Price Of A Paint Job On A Hawk

[JoeHall]

I stopped by a local paint & body shop today for an estimate on a paint job for the 63GT. This shop reportedly does excellent work, and is highly recommended by local classic & street rod folks. They looked the car over closely, and said they could do anything I wanted, but it would be in their shop 2-3 months. They mainly do insurance work, "though we like to keep a project like this in our shop, but only one at a time".

If I remove the old paint (take it down to the metal), all chrome, stainless, and misc other stuff (gravel shield, rear bumper valences, side grills, door panels, etc.), they will do the bodywork & paint job for $4500-$5000. I would then reassemble the car. They will include all materials, and use PPG two-stage paint, and epoxy primer. The variable is the amount of body work required which, of course, is difficult to determine till taken down to the metal.

If I wanted them to do everything, including the engine bay, I am sure it would be closer to $10,000, since labor is the main expense.

Nothing is cheap anymore, and I believe this to be a fair price. Any opinions?

[jclary]

No, No, No!...It's not so much the price as the attitude and terms. They may be great folks and have terriffic skills, but at that price, the car deserves first rate attention. A body shop concentrating on fender benders while kicking someone's beloved classic over to a corner and occasionally working on it between "real jobs"...is not where I want my car. The everyday ordinary vintage Fords and Chevys might be one thing, but pilfered and misplaced Studebaker bits and pieces can be harder to replace by those not connected to to the brand. Who needs to risk that kind of hassle.

All projects have what I call "project inertia" and once begun, need to keep moving toward completion. Regardless of good intentions...projects done in bits, fits, starts and stops seem to either stall or suffer in quality. An "as we can get to it" contract is fraught with danger.

Just my opinion.

[63 R2 Hawk]

It sounds about right in today's world. Few collision shops will do "paint complete" jobs any more. They make their money doing R&R of panels and very little metal repair is done. Collision guys make their money by beating flat rate. They won't pick up a spray gun for less than $800. Paint cost is incredibly expensive these days. Make sure they are OK with you stripping the old finish and be prepared for some bondo surprises.

[pushrod63]

No, No, No!...It's not so much the price as the attitude and terms. They may be great folks and have terriffic skills, but at that price, the car deserves first rate attention. A body shop concentrating on fender benders while kicking someone's beloved classic over to a corner and occasionally working on it between "real jobs"...is not where I want my car. The everyday ordinary vintage Fords and Chevys might be one thing, but pilfered and misplaced Studebaker bits and pieces can be harder to replace by those not connected to to the brand. Who needs to risk that kind of hassle.

All projects have what I call "project inertia" and once begun, need to keep moving toward completion. Regardless of good intentions...projects done in bits, fits, starts and stops seem to either stall or suffer in quality. An "as we can get to it" contract is fraught with danger.

Just my opinion.

As owner/ operator of a body shop myself, I have to disagree with you. Unless there is a restoration shop in your area, most body shops have to make "insurance work" their priority otherwise the bills don't get paid. As owner and collector of more than one classic car, I would say that most people can manage to wait 2 to 3 months for a quality paint job whereas a crashed daily driver needs to be repaired and back on the road as soon as possible.

[Kdancy]

And I bet at that, they are not making money if they forgo any insurance work to take the time to do the job.
Collision-Body shops are a world apart from an actual Restoration shop.

[57transtar guy]

My 67 Mustang was done to show quality and it took 3 months.

My Studebaker truck was not done to show quality but down to the frame and engine compartment as well as interior and took 1 month.

The mustang cost $8k and the stude $2k.

[ddub]

If these guys are recommended by locals with cars you have seen I'd go for it. I'm sure you can do your part.

[JoeHall]

My 67 Mustang was done to show quality and it took 3 months.

My Studebaker truck was not done to show quality but down to the frame and engine compartment as well as interior and took 1 month.

The mustang cost $8k and the stude $2k.

Thanks,
Where, and in what year(s) was the work done? In other words, how long ago?

[jclary]

As owner/ operator of a body shop myself, I have to disagree with you. Unless there is a restoration shop in your area, most body shops have to make "insurance work" their priority otherwise the bills don't get paid. As owner and collector of more than one classic car, I would say that most people can manage to wait 2 to 3 months for a quality paint job whereas a crashed daily driver needs to be repaired and back on the road as soon as possible.

Hey...as usual...there's always more sides to the story than we can hack out on a key board in a few minutes of visiting the forum. Some of my best friends are body shop owners/operators/artists. Just so you'll know I can take my lumps...it took me SIX YEARS in fits, stops, and starts to restore the coupe in my signature pic.(True confession moment) My caution was just that...and if Joe does his homework up front, he might have the best situation possible. However, not long ago, I know of one of our own members who became entangled in one of these open ended situations that got so bad that guns were pointed.

I attempt to do as much work myself as I can. I also try to be very respectful and humble when I drag one of my relics to a hard working business to bail me out when I'm in over my head. Few folks running a business have the time or share the passion for our old cars as we do. In Joe's situation, he may have stumbled on one of those shops run by an individual who shares the enthusiasm with the rest of us and sees the occasional classic as a enjoyable challenge and way to stay connected with his passion. In this way he is able to show off his capability, hone his skills, and advertise his business at the same time. If it turns out this way...everybody wins!

[8E45E]

It's not so much the price as the attitude and terms.

Exactly!!! As a job like this will be a long-term project, get everything in writing. Don't be afraid to make progress payments on a regular basis for the work being done and about to be done. (If its a reputable shop with good testimony by the local car club fraternity, you should have confidence in them.) And these progress payments also give you great reason to see your car on a regular basis. Another good idea is to have as little as possible on the car which has to be removed prior to refinishing, including bumpers, trim, etc. It is far safer in your own home, and cleaning it gives YOU something to do while THEY do the painting. As one body man in our chapter told me, "The more you do, and the less we do in the bodyshop, the less it costs you in the end."

Craig

[JoeHall]

They had a late 1960s Chevy convertible in the shop today, and said it should be coming out in a month or so. The scheduler is a 75 year old guy, who seems healthy as a horse. He has me scheduled to drop the car off right after the 4th of July weekend.

They seemed easy to work with, and mainly just asked what I wanted and how I wanted to coordinate things. They had no problem with me removing the old paint, and trim. Matter of fact, they reminded me to take the paint off the door jams too, since its gonna be painted a different color than the current red. I am thinking 1963 silver mist. It has red interior, which outta match the silver paint nicely.

Y'all bring up some good points, and I think I am gonna push for something on paper that says NOT LONGER THAN 3 months.

[Corvanti]

i tend to agree with Mr.Clary's earlier post. however, if the down time for the paint is when the GT would be normally down for wintertime, etc. - maybe.

is the GT going to be a "judged concourse type", a daily or occasional driver?

i'd still want to research other shops in your region, and get at least 3 to 5 estimates before pulling the trigger.

[Scott]

I'm thinking about getting a can of paint and a roller. I've seen some good results and I'll never? be able to spend $1000 or more on a paint job. Geez - I'm just trying get tires on the thing.

[JDP]

i tend to agree with Mr.Clary's earlier post. however, if the down time for the paint is when the GT would be normally down for wintertime, etc. - maybe.

is the GT going to be a "judged concourse type", a daily or occasional driver?

i'd still want to research other shops in your region, and get at least 3 to 5 estimates before pulling the trigger.

The owner of Sid, my old 399 point GT paid 11K about 7 years ago for show paint and it showed.

[JoeHall]

i tend to agree with Mr.Clary's earlier post. however, if the down time for the paint is when the GT would be normally down for wintertime, etc. - maybe.

is the GT going to be a "judged concourse type", a daily or occasional driver?

i'd still want to research other shops in your region, and get at least 3 to 5 estimates before pulling the trigger.

I agree about getting some more estimates.

Its only a GT, and will always be a driver, as far as I am concerned. So not looking for a show car level paint job, just a nice driver.

If I was gonna spend big dollars on a paint job, it would be on the 56J, but its a driver too.