AdrianTW

I have a 1966 Roadster that I am working to get back to at least the appearance of original. I am not a body guy, and I am not an experienced restorer, so I am having difficulty getting ballpark (high, high level) figures from body shops on how long it will take and about how much it will cost. I am putting money in the bank monthly to get this done and I'm trying to schedule things so that I will have enough in the bank by the time the car is done. I realize this is a major over simplification of the process and I'm willing to put some of this on credit if anything unexpected happens, but I'm just trying to get close. Below is the email I have been sending out to local shops to try and get input. If any of you have experience with this, I welcome your input - whether that is how to get this info from the body shops or if you have estimates you can provide.Hello Body Shop Guy,

It was good to talk with you over the phone regarding my 1966 Corvette that I am restoring. As discussed, the car has been stripped down and the body is ready to be removed from the rotten frame. I have a new frame ready to accept the body and thought this would be the right time to get the body work tackled. Below I’ve listed the known issues with the body that need addressing and I’m looking for a rough idea on pricing and lead time. I have attached some pictures to help give you an idea of what I’m looking for. Ultimately, the goal of this car is to have it look as original as possible.



The first picture attached is the Corvette as it stood after I bought it. I quickly learned that the frame was rotten and have been working for the past year or so on a frame off restoration.



With respect to the work we would like to see you look into, here is a quick list:

















Fiberglass Work

Rear fenders returned to stock (possible full or partial fender replacement)

Front fenders repaired to include lower mounting tab for lower rocker valence/trim

Hole repair on PS rear fender where bumper mounting rod protrudes (possible full fender replacement)

Front lower nose repair to include tab for mounting center grill support

DS door repair – various cracks as shown on pictures

Fix up-turned fender tabs (gutter) under hood



Paint

Paint the body a non-stock silver color (yet to be finalized)

Paint the engine bay black



Assembly

Install the windshield



Work that has already been done or will be done

Engine/tranny removed

Wiring harness completely removed

Windshield removed

Doors and interior gutted

All trim, badges, etc… removed

Paint stripped



All reassembly (except the windshield) will be done by us.



Let me know your thoughts and best next steps.



Thanks,
Adrian

Boyan

In Kalifornia you are looking at a starting price of $55,000 and a minimum of 2 years for NCRS/show quality bodywork and paint.

JBL Specialty

Your car needs both quarter panels for sure . It looks like the surround panel was cut off in front of the headlights, if so I would replace the surround panel. Your lower valance is hand laid fiberglass . It will cheaper to replace than fix the tabs. There is a guy on EBAY called Vette Masters who has great C2 fiberglass parts he has press molded. They are so perfect they could pass for nos Gm.I have installed his quarters and tail light panel and fit like Gm. He also has fenders and surround panels in stock, no waiting to be made.

76redvet

My two cents based on my experience: Most body shops are in the collision repair business and have to take care of their bread & butter first (i.e. insurance & fleet work) as they are on the "clock" and your project may go on the back burner. Unless you can find a shop specializing in body and paint (customizing, etc.) which will cost more; the time frame to complete usually gets pushed out past what they tell you. Then the time will come where you start to worry about what kind of workmanship your get if you start harping at them and pushing to get it done.

Be prepared for delays and set your expectations accordingly. Things take more time than we plan.

DansYellow66

Modern urethane paints with safety equipment and spray booth requirements have discourages a lot of self-do-it painters from attempting a paint job anymore. I painted my car in the garage back in the days of lacquer. No big deal back then. But if you are not afraid of work - and from the stage of disassembly I would say you aren't - you could potentially do all the paint stripping, panel replacement and fiberglass work up to the point of passing it off to the painter. Fiberglass work is not difficult. The basic process is easy to learn and as long as the basics are followed the results can be first class. Same with panel replacement. The modern panel adhesives with their longer work time take a lot of the risk and difficulty out of the equation. If you have an eye for visually gaging panels for straightness, uniformity and waviness prepping a body with filler and blocking is pretty straight forward. It’s work but it can save considerable expense. Here in Arkansas I would say a quality paint job on a mostly prepared Corvette body would run $12 to 15k. But if they are handed the body in the condition as pictured with the list of repair items, stripping, panel replacement, fiberglass repairs, blocking out the body, etc, I would guess you could almost double that amount.

nutt

I do all my own work in a pretty small shop. I use mostly SPI products which cut the costs dramatically without a sacrifice in quality. I don't have the air movement to safely do a complete topcoat base/clear so I have a pro do it over a long weekend. He has charged me $400, then $600, then $1000 from 12 years to 3 years back. My '66 coupe is sitting in 400 grit waiting a few more months till I block and seal. I'll do all that myself and schedule a road trip to his shop. I never tally the receipts, but I'd bet I've spent over $3000 in product so far including the red base. My painter always has a hand in choosing the clear so I haven't purchase that yet.....and it's best to keep that as fresh as possible.

69L88

Good to see one being resuscitated but as others have pointed out, the cost of having it done correctly by someone else can be astronomical. Recommend you determine what the car would be worth in top condition, then determine how deep into your pockets you want to reach to cover the difference - i.e. - what $ you’ll never see again - before you take the plunge with a shop.

Not one to normally give financial advice but I would not depend on credit to cover costs unless you have a large income stream of discretionary cash.

mrg

This was my experience also. Every body shop I checked with refused to do the body work on my car.
The impression I got was that these body shops just want the quick turnaround work, i.e. someone brings their modern day car in for crash repairs while insurance cuts a check soon after.
Also mentioned too was that ‘we don’t work on fiberglass cars’. One body shop mentioned that if they did take the car in it would be on a second tier basis…….. as in, ‘we’ll get to it when we have time’.

It turned out I ended up getting a couple of ‘how to’
guides and did the body work at home in the garage.
Four body panels were replaced along with general body work done in other areas. Slow and easy all worked out good. After all said and done a local area paint shop painted the car.



John

66jack

Looks like whoever you go with will be doing most of the 'restoration'...

Add 10+% to the estimate after you get what 'you/they think' the total will be....