Does anyone know or can estimate the cost of having a C3 repainted?
I'm considering buying a 78 Pace Car and a few areas of the black portions are bubbling/blistering. I figure the in oder for the black to match, it should all be done over. Any ideas on possible cost?

 

15 grand for a show car. or less for anything else if you shop around.

 

Prices will vary across the country and will depend on how much of the prep you can/will do yourself. Start shopping estimates in your area. If there is a Corvette club in your area, the members will almost certainly be able to point you in the right direction.

 

Talk to lots of people in your area. Painting a Vette involves many hours; it is flat-out expensive. Mine cost $8,000 but is fabulous, better than any Lexus or Benz.

 

I just got a Quote from a Vintage Car Painter in Port Lavaca Tx. ( southeast of Houston )
Car is Buckskin and I want to go to a Dark Metallic Silver. just to prep & scuff all original painted areas then paint with no major body work needed it is 4k. this IS NOT Removing old paint down to glass ,that would be another 2-3K. But I looked at a few of the cars he has done and he assures me I will have no issues not taking it all the way down to the bare glass ? This is a driver not a show queen , so if it lasts 10 years ? plenty good for me !

 

MAACO about $1000 and you do all the prep work. Show quality work: $10,000. Lots of options available for anything in-between.

Your best option is to do it all yourself...if you have the equipment and skills. The next best option is to have a friend...or friend of a friend (that you know can do the work)...shoot it for you. A reasonable alternative is to go to several car shows and find out who does paint (or who did the paint on a car with a good paint job) from folks who have gone that route before.

Much of the cost of a good paint job is in the removal of hardware, the stripping of old paint, and in the surface prep work prior to shooting the paint. If you can do everything except the actual painting, you can save a ton of money.

 

In Iowa mine was $5000 with all trim work off. Saved a good amount doing it that way. $5000 included the cost of paint which can greatly vary in price/quality.

 

Thanks everyone for your feedback and suggestions. I believe this particular car that I'm interested in, has several layers of paint or patch work underneath and going down to the glass for a good prep job will blow my lil budget

 

If you plan to strip it using media blast....make SURE they don't go to deep. I had to mud my entire car. When I went back to the shop that did it they were already out of business.

 

Why is the paint bubbling? That is a sign of other issues also!

Run away!

I've got a little over $6K in my paint job this year including body work, but I did all the disassembly and assembly myself.

 

A pace car may be worth it. As said above anywhere from $1000 to $10,000 (or more) depending on how much removal and/or prep you do for them, how detailed you want to get, how much body work is required, and how much reassembly you do afterwards. $6000 is a budgetary number with no other information.

 

Plan on 6000.00 as an average. That's what I paid doing all the disassembly and reassembly myself.

 

And these prices aren't including the pace car decals being replaced. Don't forget to add that in

 

Are you up near Frederick or over on the Eastern Shore? If you up near Frederick it's not too far of hike to No. Virginia. There is an excellent paint and body shop in Manassas that does a lot of fiberglass work. Complete car 5-6K and up, but since your potentially talking partial it may not be as bad. You would be amazed at what skilled painters can do with blending. Complete car is obviously first choice if money is no object, but there are choices.

 

I dont mean to butt into another thread but I like Rudolph Schenkers tag on the front of his vet. Also nice paint job.

 

I owned one of the most original 78 pace cars, with 63 miles, bought right out of the original showroom in 2005. You could tell it was original, when side by side next to restored (or overly restored) ones. The problem is that there are too many out there (6,502 "limited edition"?) and many have low mileage. I made out well on mine when I sold it 2 yrs later, but that was just before things got tough and values dropped. They just aren't brining the $$$ as predicted. So I would be very cautious putting any amount of serious investment into a pace car, when there are so many out there in original show condition.

 

Go see Givens collision on Tilco Drive, past the emissions test station. I have met Jay, and he has a brand new, gorgeous shop there. He has done some great restorations, I have seen Mustangs and Rolls Royces that he did . He is very capable, and a great guy to talk to. He also has a web site .

There is also another shop out by the MVA, right off Market street near 70. That guy does a BUNCH of classic cars, he also showed me some great work. Talk with both of them, see who you like. His shop is smaller, but it is a new facility. Some racer friends of mine had custom paint jobs done by him, but I forget his name.

 

As mentioned , go to local car shows and ask the corvette owners about their paint jobs....
Your bound to get some leads on a good local paint shop, ideas and suggestions on prep and maybe even a couple of guys that painted their own and would paint yours.....
Thats what I did and it worked out well ...
good luck .

 

Thanks!