Need honest restoration of 68 fastback . had it in 2 shop in eastern ky , had to go get both times first guy health reasons. Second crook. I know it will cost. thanks for any advise . thinking it might be best to give up and buy one already done. 68 fastback orginal 302 car. change 9'' rearend, front disc, power steering , 351. thanks again for any help .
restorations shops
- Thread starter dparton41
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WORTH
Dirt-Old 20+Year Member
If you don't know enough to do your own restoration , you don't know enough to keep from getting ripped off. And you probably don't know enough to buy a classic already done. If this is the case you should find a local club, talk to the members and see if you can get somebody to help you make decisions. WHere are you, you could be a members next door neighbor.
I've seen some real nice looking Stangs that were a POS.
I've seen some real nice looking Stangs that were a POS.
I have a one man shop doing restoration in East Tn. I have done about 12 cars, total, in 10 years. I do driver quality work, not show cars. First you need to fully understand what you want out of the car when it’s complete. That needs to be communicated with the shop up front and they should share what that means for costs and time to complete. Parts can be cheap or expensive depending on quality. Body work can be repaired many ways, bondo over tinfoil to new sheet metal everywhere. Paint can be cheap to expensive. The list goes on. When I do a driver quality total job, interior, mechanical and body& paint it costs from 25 - 35,000. I charge $35 / hr and parts. That is pretty cheap and most shops are at least $45 - ?? There is no good cheap restoration. Pick a shop that asks you the right questions and gives you good answers to yours. I would say that a 1968 Fastback is a good start for a valuable restoration though. I have one of my own
Dan
Dan
WORTH
Dirt-Old 20+Year Member
Dewdrop, your cost of living must be considerably lower down there, up here in New England shop rate is closer to the 100-150 per hour. I wouldn't have a classic anything if I had to pay someone else to build it. I just couldn't afford it. Up here it's much cheaper to buy one already built if you know what to look for than it is to have one restored. And finding an honest shop is real tough. To give an example I sold a '65 ragtop I didn't want to restore that needed floors and rockers and a total restore, the shop that bought it does very nice work and it is now a restomod with a 4.6 and an auto and for sale at I believe $85,000.00
I did Street Rods as a hobby and to make pocket-change...mostly for my buddies. Then a very rich guy built a 4-bay shop in my back yard so I could build just for him. I did for several years, then tried to do it for customers as a business. Got "stiffed" so much I had to close the shop and went to work for a city as Shop Super and Police Dept. gunsmith (I was a federally licensed gunsmith also). It worked out because now I have my SS and a check from that city for retirement. Never got rich but I own everything. Had I stayed in business building cars I would be broke! You are right WORTH, buy one...it is much cheaper. The house in town is not as "country" as my farm, but it is close to the stores. I built a shop in the back with an alley entry and the 65 next to the whisky barrels was this past summer on a 2,275 mile trip to Tenn. and Miss. to visit family. I really miss my shooting range in the country, but grandchildren must come first...though they miss it too.
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I forgot, the pictures on the wall of the house garage are of my 32 5-window coupe, 40 Ford coupe (both 289 power) and a few of the ones I built over the years that I liked or built for me. I had to build the 12' shuffleboard table for the grand children, and buy a Ping-Pong table, and set-up a BB-Gun range in the back yard, and a Chess Set is on a table in that garage. The little buggers keep me busy and away from the 67 Sunbeam I am building. But that is what they are supposed to do, while we spoil them rotten...then leave them to their parents. Life is good.
