Strip and Powder Coat Frame

[Whiplash]

Now that I've got the body off I'm in for trouble for sure. I was just going to wire wheel the frame and POR-15 the parts I missed when I had the body on.

I ran into a guy today that made the cost for Stripping and Powder Coating the frame sound too good to be true. He told me he paid $150 to strip the frame of one of his project cars and $150 to powder coat. He gave me his contacts and I need to follow up.

However, does this sound reasonable/realistic? What should I look out for?

 

[Whiplash]

Ok. I got real quotes:

Chemical strip: $450
Epoxy Prime Inside: $150
Powder Coat: $300

They say it will take 14 days to strip. Powder coat is a few days.

I'm tempted to get it stripped and primed inside and then POR-15 and top coat with semi-flat black at home. I would just finish the job I started if it weren't for the potential rust inside the frame. Here's a picture of the frame today. Tell me what you think.

 

[Mac]

Go for it! I did with my frame & numerous suspension parts... and I've never regreted it!!

-Mac

 

[Whiplash]

Go for it! I did with my frame & numerous suspension parts... and I've never regreted it!!

-Mac

Thanks for the feedback Mac. I'm thinking the chemical stripping is going to be a sure thing. Kill all the rust and seal inside the frame. I'm leaning toward a POR-15 on the clean frame with a semi-flat black top coat. I have powder coated trailing arms that already have a few chips in them. I'm thinking the POR and paint will be easier to touch up if ever necessary.

I'm closer to going all the way now that I pulled the engine and trans today. It looks like 9 bolts and I can pull the whole read suspension as a unit. The front will still be a pain with spring compressors. It looks like an afternoon of work and I'll be down to just frame. I even think the frame will fit in the back of my Ram 1500.

Here's today's progress.

 

[Mac]

As part of my powdercoating, they dipped the entire frame into heated degreaser tank, rinse tank and then into a heated phosphate tank which etches the metal for better adhesion. Then they baked the frame dry... and laid the powder on the hot metal so it flowed even before they baked it.

Touchups aren't a huge concern since powdercoat makes an excellent base for paint.

-Mac

Before:

After:

 

[Whiplash]

Mac,

My wife is NOT going to let me play with you.

I didn't know you could paint the powder coat. Seeing the frame in the back of your truck just makes it all way too easy.

Thank you very much for the follow up. The only problem is the truck is my wifes vehicle and she hates when I use it like a truck. Using it like a truck and spending money on powder coating is going to take some very good behaviour.

Whiplash

 

[Mac]

Let the bartering begin! If there's one thing I've learned over the years, it is this: women love to make deals. The whole "I'll do this if you'll do that!" routine always gets their attention. Even if they decide not to make the deal, they're always willing to talk about it.

In order to "earn" permission to do the body-off resto, I had to build a CJ7 for my wife. She's had Jeeps since she was a teen but during the "baby seat required" years, we sold her 1982 CJ7. Once the kids were big enough to climb in themselves, she started agitating about getting a Jeep again.... so the bargain was struck.

She found a 1984 CJ7 which burned more oil than gas. The rust monster had eaten a good few bites from it too but the frame & running gear were basically solid. I took it apart, installed a fuel injected 4.0 litre from a 1994 Grand Wagoneer (that was a wiring nightmare) and stole body parts from a wrecked YJ. When it was all hung together, it was (and is) beautiful. Then it was time for my 73.

Mind you, she made noises several times about cost overruns... but such is life. Once it's all apart, you need the parts to put it back together, right?

-Mac

 

[Jack]

Local (SC) powder coater pricing:
We deliver sandblasted race chassis to coater. Coater washes with etch, powder coats & bakes ... excellent durable job. Sandblast anywhere from $50-$150. Etch, coat & bake $450. Have not done this w/ vette chassis ... only race chassis.
JACK:gap

 

[Tepot]

hey whiplash or Mac,

How much $$$ Or budjet should I consider before even starting a body off restoration like this?

The reason I ask his because I would be interessted some day to do a complete frame off restoration on my 74. But when you start such a project. you can't stop till it's finish and it's not time to run out of money when the job is half done.

Just wondering

 

[82ColEd]

Thanks for asking Tepot, i was wondering the same.. If you guys kept/keep track of it..

Anytime i see a frame off of a C3 makes me want to get down and dirty on mine. I'll keep telling myself: Someday !!

 

[Mac]

It depends on a number of things:

-degree of damage from the Rust Monster (to frame, to birdcage, etc)
-degree of restoration required (motor? frame?? where do you stop???)
-degree of factory correctness desired (Top Flight costs $$$$$$$$$)
-cost of replacement parts (ie: stainless lines vs normal, bushings, etc)
-amount of work you do yourself vs done by others

[climbing onto the soap box]

If you think it'll be cheaper to do it yourself, please realize "cheap" is a relative term. Everything you touch costs money, regardless whether you do all the work yourself or hire someone to do any part of it. If nothing else, just cleaning & repainting parts costs money for cleaning supplies & paint. Anyone who says this is a cheap hobby is either deluded or trying to sell you something. You can take that to the bank.

If you're hoping to make money by fixing up your Vette and selling it, think again! There are a precious few craftsmen who make money restoring Corvettes. Chances are you're not one of them. Of those few who do make money, the majority don't buy Corvettes with a view to restoration and resale. They make money restoring Corvettes for other people who supply the money. As a very wise man who is a CAC regular once said "The best way to make a million dollars at restoring Corvettes is to start with five million." Truer words have never been spoken.

If you intend to attempt a body off frame restoration, please understand that this is not a project; it's a passion. A project is limited in scope. Changing your u-joints is a project; there's a definite start & end to it. A restoration is limited only by your imagination... and your budget.

If you intend to do a successful restoration, please understand sheer mechanical knowledge is not enough. Organizational skills is much, much more important than spinning wrenches. No matter how good your memory used to be, when you're sitting there, looking at a piece of metal which may or may not have once been part of your Corvette but somehow found it's way into that pile of parts, remember my words. No tool in the world can help at that point... except the CAC!! You're going to have to suck up your pride and post a picture with that famous question: "Does anyone recognize this?" and wait for a reply.

There is nothing as sad as seeing the disassembled pieces of a Corvette on eBay Motors because someone gave up on a restoration. Don't let that be you.

[climbing off soapbox]

I spent just over $18K on my restoration but she needed everything and I was only able to do some of the work myself because of time constraints. In addition, I tried to make everything either stainless or powdercoated so I never, ever have to do it again. I would say my costs were about middle of the road.

Sometimes, you can swing deals which help reduce costs. For instance, my powdercoater wanted a set of pictures for his display cast. We negotiated a reduction in price as a result. Barter is still alive.

-Mac

 

[82ColEd]

Thanks for your honesty Mac!

 

[Tepot]

I spent just over $18K on my restoration

Does the $18K includes the price you paid for the car or was added to it?

Reason I asked his because I've just paid 10K for my car and it's in very very good condition and was wondering if it will take me another $8K that I wouldn't mind spending to get a fully restored Vette or will it cost me $18K on top of my $10K already invested?

I know some of you will say $10K might be a high price but the car is is very good shape and is ready to show and I don't know why but Car's in Canada always sell for more $ than the US for some reason. I was lucky to get a Vette in that condition for $10K.

Oh! and don't worry mac. I'm not restoring my vette for making money. I'm taking this one to the grave with me.

 

[Mac]

The cost of the car was not included in the $18K. All that coin was spent on the car but that does includes a fresh coat of paint. My birdcage was rusty which added to the cost. As you can tell from the picture, I took her down to component, fixed everything and then put her back together.

If you wanna talk money, ask 67Heaven how much he spent on his Vette!!

-Mac

 

[Tepot]

Wow !!!. Well I guess it will take me a few years before I can consider doing a frame off. But will definitively do it in the future.

 

[Whiplash]

$18K sounds about right to me depending upon what you want to do and the cost in your area.

I won't even get into the NCRS vs Custom issues and personal debate. I'd put that into a "religious" discussion. What I can say is I feel strongly both ways

With respect to starting price on the car... I paid a premium for mine to get a one owner Texas car. My thoughts were it had all the options I wanted and I knew it only had one bubba working on it before me. I had visions of NCRS survivor status. I spent 2 years repairing saftety items such as suspension and brakes working my way to Engine, Trans, and Cosmetics. Now I've thrown in the towel and decided to make the car my own.

The other thing I learned is that what I love most about the Vette is the actual working on it. There is nothing I enjoy more than the time I spend turning wrenches, cursing frozen bolts, and generally getting myself in over my head.

I agree that organization is the key. I start every section digging into CAC archives, reading project articles, looking at the assembly manual, and thinking.

Regarding price. Labor savings to me are just justification to buy new tools

I have a very high level budget for big items.

Engine $6,500
Trans $3,500
Side Exhaust $2,200
Paint $7,500
Strip and Coat Frame $1,000

Brakes, Suspension, Interior, Lines, Soft Top, Chrome Bumpers, Weather Stripping, Wiring, Clips, Bolts, Etc.... (I probably have $5K into about half of this stuff over the last 2 years and still probaby have $3-4K left)

Add that all up and you've easily got $30K.

Once you go that far you ask yourself "Why am I doing this?" I guarantee you it isn't because you plan on selling it to make money. Sure you can get the car painted for probably half the price, and yes a polished Edelbrock crate motor is much more expensive than rebuilding your existing motor, and of course rebuilding the Muncie for $500 is much cheaper than a new 5spd. A little elbow grease and some POR-15 will give you a very nice looking frame.

Look at your car and ask yourself what you want it to be. If you just want to pull the body to clean things up you can do so without spending a lot of money. I'm still at the point where I can go low budget and be happy that I got some work done. I'm also at the tipping point where I can go all out. Now's the time when my wife is watching me very closely.

Good luck!

Whiplash

 

[82ColEd]

snip
If you wanna talk money, ask 67Heaven how much he spent on his Vette!!

-Mac

aeh, no thanks.. :eek (But the result is spectacular! :cool )

Whiplash: Also, thanks for being open to the question.. We'll see what happens in the future.

 

[76ers]

Mac, you speak wisely. Just started a 76 frame-off 2 weeks ago. I've spent more time at the computer than on the car. Between the spreadsheets and URLs, it may easily take another month to get organized. I wasn't fantasizing (too much) when I bought it, but it is in major bad shape. I have so far estimated nearly 12K on restoration, but I'm not done yet, and I know there will be more fun waiting when I start ripping through the rust. I will never recover even half of what I spend, but I will reap a ton of love and fun showing her off!