When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
So many of you may remember DUB on this forum. Sadly Dub passed away last year. My 82 vette was in his shop at Corvettes ETC.when he passed away We were in the middle of my repainting project when this tragedy hit. Dub agreed to paint my car for $5,000 (pre-covid). His shop closed after his death and I now have to find another shop to finish the work.Every shop I have talked to has quoted me $20K plus to paint and put it all back together which will be WAAAAY more than the car is worth.
So its either that or sell it as is. My question is what is something like this in its current state worth? The car will run once I figure out what Dub did to not make the fuel pump run.
Right now, It looks like a no-win project. But in reality, you want to spend no more than $8K to 10K, but you will need to reassemble that car so it doesn't look like so much a disaster. Right now apart it looks so much worse, but put the doors , Hood and leave the bumpers off and it once again looks manageable.
Worse case prep the car yourself and have Maaco shoot the paint then wet sand and polish yourself. They generally can lay good paint down it is the prep and polish that often could be better. It takes time.
Even a better shop can be cheaper if you prep the car yourself. It is mostly apart now so that is a major part already.
wet sanding and polishing a clear coat is not that hard,
You also need to see if it's the famous " Numbers Matching " If it is, then it's value goes up a little bit and might be enough to attract a buyer on that alone, but the shop who said it would cost $10.000 in materials is just looking to deter you enough to push you off. Just forget them, You could do your own cut-ins and that would save you a good chunk of cash. Take some really good pictures of it now and use that to talk to some other body shops. Tell them just what your looking to do, and see what it will cost and go by a few body shops so you get a good idea of the costs. And there is always doing your own YouTube videos on the salvation of this 82 Corvette, might even see if you can contact some of the YouTube current automotive content providers, maybe one of them might get on-board for this project. YouTube pays pretty good to interesting auto content video creators ? Does the car run Ok ? The price most shops are quoting you is really out of fear of taking on this job, If you did the door jambs and inner body with a rattle cans, and taking your time to do a good job, then put it back together like the doors and maybe the bumpers, then let the body shops have a look, then I think they won't be so afraid of the final paintwork ? Just a few ideas !
I have to agree they are getting into someone else's project and that can be an major issue. Also the pain in the @$$ Corvette owner stereo type exist and some shops want to avoid it.
I would think a good quality paint job would run around $10K. The $5K you were paying was a really great deal. As mentioned, a wrap will be a good bit cheaper if you can get the car back together and running. You might want to try posting this in the C3 forum since you're asking about an '82.
I have to agree they are getting into someone else's project and that can be an major issue. Also the pain in the @$$ Corvette owner stereo type exist and some shops want to avoid it.
They give scare away pricing.
That is the advice I was aiming for, minimize how out of control it looks before you stop by a few Body shops for an estimate !
The cost of restoring this car,......or ANY classic / sports cars far exceeds what it can be sold for. Thats just the way it is. If you don't have the money, just sell it for whatever you can get. I may sound negative.....but it is juset Reality. Why or how Dub painted a car for $5000 is beyond me........but he was not making money at that.
Was it a running, driving car before it was taken apart? Did you take the interior out or did the shop? Just another opinion here. If you are capable of putting it back together yourself, and if you enjoy doing that stuff, dive in and get it running again.
If you want to do the work, you are more than capable of body prep and final sanding a smooth coating of epoxy primer.
I did this recently and then found a local guy who sprayed a color/clear for under $2k (including paint) on my S-10. Its a perfect driver truck for using on real roads. It will never be a show paint job.
it all depends upon what you want from the car and how much you can or want to do yourself. Sorry you find yourself in this situation.
Every shop I have talked to has quoted me $20K plus to paint and put it all back together which will be WAAAAY more than the car is worth.
Actually, $20K sounds like a deal to pay someone professional labor rates, but be aware that once they get into it, they will find a lot more that will need to be fixed/replaced. Budget $40K.
In other words, do what you can to make it look better and sell it to someone that wants the project.
Advise
