Orbital Air Sander or Belt Sander?

I am a "shade tree" mechanic and I have been working on my old 1986 Bronco II for awhile now. I have the old girl running in tip top shape but I want to repaint it so it looks like it did in '86. I need to remove the old paint and all I have is a belt sander. Will this work or do I need a different type of sander?

A belt sander is really not the right type of sander for the application you are describing. A belt sander can damage the metal and will not do a smooth enough job to get the results you are looking for. I would recommend using an orbital air sander for this particular job. The reason is an orbital air sander will move in a random and a circular motion. This will result in a much smoother sanding job over a larger area. An orbital air sander can also be fitting with different grades of sand paper for different phases of the painting process and you use it as buffer after the paint has dried.