Show pics and tips of how keep parts organized during a restoration??

[ivanuf]

I will like to start a tread of advise and pictures on how to keep all the stuff you remove from your car during a garage restoration project.

It is a real challenge to keep all this stuff organized during 1-2 year restoration with limited space in the garage and I am sure there are plenty on ingenious tricks and tips from members of the forum that have done this in the past.

I am using plastic storage bins for each area, and zip locks for hardware, but the are starting to pile up and I am just getting started. How you guys do it??.


Thanks
Ivan

[cabmandone]

I don't have pics of what I did but about every small part I took off got bagged and tagged then all parts from a similar area got placed in a box labeled with general parts on the outside of the box. It made it easier for me when assembly time came up. The other thing I did was took A LOT of pictures on my phone when I took things apart. If I was more organized, I'd have put the pictures into separate files with names of what part of the car the parts belong to.

[reachme]

what cabmando says, bag the parts and label, I kept them in recycle bins slotted in order of how removed.

One thing I regret is not always cleaning the parts when I took them off. I wanted to make sure each bolt went back where it came and the color marks and dirt matched up with pictures from removal-if I cleaned I would need to label each bolt so I waited until reassembly. Not sure what others do about that.

Brought as many parts as I could to the basement to get them out of the way after I stepped on, crunched parts and kicked small screws skidding across the floor into hiding places too many times. Basement became my cleaning, wire brush and painting area far away from the car.

I kept track of major steps and tool needed by writing on an erasable white board next to the car (occupational hazard). When it filled up I started taking pictures at the beginning of each stage and when I wanted to make notes to myself and that worked out great, made reassembly very quick and by going backwards I didn't do dumb things out of order. I just kept laptop open next to Bentley and factory manual (and able to search Pelican/Rennlist when needed)

[19-911-65]

Bagged, tagged and boxed...and after 10 years I couldn't remember where any of it went!...LOL Next time...if there is a next time, I'm going to sort ALL the items that get plated, powdercoated, painted or sent out for restoration.

My parts manual was a life saver...about 99% of all the part numbers, locations, bolt/washer sizes were listed and that is how I put the car back together...live and learn.

[Ayles]

Bagged and tagged, the hardest thing for me is keeping track of the new stuff. For example a lot of hardware at various locations on the car share part numbers. I have bags and boxes of nuts and bolts that I have ordered from Pelican, but I am going to have to do a little leg work on reassembly.

[gliding_serpent]

My time and space and skill is limited. I either do small projects a few at a time, or i bag and tag, and keep parts from a system (like ac) together in storage buns that are labeled. I also take photos of parts as they are being removed, and after removal. Finally, i like to photograph all new parts. I am visual and like to see everything. It is easy to forget what is in a box. I often label a storage bin with every part in it. Thus i can find stuff without opening and rummegibg around.

Funally i update a tgread here for my car. I document significant things there.

[gshiwota]

I try to bag and label everything I take of the car using zip lock bags. I also try to store them in boxes in the trunk of the car so I don't misplace them or mix them up with other parts. I usually label these boxes by the area of the car I removed them (i.e. interior, exterior trim, left door, right door, etc...).

This has worked for me well when I had two ongoing restorations at the same time as I didn't lose anything or mix parts up between the cars.

[si2t3m]

Bag & label with ziplock bags (label INSIDE the bag). Alu tray racks / Bin racks are cheap. organize trays by area of car. Multiple cars, = mutiple tray racks.

[pdtweeks]

all of the above.

When I removed an "assembly", I placed each bit of hardware in it's respective position and took digital pic before tagging, bagging, and storing. Then when getting the hardware/parts back from plating/powder-coating process, I went back through my pics to match everything back in it's proper position.
This worked for about 98% of the project.....the other 2% I would have lost anyways. ;o)

Label any disconnected wiring with durable tape and a Sharpie....unlabeled wiring during the re-assembly process is a real time-killer. Taking pics of the electrical bits was very helpful as well.

[93nav]

These:

Inventory Tags and Shipping Tags in Stock -- ULINE

Uline: Search Results

Also, sharpies and digital photos.

[zippy_gg]

Bags and tags, as many mentioned above.
I also keep parts grouped by function, such as left suspension, or air intake.
When I receive small parts from Pelican Parts I write what they are or where they go on the label.
I bought an assortment of metric nuts and bolts and refer to the "Katalog" for bolt length, although I found that information to be somewhat approximate (frustrating).

[911pcars]

Install computer and monitor in garage.
Take photos of everything you need (+more) so you have a reference as to how parts install as you disassemble. Leave sufficient breathing room around the photo subject to provide context of where it is. You can always zoom after retrieving the photo file.
Load all images into the hard drive, then create a folder (individual files if necessary) for each assembly, subassembly or system.
Glean factory manuals and books for exploded illustrations in PDF, load into the HD, then file in organized elec. folders for convenient assembly reference. Repeat for pertinent torque specs.

Keeping dirty, as removed parts together is good for re-assembly memory joggers. However, unless you have a matching set of freshly plated fasteners, at some point you may have to gang or individually clean and assemble them, and the cleaned fasteners go into one container for the plater. A bucket of fasteners can be a point of confusion as to what fasteners go where. An elephant-like memory is good. Otherwise, the only thing you can do is record the fastener description (qty-size-pitch-length) on a photo file or a piece of paper and store that with the relevant parts.

Bag and tag and place related parts together in their own container.

Sherwood

[SpyderMike]

I am taking photos of everything I remove. I use empty pill bottle and plastic containers of all sizes from food purchases (after cleaning them). With each I write what system the hardware came from. In some cases I write a number or letter and then a corresponding number/letter is written on tape on the item the hardware came from.

Larger items go in plastic totes.

[gtc]

These HF storage boxes are inexpensive and handy for keeping track of hardware. You can move the dividers around to create different size compartments. I just write directly on the case with a sharpie.
http://www.harborfreight.com/24-compartment-large-storage-container-61881.html

[Tim K]

Take pictures of disassembly (lots and lots of pictures).

Take pictures of subassemblies as they come apart.





Every time something comes off/apart. It gets bagged in a (sequentially numbered) heavy duty freezer ziplock bag. The bag is labeled with every part that is in the bag (washer x2, screw x4, etc.), every part that is suspect/broken/missing is added to a list of parts that need to be fixed or replaced with it's corresponding bag # so when it's time to find those parts later, you're looking for a bag #, not a needle in a haystack. Only put a small number of screws/nuts/bolt/etc. in each bag to keep it manageable.

Some would add a picture of the sub-assembly to the contents of each bag but, it seems nobody prints pictures anymore

If you don't have lots of shelves, build or buy some. It's amazing how much space a disassembled car consumes. I box as much as I can. Label the boxes. You can never have too much info or too many pictures.



Take pictures of the routing of hoses and wires. Lots and lots of pictures.

If you're having your hardware plated, I've seen some people wire them all together. I've never done this but, you could wire the contents of each bag together as a group so they stay together. Maybe someone has a better idea on this.

Tim K

[Robert Adams]

Prior to bagging and boxing I list on a 3 x 5 card, take pictures and file on hard drive and flash disc.

Bought a bunch of used shelves on CL, so I even got for free to store the big parts & small parts boxes.
Lots of pictures and diagrams of wiring at removal of part.

[Robert Adams]

Take pictures & tag all the electronic parts with wiring tags; Note wire color and where it goes.




Shows tags on wiring to the left.

[paulmose]

Having a typical real-life (small) garage I am a fan of baggies, file cards and sharpies for labels and a assortment of tupperware-style containers.

You can also dedicate a digital camera and make tons of photos, then put each set of pics in to its own named folder.... fuse block - right front shock mount - fan mount screws - etc. You don't have to print anything, just note the folder on your file card that goes in the baggy. You can refer back to them when re-assembly time comes.

While in California for the Werks Reunion we visited Canepa on Saturday morning, if you've never been you must make a point, yikes, it is incredible.

They were doing a ground-up nut-and-bolt restoration of a Daytona. Every small part was bagged, labelled and stuck to the walls of the work area. Tables held each major assembly, all laid out in order.

Every single work station throughout Canepa was the same, spotless and in perfect order, and of course they have tons of available room.

It was pretty inspiring to see in person. Sorry for the lousy cell phone pics.











Good luck!

[irl]

Get yourself a black marble notebook and take all kinds of reminders and notes. Create sections and to do's, reminders. I promise you will look back and thank yourself and even not recall writing some of it. Also take tons of photos of the details. little thinks like the angle of the throttle rod and bracket on the transaxle or the hoses on the brake reservoir. again you will be so glad you took them. You will think you will remember many things but it all starts adding up in your brain fast.

[Jcslocum]

Bag and tag is best. I use Evernote for pictures and notes. Easy to build a parts list and to do list . It on the phone so whenever I'm out I can see what needed at the parts store or other. Easy to search and easy to annotate pics. Great bit of software.