Body Shop revisited

[Lattimer]

Well, I talked to a guy this week who had a different local shop paint his 66 Impala. So I stopped by there to get a quote.

Pulling in the parking lot was immediately encouraging. There was a fiberglass nose that looked like it might be a Willy's or something sitting on a wooden frame outside the door. Place does bodywork on everything right up to motorhomes.

Guy looked my truck over, crawled under on the ground, got down and looked at the doors, checked everything over real good. After discussing what I am looking for, he said if I provide all of the patch panels and other parts (replacement emblems, door handles, window gasket), and put new bolts in the bed so he doesn't have to fight them off, he'd do the paint and body work for $5000. He basically said he doesn't want to spend time hunting down parts that his regular suppliers probably don't list.

I guess I must have had a surprised look on my face after the "$10k and I don't want to do it anyways" quote I got from another place. He looked at me and asked "what, you want to pay more?"

Seemed like a good guy and he understood what I am looking for. Shop was nice and seemed fairly busy. He stated he would want to disassemble the whole front clip, remove the doors and bed and cowl, and take the vast majority of the old paint at least down to the original primer, if not bare metal. The more he talked the better I felt. he did state it would be a fill in job for his guys, so I should expect 4-6 weeks for completion.

So, besides stuff I have already bought and have sitting here, I'd be in another $400 or so in parts. Sounds pretty reasonable to me.

I'm going to talk to a few more places, but at least this sounds like a viable option.

[Lee H]

Just make sure his fill in and your 4-6 week expectation are the same thing. Just from experience 4-6 weeks does not sound realistic for the amount of work you have described on a full time basis let alone fill in.
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[70cst]

Originally Posted by Lee H

Just make sure his fill in and your 4-6 week expectation are the same thing. Just from experience 4-6 weeks does not sound realistic for the amount of work you have described on a full time basis let alone fill in.
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100% But the quote seems good.

Good luck and keep us updated.

[leddzepp]

Sounds a lot better than the last shop!! This guy has a much better attitude, and will probably do a better job than the guy who told you 10K. 4-6 weeks however is very unrealistic, especially when they are doing a lot of insurance work. I was told 6-8 weeks on my truck (almost no bodywork) and its going on 8 months, lol.
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[Lattimer]

Originally Posted by leddzepp

Sounds a lot better than the last shop!! This guy has a much better attitude, and will probably do a better job than the guy who told you 10K. 4-6 weeks however is very unrealistic, especially when they are doing a lot of insurance work. I was told 6-8 weeks on my truck (almost no bodywork) and its going on 8 months, lol.
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I kind of expect it to double. I'm also a nosey PITA, so he will likely stay on it just to get rid of me.

I brought up the subject of "paint prison", and he laughed and showed me his back lot . There were 4 cars sitting there. Looks like he moves things through pretty quickly.

[Bennett68C10]

Nice to hear you got a respectable quote this time. I'm interested in what shop this is as I'm in jersey about an hour and a half from you. I'm currently trying to decide if I want to try my hand at painting my truck myself or finding a reputable shop to do it for me.
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[Lattimer]

Originally Posted by Bennett--G4L

Nice to hear you got a respectable quote this time. I'm interested in what shop this is as I'm in jersey about an hour and a half from you. I'm currently trying to decide if I want to try my hand at painting my truck myself or finding a reputable shop to do it for me.
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Bellmawr Collision in Runnemede, NJ

http://bellmawrcollision.com/

[Bennett68C10]

Thanks for the info Shawn, I'll be following closely on who you choose, the price and quality of job they do as I will be looking for a shop probably by the winter.
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[alsriv2]

I am going to follow this as well. My'69 C10 is needing a repaint, but no real body work. If your job turns out as expected, I might pay this shop a visit.

[Lattimer]

Originally Posted by Bennett--G4L

Thanks for the info Shawn, I'll be following closely on who you choose, the price and quality of job they do as I will be looking for a shop probably by the winter.
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I probably have another 2 months of work before I go in for paint. I want to get all of the mechanical stuff complete first.

[lolife99]

Whatever you do,... get it all in writing.

[MidLifer]

Subscribing to this thread as I will want to get my truck repainted some day, and live close by.

[mcbassin]

Originally Posted by lolife99

Whatever you do,... get it all in writing.

X2

Contract first not a handshake deal, by the way $5K is a great deal! However, 4-6 weeks.......not too sure about that?

[TBONE1964]

Are you changing color? Is the shop going to do the door jams, inside the doors and inside the bed?

That is a great price for all of the work. I would be very happy with 4 - 6 weeks if the quality is there. I would be happy with 8-12 weeks as long as it is done to your expectations. The last thing you want to do is start rushing these guys. If you need the truck in 4 - 6 weeks, make that clear from the start. If they cannot make that happen, then I would consider another option.

I would also ask, if you can save some money by pulling the sheet metal yourself. If you do this, find a way to make sure the doors, fenders and hood go back in the same position. You might want to make sure that all of the sheet metal is aligned to your liking before it is removed. Now is the time to align panels. You don't want to be messing around scratching new paint trying to fit the sheet metal after new paint.

Hope it all works for you.