Body Advice Needed

[JP64]

The brakes went out on my 64 Corvette and the car's nose came to rest on the tongue of a boat trailer in my machine shed. The Corvette is now at the garage of a very good local rod builder/fiberglass repairer. A day after the car was delivered to his shop he called me out for a visit. In addition to the spot where the car met the trailer tongue, he had marked about 30 spots on the body, in several different areas, where he had found small (all less than an inch and very narrow) cracks in the body. He advised a total body stripping and fixing the the individual cracks and repainting. (The car has been repainted once in its life.)

I have three questions. One, if it is repaired, how likely are new cracks to appear soon after repair? Two, he estimated the cost of body work and painting at upwards to $11k. Does that sound reasonable? Three, would I be better of to sell the car off as is, and use the money to buy a car with a better body?

The car does not have the original engine and will not be a concourse car. However, it sure is fun to drive on a nice day! Thanks for any advice.

 

[ZRGator]

Answer to question one: cracks sghouldn't reappear IF the job is done right. What kind of cracks? Stress cracks? Hit cracks?
Question two: $11K??? Sounds like he wants to retire to Florida off this job. I'm sure some others here will direct you to a better shop that works on Corvettes not boats.
Question 3: without seeing the car and the condition that it's in, impossible to answer.

 

[henny496]

Hello
Where you aware of the cracks that are on the car,before? What level of quality is he taking this car to? You still want to drive it as a daily driver, I take it
Ask for references of his work and talk to some of those guys. Fiberglass repairs can shrink/move with extreme sun and cold. If the body does not age as in with the elements for a season or so, you may have something show up next summer again.
You could bake the body, but it would have to see cold. How big are the cracks, and is it damage or stress related?

 

[JP64]

Thanks for the replies. The repair shop does good work. They have had several street rods they have built/rebuilt do well at national shows and have done other work on my car and for others I know.

I do not think all the cracks appeared as a result of the car hitting the trailer tongue. None are longer than an inch and are not wide at all. Some almost appear as just deep scratches. Most are in large flat areas-on top of front fenders, hood, behind the top cover, etc. Maybe they were scratches the previous owner just painted over?

You are right; the car will always be a driver if I own it.

 

[studiog]

11K for the body & paint sounds very high to me. I think you should be able to get a high quality job that will last for years for half that amount. Just my opinion.

 

[John Mcgraw]

Sorry guys,
But I think that $11K for completely stripping the car, doing all the bodywork, and fixing all the stress cracks and then giving it a top quality paint job, is a good price! There are shops that charge 2 to 3 times that for top quality work.
I do my own paint and body work, and I don't pay anybody to work on my car, but I know how much work this is, and I don't believe that I could make much money doing them at this price! If this guy spends anywhere as much time on his work as I do, then this a good price.


Regards, John McGraw

 

[IH2LOSE]

The brakes went out on my 64 Corvette and the car's nose came to rest on the tongue of a boat trailer in my machine shed. The Corvette is now at the garage of a very good local rod builder/fiberglass repairer. A day after the car was delivered to his shop he called me out for a visit. In addition to the spot where the car met the trailer tongue, he had marked about 30 spots on the body, in several different areas, where he had found small (all less than an inch and very narrow) cracks in the body. He advised a total body stripping and fixing the the individual cracks and repainting. (The car has been repainted once in its life.)

I have three questions. One, if it is repaired, how likely are new cracks to appear soon after repair? Two, he estimated the cost of body work and painting at upwards to $11k. Does that sound reasonable? Three, would I be better of to sell the car off as is, and use the money to buy a car with a better body?

The car does not have the original engine and will not be a concourse car. However, it sure is fun to drive on a nice day! Thanks for any advice.

JP first and foremost welcome to the corvette action center.

I guess I have a question for you.What is your ultimate goal with the car?
The reason I ask is $11 grand is a steep investment for just a paint job.

Am I correct its just a strip and repair then repaint? or is it all new chrome and trim?

 

[Mac]

I'm with John... $11K is reasonable for a complete strip, repair and paint. Don't forget the amount of disassembly & reassembly involved in a complete strip. You get what you pay for... a Maaco $199 special isn't all that special.

-Mac

 

[vette]

I also agree with John. I own a shop and can tell you that stripping and painting a whole car is a lot of work and very time consuming. I do all the vette work myself because to put one of my guys on a corvette job and pay them 24.00 per hour Its a loser everytime. Now what do you guys think paint and mat cost. To do a midyear depending on color,you have 1500.00 just in mat. We just finished a red 67 vert. just the color, and we mix our own, was 495.00 for one gallon of color. Sorry but unless you do this yourself and pay for the mat. yourself you just have no idea of what it takes. We never give a price on a vette till I see it stripped. So if he is telling you 11k. and that is firm then I would say go for it. Brian G.

 

[studiog]

11K for the body & paint sounds very high to me. I think you should be able to get a high quality job that will last for years for half that amount. Just my opinion.

I only have 2 recent (2-4 years ago) vette paint jobs to reference. One was my brother in laws 71 which was sanded down to the glass (most of the paint was gone already) with minor body work done & then primed, blocked & painted. $4500. Not perfect but a very nice job. A 65 of my neighbors was sanded and repainted this car was excellent to start with and it is absolutely perfect now. $6500. I certainly respect all the opinions given here as you are all pros compared to me. Maybe I just have sticker shock. Anyway it gives me a little more enthusiasm as I plug away on my block sanding.

 

[paintdaddy]

11k is a reasonable price for the work if its done right.But I would assume this would include some new parts as well.In doing this type of work its common to replace at least weatherstripping and preferavbly light lenses emblems and rechrome bumpers.

 

[BLACK MOON]

I had quotes up to 20K to do mine. 11K isn't bad but I'd find a shop that specializes in such projects before entrusting my car with someone.

 

[61 Silver]

Body & Paint

A friend purchased a restored 67 BB. He showed me the receipt for paint and bodywork that came with the car and the total was $23,000. The body was in rough condition with flared wheel wells. I am not sure of what additional bodywork was included in the price. This past summer was the second year that the car was out to cruises and shows and you can now see shrinkage where the flares were repaired.

 

[Sky65]

I would expect a good paint job properly done "show quality" could cost and be well worth $11K. Question is, is it worth it to you. My 65 is a driver and personally I would not put that much in paint. I like driving the car and I don't want to be so concerned about the paint I'm afraid to drive it! Mine needs paint and some minor repairs and I hope to get a reasonable job for around $4000. Something I can live with, lasts for a while and looks good.