bodywork!

[chevelle 307]

ok, now I know I'd have to get my own prices from my local bodyshops but, out of curiousity, how much have you paid for bodywork on your chevelles?

[longhairedg79]

well the previous owner of mine paid $3800.00 for the paint and body work. and I am getting ready to send it back to the body shop cause the previous wirk was shoddy. It is going to cosat about $4000.00 but it is my uncle doing it. I have gotten qoutes ranging from $2500.00 to $10,000.00 but from $4000.00 up was a show quality they said.

[highlandlake]

Originally Posted by longhairedg79

I have gotten qoutes ranging from $2500.00 to $10,000.00 but from $4000.00 up was a show quality they said.

I'd agree with that range too. You can save money and keep it under $5000 by taking off all the trim, bumpers, weather stripping and such yourself. Then it's nice to put it back together yourself for two reasons: to save money and to get a sense of accomplishment in your project.
I don't have much money and when I brought my '68 around for quotes, I got a better response when they learned I was willing to do the delicate trim work myself. And faster turnaround time to prep and paint- two weeks! The body shops figure they are going to break/bend some trim and factor in the cost of replacing it. But putting on the aftermarket weatherstripping myself was a b*tch that caused all sorts of problems cause the doors and hood didn't line up evenly. See if you can get the shop to do that part after they paint. It's money well spent.

[corolla_85]

my total doing it myself will cost me only about $1500 on a barely used chevelle

[ACLineman]

I did the bulk of the work myself and paid $3000 for the finish work and paint.



It made "car of the month" at the link in my signature

[jveik]

yeah you definately dont want some crappy macco paint job or whatever. if you really wanted to take pride in it, you could (if you have a compressor already) buy a cheap gun for primer and another for color and do it in your garage, but in the end a shop job might be cheaper if you factor in the cost of everything, like sandpaper, paint (sometimes over 400 bucks a gallon), and paper towels, plastic for making a paint booth. i have spent well over 1000 bucks so far on the paint/materials for the paint on my 73 c-10 and all i have done so far is the cab and doors. i wouldnt get any less than 3 or 4 grand for a shop job cause any less they will probably cut corners and not sand it down well and youll have waves and paint flakes and shit like that

[ACLineman]

Don't knock Maaco. I heard there putting out some pretty decent work. In fact I have seen some of there work. Some guys in a local street rod club had them do there's, and for the price, they came out pretty nice all things considered.

Sure you could try it yourself and buy a compressor, the gun, ,,,etc. But it's not for everyone and in the long run you might be better off going to a Maaco.

Just my .02 cents