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Let me break this down a bit. My friend has a custom body shop and he gets $80 an hour U.S. If we assume the same that means that he is going to provide about 160 hours of labor and the rest will be materials. I am basing the materials on the current costs of what you indicated he would be using (about $500 US) I can't estimate what the time frame for panel alignment will be but with all new sheet metal and good quality original panels there is not going to be much body work involved. Lets assume 8 hours of body work. That leaves the paint work. The actual painting processes you describe should take about 8 hours altogether (actual time in the booth). The sanding, polishing and buffing should take about 24 hours. If my math is correct that totals 40 hours. Panel assembly can be anywhere from 8-16 hours in a normal repaint so lets assume 16. We are now at 56 hours. That means that he is assuming 106 hours for the custom panel fitting work. I guess it is possible to use that much time if every panel needs to have the edges extended via welding strips and grinding them down to exact shape for perfect fit. I find it hard to believe that every panel will need to have that done. To be honest, if this man is as good as you indicated and I have no reason to think he is not, he is going to be very experienced and can work quickly and effeciently. That leads me to conclude that the shop rate is probably more in the range of $125 US per hour. I would encourage you to get an hourly rate quote before proceeding. Frankly, I think this quote is pretty high. I recently did the body work on a 70 Chevelle SS and sent it to a custom shop for final fit and paint. Total cost out the door was $7200 US and they did much of the type of work you are describing. Might be worthwhile to check out a few more places. Good luck. Hope I am not sounding like I am demeaning this man's work. As John so well put it "AND IF YOUR GOOD ENOUGH AT ANYTHING, YOU CAN PRETTY MUCH WRITE YOUR OWN TICKET."
Larry
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