Body work for 2,000 dollars????

[mustangman70]

Hey guys, i have a buddy who actually posts on here who has a friend who does body work that wants to help me out... im going to help out with as MUCH as i can as in taking stuff etc.......basicly i need two rear fenders, doors and skins, rear and front valences, floor pans etc.....now my questions, he said for 2 grand he would fix the rust, OR if i have the cash we can paint it then but obviously thats more...im going to go with a white base (with blue pearl) and then do some real nice blue stripes...so im NOT going to get the radiator im parking it for a while

Is this some what reasonable.... i know my cowl is rusted .. i meantiond it to him and he knows its a helluva job but in order to fix the cowl does the motor have to come out????

 

[lauras70mach1]

Sounds like your buddy's going to do $20K worth of work for $2K.

 

[mustangman70]

Thats what i was afraid of

 

[69 Rustang]

If he is replacing both rear quarter panels (fenders as you called them), reskinning the doors, and fixing the cowl plus other dents, then that is a heck of a deal. Maybe too cheap...

I recently had a guy quote me $2000 just to fix the dings and dents on my 73 Fastback. It is already stripped to bare metal and in primer and all the trim is removed. I thought that was way out of line especially considering I am putting a new hood on it and there is no rust.

 

[mustangman70]

lol yeas i meant rear quarters lol

I love guinness what can i say....anyways that price was with me providing all the metal and stuff

 

[Platonic Solid]

My secret Guinness decoder ring seems to be broken.
Are you replacing the doors or reskining?
Exactly what will be done to the front and rear valences?
Full or partial floor pans?
Exactly what is your buddy’s buddy including in: “for 2 grand he would fix the rust”?

 

[mustangman70]

allright, i will be replacing the doors totally because there rotton for sure all the way through......

the rear valence is bondod to hell and back.....and the front one we will more then likly reuse, if you guys like i could post pictures of the cancer areas.

"full or partial" floor pans, more then likley full... they seem to be rusted here and there all the way back

 

[xoxbxfx]

ok...here is some food for thought...

I just had a 69fatback done not to long ago. The bodyshop quoted $400 each side for the quarters, to do a set of pans would have been $450, then door skins would be about $300 each. Body work is very time consuming and at $45/hr (going rate for bodywork here in tx) it adds up really quick. I would say for him to fix everything and paint the car, you are lookin at $6-12k) worth of work. Big variation but thats mainly depending on the quality of the paint job. Honestly it sounds like you would be way better off finding another solid coupe than mess with that unless you plan on doing it yourself over a long time.

Professionally fixing the cowl, doors, quarters, valances, floors then paint...you are looking at $15K+ if you had a bodyshop do it. Yes, the motor needs to come out to properly fix the cowl vent. Also, remember when you buy aftermarket body panels, they ALWAYS need work. Little dings and dents, they are never stamped perfect like back in the 60's and it seems bodyshops would rather fix what you ahve than mess with crap that doesnt fit right and needs work anyways

 

[19stang66]

We were quoted on finishing the body work and painting my first 66 coupe and there wasnt as much body work needed as yours does but the guy was asking $5k to finish it. So we said screw it and bought a already newly painted, rust free 66 coupe down in Texas for $3800. I'd recommend trying ebay or somewhere else for a rust free car unless your heart is set on keeping this one forever.

 

[Platonic Solid]

As an alternative to the wise advice offered by xoxbxfx: Assuming it's structurally sound, spend $700 on a MIG setup (welder, gas, clamps) and learn how to do it yourself.

 

[James Kirk]

Daz ezakly rite. I did. Takes a little time but iz not rokit siance.

 

[DukeGnarley]

Daz ezakly rite. I did. Takes a little time but iz not rokit siance.

...................................

 

[jerry S]

somebody here has a tag line on his signature that

Good ain't cheap and cheap ain't good.

So I guess you can have the job done

• cheaply but not well done
• well-done but not cheap

Pick one.

 

[NasaGT]

As an alternative to the wise advice offered by xoxbxfx: Assuming it's structurally sound, spend $700 on a MIG setup (welder, gas, clamps) and learn how to do it yourself.

I vote for this option too. Do it yourself, its way cheaper and you'll know the quality of the work. Its not that hard, just time consumming and requires a garage - maybe for a couple of years.

 

[xoxbxfx]

As an alternative to the wise advice offered by xoxbxfx: Assuming it's structurally sound, spend $700 on a MIG setup (welder, gas, clamps) and learn how to do it yourself.

I agree with you on redoing the floorpans yourself but I dont agree with 1/4's. I have done a couple 1/4 panels and it is a lot of work and definately should not be one of the first weldind projects. Large bodypanels will quickly warp on you when welding it. If you could TIG it, that would be nice but a TIG is expensive. I needed floorpans on my coupe back about 4 years ago and instead of having it done, I bought a welded and did it myself. Although it a lot of work and sometimes you want to kill yourself cause it sucks cutting the pans out, its worth it to do it yourself.

 

[NasaGT]

I also agree with xoxbxfx, don't start with the quarters, start with floor pans, or reskinning the doors. They are much easier than quarter panels.

 

[allcarfan]

IF you go with that paint scheme, be sure to send me or post some pics. I have my paint bought...mixing white, and we are shooting blue pearl over it. Wondering how it will look.

 

[geostang351]

Yes, the motor needs to come out to properly fix the cowl vent.

This is not true. Why would you need to remove the motor? You need to remove the windshild though.

 

[LMan]

I know emotions are a factor here, but you are looking at dropping 10-15k into a car that you'll never come close to getting back on the resell.

And don't say "I'll never sell." EVERYONE sells. Its a matter of time and circumstance.

Either your friend of a friend is delusional, or y'all have a misunderstanding. When you got past "both rear 1/4s", you are already past your $2k. Lots of places would want 2k and more for the cowl alone.

So now you've gone through the $2k, the car is in rusty pieces in your friend's shop, you are broke, he wants more $$$ to keep working on it, and you two are in an argument about it.


Look before you leap. I would think about all the $$$ you would spend on this rusty car and buy a rustfree one (or nearly so) instead.

 

[mustangman70]

Thanks alot guys, this isnt a "big body shop either" its a friend of a friend who does body work on the side who knows his ****, he just wants to help me out i guess.

And imn sorry to say, but ill be on stangnet FOREVER and i HOPE to be lauging 30 years from now when i still have it....this car means ALOT to me ya know?...in all honesty this car is the reason i am where i am today my whole childhood reloved around this car, i graduated with a 3.25 GPA because of this car...i doubt ill ever sell it resale value really means jack **** to me, i would claim bankrupcy before i sold this car