This is a popular subject! 10 grand is not a bad price, many hours+materials it just works out. I am spending way more than I thought I would, oh well I guess I could have bought a boat and used it 6 times this summer...
This is a popular subject! 10 grand is not a bad price, many hours+materials it just works out. I am spending way more than I thought I would, oh well I guess I could have bought a boat and used it 6 times this summer...
This is why when I was shopping cars I always had a hard time understanding where people got their values from. I could look at a fully restored fastback that should in theory need nothing then go and look at a car say $10k less but to my untrained eye it was obvious it would need every bit of $20k to maybe get up to the caliber of the restored car.
This is a popular subject! 10 grand is not a bad price, many hours+materials it just works out. I am spending way more than I thought I would, oh well I guess I could have bought a boat and used it 6 times this summer...
Boats are not near as nice to look at in my mind lol
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65 k code fastback
66 GT Fastback
Sorry, 67 SS Camaro convertible
I've been looking for a body shop near my neighborhood (NE Pennsylvania) for a while now. Finally decided to stop at one of the several I've seen around. I spoke to the owner, who seemed like a very experienced man and knew classic Mustangs. He examined the car for about 5 minutes while I quietly (but anxiously) waited. He was direct: $10,000.0, and then they will add whatever else. The reason is because (and I agree), the car needs a complete strip down to bare metal and the body panels need to be removed and reassembled. The car has the normal rust spots at the doors, not really much and the vinyl top will have to be eliminated/replaced because a few rust bubbles above the rear glass. Other than that, the car is in great shape and rust free.
The car is not worth $10,000.0. Maybe 7 to 8k. And after a 10K paint job, it will probably be worth 10-12K. That's the reality about hardtops.
I still think 10k is too much. What do you guys think? I'n even thinking about doing the disassembly and stripping myself, have someone do the bodywork & paint, then I'll finish the assembly. How much will I save?...
Dang! I'm glad I bought mine 2nd hand for 2k. The previous owner spend over 10k on acid dip, epoxy coat, body work and it was never painted.
Body work/paint has gotten to be a tougher decision. In defense of the body man in question, I think he's in the ball park. I paid $7,900 for the paint and body work on my '69 (attached photo) in 1999. The car was rust free except the standard door rust in the front corners. The car has it's original floor pans/quarters/doors/fenders. It takes a lot of time to do it anywhere near right. My body guy looked at my car for about 5 minutes and told me it could be done for $9k max - if the body guy in question is very familiar with mustangs, 5 minutes with the car is enough.
That being said, it's almost always $$$ ahead to buy a completed restoration. Who isn't upside down in their Mustang? It's a hobby.
If the car has any personal connection to you then...get it done right. That could mean you do a lot of the grunt work yourself to save costs.
You have a great looking coupe - I've always thought the rear aluminum grill on the '67 was the best looking tail of any Mustang - including the Shelbys!
Good luck.
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Bryan
"So , let me get this straight; your Honda has 1.6 liters, whereas my bottle of diet Coke has 2?"
I'm really thinking about doing it myself, except maybe for the bodywork and paint. Really. I've never done it, but I know I can do much of the work. I also like manualities, have a good eye for quality and love to work with my hands. Besides, I need to find something for me to do in all this extra free time!
Now I know why so many people do their own bodywork/paint themselves. It's just crazy to pay so much to a body shop.
I spent a good deal of time watching DIY bodywork and paint videos on you tube and really, you learn a lot about the how-to's. But you still need to learn that "muscle memory" that only comes with hands-on experience. I saw a few videos of rust repair (patchwork) in which the person removed rust, cleaned the outside welding surfaces, and welded a new patch, but left the rusty inside (wheel well, inner panel, etc) all rusty and dirty! I felt like: that's exactly what they are going to do with my car!. That's why I am thinking about doing it myself.
Thanks everyone for your posts. They have given me a lot of perspective. Keep em' coming!
I'm really thinking about doing it myself...It's just crazy to pay so much to a body shop...you still need to learn that ...that only comes with hands-on experience...
So are you prepared for the results you get on YOUR CAR when it is your FIRST BIT of hands-on experience? If so, have-at-it.
I was RAISED in my Dad's body shop. He was a professional for 50 years. I am also good with my hands and have built award winning RC aircraft and restored a 1963 Brantly B-2b helicopter.
I KNOW I don't have the hands-on experience but I desire the results of a $10k paintjob. I'm saving my quarters toward 10 or 12 thousand.
I am SURE I could buy high-grade supplies and get it sprayed on slick and beautiful myself. All that would do is accentuate all of my lack of experience in the body work arena -- THE PART THAT REQUIRES THE MOST ARTISTRY, SKILL, AND EXPERIENCE."
I am SURE I could buy high-grade supplies and get it sprayed on slick and beautiful myself. All that would do is accentuate all of my lack of experience in the body work arena -- THE PART THAT REQUIRES THE MOST ARTISTRY, SKILL, AND EXPERIENCE."
I agree, for me at least the spraying of the car is the easy part. It is also when it becomes very obvious if the body/prep work was done well or not. Just me but I'd rather save my pennies too and pay someone to do it. But then that opens up a whole other can of worms with me trying to figure out who I'd actually trust to do that. Seems a lot of times I run into people who do work on cars and are "highly recommended professionals" but do no better job that my "amateur caveman approach".
I restoring my car because I want to restore the car. I think it will come out as nice as I want it, because, I keep doing and redoing until I get the results I want.
Am I saving money? No. If that is your motivation to do it yourself, IMHO that won't happen.
I ran a report in my home finance program. The category "Autorestoparts subcategory tools" is over 15K.
Now I follow the Henry Ford theory when it comes to tools, that if you need a tool and don't buy it, you will have paid for it but not had it. So maybe I could have got by for less. BUT, there are many little tools and consumables that I buy local for cash, so I'm sure the real total is higher, and would more than offset tools I bought but in retrospect weren't worth it.
I restoring my car because I want to restore the car. I think it will come out as nice as I want it, because, I keep doing and redoing until I get the results I want.
Well said. I'm in the same boat... doing things 2 (never like to admit it, but sometimes really 3 times) because I am learning. In the end The car will be restored to a level I'm happy with, and it will have been all me.
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Love me a Stang
68 coupe with a 351W and fmx
Mods: a lot... just ask if you're interested
07 gt
99 Gixxer 750 (When four wheels are too many)
I'm really thinking about doing it myself, except maybe for the bodywork and paint.
Then what are you doing??
OK, done with my sarcasm.....
If you are talking about all of the dis-assembly, etc... that's great. You can save a ton of $$$ hours $$$ with the shop by removing everything you can and putting it all back on.
If you are talking about any prep work, find a painter/bodyman you plan on working with when you are done. Some guys won't touch work they didn't do. Make sure you have a plan from start to finish. Nothing is worse than dropping $500 on primer and sandpaper to find out it all has to be removed again by the painter.
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1995 GT convertible - Laser Red
1995 GT convertible - Black (Son's ride)
1966 GT Fastback under restoration- Code T Red
with White LeMans stripes.
...the body work arena -- THE PART THAT REQUIRES THE MOST ARTISTRY, SKILL, AND EXPERIENCE."
Dead right. Body/paint is an ART and highly developed skill.
That being said, my dad (who retired a few years ago) decided to paint and bodywork a car for the first time in his life at age 70. He had a decent '68 Ranchero GT to start with that only had one rust spot in a fender (known trouble area for Fairlanes/Rancheros).
Bottom line, it came out as a 7 out of 10. I was impressed.
It's a NICE driver. He took it down to bare metal and took his time (a LOT of time!). He learned alot on the way, some of it you could only appreciate after the final paint was on the car. He knows where EVERY single flaw is, and those bother him. Many, I cant really see, but he knows them intimately. If that bothers a person, then I don't think doing it yourself is best for you.
Now that he's gotten some real experience, he's going to tackle his '66 convertible, an original silver frost car (very rare) that he's owned for 20 years, and has been in springtime yellow since the day he bought it.
I wouldn't do my "precious" as the first car out of the block I did. I'd do it like my dad did - learn on one, get some experience, then go on to your "precious".
I've always wanted to do paint and body - this thread is making me think about finding a car and doing it!
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Bryan
"So , let me get this straight; your Honda has 1.6 liters, whereas my bottle of diet Coke has 2?"
Here is a 37 that I did only the bodywork on for a shop in town. The car was in a hail storm in the midwest and also had 75 years of wear and tear. I had over 150 hours in JUST mud work on the whole car, that's over $10,500 for bodywork ONLY at $70 an hour. That did not include metal work, paint, running gear or interior.
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65 k code fastback
66 GT Fastback
Sorry, 67 SS Camaro convertible
I inquired at a few shops and got 6 to 10k prices also for the 66 Coupe.
Our car is a Father Son resto that is his daily driver. We were going to leave it in SPI black epoxy but decided to bite the bullet and paint it ourselves. It turned out very good but definitely not a show car finish.
We used $1200 in paint with some left over. It has been 3 years and it still looks great.
Just another option if you are on a budget like we were.
More info and pics from our web page: Painting it ourselves Paint Paint Booth
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Good Luck and BE Safe Ron http://chris66dad.tripod.com
Father~Son restoration project
A code 66 coupe
289 4v, Roller Rockers, Electric fan
Performer & 650 Edelbrock
MSD ignition
Tri Y into 2.25 Shelby side exhaust
T5 conversion and 3.55 Trac Lok
Hydraulic clutch
CSRP SN95 Discs
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