OK, So a little advice PLEASE

[dojo]

Hey Guy's, I need a little advice on my rebuild please. Here's the deal, I have never done a frame off rebuild. I have already started and my cab and bed and doors etc... are all at a shop here in town and they are known for doing excellent work on Hot Rods. He has disassembled the body from the chassis and has been working on the body for a couple months. Off and on , I mean a week on mine and then a week on someone elses. I am paying shop rate which is I think around $50 or $60 per hour. My wife checked and I am into it already for $21,000. Now, I was prepared and still am prepared to spend the cash on this project, just wanting to make sure, from some of you proffesionals that this is in order with a major proffesional paint and body job. He has everything primed and ready for my chassis to return to mount and check body lines, then remove and paint everything a two tone. I could possibly be into this thing another $10,000 maybe, just from the body shop. So, am I on track or not?? Thanks. Please don't call me a idiot

[mcbassin]

dojo,
You're not an idiot. It cost a bunch of cash to pay someone to build one of these trucks. $21K/ $60 an hr. works out to 350 hours. Sometimes, I think I have that many + some in my chassis and cab already. Another $10K is not out of the realm of possiblilty. I expect ot have around $20k in mine when complete with me doing 100% of the labor. These old trucks aren't cheap to restore.

[CC69Rat]

What are your plans for the truck once it's finished?

[davepl]

My '69 2+2 started out as a $70K estimated nut-and-bolt, frame-off restoration. By the time I was done the costs were in excess of $240,000.00! And the problem is once you're into a project by a painful amount, can you really pull the plug?

Our trucks are much cheaper to restore because there is reproduction stuff availble (unlike the 2+2). But if you get a frame-off restoration done for $30K, I think you're doing well.

If I were you I'd call the shop, tell him you'd like him to let you know when he can set aside an hour or so to go over the project (not just a drop-in), and meet with him. By this stage of the project there should be no "surprises" left, ie: no hidden rot they didn't know about before tear-down. I think any reasonably experienced shop should be able to tell you with a high degree of confidence how much remains to be done and what the costs will be. Tell him (actually, ask him, but remain firm that you want it) to give you a detailed breakdown of remaining costs. You can say you have to plan financially for it, and budget for it, and I'm sure that's all true and reasonable.

You may or may not like the answer, but it beats the heck out of sitting at home digging your fingernails into the armchair waiting for the next statement to arrive!

I've said it before on other threads and I'll say it again here: careful, polite discussion between you and the shop is paramount.

For my aforementioned "expensive build" above they had me write a HUGE document up front explaining all of my expectations and how I wanted thigns done (ie: date coded plug wires? Glass? Every detail.). That helped because it was in another part of the country. But if it's local, drop in once a week, when it's convenient for them, and stay on top of it.

Surprises suck.

[JointTech]

i want to see a 240k truck (that wasnt sold on BJ)

[dojo]

I stop in once a week, these guy's we know well, they are our racing buddies. I figure maybe if I let them do it all, I may have 20, 30K or more involved. Chassis is at Porterbilt getting done. There is no more rust or rot, actually, there was not alot to begin with. I sure wasn;t *****in, just makin sure we was on track, and sounds like we are. I sure don't want and can't get to the 240K mark. But, with the chassis work, and all the little things, motor and tranny are here in shop, we are thinking at least 60K or more. We were at The Street Rod Nationals here this weekend and are very excited to be there next year with smiles on our faces. When we get chassis back from Nate, we will be sure to put some pics up. Thanks Again

[mcbassin]

Originally Posted by JointTech

i want to see a 240k truck (that wasnt sold on BJ)

Correct me if I'm wrong but, I think he was talking about a concourse grade restored pontiac.

[treveiger]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

Correct me if I'm wrong but, I think he was talking about a concourse grade restored pontiac.

Id love to see it! Even my wifes jaw dropped.
Posted via Mobile Device

[davepl]

Originally Posted by JointTech

i want to see a 240k truck (that wasnt sold on BJ)

It wasn't a truck in that case, but you could easily spend $240K on one of our trucks. Just take your average driver pickup with a little rust and drop it off at a place like Musclecar Restorations or Legendary Motorcar and tell them you want it to look exactly like it did the morning after GM made it. Then go away and come back in 2-3 years.

When you're done, if it was a well-optioned big-block you could probably sell it to the right person for $38,000.

Remember, what you spent != what it's worth.

I would say that in general to do a concourse-level restoration on any vehicle takes 2000-3000 hours. Pay a shop $80 per hour and do the math!

I'm trying to do my current one myself (except paint and the automatic transmission, which are voodoo to me). Paid $6500 for the truck, will spend about $20K on parts, $5K on engine, $15K on paint and body. That'll put me close to $50K and it'll be worth a little more than half that. So divide that negative number by (let's say) 2000 hours and you'll see how I value my time :-) Like most, in the end I'm paying for the privilege.

Still beats golf, though.