JimNB

I need a price opinion. My car body is in excellent shape (absolutely no bondo anywhere), but it does need a new passenger compartment floor)

I have had a local shop quote on doing the body work on my car. For $ 5500 CDN (roughly $ 3500 USD) they will:

1. Replace floor panels in cockpit (front and back from Restoration Design)
2. Repair and weld the gas tank support
3. Fix a buckle in the drivers door (from it being opened too wide withoiut a door stop
4. Replace passenger interior rocker panel
5. Chemical strip the car down to bare metal, mask and repaint (new color)(including taking out all glass)
6. Strip and repaint inside of door frame and door

He has also put a fudge factor of 10 hours in case they "discover" something" when they strip it. For the total job they are saying it will be 118 hours of work.

I have had other work done there in the past and have seen some of the "show cars" they have done. I know they do good work, IS THIS A DECENT PRICE ???

CN

Seems a bit excessive but the trust factor is worth something. I would consider getting another reliable shop to price it. Also, you may want to get involved in the job. My body guy will let me mask, sand and remove parts to get the price down.

Good luck,

Martin S.

Jim,

I have been down this road before with a 1974 911, not an S, not a Carrera, a garden variety 911. I got the car at a good price...it had a little rust. The rule of thumb is, if it has a little rust visable, you can bet there is more that will come forth later.

Don't get me wrong, I love the 911T. It is a great little car, and treated well, will probably run forever...assuming that rust doesn't interfere in this process.

I dumped $5,000 or > US into the 1974 911 car in 1986 to get rid of the rust, strp to bare metal, repaint, etc. Less than a year after the paint, a rust bubble appeared on the drivers door. I said, that's it! I drove down to my local Porsche dealer and traded up to a 80SC Weissach Coupe.

Money you put into a garden variety car such as a 74 911, will never be recaptured. I suggest you save your money, sell off the 911T, and purchas a SC. The SC is a far superior car in the sense that it is galvanized and generally won't rust, has a 3.0 motor with lots of torque, has the 915 tranny which some prefer over the 901 tranny, has a pretty much problem free CIS fuel injection system, has bigger brakes, a better ventilation system, the possibility of aire conditioning that actually works, flared fenders for bigger tires and wheels, and according to Excellence Magazine, the SC cars are maintaining their value in relation to earlier models such as the 911T cars.

If I had to do it over again, I would never sink a dime into a garden variety car. Now if the car were a sunroof delete 70 911S car, I would reconsider all I have said above. This is an exceptional car that will probably blow off many a newer car. At about 180 HP and 2,400 Lbs, the car has got to haul ***. All of thre above IMHO, of course.

Carrera51

Seems very reasonable (even a little on the low side) given the amount of work they are going to do. With rust, you never know what surprises you will find once they get into the job. This could end up being the starting point. You say you have had work done by them before so they probably are on the level. The question is how attached are you to this car? If you plan on keeping it for the long term, go for it. Just make sure you aren't getting yourself into a money pit.

Reg

Jim

Body work is time consuming. If your guy is reputable and you trust him, go with him vs saving 1000 on some otherguys low ball quote that you know little about.

I am not sure about how he will react to you offering to do some of the work that in the end will reflect on his job, but it wouldnt hurt to ask.

I went through this with my mr2 a couple years ago and paid good money for a half *** job.

As far as ditching it for an SC...well I know you are not doing that!

That all said, it would hurt to see rust appear after spending 5k.

I am thinking you got yourself a cheap fixerupper to begin with , so you can afford to invest some money correct?

R SQUADRON 911

I got my entire car painted for that price, with body work.

I live in Toronto as well. Call my body shop NX AUTO BODY. THey have done many Porsches. My 1981 SC and my 1997 993. THey are just finishing a 996 GT3 there.

Call PAUL at (416)438-8242

tell him Pierre sent you. He will take care of you.

John Brandt

Jim,

That price really seems very reasonable to me. The bare metal repaint alone would cost more than $3500 US in a lot of shops
I had similar structural work done on my '71E that included the suspension pan, inner and outer rockers and partial floorpans and it was about 2 grand, 7 years ago.

And don't let anyone convince you that the early cars are not worth restoring and preserving
go for if you remotely have the $$$

JimNB

Flat bed picks the car up at 5:00 PM this afternoon. Thanks for the thoughts.

Jim

JJM

I'm in the process of getting some quotes for my 82 SC with the intent of having is done later in the year. I want a complete bare metal paint with doors, glass, trim, bumbers removed and engine and trunk jams sprayed also. There is some rust work required at the lower edge of the windshield. I will authorize all rust discovered after strip down to be dealt with. I am a bit concerned about a post on this thread that states rust has a good chance of coming back up. Is this really a concern when having such a thorough (and expensive) repaint performed? BTW I will be commisioning a shop that specializes in Porsche and/or high line cars. Concerned about having to deal with rust after paying for the works! If done right do I have anything to worry about in the next 15 years? Want to keep the car at least that long.

Thanks

Reg

What is the colour going to be Jim?!?

CN

If you don't drive in the snow then there is little to worry about after the body work/paint job is complete. It is the salt that causes the rust to form as salt is electrolytic when desolved. Keep your baby dry and in the garage in nasty weather.

Erick

That you could find anyone to the job for that little is amazing..............I stripped my car including removing doors,hood,decklid,and all glass and wiring. I stripped to primer the quarter and door that had been repainted through the years and still found the best price to be $2500..with only some minor filling on the quarter lip. Most estimates came in around 5-7K and this is a car with zero rust!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Erick

rfw 911

I agree with Erick on being lucky to find a place to do it.

I have a 1970 AMC Javelin that is at the body shop now. I went to over 12 places and out of them only 2 would even consider doing the car. Mind you this is not a rust bucket, but a 30,000 mile car that has its share of door dings, but other than minor rust in the lower 1/4's the car is in nice shape. I have a budget number
of $3500.00- 4000.00, including striping to metal via bead blasting.

I considered this a reasonable price considering the other shop was talking $7000.00. I told both shops I wasnt looking foa a concours restoration, just something that wouldnt embarass me at local shows and cruise nights.

The car has been there since just before Thansgiving and is just getting ready to be sent out. Beleive me when I tell you they are in NO hurry when it comes to a "hobby" car. They make there money on insurance jobs by playing "beat the clock". I also agree with there is never much truth in a little rust. Budget extra dollars for the unknown. Good luck in your search.

Regards,
Rich