In Malaysia

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#73 Sometimes You Have To Reflect On The Before And After

Image credits: M-16andpregnant

#74 1994 Nissan Hardbody Before And After

This is my $600 Nissan Hardbody when I got it 3 days ago vs. now.

Image credits: Exotic-Ice7736

#75 1980 International Scout II, How It Started And How It’s Going

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#76 My 2001 Tacoma Before And After

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#77 Project Car Check

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#78 Before And After For You Guys

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#79 Here Is The Before And After So Far On My 1991 Chevy Camaro RS. It Was Sitting For 9 Years In Someone’s Driveway

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#80 Before And After. It’s Far From Done, But What A Difference Already

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#81 Just Wanted To Share A Before And After Of My B210

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#82 My AE86 Project Before And 8 Years After

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#83 Gorgeous Car

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#84 Before And After Of The 2004 SRT4 Original Owner That Sat For 14 Years. It’s Not Perfect But It’s A Good Start

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#85 Before And After Of My ’77 Bmw (E12) 530i (69k Miles) After A 1.5-Year Restoration Project

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#86 Before And After On My 1977 Pontiac Trans Am

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#87 1968 Dodge A100 Custom Sportsman Barn I Restored. Before vs. After Pictures

I had her about a decade ago. She found a new home in the UK. I miss her, but glad she has a new life and is being used. They travel Europe as a family and go to car shows in her. She’s winning trophies and living her best life across the pond.