Reputable body shops St.Charles MO

[72tutone]

Sadly, after three inner rockers and two outer rockers, I've given up. I'm just not a body man at all. Having said that, is there anyone out there within the St.Charles MO that knows of a good, reputable body shop? Or would anyone know what they're doing wanna stop by and assist? Will pay!!
Ive searched through this forum time and time again and most make it look easy, and there is definitely a skill involved in doing this. I just do not have it ;(

So if anyone knows, please reply. Comments most welcome!

[68shortwide]

Labors 70 an hour at Old dog street rods in Maryland heights, not that far away and my dads the one that'd be doin it. I trust him with my truck and it'll be done right.

[68shortwide]

Any pics?

[70shortfleet]

Gittemier auto body in St.Charles ask for Tim. 636 928 0226

[72tutone]

I can get some. Most likely tomorrow. I need an inner rocker, a pillar, b pillar, cab corner and outer rocker. I have all the parts. Just cant get things lined up and the door to fit..
What's the price for labor?

[68shortwide]

If you want to to come to the open house we're having on Oct 4th you can come have fun and see some awesome cars, see what we do there. 72 n under parks on the lot and newer parks across the street.

[Grumpy old man]

Always talk to previous customers and more than 1-2 ask for references and look at past work that being said I used to print this on the back of our business cards ...

1) QUALITY WORK

2) FAST TURN AROUND

3) LOW PRICE

PICK TWO BECAUSE YOU CAN'T HAVE ALL THREE !

You can have quality work and a low price BUT it won't be FAST ! (your truck will be used as fill in work and may sit for untold months )

You can have quality work and fast turn around BUT it won't be CHEAP !

You can have fast turnaround and low price BUT it won't be QUALITY !

[68shortwide]

As a painters son, that's the damn truth. Pardon the language

[In The Ten Ring]

Originally Posted by Grumpy old man

Always talk to previous customers and more than 1-2 ask for references and look at past work that being said I used to print this on the back of our business cards ...

1) QUALITY WORK

2) FAST TURN AROUND

3) LOW PRICE

PICK TWO BECAUSE YOU CAN'T HAVE ALL THREE !

You can have quality work and a low price BUT it won't be FAST ! (your truck will be used as fill in work and may sit for untold months )

You can have quality work and fast turn around BUT it won't be CHEAP !

You can have fast turnaround and low price BUT it won't be QUALITY !

Do you still do body work Grumpy Old Man? If so, I'm not too far away. Even if you do it on the side I'd be interested.

[Grumpy old man]

Originally Posted by In The Ten Ring

Do you still do body work Grumpy Old Man? If so, I'm not too far away. Even if you do it on the side I'd be interested.

Yes , 35+ years I retired early but it seems I work more now than I did before. The true old school restoration shops are pretty much gone I do my own Mechanical/body/paint and interiors and always have I only know 1 other person who still does it that way and his shop has been booked 2-3 years in advance for a long time more than 20 years !,Today's body shops are more geared toward plastic pop on replacement panels on late model cars and would rather total a car/truck than rebuild them.Mention frame damage and they run for the hills ! Also with all the regulations and EPA restrictions and lack of qualified (interested) employees the shops of today have a rough expensive row to hoe, add in employee drug use and the weekend binge drinkers who don't show up on Monday and they can put a shop out of business pretty quick I've seen it happen ! Many shy away from restoration work because it can become expensive and most customers don't grasp the idea of hidden damage original vs repop parts costs or the time it really takes to produce a quality surface to apply paint to .It's not just throw some bondo on it and sand away anything that doesn't look like a truck. Post some pictures of what you have and what you want , I can at least point you in the right direction . There are still good shops/people out there just not many of them !

[68shortwide]

In the few months I've been on this forum and the couple years I've stalked it before joining I've never seen a truer post from you Grumpy.

[Grumpy old man]

Originally Posted by 68shortwide

In the few months I've been on this forum and the couple years I've stalked it before joining I've never seen a truer post from you Grumpy.

I'll be here all week folks !


Just another dancing chicken !

[In The Ten Ring]

Originally Posted by Grumpy old man

Yes , 35+ years I retired early but it seems I work more now than I did before. The true old school restoration shops are pretty much gone I do my own Mechanical/body/paint and interiors and always have I only know 1 other person who still does it that way and his shop has been booked 2-3 years in advance for a long time more than 20 years !,Today's body shops are more geared toward plastic pop on replacement panels on late model cars and would rather total a car/truck than rebuild them.Mention frame damage and they run for the hills ! Also with all the regulations and EPA restrictions and lack of qualified (interested) employees the shops of today have a rough expensive row to hoe, add in employee drug use and the weekend binge drinkers who don't show up on Monday and they can put a shop out of business pretty quick I've seen it happen ! Many shy away from restoration work because it can become expensive and most customers don't grasp the idea of hidden damage original vs repop parts costs or the time it really takes to produce a quality surface to apply paint to .It's not just throw some bondo on it and sand away anything that doesn't look like a truck. Post some pictures of what you have and what you want , I can at least point you in the right direction . There are still good shops/people out there just not many of them !

I fully understand everything you typed. I work a part time job and they are always looking for more help since certain departments constantly suffer from "I'd rather be on welfare than come to work" syndrome. The drug problem is massive around here and druggies don't often have a great work ethic.

What I would most like to do is get with a buddy from here, someone who knew what they were doing and was serious about a good job, and allow me to put my truck into their garage and he and I work on it together. It needs a frame off for sure although the frame seems solid. Cab corners and rockers need to be cut out and replaced but I've managed to find all the fenders I'll need (original too) so there's that. I'd pay the fellow as well as take care of any expenses. I'm hoping I can learn how to do some of this stuff as he and I go through it. I'm not at that point though.

Barring that, I'd hire a guy straight out to do a frame off but I realize that isn't cheap (20K or so?).

[68shortwide]

Stock frame off or custom build?

[In The Ten Ring]

Originally Posted by 68shortwide

Stock frame off or custom build?

Stock. I'd just like the truck to go back as close to it was when my dad had it.

Only thing I'd do differently is put in a radio, cell phone charger, ignition kill switch, and a couple of cameras and screens to make parking easier. Oh and move the gas tank to the rear. Mainly I'd like to get rid of any rust.

[72tutone]

Just a quick pic. But as you can see the inner is just tacked in. I have the outer rocker to put on, the A pillar, the b pillar is tacked in, and the cab corner
This process needs to almost be completed on the other side. Although the rust isn't quite as extensive on the other side.
Having said that, I've already put in the cab floor braces underneath. That was a job in itself.
But basically I've had this in several times, and I'm still hitting the door. I bought the doors from a member on the forum, and they are GM doors. All the sheet metal are aftermarket.
Again I completely understand that massaging and tweaking are apart of the process, I'm just not that skilled.
And I've wasted countless hours on this. As a matter of fact between my rebuilding of the suspension and trying to stay away from this rocker job, I started cutting everything a year ago this Oct!

[Grumpy old man]

1st always weld a brace the opening before cutting anything out/off ,make sure the cab has been squared and level on whatever stands hold it off the ground and that they (the stands) are not holding the cab up by the floor pan only .4 jack stands and 2-2x6 boards can be used for lack of steel supports , I use a specific built wheeled stand for this stage with adjustable struts to maintain square .I need more pictures to see exactly what your having problems with but I would refrain from cutting so much out at one time and your floor braces just might be welded in the wrong position/height and that may be whats throwing you off and making the door hit ? measure 3 times cut and weld once !