Restoration cost

[Swifster]

Yeah, but that $40 an hour is only for regular collision work. Get into an old car or a 'special interest' vehicle and the rates start at $50-$60 an hour and go up from there.

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Tom - Valrico, FL

1964 Studebaker Daytona

[Swifster]

Yeah, but that $40 an hour is only for regular collision work. Get into an old car or a 'special interest' vehicle and the rates start at $50-$60 an hour and go up from there.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tom - Valrico, FL

1964 Studebaker Daytona

[Nitram]

[quote]Originally posted by Swifster

Now if this isn't motivation to learn how to do it yourself, what is? [:0]

I'll second you on the motivation to do it yourself. I just had a rough estimate put together to do my 57 Transtar pickup. Keep in mind the front clip is already removed back to the firewall. He gave me a rough number of hours to repair all rust areas which included replacing the skins on both doors, metal patching of the front fenders, some work on the rockers etc and putting it back together with primer not painted. I was quoted a minimum of 100 hrs put into the truck at $60. per hour. He said if he would take it to finished, depending on how detailed I want to get, it could end up being 150 to 200 hrs. Do the math I'm looking at 6-12 thousand on the body alone.


[img=left]http://farm1.static.flickr.com/158/360197307_8639ee4a46_m.jpg[/img=left]
~Nitram~
57 Transtar
Lancaster, PA

[Nitram]

[quote]Originally posted by Swifster

Now if this isn't motivation to learn how to do it yourself, what is? [:0]

I'll second you on the motivation to do it yourself. I just had a rough estimate put together to do my 57 Transtar pickup. Keep in mind the front clip is already removed back to the firewall. He gave me a rough number of hours to repair all rust areas which included replacing the skins on both doors, metal patching of the front fenders, some work on the rockers etc and putting it back together with primer not painted. I was quoted a minimum of 100 hrs put into the truck at $60. per hour. He said if he would take it to finished, depending on how detailed I want to get, it could end up being 150 to 200 hrs. Do the math I'm looking at 6-12 thousand on the body alone.


[img=left]http://farm1.static.flickr.com/158/360197307_8639ee4a46_m.jpg[/img=left]
~Nitram~
57 Transtar
Lancaster, PA

[Swifster]

I will say this about costs. In the relm of Studebakers, there is no place better to take on a restoration than the midwest, especially in the Tri-State area of Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. With a large concentration of auto industry suppliers, there are places that chrome plate for less, e-coat (for less), parts location, etc.

This is one definite minus of living in the Southeast. There is a complete lack of industrial presence. All of the above involve shipping and risking damage thru UPS, the USPS, or FedEx. I'm hoping to have the larger items that I'll need to have stripped and e-coated within the next year so that I can schedule everything in the course of a week.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tom - Valrico, FL

1964 Studebaker Daytona

[Swifster]

I will say this about costs. In the relm of Studebakers, there is no place better to take on a restoration than the midwest, especially in the Tri-State area of Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. With a large concentration of auto industry suppliers, there are places that chrome plate for less, e-coat (for less), parts location, etc.

This is one definite minus of living in the Southeast. There is a complete lack of industrial presence. All of the above involve shipping and risking damage thru UPS, the USPS, or FedEx. I'm hoping to have the larger items that I'll need to have stripped and e-coated within the next year so that I can schedule everything in the course of a week.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tom - Valrico, FL

1964 Studebaker Daytona

[tstclr]

I'm hoping to do the body on my Lark myself. Other than a couple of fender repairs, the rest of the body is very solid. I'm going to buy one of those portable greenhouses that can easily be set up and taken down. I'm going to set it up in the garage. That will be my "paint booth". I'm going to rig up a air filtration system and bright lighting that will shine through from the outside. Since we have the luxury of having bolt on panels, this booth will be used for painting those. The only part of the car that I'll have to do outside the booth will be the roof, cowl etc. Since I'm not using a metallic, I should have no problems painting one piece at at time. It's easier to repair one screwed up panel than to have to reshoot the whole car. I'm not going to cheap out on a gun or paint. I think quality is the key to a good finish. The hardest part will be assembly without chipping anything!

Todd


63 Lark 2dr Sedan

64 Daytona 4dr Sedan

[tstclr]

I'm hoping to do the body on my Lark myself. Other than a couple of fender repairs, the rest of the body is very solid. I'm going to buy one of those portable greenhouses that can easily be set up and taken down. I'm going to set it up in the garage. That will be my "paint booth". I'm going to rig up a air filtration system and bright lighting that will shine through from the outside. Since we have the luxury of having bolt on panels, this booth will be used for painting those. The only part of the car that I'll have to do outside the booth will be the roof, cowl etc. Since I'm not using a metallic, I should have no problems painting one piece at at time. It's easier to repair one screwed up panel than to have to reshoot the whole car. I'm not going to cheap out on a gun or paint. I think quality is the key to a good finish. The hardest part will be assembly without chipping anything!

Todd


63 Lark 2dr Sedan

64 Daytona 4dr Sedan

[studegary]

[quote]quote:Originally posted by Nitram

Originally posted by Swifster

Now if this isn't motivation to learn how to do it yourself, what is? [:0]

I'll second you on the motivation to do it yourself. I just had a rough estimate put together to do my 57 Transtar pickup. Keep in mind the front clip is already removed back to the firewall. He gave me a rough number of hours to repair all rust areas which included replacing the skins on both doors, metal patching of the front fenders, some work on the rockers etc and putting it back together with primer not painted. I was quoted a minimum of 100 hrs put into the truck at $60. per hour. He said if he would take it to finished, depending on how detailed I want to get, it could end up being 150 to 200 hrs. Do the math I'm looking at 6-12 thousand on the body alone.

Nitram - For not much more than that, you can buy my entire '59 pickup all completed. You saw the complete set of color pictures of it this week. If you had an interest in it, you could have driven a few more miles and looked at it.

Gary L.
Wappinger, NY

1959 DeLuxe pickup (restomod)

[studegary]

[quote]quote:Originally posted by Nitram

Originally posted by Swifster

Now if this isn't motivation to learn how to do it yourself, what is? [:0]

I'll second you on the motivation to do it yourself. I just had a rough estimate put together to do my 57 Transtar pickup. Keep in mind the front clip is already removed back to the firewall. He gave me a rough number of hours to repair all rust areas which included replacing the skins on both doors, metal patching of the front fenders, some work on the rockers etc and putting it back together with primer not painted. I was quoted a minimum of 100 hrs put into the truck at $60. per hour. He said if he would take it to finished, depending on how detailed I want to get, it could end up being 150 to 200 hrs. Do the math I'm looking at 6-12 thousand on the body alone.

Nitram - For not much more than that, you can buy my entire '59 pickup all completed. You saw the complete set of color pictures of it this week. If you had an interest in it, you could have driven a few more miles and looked at it.

Gary L.
Wappinger, NY

1959 DeLuxe pickup (restomod)

[JBOYLE]

Don't throw anything...

Something to consider about restoration costs...
When you compare the costs to the price of a new, or even used, vehicle, they aren't too bad.

If you've priced a new car lately...a "sporty" Honda-ish coupe will run$25,000 or more...and you should be able to get a nice C-K body for that.

In size (if not in moderen performance and safety gear) my Avanti is comparable to my Mercedes CLK or a Mazda RX-8. But unless you go stupid (which SDC members wouldn't...since we can, to varying degrees, do some work ourselves) and start with a decent car, you shoudn't get near the $40+ thousand for either of those modern units.

Likewise I'm sure you could do a great job on restoring a pickup for less than the cost of even a base F-150 or Chevy....or perhaps the price of a compact Ranger.

Sure our Studebakers probably won't cut it as daily transportation (though I know a lot of you do use them as daily drivers)but that's where the hobby element of our interests come into play.

Plus...few modern cars will hold their value..or perhaps appreciate...like a well restored Studebaker.

63 Avanti R1 2788
1914 Stutz Bearcat
(George Barris replica)

Washington State

[JBOYLE]

Don't throw anything...

Something to consider about restoration costs...
When you compare the costs to the price of a new, or even used, vehicle, they aren't too bad.

If you've priced a new car lately...a "sporty" Honda-ish coupe will run$25,000 or more...and you should be able to get a nice C-K body for that.

In size (if not in moderen performance and safety gear) my Avanti is comparable to my Mercedes CLK or a Mazda RX-8. But unless you go stupid (which SDC members wouldn't...since we can, to varying degrees, do some work ourselves) and start with a decent car, you shoudn't get near the $40+ thousand for either of those modern units.

Likewise I'm sure you could do a great job on restoring a pickup for less than the cost of even a base F-150 or Chevy....or perhaps the price of a compact Ranger.

Sure our Studebakers probably won't cut it as daily transportation (though I know a lot of you do use them as daily drivers)but that's where the hobby element of our interests come into play.

Plus...few modern cars will hold their value..or perhaps appreciate...like a well restored Studebaker.

63 Avanti R1 2788
1914 Stutz Bearcat
(George Barris replica)

Washington State

[avantilover]

quote:Originally posted by JDP

A few weeks back someone was asking about the "best" Studebaker restoration shop and I have a related comment concerning cost. I just got a call from a guy restoring a bullet nose at one of the top restorers mentioned. The guy had no problems with the quality of the work, but was clueless as to the money involved in a nut and bolt restoration. He's 10K into the chassis already, with interior, chrome paint and body work to come and this is on a 4 door Champion. There is no way to turn back now even if he ends up with the only 40K 4 door on the planet.
My only point is that you need to be aware of the bill you'll get at $75-$100 hour for 100's of hours of labor. If I spent two hours detailing a pair of horns for example, it's no big deal for me, but I'd never pay $150 for two shiny horns. Most of us have to farm out some work, but handing the car to a shop and doing a check book restoration can get you upside down in a car in a heartbeat.



64 Commander 2 dr.
63 R2 4 speed GT Hawk (Black) #2
63 Avanti R1
63 Daytona convert
63 Lark 2 door
63 Lark 2 door #2
62 Daytona HT/ 4 speed
62 Lark 2 door
62 GT Hawk 4 speed
60 Lark HT
60 Hawk
59 3E truck
52 Starliner
51 Commander

The obvious point is that, paraphrasing Melvin Benzaquen of Classic Restorations in NY State you can't know what work is required or what it'll cost until the vehicle is totally stripped down to bare metal. There are numerous photos of cars that were "restored" or that look ok until the paint is removed and they're full of rust and/or Bondo. Great site though and the quality of their work is beautiful

http://www.classicresto.com/

John Clements
Avantilover, your South Australian Studebaker lover!!!
Lockleys South Australia

[avantilover]

quote:Originally posted by JDP

A few weeks back someone was asking about the "best" Studebaker restoration shop and I have a related comment concerning cost. I just got a call from a guy restoring a bullet nose at one of the top restorers mentioned. The guy had no problems with the quality of the work, but was clueless as to the money involved in a nut and bolt restoration. He's 10K into the chassis already, with interior, chrome paint and body work to come and this is on a 4 door Champion. There is no way to turn back now even if he ends up with the only 40K 4 door on the planet.
My only point is that you need to be aware of the bill you'll get at $75-$100 hour for 100's of hours of labor. If I spent two hours detailing a pair of horns for example, it's no big deal for me, but I'd never pay $150 for two shiny horns. Most of us have to farm out some work, but handing the car to a shop and doing a check book restoration can get you upside down in a car in a heartbeat.



64 Commander 2 dr.
63 R2 4 speed GT Hawk (Black) #2
63 Avanti R1
63 Daytona convert
63 Lark 2 door
63 Lark 2 door #2
62 Daytona HT/ 4 speed
62 Lark 2 door
62 GT Hawk 4 speed
60 Lark HT
60 Hawk
59 3E truck
52 Starliner
51 Commander

The obvious point is that, paraphrasing Melvin Benzaquen of Classic Restorations in NY State you can't know what work is required or what it'll cost until the vehicle is totally stripped down to bare metal. There are numerous photos of cars that were "restored" or that look ok until the paint is removed and they're full of rust and/or Bondo. Great site though and the quality of their work is beautiful

http://www.classicresto.com/

John Clements
Avantilover, your South Australian Studebaker lover!!!
Lockleys South Australia

[rockne10]

quote:Posted - 01/24/2007 : 9:32:10 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yeah, but that $40 an hour is only for regular collision work. Get into an old car or a 'special interest' vehicle and the rates start at $50-$60 an hour and go up from there.

MERCENARIES!

An hour of work is worth an hour of work. It cannot be argued that Westmoreland Restorations, formerly Westmoreland Studebaker, in Blairsville, Pa has produced some outstanding show winners. Their hourly rate is $38. That's it. They only do restorations.
They currently have an MG Midget in the works and it will probably cost the guy 50K! There's no reason why the rate should change. All that should change is the care taken in the details to do a remarkable job. Quoting a higher hourly rate for a restoration job should be the sign of a shop that does not trust their own work or abilities.