Paint and Body Restoration prob

Unfortunately good paint and body work is really expensive these days and fox mustangs are usually not worth the money it cost to bring them back . Even with FOX prices going up it is not uncommon to pay $10 grand just for a fair to good paint job. Even MACCO is getting $2 grand plus just to spray paint with no body work. Supplies are expensive, have you check on the price of paint and all the additives? Even at summit, cheap paint isn't cheap. Body work also takes time and ties up shop resources so the shops are reluctant to take on big projects. Also with rust what you can see is almost always just the tip of the iceberg. I offer a few thoughts, what is the car really worth to you? are you willing to drop $20k or more? What level of restoration are you wanting, Show car perfection will double or triple the price. Does a MACCO level paint job work for you. You said you don't do paint and body work, do you do your own mechanical work, Often with these FOXes you can still find a roller/body for a few grand and if your mechanic skills are good swap the parts over. If you really want to keep that car, paint and body work can be learned OR are there any schools that take on projects? sometimes they will do the work for the cost of materials, they just take a semester or two to get it done. Sorry for the long post and bad news. If you do find a shop make sure your expectations and their cost are well known and documented. many cars need double or triple the work once stripped and quickly outrun the budget. GOOD LUCK and post what you end up doing.