Body Shop Estimates - The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network

bluec10 · 01-09-2006, 02:31 AM

I'm frustrated with the early phase of getting the truck painted. I've had a few estimates for body and paint, but no one will give me a firmish number. The first guy is the local fellow from town and I'd like to support him since he's willing to invest in my small community. But...when he looked at my truck the most he would do would give me a ball park number that was plus or minus about $4000. He does good work and has done other classics, but has a bit of a reputation for giving one number at the beginning and incrementally increasing that number as the job progresses. The next guy I talked to gave me a big number as in "it shouldn't be more than..." I trust this guy completely and he has an outstanding reputation, but I just can't see it. Both, however, didn't really get in close and closely examine the various panels etc. to see what needed to be done. Is this the best I can expect, or do I need to keep looking? Is paint and body work really that hard to estimate? Do I really need to take out a loan for twice the estimate just to be sure? Your thoughts...

krue · 01-09-2006, 04:37 AM

Here's what our resident expert has to say on the subject.
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=124745

weasel29gm · 01-09-2006, 07:03 AM

If you have a garage, air tools and can do some work or learn. Do the body and prep yourself. Its not rocket science LOL!!!!!! Depends on the rust, you might have get a shop to do that. But basic dents,changin' sheet metal, fill and block, and primer you can do the prep. Get opinions and ideas on what and not to do. I've had 4 body guys look at my work and got postive from all. One guy I know came to look and was very impressed,says he can't get ant thing done for less than 5k. You can pay the big bucks or get the satisfaction of doin' part yourself. Good luck

**special-K** · 01-09-2006, 08:30 AM

Is it ready for paint?Or,are we talking bodywork,prep,and paint?Estimating body restoration on older vehicles is like forecasting weather.Paint estimating on a "ready for paint" vehicle should be cut`n`dry.Get it ready to close-in the gaps.

ChevLoRay · 01-09-2006, 11:48 AM

I had one quote on my truck, for $5500. Went to another shop....got a quote/estimate of "about $20 (thousand)".

Production body shops don't like to work on older/antique/special interest vehicles. For that reason, they don't like to quote pricing. They don't want to have the vehicle blown apart in the shop, taking up valuable space that they can use to do a quicker repair job on someone's late model import.

greenvilledave · 01-09-2006, 12:15 PM

I will tell you our (son and myself) experience. We have done most of the work on this complete frame off with some major rust repair and bodywork and replacement of complete panels. Primed and blocked several times and then found several body shops to give quotes. the guy that got the job came to the house to really look over the truck.He is normally a collision shop but said he could do this. son picked out a very expensive color we have taken truck apart taken parts to shop they finish up and paint then we bring parts back homeWe have the box and some miner parts still to get painted and it looks like it will come in at about 4000.00 which many people on here thought was a fair deal for good work. They did have to work on driver door to get lined up better and they welded and finished the seam in the roof I think this has worked fine for both parties because I told him it would be all taken apart and it would be about 90-95 percent close to painting. Also told him I was not in a hurry and he should consider this filler work for slower periods in his shop. That has work for him and i can tell that the guys working on it are proud of their work because they keep asking how it is going back together and theyt can't wait to see finished my 2c

bluec10 · 01-09-2006, 12:39 PM

I like greenvilledave's reponse. That is exactly the kind of thing that I'm looking for. I'm hands-on enough to be willing to take everything apart and do some paint stripping/sanding. I do want the experts to paint. I'm a little cautious about the job being saved for slower times in the shop. I've made similar deals before and my work ends up being the last thing on the list. You end up bugging the guy to get busy and all it does is wreck a good relationship. I know that this is the hidden price for a cheaper paint job, but well....

see ten · 01-09-2006, 06:17 PM

The last truck I had painted stayed in the shop 14 mos. and cost about 10K. I have adopted the attitude that next time I am going to enroll in night classes at a trade school. Even if I spend 10K on tuition and buying tools, I will be able to do many more on down the road. I like old trucks and cars way too much to keep dropping 5-10K for paint and body work.

Novaguy73 · 01-09-2006, 06:49 PM

This is why im going to try and replace my own floors, rockers, cab corners and mounts. Im going to fill in the trim holes, smooth everything out and after im done with that its gettin a POR 15 job underneath and getting a quick primer black or Grey quick job. I dont understand how somone can afford 5-10,000 for body work and paint, granted im 23, broke, and saving for a house...

67Fleet · 01-09-2006, 07:21 PM

I've gotten estimates from $2500 to over $6000 for paint and minor bodywork. It all depends on the shop, the guy doing the quoting and how much they want to paint YOUR truck, and how much they know about restoration. Painting a classic or older vehicle has a lot of variables to it that don't always show up right away. You really don't know what you have until the old paint is stripped off and bare metal is showing. Who knows what the previous owner had done or how much bondo the truck has. How much rust will end up showing up? That's why most people are so hesitant to give a hard figure up front.

see ten · 01-09-2006, 09:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Novaguy73

This is why im going to try and replace my own floors, rockers, cab corners and mounts. Im going to fill in the trim holes, smooth everything out and after im done with that its gettin a POR 15 job underneath and getting a quick primer black or Grey quick job. I dont understand how somone can afford 5-10,000 for body work and paint, granted im 23, broke, and saving for a house...

I can't afford 5-10K either. I was making a house payment while mine was in the shop. You figure out what you can do without. That was 14mos of not going out NO beer and a lot of Ramen Noodles and peanut butter

. There were times that I hated my truck and the people I had working on it. I have just always had the attitude that if I couldn't afford what I wanted, I worked some overtime or an odd job and saved my money for what I wanted. As they say "where there's a will, there's a way".

01-09-2006, 02:31 AM	#1
bluec10 Registered User Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Manitoba, Canada Posts: 663	Body Shop Estimates I'm frustrated with the early phase of getting the truck painted. I've had a few estimates for body and paint, but no one will give me a firmish number. The first guy is the local fellow from town and I'd like to support him since he's willing to invest in my small community. But...when he looked at my truck the most he would do would give me a ball park number that was plus or minus about $4000. He does good work and has done other classics, but has a bit of a reputation for giving one number at the beginning and incrementally increasing that number as the job progresses. The next guy I talked to gave me a big number as in "it shouldn't be more than..." I trust this guy completely and he has an outstanding reputation, but I just can't see it. Both, however, didn't really get in close and closely examine the various panels etc. to see what needed to be done. Is this the best I can expect, or do I need to keep looking? Is paint and body work really that hard to estimate? Do I really need to take out a loan for twice the estimate just to be sure? Your thoughts... __________________ Present: 2015 Tacoma. Yeah, not a GM, but I love it. 1969 GMC 32,000 - fix, drive, relax, fix... 2019 BMW R1250 GSA - Yahoooooooo 1979 Honda GL 1000 - retro touring at its best. Past: '05 Sierra 4x4 - Had 270,000 KM and running well when it was written-off by a stop sign runner. '94 F-150 from the "F word" company. I'll admit it...good truck. Sold what was left of it for $800 to a guy who came to pick it up at 11:00 PM with cash in hand. Hmm. '79 Sierra Grande (Black) organ donor - perfect rebuildable 4-bolt 350 and a good TH350. '76 Sierra Grande (Orange) - hate isn't too strong a word. Kid who bought it turned it into a hot rod. '68 C-10 R.I.P. - Dad's old truck...too far gone to resurrect. '59 C-50 - with hoist. Truck is gone, wife isn't. Nuff said.

01-09-2006, 04:37 AM	#2
krue Designated A-hole! Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: South Mississippi Posts: 36,450	Re: Body Shop Estimates Here's what our resident expert has to say on the subject. http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=124745 __________________ "If it ain't broke, fix it 'til it is!" Being stupid ain't illegal. We're Still Debt Free Except for the House!!! www.daveramsey.com 70 GMC SWB Stepside project "Green Booger" soon to be 6.0l/4l80e 93 S-10 "Poppaw's Truck"

01-09-2006, 07:03 AM	#3
weasel29gm SLOW BUT SURE,BUT CLOSER Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: eleanor wv usa Posts: 3,092	Re: Body Shop Estimates If you have a garage, air tools and can do some work or learn. Do the body and prep yourself. Its not rocket science LOL!!!!!! Depends on the rust, you might have get a shop to do that. But basic dents,changin' sheet metal, fill and block, and primer you can do the prep. Get opinions and ideas on what and not to do. I've had 4 body guys look at my work and got postive from all. One guy I know came to look and was very impressed,says he can't get ant thing done for less than 5k. You can pay the big bucks or get the satisfaction of doin' part yourself. Good luck __________________ 69 C-10, OWNED 35YRS... 350 over 30, 350 Turbo, 3:73 Posi P/S, P/B Black with red and black int. ''LOVE THESE OLD ''TRUCKS.......

01-09-2006, 08:30 AM	#4
special-K Special Order Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Mt Airy, MD Posts: 85,861	Re: Body Shop Estimates Is it ready for paint?Or,are we talking bodywork,prep,and paint?Estimating body restoration on older vehicles is like forecasting weather.Paint estimating on a "ready for paint" vehicle should be cut`n`dry.Get it ready to close-in the gaps. __________________ "BUILDING A BETTER WAY TO SERVE THE USA"......67/72......"The New Breed" GMC '67 C1500 Wideside Super Custom SWB: 327/M22/3.42 posi.........."The '67" (project) GMC '72 K2500 Wideside Sierra Custom Camper: 350/TH350/4.10 Power-Lok..."The '72" (rolling) Tim "Don't call me a redneck. I'm a rough cut country gentleman" R.I.P. ~ East Side Low Life ~ El Jay ~ 72BLUZ ~ Fasteddie69 ~ Ron586 ~ 67ChevyRedneck ~ Grumpy Old Man ~

01-09-2006, 11:48 AM	#5
ChevLoRay Old Skool Club Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Benton, AR "The Heart of Arkansas" Posts: 10,880	Re: Body Shop Estimates I had one quote on my truck, for $5500. Went to another shop....got a quote/estimate of "about $20 (thousand)". Production body shops don't like to work on older/antique/special interest vehicles. For that reason, they don't like to quote pricing. They don't want to have the vehicle blown apart in the shop, taking up valuable space that they can use to do a quicker repair job on someone's late model import. __________________ Member Nr. 2770 '96 GMC Sportside; 4.3/SLT - Daily driven....constantly needs washed. '69 C-10 SWB; 350/TH400 - in limbo The older I get, the better I was.

01-09-2006, 12:15 PM	#6
greenvilledave Registered User Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 141	Re: Body Shop Estimates I will tell you our (son and myself) experience. We have done most of the work on this complete frame off with some major rust repair and bodywork and replacement of complete panels. Primed and blocked several times and then found several body shops to give quotes. the guy that got the job came to the house to really look over the truck.He is normally a collision shop but said he could do this. son picked out a very expensive color we have taken truck apart taken parts to shop they finish up and paint then we bring parts back homeWe have the box and some miner parts still to get painted and it looks like it will come in at about 4000.00 which many people on here thought was a fair deal for good work. They did have to work on driver door to get lined up better and they welded and finished the seam in the roof I think this has worked fine for both parties because I told him it would be all taken apart and it would be about 90-95 percent close to painting. Also told him I was not in a hurry and he should consider this filler work for slower periods in his shop. That has work for him and i can tell that the guys working on it are proud of their work because they keep asking how it is going back together and theyt can't wait to see finished my 2c

01-09-2006, 12:39 PM	#7
bluec10 Registered User Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Manitoba, Canada Posts: 663	Re: Body Shop Estimates I like greenvilledave's reponse. That is exactly the kind of thing that I'm looking for. I'm hands-on enough to be willing to take everything apart and do some paint stripping/sanding. I do want the experts to paint. I'm a little cautious about the job being saved for slower times in the shop. I've made similar deals before and my work ends up being the last thing on the list. You end up bugging the guy to get busy and all it does is wreck a good relationship. I know that this is the hidden price for a cheaper paint job, but well.... __________________ Present: 2015 Tacoma. Yeah, not a GM, but I love it. 1969 GMC 32,000 - fix, drive, relax, fix... 2019 BMW R1250 GSA - Yahoooooooo 1979 Honda GL 1000 - retro touring at its best. Past: '05 Sierra 4x4 - Had 270,000 KM and running well when it was written-off by a stop sign runner. '94 F-150 from the "F word" company. I'll admit it...good truck. Sold what was left of it for $800 to a guy who came to pick it up at 11:00 PM with cash in hand. Hmm. '79 Sierra Grande (Black) organ donor - perfect rebuildable 4-bolt 350 and a good TH350. '76 Sierra Grande (Orange) - hate isn't too strong a word. Kid who bought it turned it into a hot rod. '68 C-10 R.I.P. - Dad's old truck...too far gone to resurrect. '59 C-50 - with hoist. Truck is gone, wife isn't. Nuff said.

01-09-2006, 06:17 PM	#8
see ten WTB this ad Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Lafayette Georgia Posts: 5,074	Re: Body Shop Estimates The last truck I had painted stayed in the shop 14 mos. and cost about 10K. I have adopted the attitude that next time I am going to enroll in night classes at a trade school. Even if I spend 10K on tuition and buying tools, I will be able to do many more on down the road. I like old trucks and cars way too much to keep dropping 5-10K for paint and body work.

01-09-2006, 06:49 PM	#9
Novaguy73 Registered User Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Waterloo, Ia Posts: 73	Re: Body Shop Estimates This is why im going to try and replace my own floors, rockers, cab corners and mounts. Im going to fill in the trim holes, smooth everything out and after im done with that its gettin a POR 15 job underneath and getting a quick primer black or Grey quick job. I dont understand how somone can afford 5-10,000 for body work and paint, granted im 23, broke, and saving for a house... __________________ -73' Nova 350 5-speed 9"rear, Runs 11's drives anywhere... -72' C10 350 Auto 12 bolt, runs 19's?? drives to work!

01-09-2006, 07:21 PM	#10
67Fleet Outlandish Trends - FL Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Orlando Posts: 1,396	Re: Body Shop Estimates I've gotten estimates from $2500 to over $6000 for paint and minor bodywork. It all depends on the shop, the guy doing the quoting and how much they want to paint YOUR truck, and how much they know about restoration. Painting a classic or older vehicle has a lot of variables to it that don't always show up right away. You really don't know what you have until the old paint is stripped off and bare metal is showing. Who knows what the previous owner had done or how much bondo the truck has. How much rust will end up showing up? That's why most people are so hesitant to give a hard figure up front. __________________ -Bret 67 short-fleet sold!



Register or Log In To remove these advertisements.

Register or Log In To remove these advertisements.