Hard to watch!! Not for the faint of heart!!

[browndawg71]

here is some advice from a professional bodyman. 2 things, learn to do it yourself or get ready to unass some major dough. i do this stuff everyday and you cant pay me enough to do restoration work. the only old stuff ii work on is mine . there is no money in this type of work thats why collision shops dont want to jack with it. i love these old trucks and thats why i got in to this work but i realized there is no money to be made in restorations. most guys in the business will set you straight on how to do things if you ask them and listen . buy some beer and ask for some advice.

[68plus4sub]

Or find a Classics shop where people love to restore old vehicles. I'm finding that yes, I'm having to unass some major dough, but my love for these trucks and for old vehicles in general has, so far, made the process worth while. It was nice to find a shop with people who really do love old cars, and seem to have my same passion. I just hope (and expect) the end result will be something they, and I, can be proud of.

I wish I had the same body work ability as mechanical ability, but I just don't. So I'll continue to have someone else do that and try to help others with the abilities I have.

That's also some great advice about buying some beer and just asking for advice. Some of the greatest info I've received was just going over to a friends house with some whiskey (it is great payment to!!) and just watching someone who really knows what they are doing and trying to take it all in.

I guess there is just a huge range of profit margin that each person must have in order to feel like they can keep doing what they are doing it, whether it be body work, or any thing else. I'm just happy to find someone who has worked with me on my budget and been very flexible in finding ways to keep costs down while still making what he feels is an acceptable profit margin for my particular project.

I'm very excited to get it back, and will post pictures then as well as a review.

Later ,

Jason

[shuttermutt]

Originally Posted by 68plus4sub

That's also some great advice about buying some beer and just asking for advice. Some of the greatest info I've received was just going over to a friends house with some whiskey (it is great payment to!!) and just watching someone who really knows what they are doing and trying to take it all in.

Or do what I do and take a big bottle of whiskey over to the top-notch bodyman that you're already paying an assload of cash. Never hurts to grease them wheels. Besides, even with what he's charged, his shop only has two bays and he'll be lucky to break even with the work he's lost while my restoration ate up 50% of his floorspace for many months.

[MOTHERTRUCKERS]

We are doing a board members 71 burb at this time, we had the frame checked on a frame machine,blasted, DX330 washed then etch primed and 2k painted, all new moog front end parts, re rivited frame mounts and rebuilt rearend, I talked with him about the sheetmetal and main body parts he wanted media blasted and after much discussion he agreed to dipping the parts and body to bring it to truly rustfree condition. This is the 9th restoration that has been dipped at Wachula Fl ( a 67 cab was done 5 years ago and sits in primer in my warehouse with no rust anywhere is amazing in Floridas humid climate) and in my humble opinion the only true way to know that ALL the rust is gone. I have seen to many fully restored trucks that in 2 years have pin hole rust in the firewall,door bottoms,seams and driprails not to mention improper patch panel installs over a rust hole that was not prepped correctly. Talk to your bodyman, take pictures,drop in often, ask questions, ask the paint supplier for the proper products to use from bare metal to final paint and discuss it with your painter to make sure he knows how to use the products. Ask LOTS of questions! Ask LOTS of questions! Ask LOTS of questions, then ask more.

[Classic Heartbeat]

Well that is good advise Ed. Part of my problem was, at the time this project started was my ignorance though, and the bodyman's abillity to lye right strait through his teeth. I was told that I would get it the way I asked for it to be done. There are cirtain proceedures that needed to be followed and I relied on his expertiece to make sure that it was done write. I paid $5000.00 to repair both rear quarters (rust free mind you! At least what he repaired) and straiten the rear cross sill and align the barn doors!! $5000.00 for that and no paint!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I told him that pushing bondo through the holes was absolutely unexceptable!! What the hell does he do!! Just that!!!! $5000.00 for the little amount of work that I got should have been perfection!!!! No bondo what so ever!! I was willing to accept 1/8" skim coat though!! For crying out loud, he couldn't even grind down his welds!!!! And 1/8" skim coat!! That was a laugh, because I think that he took that as a minimum of 1/8"!!! I found more than 3/8" in places and almost 1/2" in others!!! My 14 year old kid knows better than that!!! I guess that the bondo he laid with a cement trawl must have been the real expencive stuff!! Like a $1000.00 a gallon!! How else could he justify to homself ripping someone off as bad as he did?? GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR WES www.ClassicHeartbeat.com