If you have an old 1965 Mustang sitting in your garage, and you're ready to get started on the restoration, you need to make sure you have the right tools, materials, and accessories. The first step in any restoration process is to make sure you are set out to succeed. This means having more than a few hammers and a drill. So, to help you make sure you're set out to handle the restoration, here's what you need to get.

Repair Manual

You're going to need a quality repair manual. You don't want to get under the hood and be confused about which bolt needs to be removed or how much torque needs to be applied. The standard repair manuals for do-it-yourselfers are the Chilton manuals. These are heavy paperbacks that have complete schematics for the cars. They feature exploded diagrams so you can see every bolt, screw, and wire.

Four Jack Stands

You are going to want to safely raise the car up in the air. This means using jack stands. A jack can lift up the car, but without jack stands, it's not safe to roll under the car on a dolly and do work. A jack alone is not adequate for prolonged undercarriage work. What you will do is jack the car up with a pump jack or scissor jack and then place four jack stands at the designated points on the frame and use them to secure the car in the air. Then you can roll under and get to work.

Dolly

You don't want to have to shimmy under the car on your back. You want a dolly. Sometimes these are called "car creepers" or rollers. You lay on them and scoot under the car.

Complete Mechanics Tool Set

Instead of trying to get all the tools you need yourself, just get a nice mechanics tool set. These are sold in most home-improvement stores. They will contain all the wrenches (socket and crescent), socket extenders, screwdrivers, and socket extenders you need. You might want to get a few extras such as needle-nose pliers, mallets, and hammers for bodywork.

Air Compressor

Every restoration is going to involve sandblasting the frame and then painting the body. In order to transform a rusted, brown junker into a cherry-red hot rod you need to have an air compressor.

You should consider purchasing an air compressor instead of renting one. If you rent one, you might be tempted to rush through the sandblasting or painting in order to avoid being charged for extra days. If you buy one, you can work at your leisure. You are going to want two attachments. The first one is to be used when you are sandblasting the frame. The second attachment is to be used when spray-painting the car.

If you are planning on working indoors, you might want to choose an air compressor that has a low decibel level so that you don't have to wear earplugs while working. If you plan on moving the compressor outdoors to do sanding, then you should also consider the weight involved. If the compressor is too heavy to lift, you will want to make sure it has wheels. This will prevent you from having to drag it across your driveway. A better solution, though, is to get a lightweight yet high PSI air compressor that you can simply lift and carry around. Talk to a company such as Kruman Equipment Co for more information about what kind of air compressor might be best for you. 

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