A long, long time ago, I told my older brother(he'd been doing it for about 10 years by then) I wanted to go to school for auto body. His reply to me was "No your not! If you want to get into auto body, get a job in a body shop"!
So, thats what I did. One thing led to another, now I work at a Chrysler dealership as a body/paint tech and I restore muscle cars on the weekends. And have been doing it for about 25 years now.
Anyways, I'm not telling you not to go to school, I'm just telling you what worked for me.
I work with a kid fresh out of school, he went to UTI, and he's a good worker, but he really didn't learn a lot at school, not 30 grand worth as far as I'm concerned. We've taught him more in 6 months, then he ever learned in school. And he graduated highest in his class.
My advise is to get a job in a collision shop, not a restoration shop, learn the basics (about a year or two), and then look for a job in a restoration shop. Keep in mind that they are two different animals.
And always, make friends with the oldest guy in the shop, because most of the time, that old guy has more knowledge then anybody.
Here's a couple picture's of cars that I have restored.
Anything that helps you learn how to cut out rusty metal and replace it with new parts. You'll need to know how to measure where to cut so you don't cut off too much and have to make little filler pieces and that sort of thing. If you want to do body restoration, you can take auto body courses at most tech schools I think but best thing would be to get a job at a body shop, even just part time. Fixing bent-up late-models isn't quite the same as fixing rusty old ones but it will give you a feel for it.
