[born11bravo]

I've let my project all but die because of the incredible amount of difficult body work the car needs. I've decided rather than let the car sit for another year I've got to hire someone to take this job on.

I've got rear-quarter half-skins on both sides that need put on, but not before the rear outer fenders are repaired and the holes in the corners of the top of the trunk are patched. I have little time, less skill, but some money set aside.

Does anyone know someone near Salem, Oregon (maybe the Portland/Vancouver area) you'd recommend who can do a truly professional job? This can't be trial-and-error, it has to be done right the first time. I'm ready to pay to "turn the corner" so to speak, or I'm never going to get this car done.

Thanks,
Dave

[PITTSBURGH 64]

Things have gotten real expensive in this area... Just the other day my buddys that do bodywork for a living were talking about how it costs 3-4 grand just for the supplies to paint a car.....

Good luck...

[born11bravo]

Okay, so the decision to hire out my huge amount of body work was easy. What's not so easy is trying to save enough money to get it done. But I've been thinking that I have plenty of other work to do in the meantime cleaning and restoring parts. I am going to TRY LIKE HELL to get out into the garage for someting more than occasionally resetting a circuit breaker.

[Coach]

I was at the same point, I just could not get the doors and fenders lined up and I knew I had some issues with the convertible top structure. Added to that I had to close my business and take on a "straight" job which added a two hour commute each day and I just had no personal time for the car. I finally decided to take it to a really well known local shop.

The car will be finished in the next week or so, but I have now paid enough to have covered a full year of school for my daughter and that's at a private college! The car is amazing to look at, but I would never ever do this again.

On the plus side there is no way I can sell this car until the market recovers so I guess I will get a few years of shows and cruising out of it!

-Harry

[born11bravo]

Harry, Thanks for sharing your experience. These cars can definitely become a proverbial "money pit" quite easily. Now that I have the body off the frame, my plan is to just get the rolling chassis done, do enough body work underneath sufficient to put the body back down on the frame and get it to the body-man. The Pontiac gods have got to be smiling (or laughing) at this point. The cool thing about this is that one more VIN will be saved and kept from the scrap heap. Thanks for the encouragement.

[grnwng]

I wanted to do mine right also.

Had some time, truckin slow. No money for perfection tho.

Made a decision. After calculating that I could purchase a nice one for less than the cost of rebuilding this one, decision made. Patched the rusted panels, patched the floor. Re built carb and got it runnin good engine wise, still leaks some oil tho. Brakes are great. Tranny good.

Still want to rebuild rearend, install 3 something posi on list then. Suspention needs redone. Want to reinstall vinyl roof. (painted now). Electrics in great shape now. Air needs redone. as do door panels.

Make it your own if there is too much to do to make it like new. Remember when we would personilles our old cars for ourselfs?

In the meantime they are fun to drive. As time, a lifetime permits, little by littel can be done. A good panel is found, a new hood, etc. Or, maybe even a complete darksider that is for sale cheap. Maybe it needs an engine, ya got one, or a tranny, ya got one. I am kinda glad rats are popular for now. Ya do not always need to have a perfect one when a fellow Pontiac person pulls up in his 05 gto. He likes to see em still drove 40 years after production also.

Don't feel bad tho. Money to finish is my problem also. Oh, mine will never be done.

[Coach]

I guess the one suggestion I would make is to either get a fixed quote or a "Not to exceed" quote with clearly defined work to be done.

[My442]

Originally Posted by Coach

I guess the one suggestion I would make is to either get a fixed quote or a "Not to exceed" quote with clearly defined work to be done.

Great.

I took it one step further: My son is a lawyer, and I had him draw up a contract for:

1. What will be done

2. How it will be done

3. When it will be done

4. Contingency causes for hidden issues and extra work

5. Use clause for no driving it, inside storage, etc.

If the body shop did not want to sign it, then they did not get my business.

You have to protect yourself!

[Deadhead]

I can not figure the whole thing out. I have learned a lot of trades over the years. There is so much business out there in this area that you could make a really good living doing it. You get to work with old cars, pretty much the same conditions over & over. Why is it so impossible to find decent body work? Sure the materials are expensive, but I have seen some cars done by guys in their own shops who have never done it before that look fantastic. Is it so dismal that it has to be a labor of love for your car?

I feel your pain. I have just decided to patch up my '66 wagon and go with it as-is instead of going through the ordeal. I can put up with a lot of imperfections for what I would have to go through and how long it would take to get it done. Get the interior nice & you'll never notice when you are rolling down the road.

I guess when I get tired of looking at the blemishes I will just learn to do the whole thing myself. I have my eye on learning the old body solder methods.

[gentile3]

i priced a gallon of dp90 and catalyst it was $276


this is why this hobby is dying...

[born11bravo]

Wow, great comments everyone. Thought I would show you a pic BEFORE the frame off started. Eventually I'll get around to showing you the in-progress stuff....not yet though. Dig those funky hubcaps!

[Engine-Ear]

Originally Posted by Deadhead

There is so much business out there in this area that you could make a really good living doing it. You get to work with old cars, pretty much the same conditions over & over. Why is it so impossible to find decent body work?

Ay-effing-Men, man. Besides not having the scratch for it, I think the body-man-shell-game is what keeps the faded, ugly GM original paint on most of the beaters I wheel in!!

Born-11-Bravo: Nice Mug and Nice side marker lamps!

[65FATCAT]

Those really are CRAZY hubcaps! looks sort of like old caddy sombreroes but not quite.

I know the good body man thing has been discussed in the body shop forum at length, but in a nut shell, time is money and people aren't cool any more.

What would a body guy rather do? Fix a Honda fender real fast for a grossly inflated insurance check or work on some guys old labor intensive car that needs color sanding and buffing after paint work all for a reasonable price and a very critical owner. Pulling out dents and patching rust holes or just bolting on new parts and a quick spray job, old car guys lose before you even get in the door.

Here's the part i really love though, and this is amongst ourselves, you go to a car show and see nice paint jobs all around, when you ask the owner for a referrence it's always the same response: yep, a retired body guy i know did it and real cheap, BUT he doesn't do it anymore. Awesome!

[Deadhead]

Originally Posted by born11bravo

Wow, great comments everyone. Thought I would show you a pic BEFORE the frame off started. Eventually I'll get around to showing you the in-progress stuff....not yet though. Dig those funky hubcaps!

Man, looks great from here!

[stevep]

Dave, I was just thinking about you last week when I found a note that you had sent me!

[MOJO Catalina]

Originally Posted by My442

Great.

I took it one step further: My son is a lawyer, and I had him draw up a contract for:

1. What will be done

2. How it will be done

3. When it will be done

4. Contingency causes for hidden issues and extra work

5. Use clause for no driving it, inside storage, etc.

If the body shop did not want to sign it, then they did not get my business.

You have to protect yourself!

Lotsa Luck with this angle. The second you "lawyer up" expect the door to slam in your face. It'll be telling the guy you're going to be a "high maintenance" customer.

I think I'll take a few courses at the community college and by the time I'm 50, I'll be able to do about 12 cars a year, maybe 10 grand per month. Welding, bodywork, paint... Only cars made before 1972... Maybe I'll make seatcovers, too. Seems there's a monopoly on those for the Pontiac guys right now.