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JB's Corvette paint shop, Dallas Texas. They have 30+ years Corvette only experience (they do other cars too) and have worked on a '60 and a '72 for us.
They are really nice, fair on pricing and willing to work with you on it, and you get an incredible paint job.
Here is my Vette. It needed a "nose job" after a wreck. Aside from not listening on which front clip to get, the car is fantastic and I am very pleased with the work. They really did a fantastic job.
Here is a copied post from another recent thread in the C1/C2 section.
As for the choices between which front end to get, go for the jig.
Last year my '72 needed a nose job after it was wrecked.
I wasn't prepared to repair the car, so I opted for the one piece front clip.
It looks good, but not great. One thing that really is beyond annoying is the fitment. It is not so much the doors, or anything else (yet..as I am still rebuilding the car) as it is the hood. The stock hood does not fit properly and the one piece is not 100 % identical to a factory front clip. One example is the channel or lip on the sides of the fenders. The originals were wider, and the ones found on my new front clip is much narrower. The hood hinges are a pain. Because of the width difference, the factory hinges don't fit and part of the hinge is not even mounted. Literally I had to bend the crap out of them to get the hood to "fit" and I would hardly call it a "fit." I was advised not to get the one piece by people on the CF and at JB's, after seeing it now, I sure wish I listened. Money is tight, always is. I am afraid that it is going to cost me more to screw with everything on my car to try and make this POS front clip "work".....than if I had just bought the jigged front clip.
Because the front clips are 100% similar in appearances, but 100% different in fitment, to get factory fitments, EVERYTHING has to be altered to fit the one piece front end. With that said, it is a nice clip, but it still sucks. The backside is rough and raw fiberglass.
The Corvette shop I took it to has been around since the early '70s. JB's Corvette Shop in Dallas, Texas. Back in '99 or 2000, my mom rear ended my dad in his '60. They fixed the car almost better than factory. So I knew who to turn to when it came time to fix Orange Crush (the '72).
It is going to cost a lot of money. NO need to sugar coat BS, it is downright expensive. The shop is realllllllyyyyyyyy fair on prices, but it is the costs of parts that does your budget in. IF I hadn't of had such an emotional attachment to my '72, I would have sold it and moved on to another Vette. It was my dad's and when I turned 15 he gave it to me. Have owned it ever since. Original paint, spare tire, POP, papers, everything.
I spent a minimum of $10,000 for body work, paint, new clip, etc. I did the disassembly there at their shop, and they are willing to work on pricing with you.
This is in one of their warehouses. That's the '53 on the right.
Here is my '72 and some of what I am talking about. While the bodies are different, the frames are essentially the same from '63-'82, and the concept is the same.
Original paint...yes..it really was that nice. 49,000 miles.
Door gaps and T-Tops were close to 1 inch in areas on the driver side. During the impact, it shifted things.
The entire front clip had cracks, fractures, and chips. I was advised that JB's could save it, but it needed to come off and be rebuilt. They said that I needed to buy a Jigged front clip as it would be cheaper in price by the time that the labor costs for my original front clip were totaled up. I was not listening and chose to listen to my wallet, who knows nothing on what is best for my Orange Crush. DON'T CHEAP OUT and buy the one piece. It sounds like a deal, and in some ways it is, but once the dust settles...you realize you made the wrong call. I am writing this to help you and anyone in the future who checks this out. It is too late to change front clips again. So I am stuck with what I have.
In the pictures, the damage looks less worse than it was.
Here Orange Crush is getting fixed.
Here I was adjusting the fitment of the T-Tops...a MAJOR PITA!
This is after paint. I had not yet adjusted the fitments on the T-Tops. Look closely and you'll see it. SMH.
As you can see, the fitment of the door and front clip are actually...uniform at .25 inch all around. Again, that is not my big issues with the front clip.
Another annoying factor is that the spacing given for parts, or the mounting areas are not correct.
Check this fitment out. Now all of the issues I am mentioning, are noticeable up close. Not a big deal going down the road or half way around the parking lot.
As you can see, it looks pretty, and without a doubt, Orange Crush IS beautiful....however she is not flawless.It is going to eventually get resolved one way or another, but the price for the jigged front clip comes at a higher price and is virtually risk free (including headache free ...I said virtually ) where as the one piece is cheaper in every way and it comes with the risk that it does not fit. JB's worked my front clip to their best ability and it still falls short of factory expectations. If a pro - team like JB's struggles to make a one piece work, not many amateurs would either. One thing you don't want to cheap out on is body and paint work.
I am SORRY this is SO long, but I really wish I listened to my warnings. It IS too late for me, but it is NOT too late to prevent others from falling into the trap I fell into. I could have simply stated the 1 liner of buy the Jigged, and you would have read it....but would you have remembered it? I think not...I hope this helps.
IF you decide that the one piece is your only option, well, a wrecked C2 is worse than a restored C2 with a few flaws. Main thing is getting the car back on the road safely. My front clip is nice, it really is, but it is easy to tell that despite how nice it is, it clearly was not the nicest. I don't mind it really all of that much, but IMO, the hood gaps is the last straw. It sticks out, and no matter how hard I try I can't nail decent looking gaps.
Well best of luck, and keep us posted on this car.
Brandon
This is the best I have gotten, look close and you'll see the gaps are not straight. Also the gap on the passenger side is about 1/8th and the driver side is greater than 1/4th inch. It is a never ending headache. Also the windshield is new.
Last edited by Brandons72vette; 11-22-2014 at 01:42 PM.
JB's Corvette paint shop, Dallas Texas. They have 30+ years Corvette only experience (they do other cars too) and have worked on a '60 and a '72 for us.
They are really nice, fair on pricing and willing to work with you on it, and you get an incredible paint job.
Here is my Vette. It needed a "nose job" after a wreck. Aside from not listening on which front clip to get, the car is fantastic and I am very pleased with the work. They really did a fantastic job.
Here is a copied post from another recent thread in the C1/C2 section.
As for the choices between which front end to get, go for the jig.
Last year my '72 needed a nose job after it was wrecked.
I wasn't prepared to repair the car, so I opted for the one piece front clip.
It looks good, but not great. One thing that really is beyond annoying is the fitment. It is not so much the doors, or anything else (yet..as I am still rebuilding the car) as it is the hood. The stock hood does not fit properly and the one piece is not 100 % identical to a factory front clip. One example is the channel or lip on the sides of the fenders. The originals were wider, and the ones found on my new front clip is much narrower. The hood hinges are a pain. Because of the width difference, the factory hinges don't fit and part of the hinge is not even mounted. Literally I had to bend the crap out of them to get the hood to "fit" and I would hardly call it a "fit." I was advised not to get the one piece by people on the CF and at JB's, after seeing it now, I sure wish I listened. Money is tight, always is. I am afraid that it is going to cost me more to screw with everything on my car to try and make this POS front clip "work".....than if I had just bought the jigged front clip.
Because the front clips are 100% similar in appearances, but 100% different in fitment, to get factory fitments, EVERYTHING has to be altered to fit the one piece front end. With that said, it is a nice clip, but it still sucks. The backside is rough and raw fiberglass.
The Corvette shop I took it to has been around since the early '70s. JB's Corvette Shop in Dallas, Texas. Back in '99 or 2000, my mom rear ended my dad in his '60. They fixed the car almost better than factory. So I knew who to turn to when it came time to fix Orange Crush (the '72).
It is going to cost a lot of money. NO need to sugar coat BS, it is downright expensive. The shop is realllllllyyyyyyyy fair on prices, but it is the costs of parts that does your budget in. IF I hadn't of had such an emotional attachment to my '72, I would have sold it and moved on to another Vette. It was my dad's and when I turned 15 he gave it to me. Have owned it ever since. Original paint, spare tire, POP, papers, everything.
I spent a minimum of $10,000 for body work, paint, new clip, etc. I did the disassembly there at their shop, and they are willing to work on pricing with you.
This is in one of their warehouses. That's the '53 on the right.
Here is my '72 and some of what I am talking about. While the bodies are different, the frames are essentially the same from '63-'82, and the concept is the same.
Original paint...yes..it really was that nice. 49,000 miles.
Door gaps and T-Tops were close to 1 inch in areas on the driver side. During the impact, it shifted things.
The entire front clip had cracks, fractures, and chips. I was advised that JB's could save it, but it needed to come off and be rebuilt. They said that I needed to buy a Jigged front clip as it would be cheaper in price by the time that the labor costs for my original front clip were totaled up. I was not listening and chose to listen to my wallet, who knows nothing on what is best for my Orange Crush. DON'T CHEAP OUT and buy the one piece. It sounds like a deal, and in some ways it is, but once the dust settles...you realize you made the wrong call. I am writing this to help you and anyone in the future who checks this out. It is too late to change front clips again. So I am stuck with what I have.
In the pictures, the damage looks less worse than it was.
Here Orange Crush is getting fixed.
Here I was adjusting the fitment of the T-Tops...a MAJOR PITA!
This is after paint. I had not yet adjusted the fitments on the T-Tops. Look closely and you'll see it. SMH.
As you can see, the fitment of the door and front clip are actually...uniform at .25 inch all around. Again, that is not my big issues with the front clip.
Another annoying factor is that the spacing given for parts, or the mounting areas are not correct.
Check this fitment out. Now all of the issues I am mentioning, are noticeable up close. Not a big deal going down the road or half way around the parking lot.
As you can see, it looks pretty, and without a doubt, Orange Crush IS beautiful....however she is not flawless.It is going to eventually get resolved one way or another, but the price for the jigged front clip comes at a higher price and is virtually risk free (including headache free ...I said virtually ) where as the one piece is cheaper in every way and it comes with the risk that it does not fit. JB's worked my front clip to their best ability and it still falls short of factory expectations. If a pro - team like JB's struggles to make a one piece work, not many amateurs would either. One thing you don't want to cheap out on is body and paint work.
I am SORRY this is SO long, but I really wish I listened to my warnings. It IS too late for me, but it is NOT too late to prevent others from falling into the trap I fell into. I could have simply stated the 1 liner of buy the Jigged, and you would have read it....but would you have remembered it? I think not...I hope this helps.
IF you decide that the one piece is your only option, well, a wrecked C2 is worse than a restored C2 with a few flaws. Main thing is getting the car back on the road safely. My front clip is nice, it really is, but it is easy to tell that despite how nice it is, it clearly was not the nicest. I don't mind it really all of that much, but IMO, the hood gaps is the last straw. It sticks out, and no matter how hard I try I can't nail decent looking gaps.
Well best of luck, and keep us posted on this car.
Brandon
This is the best I have gotten, look close and you'll see the gaps are not straight. Also the gap on the passenger side is about 1/8th and the driver side is greater than 1/4th inch. It is a never ending headache. Also the windshield is new.
There are 2 good ones over my way in Western AR. D&D specialty cars in Van Buren and Classic Collision in aft. Smith. Both have a lot of Vette experience.
11-22-2014, 09:13 AM
Recommend Paint/Body Shop
Aside from not listening on which front clip to get, the car is fantastic and I am very pleased with the work. They really did a fantastic job.
) where as the one piece is cheaper in every way and it comes with the risk that it does not fit. JB's worked my front clip to their best ability and it still falls short of factory expectations. If a pro - team like JB's struggles to make a one piece work, not many amateurs would either. One thing you don't want to cheap out on is body and paint work. 
