the resto shop idea from the customer's perspective

[dadsbee]

That all said, I've never seen anything of his I'd want done....

 

[Budnicks]

Some nice work I've seen you post here...

customers view;
Too many paint jail (or machine shop jail) stories
I don't trust anyone anymore...
Be careful what you pay & when, get a written contract
don't give too much at any one time
hold back a min. of 10%-15% for inspection of the work after, "it's done"

My stepfather was a really good body & paint guy
he was a pipefitter by trade, he could work metal & weld like nobody I've ever seen...
He never would buy new panels if he could repair the old ones...
Amazing what he could repair...
But back then most weren't available anyway
maybe junkyard ****, but then you got junkyard ****, had to fix that too...
He turned out a few killer cars/trucks/boats/trikes & bikes...

I had a great friend, in the Sacramento area that was a great painter
actually an electrician by trade, (a really good one) he hated body work...
I don't blame him & I hate sanding...
Somehow we got **** done, in a timely manner too...
He moved to outside of Reno, I haven't heard much from him now...
My last paint job didn't turn out like I wanted,
garage job, bad light, base/clear, metallic acrylic lacquer paint checked/cracked,
and (?) something between the sealer & primer/or paint & primer 'maybe',
still my fault, nobody else to blame...
I'm OK with that...

I got maybe 1 more in me, I won't paint it...
Unless I have a booth, lots of light...
I can do (have done) pretty much everything, on all my racecars, ground up
other than, driveshafts, machine work & tires, not too big on reupholstery either
premade seat covers, door panels or carpet are easy enough..
Any nut & bolt replacing parts any car guy should be able to do that,
get a dam service manual, & if you have tools, welding no big deal,
I hate headliners or laying on the cold concrete on my back now...
My kingdom for a lift again...

Some stuff, "just need to let a professional do it"
even if you don't trust anyone/nobody...

@eldubb440
what's your normal turn around time ?
of these typical rusted hulls, I know you said 700hrs,
how many people in your shop ?
or is it just a one man show ?
(700hrs 17 weeks (4+ months) on a 40 hr work week 1 guy)
just curious

 

[Budnicks]

That all said, I've never seen anything of his I'd want done....

Hell some of his stuff the metal guys do steller work, art really
some of them, it's a shame to even paint over or cover them in upholstery...

Joe Martin's shop/show Iron Resurrection (albeit too many LS swaps, but)
it is like that, truly art under it, the new guy
'Chad is a great/phenomenal metal guy, so is Joe'
some of their ground up builds, trick/flipped stuff,
most have sold for $100k or less
some of them seemed like a bargain, **$30k-$40k-$50k
& none near $300k
He seems to do pretty damn well... (I know it's a TV show too)
I see paint/body jobs, that people claim to have paid**, more than that for...

 

[eldubb440]

@eldubb440
what's your normal turn around time ?
of these typical rusted hulls, I know you said 700hrs,
how many people in your shop ?
or is it just a one man show ?
(700hrs 17 weeks (4+ months) on a 40 hr work week 1 guy)
just curious

one man show........ I seem to always have 3-4 at a time, at various stages. I'm sure I could crank one out in 5 months; but no one is ever in that big of a hurry. They have engines, interiors, ect to deal with....... one year is realistic

 

[Richard Cranium]

one man show........ I seem to always have 3-4 at a time, at various stages. I'm sure I could crank one out in 5 months; but no one is ever in that big of a hurry. They have engines, interiors, ect to deal with....... one year is realistic

My body man is a one man show as well.

 

[SteveSS]

I went with a Mopar club to tour this big resto shop. The cars in there were being paid for by emotional customers. Fixing up Dad's Mustang. Or people that were having the work redone from other shops. To these folks, money was no object. The owner talked about a Superbird that was flown to a show in Saudi Arabia. No expense was spared on anything. The Saudi kids were playing a slot machine that took gold coins.

Can we start drilling for oil in the US again?

 

[hdwrench]

body n paint all ways seems to be a struggle…

 

[1 Wild R/T]

I went with a Mopar club to tour this big resto shop. The cars in there were being paid for by emotional customers. Fixing up Dad's Mustang. Or people that were having the work redone from other shops. To these folks, money was no object. The owner talked about a Superbird that was flown to a show in Saudi Arabia. No expense was spared on anything. The Saudi kids were playing a slot machine that took gold coins.

Can we start drilling for oil in the US again?

Not currently...

 

[chargervert]

Last I saw was $300K up front for anything he touches...

How much do you think he gets for one of those carbon fiber Corvette kit cars he builds?

 

[eldubb440]

How much do you think he gets for one of those carbon fiber Corvette kit cars he builds?

enough to cover expenses for a couple of months?

 

[chargervert]

Kindig seems to be going through a lot of help lately, a lot of people who were regulars on the show are gone.

 

[YY1]

When I accidentally visited their shop, the cousin from the first couple seasons was the tour guide.
He had a few snide remarks about not being on the show any longer.

 

[eldubb440]

Kindig seems to be going through a lot of help lately, a lot of people who were regulars on the show are gone.

it's a TV show. Those checks cover a lot of bills....... without those checks, reality sets in....... they do great work, but math is a bitch

building the cars is the easy part, not a joke

 

[bearman]

Did is best but again some are great at engine's some bodywork etc. The serect is to find others that have knowledge that can preform the work that is needed then move forward. Myself I like doing everything I can even if I have to redo a couple of times. Nothing feels better than taking a bucket of bolts and turning it into art.

 

[RemCharger]

if new hood, fenders, or trunk lids are available, it cuts down the labor time....... but 50+ year old parts need a lot of miracles

unfortunately, he isn't too far off

the above hood and fenders were some of the nastiest junk I've ever resurrected

lower skins vs full quarters......probably a hundred additional hours

Pretty much dead on what my metal man buddy says.
When he did my race car, I brought him every best panel I could get. Saved 1 quarter and the roof skin ( but brought those too, just in case lol)

 

[gkent]

Having replaced large portions of sheet metal on my RR my thoughts are this ...

- floor pans, trunk pans, extensions, wheelhouses, inner fenders - no problem - replace as full units with repro parts
- rad support - find the best originals you can - the reproductions are "one size fits all" but may not match your originals. example: the supports for the small rads are not reproduced. Also the supports from year to year and model to model vary. That repro rad support might match a large rad '70 Charger but not your '69 small rad RR.
- exterior sheet metal - patch, patch, patch OR full panel replacement ONLY with an original panel. Plain and simply, NO reproduction panel fits as good as an original.