[Mook]

I had saved some $ to get my 69 GTO painted and body work done! I Had a restoration shop look at my car....he stated that the car was in very good condition! Very little body work, a little a adjustments on the doors, etc. I was given a off the top of his head price of $10,000 or more. His rate is $55 an hour and his paint guy is $30 hour plus $800 or for the paint. I know that good work is $$$ and the turn around time that he stated is great, but (there is always a butt) I did not expect such a high price. His past projects are great, and he comes highly recommended by someone I trust completely! The GTO is a non numbers matching 400 with a TH400, a/c, hideaways, p/s, p/b... nothing special......is this car worth that kind on money?.......it is a daily driver for me.......all I wanted was a decent paint job and whatever body work that would be needed? I had planned to have CVMS build me a stroked 400 for the car which may cost me near 6k , it does not look like both will get done this year........which way should I go???? Thanks

[matrix]

I think I can help you. Check out my post in the body section to see the Firebird Im doing now. Also work in DC so I can take a look at your car one weekday.

[68bird400HO]

Shop it out. I had a body shop quote done for my car. The shop charged $32/hr for labor (which is really cheap here) but quoted me 180 hours to prime, buff, paint, polish, etc the car. This is after all of the body work was done. A second shop I talked to charges $70/hr but estimated 80 hours for the same work.

[SWEETJUDGE]

Welcome to the world after barret Jackson...... it affects everyone even us poor hobby guys

TrY Maaco... i know it sounds nutts but they can do a nice job. State you dont want there cheap packages. you want a nice paint job around 3-5K & see what they say.

what color are you thinking as BLACK will be a nightmare if body isnt perfect.

[johnsma22]

$10,000 for show quality body work and paint is a good deal. At least around here. I've been told by every restoration shop around here that is known for quality work to expect $15,000 as a minimum.

[1967Clone]

I'm glad I run a bodyshop

I am probably going to sub my 63 vette out to a vette guy, and even being a friend he will probably charge me close to $10K for that paint job.

[misterp266]

Originally Posted by johnsma22

$10,000 for show quality body work and paint is a good deal. At least around here. I've been told by every restoration shop around here that is known for quality work to expect $15,000 as a minimum.

John,
I paid $7500. about 15 years ago to paint my race car at D&D in Walpole. It didn't need any body work, it had been painted in laquer and never buffed out so they did it in a base coat clear coat. It still looks awesome! The cost of good body and paint work is one of the reasons my '63 wagon still sits rusting.

[fyrebird68]

Key phrases i heard in your post:

• "Non numbers matching"
• "Daily driver"
• "Nothing special (equipment)"
• "(Want a) decent paint job"

I would have a hard time justifying $10K, too. Have you considered painting it yourself? If the body is as good as you describe, I bet you could put the paint on yourself. My car's condition and my needs exactly matched your description above. I painted it last year - my first ever paint job - and I was amazed at how well it came out. Lots of compliments; I couldn't be happier.

Cost me $700 for the paint, $300 for other materials and I gave my buddy $400 for helping me out.

I spent some of the leftover money on a whole new interior!

Give it some consideration. Lots of good books on the subject and the help here is second to none.

[goatman65]

Ive always painted my own cars.Price being one reason but I enjoy doing all my own work.Its far from perfect but it can hold its own at the local shows.I use lacquer cause its what I learned to paint with but its getting harder to find and doesnt seem to hold up as well as it used to.Too many EPA regulations I guess.

[eric65]

10K Y'all must be made of money.. I would DIY that in a heart beat for 10K with little bodywork needed. Do some research, study books (the library will have some) Web sites like
http://www.autobody101.com/forums/ invaluable

With 10K you could paint that car about 8 times yourself

Good Luck
Eric

Ask away

[scott mills]

I am in the process of getting my car ready for paint. I doo all the prep work myself and then haul the car top a shop to get it sprayed. I just recently got the car sprayed in primer and am currently blocking it out. If you look at doing some of the work your self it could be quite a savings. I know for a fact that my time is worth less than $75 an hour. Another thought is with the current recession upcoming, you might wait and see if some of these shops lower their prices. Just my 2 cents.

[surfnuke9]

10 Grand ??!!??

Holy smokes Mook, I would hook you up for only 3/4 of that price....

I am going to do mine one of these days also, but no way for 10K. take one zero off and that is my ballpark for a daily driver....Maaco or getting the tools and doing it myself is fine for me.

[Ron Genovese]

I was getting prices like that also. Finally I went back to a small resto shop that I used 7 years ago & was very happy with their workmanship back then. They gave me a price of $2,500.00 for a fully prepped car ready for paint. I did a lot of the work myself, longboarding the panels & making sure all surfaces were streight, but came short of doing the final detail work that makes or breaks a killer paint job, so I let them finish the bodywork. The total cost ended up being $5,500.00 and in the end I was very happy with the professional job they did. Body work isn't for everyone! There is a definite talent to a great job. Those perfectly streight, impeccable looking cars don't happen by accident. there are rediculous hours & talent involved. Know your limits.

[goatless]

$10,000 for a quality paint job is pretty common these days. Still, I wouldn't spend that much on a driver. If you look around you could find a decent shop that'll do a good job at a reasonable price. Below are pics of my '70 that I had done by a local one man shop.
The first pic is as delivered to him and the second the way that I got it back. $3500 for fixing all of the dings and base/clear paint. I was so happy with the job (and the price!!!) that I brought him my Bonneville too.

[carcrazy]

This is why I do all my own bodywork and paint! Had many quotes like that for my 67 GTO. I will say there is a tremendous amount of hours required for a top notch paint job. Not unusual to spend 1-2k for the paint! If the car is a daily driver I would not hesitate to do the bodywork and prep and ship it out-maybe even Maaco!

[Tom McQueen]

$10K for QUALITY body/paint work is in the ballpark. It is what it is, cost wise. Irregardless of the cost, body/paint shops are generally the absolute biggest stumbling block in our hobby. You want to get EVERYTHING (price estimates, TIME estimates, cost overrun possibilities, etc) in writing. If the shop wont do this, big red flag....move on. A shop that knows what its doing, and actually finishes project cars will not have a problem with putting things in writing.

Ive already selected the body/paint shop I will use later this year on my pro-tour 70 GTO. With all the extra's (mounting the glass front nose and hood, adding glass layers to same, making the glass fit, body/paint) Im half again that 10K.

And I had quotes way higher than that. But Ive seen this shop consistently do 2 things. It takes hot rod project cars in. And the cars leave, generally on time, completed. That last part (the leaving completed part) is what a large number of shops are simply incapable of. Ask me how I know that.

[matt carr]

My question is How many of you that do your own, find things that you didn't expect to find while you are sanding? There are things like brass, lead,shotty patch panel work, and hidden rust in our 35+ year old cars. In the mean time while you are fixing all of the that stuff the power bills, wages,materials,supplies, and other bills keep coming in.That is the reason on restoration jobs the best and fair way to do it is to charge time and materials. The problem with that is the customer wants to know how much it is going to cost,but know one knows!

[A.W.Dille]

I have never charged by the hour, always by the job. I worked in bodyshops for about 12 years before going into construction for a living but still do work on the side. I am in the process right now of getting 68Wardogs 70 GTO ready to paint and I am also doing a 40 Ford coupe for another guy and never have I ever quoted a price that high for bodywork and paint, and I know that the price of materials has went up considerably the last couple of years. I have some basecoat right now that was over $700 a gallon and the reducer was $150 a gallon. Alot depends on what brand of product they are using, but I agree that 10K is too much for a car that needs very little work and is a driver. IMHO about $3000-$3800 would be more of a fair price for everything.

[68bird400HO]

Originally Posted by scott mills

I am in the process of getting my car ready for paint. I doo all the prep work myself and then haul the car top a shop to get it sprayed. I just recently got the car sprayed in primer and am currently blocking it out. If you look at doing some of the work your self it could be quite a savings. I know for a fact that my time is worth less than $75 an hour. Another thought is with the current recession upcoming, you might wait and see if some of these shops lower their prices. Just my 2 cents.

We have been in a recession already for a number of months. Usually the realization of these things lag the reality of it for various reasons.

[matt carr]

I also agree that 10grand for a sand and paint job is high, but there has to be additional added in for the unexpected when you are expected to do a job for a certain amount of money. We are a collision shop that uses restoration jobs for fill in. We also guarentee(sp) all of our work. We have been in buisness for 30 years.I am not trying to start a debate,but most body shops are not out to rip people off.