Can it be done?

[superbird77]

Well just an update on this debacle, i am pulling the car and will have it back around late July. Its not even painted and still has sanding, etc. to do. Besides being way behind schedule i was being billed very heavily given the amount of work actually being done. Sadly its made the project beyond my budget and i was being very realistic on what it would cost. The worst part is it was a friend and that relationship has now been compromised. I am having a local guy who does restorations help me from here out. He confirmed the over billing as well. If i could sell it i would but i would never recoup what i have into it at this point. I thought i did everything i could to avoid this but in the end i had to trust someone and it didnt pan out.

My advice to anyone considering a restoration is first look around at finished ones and consider buying a finished car. Unless you are hell bent on having everything exactly the way you want a finished car will be a much better deal. I'm totally bummed.

 

[flypaper]

if you were that worried about cost,
you should of bought a done car to begin with.
when you do a restoration, it is very hard to impossible to pin down a exact cost
as it is like a can of worms,
you don't know exactly what you have
until you pull the lid off or open it all up.
most restorations if not all of them will cost alot more then the car will ever be worth,
unless you do all the work yourself AND get very lucky at the same time.
the economics of it will never add up in your favor.
so i hate to tell you that your plan was doomed to fail before you even started.
sorry to hear about your misfortune.

 

[superbird77]

I agree flypaper, i felt i had a pretty good budget ($40K) based on what was needed. I stripped the car down myself and blasted it so we had a pretty good idea of what was needed. There really wasn't any surprises we encountered. Hindsight is always 20/20 as they say.

if you were that worried about cost,
you should of bought a done car to begin with.
when you do a restoration, it is very hard to impossible to pin down a exact cost
as it is like a can of worms,
you don't know exactly what you have
until you pull the lid off or open it all up.
most restorations if not all of them will cost alot more then the car will ever be worth,
unless you do all the work yourself AND get very lucky at the same time.
the economics of it will never add up in your favor.
so i hate to tell you that your plan was doomed to fail before you even started.
sorry to hear about your misfortune.

 

[idrivemopar]

Yep, I see this read about this with a lot with restorations, and even doing as much of the work as I did before it went to paint an body, I ended up with a guy that charged a lot and didn't do what I had asked and returned my car with a crap paint job and end the end, I had a lot of do over work on it. I feel your pain man!!!!!

However, excluding that issue, the budget I originally had was tripled by the time I got done with the car, but all and all it turned out well and I never will recoup the money invested. I'm not selling the car so its not an issue for me, but it sure is fun to drive and see peoples reactions.

So, hang in there and work on it as you can afford to do it, because in the end the ear to ear grin I got and just driving the car again made me very happy!

 

[superbird77]

Thanks, sometimes its just good to hear some encouraging words to help keep things on the positive side.

Yep, I see this read about this with a lot with restorations, and even doing as much of the work as I did before it went to paint an body, I ended up with a guy that charged a lot and didn't do what I had asked and returned my car with a crap paint job and end the end, I had a lot of do over work on it. I feel your pain man!!!!!

However, excluding that issue, the budget I originally had was tripled by the time I got done with the car, but all and all it turned out well and I never will recoup the money invested. I'm not selling the car so its not an issue for me, but it sure is fun to drive and see peoples reactions.

So, hang in there and work on it as you can afford to do it, because in the end the ear to ear grin I got and just driving the car again made me very happy!

 

[69 GTX]

Getting ready to take mine to the shop. I know of many guys who've went there and talked with them to see how they liked it. You can never do enough research before doing something like this.

 

[moperformance]

It's the squeeky wheel that gets the grease.Without getting him P.O.ed, call or stop by the shop every so often. Get him to tell you what work will be done by what date. When that date comes , remind him of what he told you. Keep the pressure up. When a customer doesn't complain, they are the first to be skipped over.................................MO

X2
The question I ask myself when stuff like this happens is...... Would you have done this to him?

 

[superbird77]

I can honestly say that its not how i would of handled the situation. I had many conversations before he took the project on to either decline altogether or adjust my budget. We discussed approx costs and they knew where i stood for my timeline. Both have drastically changed even with me checking up quite often. I run a business myself and i cant seem to get away with doing business like that. When i have a project going on with a customer and it goes over budget i usually have to eat it. I can sometimes get away with a small increase or delay but not anywhere near this situation.

Hey, i know these cars aren't cheap to restore but i was very upfront and open during the evaluation stage. I digress, i should of bought a restored car as most have pointed out. I just really wanted to be part of the restoration process and the feeling of saving an old car.

X2
The question I ask myself when stuff like this happens is...... Would you have done this to him?

 

[moperformance]

I can honestly say that its not how i would of handled the situation. I had many conversations before he took the project on to either decline altogether or adjust my budget. We discussed approx costs and they knew where i stood for my timeline. Both have drastically changed even with me checking up quite often. I run a business myself and i cant seem to get away with doing business like that. When i have a project going on with a customer and it goes over budget i usually have to eat it. I can sometimes get away with a small increase or delay but not anywhere near this situation.

Hey, i know these cars aren't cheap to restore but i was very upfront and open during the evaluation stage. I digress, i should of bought a restored car as most have pointed out. I just really wanted to be part of the restoration process and the feeling of saving an old car.

You still can!! Your "role" in all of this may have to be modified. Don't let him rob you of your dream, Evaluate and chose a modified path to the end YOU want.
Good Luck!

 

[GrabberOrange69]

Sorry to hear of your troubles.

This is why my dad did the paint and body on his last project himself and in his garage (68 Ranchero daily driver). It's a "5 footer", but he has driven it all over kingdom come. It took him 8 months of fairly steady work - learning as he went - and when he didn't like something he stripped it off and started over. In the end, he has $1700 worth of materials in the car.



I realize many people don't have that kind of time (he's retired). I really don't either, but I'm doing it myself next time.

By the way, the last superior quality paint job I had shot on a car took 19 months with the body guy. This was with a totally rust free car (still has all its original floor pans, quarters, etc). It went around $2k over, and he originally told me it would be done in 6mo, LoL. It's why they call it "paint jail".

 

[superbird77]

Well i got the car back today and all i can say is what a mess. I'm gonna have to try and get some money back or look into legal options. The work done is amateur and they messed up a lot of things by being lazy and careless. The quarters they hung look fine but when they sprayed the epoxy they left all the accessories in the engine bay in and just painted over them, they even painted the electrical harness plugs! Door latches, throttle cables, my dash & vin tag all got painted over. This stuff was supposed to be removed but never was. On top of that the primer they sprayed had dirt and debris leaving a rough texture. It will all have to be removed and done over.

Moving on to my parts, most of them were just tossed in a box unsorted and a lot got ruined. My tailight bezels and lights all got scratched or cracked because they put them in with heavy sharp parts without care. My air grabber ducts got cracked from having heavy parts laid on them. Since i took everything off the car myself i know how i stored it and how it was received. Nothing they removed or handled got tagged or organized. it all just got thrown into boxes and damaged. I mean this is supposed to be a professional resto shop? Needless to say this wasn't the agreement i had when i gave them the project. I am beyond upset but i gotta somehow finish the project. Has anyone ever had to pursue legal options in a case like this, any tips you can provide to help me from here?