Start a Car Restoration Business

Parts Tracker

Companion to the lesson "Parts, the long tail." One sheet per car, no exceptions; the totals row feeds the Project Economics Worksheet.

Car: Project start:

Sourcing codes

R new reproduction (learn which vendors your model's community trusts) · N new old stock (eBay Motors saved searches, Hemmings, swap meets) · U used / salvage / donor (inspect in person or demand detailed photographs) · F fabrication (pattern, cut, weld).

Per-part log

Part	Source (R/N/U/F + vendor)	Order date	Cost	Expected arrival	Condition on receipt	Photo on arrival
						☐
						☐
						☐
						☐
						☐
						☐
						☐
						☐

Total parts cost (carries to the Project Economics Worksheet, parts line)

Schedule rules

☐ Long-lead items ordered at the start of a phase, not when reached for.
☐ Waiting periods filled with other work (head at the machine shop: metal work continues).
☐ Photograph every part on arrival, before opening a dispute: a damaged-in-shipping claim with timestamped photos resolves in days; half-installed resolves never.

Why it matters: the log feeds the estimate with real numbers, makes client conversations factual ("your quarter panel lands Thursday" beats "soon"), and captures what you paid on every component as next year's pricing intelligence for the same model. Budget-breaker watch: NOS trim pieces can run $4,000.