Body work for a newb?

[akpackfan]

I now have replacement body panels for my 71. Inner and Outer Rockers, Cab Corners, front and rear Cab Floor Supports. I have a friend who is experienced in body work and will do the work/welding for me at a rate of $65/hr. I have no experience at all with body work, don't own a welder but do have a grinder and typical hand tools and am fairly mechanically inclined.

Here's my question. Should I buy a mig welder and do the work myself or would it make more sense to pay my friend to do the work? I am willing to put in the time to do it and could get some advice from other friends as needed. Which makes the most sense financially and practically? Thanks.

[GruntMoanCough]

Don't know if it makes more sense but, I suggest giving it a go yourself. Start Googlin' and searching this site for help as well as your friends' advice.

[Dingfodgy]

That's a tough question and one I'm sure many people have differing opinions about. I, personally, enjoy the process of wrenching and modding my truck and am in no particular "hurry" to be done with it. Therefore, I've invested in the tools and taught myself how to use them- so I could do the work myself. Others are more focused on the finished product and want to get there as quickly as possible or simply don't have the space or time to have a project tore down for months or years. In which case paying an experienced person to do the work is both time and money ahead.
If you're somewhere in between- have your friend do the rough fitting and welding of the patches and you can come in and do all the finishing and paint prep. This could save you some scratch on the total bill and still allow you "to get your hands dirty" so to speak.

Regardless of your decision- post up some pics....we'd love to see it!!

[arkie726]

Here's my 2 cents, welding body parts and panels takes skill! And unless your going to do alot of it, it won't pay to buy a welder to do it with? Anyway I think I would go with letting someone else weld it for you and then do the rest yourself.

[72lb4x4]

Before you let anyone do the work, educate yourself on the processes involved and the various ways the metal work can be done. By that I mean lap versus butt welding for example. Then you can decide which way you want the work done.

Finally have a look at some of your friend's work to see if they do it as you feel it should be done.

Different people have different ideas on the way to do this stuff.

[akpackfan]

Thanks, guys, for all of your opinions.

[slicks garage]

Friend???? $65 bucks an hour? Nice friend............ What the hell does he charge someone he doesn't know?

[slicks garage]

Oh, by the way..... Is Sarah Palin as hot in person? Can you say Cougar???

[eagleuh1]

Might get the ebfabman videos as well. I'm going to order them on Monday seeing as I've never done body work before, other than slathering on the bondo or knocking out minor dents with hammer and dolly. They're oriented direct at our trucks, so better than learning from my own mistakes how not to do it. I have my own tig and can weld, but have never welded sheet metal like this, but going to give it a shot. Good luck with yours. PS, if you don't have all the tools already or the shop space, friend might be a better choice.

[eagleuh1]

And yes, SP is hot!!!

[big_al_71]

There are somethings that are better left to the experienced people body work and paint are two on my list that I HATE.. so to give you my opinion I would let your $65.00 an hour friend take care of it.

[rob32472]

Too bad you are not closer...... Ebfabman charged me less per hour than ur friend and he does awesome work. check out project cod fish in the build section

[lovnthe70]

I only had minimal experience welding (but did have experience doing sheet metal repair on helicopters) and did my floorboards, rockers, cab corners, and cab support channels. Just read about it and practice before you do it. Start with all the stuff that you won’t see and by the time you get to the cab corners you will be looking good. I am sure a professional would do a better job than me but i only make $17 dollars and hour so there is no way in hell i am going to pay someone $65 an hour to do something that I can learn.

[johndawelder]

Not a very good friend to charge you $65 an hr. for welding.If you was closer I'd charge you $25 an hr.and I don't even know you.Plus, I would show you how to do it so next time you could do it yourself.Glad I don't have friends like him.

[lovnthe70]

shops around here are around $70 an hour and guys on craigslist will do $50 for people they dont know

[akpackfan]

Labor cost's in Alaska are substantially higher than anywhere else in the country. Granted, that is the same rate he charges everyone so I'm not getting a "friend" discount.

I have another friend I work with that already owns a mig welder but doesn't have any body work experience but he said we could try it together and use his welder. Maybe I should give that a shot. This isn't going to be a show truck, I just want to get rid of the rust and drive it. Opinions?

[lovnthe70]

give it a shot man! check out my profile album, i have a bunch of pics of my welds and stuff i did. I use my truck as a truck also so i wasnt going to cry if it didnt come out perfect and ended up being really happy with the results.

[ace of shades]

Originally Posted by akpackfan

Labor cost's in Alaska are substantially higher than anywhere else in the country. Granted, that is the same rate he charges everyone so I'm not getting a "friend" discount........

Thats a good thing if you think about it. With him doing it at full cost you may not be getting a "friend" deal, but your getting his ability. My boss (local body shop) has this amazing saying "its ok, i know these guys, that will be fine" along with "it'll buff". Roughly translated it means to half ass the job and he'll talk them into some "unforeseen issues" and mark up the price. I work with good people and LOVE my job (from Friday night to Monday morning). Having him charge the full price I would expect the same quality as his "real" work and guarantees

[71 burb]

buy a welder and pay your buddy $10-20 ahour plus beer to let you learn how to while he watches you you'll be out more money this way but you'll have awelder and know how to use it if your anything like me that want be your last truck good luck jason

[Fitz]

I went through the same dilemma when I started my truck. I started looking at everything the truck needed and realized i didn't want to spend that much fixing panels for $65.00/hour. So I did what a friend suggested. At the rate you quoted it will take just 15 hours to pay for a new Millermatic 180 MIG. That's a pretty fine welder for bodywork. It may take you some time to learn to use it but then you know a welder who might just teach you for beer! When you're done you can e-bay the welder or just keep it.

[Copytron]

i am in the exact same spot you are in now. I just ordered my parts today and i have been looking for a cheap welder online. From the looks of it mig is the way to go for the money. now the question is cheap new or cheap used.