How bad does this sound?

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<50miles

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Hello One and All

Not too long ago I introduced myself as an owner who has had their car since 1996. And in that time I have only put on 50 miles due to problems with getting the work done adequately. After some discussion, my mechanic was able to bring in somebody who is very familar with these cars (he is from Holland).

It has taken awhile, once the bodyman conducted a thorough inspection (including a boroscope of the bulkhead) he gave me a detailed estimate. The estimate is for a complete strip of the car down to the metal, welding in new metal (sills and pans, including removing front fenders to so this properly), and a good paint job.

Although I am not a bodyperson and have only worked on the oily bits of other cars, he quoted me 95 hours for everything. To me that sounds pretty reasonable and implies that there is only a moderate amount of rust on the vehicle.

What do you fine individuals think?

Andrew
 
Please correct me as I may be wrong but I had 3 individual shops quote me 200 hours for a full body prep and paint. I had done all of the panel stripping, welding and cleaning of the car and I coated her with self-etching primer to prevent rust before dropping her off. At the shop there were minor dents that needed metal shrinking and small amounts of filler then the prep and paint. Unless your car is 90% super clean to begin with that sounds like a bit of a dream- pictures would help us :-)
 
Without seeing the car and knowing the condition it's very hard to say.
But I would agree its way too low.

I agree with Peter, My painter also quoted 200 hrs for a full prep and paint from a bare metal shell. (that is epoxy base coat, filler, high build undercoat, color and clear over, cut and buff)

Any strip down work, rust repairs and re assembly etc would all be on top of this.

To do it properly I would think you would be looking at something more like 350-400 man hrs in total to do a drive in drive out job.

Steve
 
Too good to be true ...

Hello Gentlemen

Thank you for the responses. Since I do not have much experience in this area, I do not doubt your conclusions. All I can say is that my mechanic has known this person for more than 10 years and had numerous cars painted by him, some of which I have seen in person and they were well presented.

I guess the old adage is true, if sometime seems too good to be true, it isn't true.

Thanks
 
IMHO all our comments could be wrong without information
i can not understand why, generally speaking, you are so reluctant to post pics that can certainly help to give a correct advice...?
 
Can we stop at 200 hours please. My bare shell is at the body shop and you're making me nervous. It's $80 per hour here.

Tierfreund - V12 Jag - God help you
 
Asked and answered

Hello One and All

Because the car is in a garage where it is positioned tightly between two very nice E-Type jaguars, I am currently unable to take pictures. Due to the interest on this site, I contacted the owner of the garage where the car is and asked him to send me any pictures of the car he took when it was up on his hoist being inspected.

I posted a number of theses pictures on my photobucket account.

http://s938.photobucket.com/user/Siew88Yong/media/DSCF2897_zps0cbdf6b0.jpg.html

The car is presently in Edmonton, Alberta in a garage where it has been for more than a decade. When I bought it in 1996, the car had already been painted its original colour, but the paint job was not very good. Currently I have no pictures of the floor. The floor has a 4 to 5 inches hole on the driver's side. The rest of the floor, including the trunk, has no evidence of rust.

Thank you

Andrew
 
Last edited:
Hi andrew, looking at your pics id say your body man has got it spot on, but factor in an extra 20-30 for all the fiddley bits that either break on removal. Thats a lovley clean car youve got there.

200 plus hours other forum members are quoting are for the rot boxs out there where the cars are being looked at through rose tinted glasses. Buying a basket case then spending the next decade worrying about how much the resto bill will be is just madness and puts owners into an early grave.

best of luck with the project andrew and remember 1 major thing, when its done, blitz every crevices, gap and all the underside in zi-bart or another sealant, these things rot for fun so prevention is more economical and piece of mind than cure.
 
Thank you Mr. Bump

Hello

I appreciate your reply. I know it was difficult for people to respond without pictures. As mentioned, the car is blocked in so I couldn't get any new pictures. The pictures I posted are a good representation of the car as it sits. The rear wheel wells are in similar condition as is the trunk floor. I was very fortunate that the car was undercoated when it was new(er).

As to the number of hours, the body man has already put in 6 additional hour for extra work that might show up, therefore, the 96 hours quoted is for everything.

Consequently, I am still at a crossroads on this car. The way I see it, it will cost approximately 10k for the bodywork and another 10k for a top end rebuild of the original engine, as well as, new glass, shocks and putting it all back together (and maybe another 5k if I go the manual route). But, as I am trying to convince my wife and me, once I have put the 25K into the car (plus the 15K it has cost me so far), the car will be worth much more.

Things to think about

Andrew
 
You probably don't want to think too much about ROI on a hobby car, it is going to be negative on pretty much any car project....

You need to more think about if you want it, can afford it, how long you would keep it, how much you would use it etc.

I have spent too much on mine and I intend to keep it for as long as I can drive it so the money makes for a big investment now but then I get (hopefully) many years of joy from it.
 
johanaxelson said:
You probably don't want to think too much about ROI on a hobby car, it is going to be negative on pretty much any car project....

You need to more think about if you want it, can afford it, how long you would keep it, how much you would use it etc.

I have spent too much on mine and I intend to keep it for as long as I can drive it so the money makes for a big investment now but then I get (hopefully) many years of joy from it.
Click to expand...

Couldnt agree more, if your buying it to make a quick buck/pound/euro then stop and walk away, if its a car youve always wanted and you dont mind it being a labour of love the go ahead.
But if your the slightest bit unsure, then test drive one as somtimrs meeting your hero can be a real let down. Yes the cs is a luxury car, but as for driving them? Thats another matter. Its a hell of a lot of money to put into a.project only to find its not for you. I know a couple of cs owners who dont like the way the car drives, but it looks awsome and everyone who sees it steers at the car open mouthed at the sheer stunningness of it.
best of luck.
 
True

Hello

You are right; I should not treat it as something that could potentially be a revenue generating asset. I just need to be honest with myself as to how much will need to be spent to make it whole.

Andrew
 
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