[FC] Gonna make it all pretty.... body work and repaint time!

[Christopher E Nicholson]

Well Merv, I work for a body shop that specializes in restorations.
So.....

It's always a good idea to strip older cars to bare metal. Get out any
older bodywork or other secrets, that way you know the latest job is the
best job. Is he quoting a set price for the job, or a hourly rate and an
estimate for the time it will take? We've done both for restorations, and
tend to lose less money billing a discounted hourly rate. ;-)

If this guy can deliver serious results, expect it to cost more than the
car will be worth. A customer spent somewhere over $35,000 with us last
year on a '67 GTO restoration, and we lost money. Another customer with a
'67 427 Corvette coupe spent $20,000 on a partial, $7,000 of that was for
doing the silver and black laquer paint job. Decent paint jobs ("nice
driver"/cruise-in special) on older cars tend to run $6,500-$7,000, with
a bottom figure of $3,500-$4,500.

But then, we've got a reputation for our show cars. We're expensive by
local standards, but the guys accustomed to Boyd Coddington and his ilk
consider us to be cheap.

Needless to say, we don't do a lot Corvairs. I'm tempted to put my '63
700 sedan in once I've finished making my '63 8-door Corvan reliable
enough for daily use. The sedan was hit lightly in the back years ago,
and you can barely tell that it needs to visit the frame rack. The 8-door
needs metal in a few places, such as the bottoms of the left cargo doors,
the doglegs, etc. Have you ever heard the story of the cobbler who had no
shoes? It's no fable; I never get to work on my own stuff!

Chris Nicholson
Nashville, TN

On Fri, 16 Jan 2004 20:28:50 -0800 "Merv and or Loretta"
<krupross@sunwave.net> writes:
> Hi all
> 
> I had a local fellow take a look at the 64 sedan and give me a 
> quote.
> 
> At first, he was worried about the spots of rust on the roof, but a 
> scratch or
> two with the awl proved the rust was going from the outside in and 
> not from
> the inside out.
> 
> Because the spots are so numerous, he recommends totally stripping 
> the car and
> blasting them away. Other than the floorboards, the car is otherwise 
> in great
> shape.
> 
> So... he will let me know the estimate in a day or two. In the 
> meantime, do
> you have any suggestions that would help me make sure I get the work 
> done well
> and for the right price?
> 
> His incentive, other than getting paid for doing the 64, is project 
> #2... the
> Greenbrier!
> 
> thanx for any help and advice you may wish to offer....
> 
> Merv Krull
> Salmon Arm
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