News: Gail's first week in the paint shop

[GerryLP]

Well people, and now for the bombshell....I got permission from Bill Sr. and Bill Jr. to tell you the name of their shop....

drum roll, please....hnoes.....Bill Sr. and his family are franchise-owners of the local Maaco Body Shop!!!!!

That's right, ladies and gentlemen -Gail went to the Mervyn's California version of body shops for her new clothes... and she looks HOT!:L

Which really shows that if someone has the knowledge to work our beloved sports cars, then that is all that is required to do a great job!

I want again to thank all of our CAC and L81 Registry members for your encourangement, support, questions, perspective, well wishes, counterpoints, and just plain cheerful exuberance to keep me going through this endeavor. You are the best! ;worship

And now, the closing images of Gail's return home...

Driving on Paseo Del Norte Highway

A little music, por favor

http://tinyurl.com/badtothebone

At Rio Rancho Golf Club

Gail at the foot of her room...

MY REMAINING TWO GIRLS AT HOME (MY DAUGHTER MOVED OUT FOR COLLEGE...hnoesduhcryconfused:ugh:dance:Twist)

Gail and Kokee

Until the next post......

 

[twiget]

Well people, and now for the bombshell....I got permission from Bill Sr. and Bill Jr. to tell you the name of their shop....

drum roll, please....hnoes.....Bill Sr. and his family are franchise-owners of the local Maaco Body Shop!!!!!

Lol, talk about a blind taste test. It certainly looks like they did a good job with Gail. Congrats Gerry.

Jason

 

[Eleanor]

Uh-oh...better get Maaco!!!!!!!!

 

[LT4man]

Gerry, where is the trailer? :L

SAVE THE

 

[GerryLP]

Gerry, where is the trailer? :L

SAVE THE

Hey, I still remember what you told me in Colorado Springs......don't worry, I'll drive her just the same.

However, I have been looking at trailers for entirely a different reason. You see, I also have a 1971 Acadian, but it has no A-C, you would not get me to drive the Acadian through the desert without A-C...

View attachment 17434

And I have a need for a storage shed, so whualaaaa! I got an idea to get an enclosed trailer, and when I am not using it, I'll keep my tools in it and use it like a shed.

GerryLP:cool

 

[Yoda]

Hey Gerry,

Gail is in good company Remember This Old Thread

And RARE still Looks good. 2 Corvette shows this summer and she was the RunnerUp twice (2 Second Place Awards) and we're talking CONCOURS Prepared Shows

It's a Miracle (Dupont Chromin sp Paint, base coat/clear coat) :dance

Bud

 

[GerryLP]

Hey Gerry,

Gail is in good company Remember This Old Thread

And RARE still Looks good. 2 Corvette shows this summer and she was the RunnerUp twice (2 Second Place Awards) and we're talking CONCOURS Prepared Shows

It's a Miracle (Dupont Chromin sp Paint, base coat/clear coat) :dance

Bud

That's right! Now I remember! And I think that businesses like Miracle and Maaco realize the bad rap they either earned or got stuck with, and when given the opportunity, they'll be eager to show you what excellent work they can accomplish.

When I picked-up Gail I was so happy and pleased with the results that I went to Hooter's and got them 3 gift cards to cover about 7 - 8 people on a lunch. Take care of people and people will take care of you.

Congratulations on the accolades!

GerryLP:cool

 

[bill81vette]

Very nice Gerry!!!!

Maaco jokes aside...as long as YOU are happy with the results,thats all that matters!!!!!!!:cool

 

[GerryLP]

Very nice Gerry!!!!

Maaco jokes aside...as long as YOU are happy with the results,thats all that matters!!!!!!!:cool

Bill, Yes! I am very happy with the results!

 

[oceangal]

She looks beautiful!

I bet they were excited to have such a cool car to work on

 

[LT4man]

Hey, I still remember what you told me in Colorado Springs......don't worry, I'll drive her just the same.GerryLP:cool

I am glad you remember, Gerry, because I am pretty foggy about what I said! I hope I was not on TOO tall of a soapbox at the time! :L

If you could be so kind, could you please jog my memory? If it can be posted on a G-rated website.

COULD SOMEONE PLEASE SAVE the GOSH DARN ???

 

[GerryLP]

She looks beautiful!

I bet they were excited to have such a cool car to work on

Hi Lori,

They do get some cool cars from time to time (my boss had his 57 Chevy painted there (Black color too), but I also feel that the majority of paint shops here prefer insurance work, so they tend to quote you the cost to them for working on your car instead of a collision repair car. And perhaps, for that very same reason, Bill Sr.'s shop get its share of Muscle Car and sports car business as well.

GerryLP:cool

 

[GerryLP]

I am glad you remember, Gerry, because I am pretty foggy about what I said! I hope I was not on TOO tall of a soapbox at the time! :L

If you could be so kind, could you please jog my memory? If it can be posted on a G-rated website.

COULD SOMEONE PLEASE SAVE the GOSH DARN ???

Yeah, perhaps...it was sometime on the precursor (practice) to Blender Wars or during Blender Wars...mine is foggy as well.....but we were talking about Gail, and you said that "you know, you should drive her after you get her painted. Don't let her become a trailer queen..." or something to that effect.

To be fair, I also had a very similar conversation with Catberg. If I remember correctly, he said, "these cars are designed to be driven...that's why I drive mine [Z06] everywhere..." again, I am sure I am paraphrasing his exact words...:eyerole

p.s. I am getting more waves from other Vette owners (C5 and C6's owners) than I used to get when the paint finish on Gail was "finished"...From a C3 owner, though, other C3 owners have always waved. It seems to be that the first-time new late model owners (I presume) that do/did not wave.

GerryLP:cool

 

[jrose7004]

She really does look great Gerry! I'm happy for you both!

 

[hotshotzny]

years back a friend of my uncles had a horrible horrible addiction to buying old cars, fixing them up then selling them, he would own a car for little more than a couple months before he would turn around and sell it, usually for about what he had into them from what he told me..... well i didnt really care for the guy all that much or the cars he was restoring so i never got to far into the story of his restorations but i couldnt help but stop when i saw something new at his house to take a look and see what was next on his list.. well this one time he had this beautiful late 50's ford in the garage all ready to sell and i got asking about it, tuens out every paint job he had doen was done at a maaco about an hour away, he did allt he prep work himself but as far as the spraying was concerned they did it all, now i have seen a couple of the cars they did back then recently..... (my uncle passed away a good 6 years ago now and i havent spoken to the guy since..for no other reason than just not seeing him) and from the looks of them they held up wonderfully with a few minor exceptions .(alot of overspray is one thing i noticed).. i had a car done by a local "real" body shop and you can almost watch the paint fade in the sunlight .... like it was said, its a chain that has gotten a bad rap over the years, i actually checked one out once to paint a jeep i had and i was shocked to see the guys there were into thier work.. a lot of them a lot more than the 2 local owned "real" body shops that i know personally that arent very busy right now but still dont want to paint my vette.... even if i was to do all the prep work! is it lazyness or do they realize they suck in plain english

the car looks great btw... now ya got me thinkin again about trying them out on my 82.... might call the guy lookin at buyin it tommorow and tell him the deals off..... back in the doghouse i go

 

[GerryLP]

... .... like it was said, its a chain that has gotten a bad rap over the years, i actually checked one out once to paint a jeep i had and i was shocked to see the guys there were into thier work.. a lot of them a lot more than the 2 local owned "real" body shops that i know personally that arent very busy right now but still dont want to paint my vette....

And just like on everything else in life, there are the best, the average, and the worst. In some of my early posts about this body paint project, I mentioned how I had spent approximately 10 months looking for the right shop, and so my top advice on these projects is for you guys and gals (Corvette owners) to not be shy in asking questions to the shop manager or supervisor about their experience with Corvettes and all the particular related questions (i.e. When would it be done, what materials, how would they do a particular body repair, where would it be painted, who is their best painter, why is the repair/paint/timing done in that fashion.

And with all these questions, and take stock of the answer and the manner in which they are answering your questions. If you get irreverence, lip smack, or attitude this early in the project phase -won't you think that you'll get barely any answers by the time you hire them?

Bill Sr. and Bill Jr. really entertained my questions, they were honest while being respectful, encouraged me coming by and taking pictures, and they maintained excellent communication...one draw back, however, was the fact that they had quoted me the car to be ready by Mid to late April; however, they really must have heard me say in many occasions to "please take your time and do it right". In retrospect, the second I realized that the car was not going to be ready by end of April, I should have been more specific about thy important deadline -Cruise Fest V!;squint: So be honest with yourself and be specific about a hard deadline, if any.

I have to go now and check on Gail to make sure she's in the garage comfy...:Lotfl

GerryLP:cool

 

[hotshotzny]

the one shop that i looked into that of all of them really impressed me (of the ones who will do it that is) is owned by a kid in his late 20's, been painting all his life and is very passionate about his work told me flat out if i take my car there he would have it AT LEAST 6 months, projects like that he likes to work on when he isnt under pressure and likes to be able to get upa and walk away from it or not even touch it when he is having one of those days.... but he wants $7,000 to do it:eyerole ......

 

[GerryLP]

I had a boat repair place tell me in March of 2007 that they could not work my Vette during the boating season, and suggested I wait until October or November. Well, I went by in November 2007, and got a quote of $7,000 dollars just for the body work (they kept telling me how their repair guy was FAA certified to work on fiberglass, and I thought, 'well, my Vette goes pretty fast, but it never leaves the ground'...:eyerole).

Another shop wanted $3,500 dollars just to shoot the paint...;squint:..but I had to find a body prep on my own...it is frustrating, I know, and because of this, I thought about doing it myself, until Bill Kull (drove a Maroon Red C6 in CF IV up in Colorado Springs) suggested that I "should be more patient, and that if I wanted to be happy with the results on Gail, to let a shop do it." These words stung me, but what he meant was that one must be honest with one's abilities and talent, and one should concede when the project is over one's head. And he was right, but meanwhile a few more months went by.

So far, I have done everything on Gail except the body work, and my ego is not so large that it wouldn't let me live with this fact...:L

Today, I went for a ride with Gail in one of the most beautiful days we've had in a while (this morning was about 70 deg F. and it had rained last night, so the sky was blue -almost out of Microsoft Windows' desktop-like image..:L). And she drove like a dream.

GerryLP:cool

 

[DecBuck]

Gerry,,,,
She looked better now when I last time saw her. You did a good job taking care of your baby.... It been awhile I been here... So she mighty sharp like ole rare 81...smile...
Buck

 

[KANE]

Gerry... GAIL LOOKS INCREDIBLE!!!


Next time I'm in NM.. we'll have to meet up for sure!