The Cost of Body and Paint Work

[C J Murray]

Hagerty has an article that may enlighten the wide-eyed dreamers buying some of the horrible cars for sale on fleaBay.

the link
https://www.hemmings.com/blog/article/t ... 2019-11-11

[Al Zim]

Whether you paid $500 for your car in 1961 or 100,000 in 2019 your 356 is a $100,000.00 dollar car and that is what it cost to make one correct. A new 356 customer purchased a 356 B T-5 and brought it to the shop for evaluation. The customer failed to notice that there were not records for the first 15 years of the cars existence and very little since late 80's. A long mechanical evaluation ensued. His budget was limited to it would take years to get the car safe. I posted on the work order DO NOT DRIVE THIS CAR. It was driven out of the shop! al zim

[Drew Ogden]

This is why I like high dollar cars and high dollar real estate. Metal work cost the same on a 1960 coupe as a 1950 cab. Bathroom plumbing cost the same in $100K condo as a $1mil view home.... I fix things up for a living it seems, so I apply this logic to most everything I touch. Buy the best you can to start with. Old advice, but appropriate to this thread.

[Erik Thomas]

it all boils down to 100 dollar an hour labour. In my day we got 15 bucks an hour for sanding a car. The other fact is that today, we expect a "restored" car to have better paintwork than it ever did when it was new.

[David Aronson]

When riding a horse, best to go in the direction the horse is.

[Adam Wright]

The biggest problem that locks most people up when they go to restore a car is trying to make it perfect. There was a day when these cars weren't worth more than my first house and people just drove them and fixed them up to drive them. My recent paint job included lots of body metal repair, not rust but fixing old horrible bodywork and with the paint I didn't spend anywhere near $40,000, not even half that. Does my car look good, I think so, does it look perfect, nope, but why would I put a $50,000 paint job on a driver with a later motor and flat floors?
People also love to say, "You'll be upside down if you try and restore that car" . That's only if you plan on selling it, it you plan to keep it, who cares? We have these cars to enjoy them, driving them, etc.

[Dan Epperly]

It used to be that the expectation when restoring a car was that it would be a financial loss in the end, for a while now it's been reversed, people expect to make money on their restorations. It doesn't look like the prices on project cars or finished cars has adjusted to the new/old norm.

[Mike Wilson]

I think the difference in the approach of body and paint is personal based on not only philosophy but budget. Philosophically, are you just trying to make a decent looking driver by eliminating rust and bad past repairs or going full hog and doing everything as correct as possible? In our 356 community, we have everything from rusty drivers to full concours and they all put a smile on our face when we drive them.

Mike

[Doug McDonnell]

The truth of the matter is most people couldn't afford a 356 when they were new. So why would everyone think they can afford one now? They were more expensive than a top of the line Cadillac when new and todays very nice 356 is STILL more than a new top of the line Cadillac. I drove into town yesterday behind a Cadillac EXT truck so I know people are still buying them.

[Martin Benade]

In 1973 I could easily afford a scruffy eleven year old Porsche. Now a 2008 is way out of reach. And until I retired last month, I was in my peak earning years!

[Nanette Reid]

<<<< Does my car look good, I think so, does it look perfect, nope, but why would I put a $50,000 paint job on a driver with a later motor and flat floors? >>>>

My little driver needs some TLC, but she isn't going to be a Concours resto; I drive her daily and if she was prepped to Concours condition, I would probably spend hours stressing over stone chips (ugh!!) and door dings from parking in the Kmart carpark (double ugh!!).

She was definitely a driver when I imported her and has continued to be so ever since - I'll be pleased as punch once the rust is gone and she has her new, shiny, Aquamarine Blue paint job. Rust removal is #1 and currently, she's having her fuel tank shelf replaced, (and the tank mended) because we discovered some awful damage when my mechanic was looking for the reason her interior smells of fuel. Picked up the replacement panel yesterday and they fit it later this week.

Eventually, I'll have all the rusty panels replaced and get her a decent respray in the original colour, but I won't be spending mega dollars; I love driving her and as long as she looks a million bucks to me, that's all that matters. In the end, I want her to *not* be raining rust when I close the doors and looking good as a daily driver. I'll leave the Concours restorations to those who enjoy that and have the money to do so. She's already valued well above what I paid for her and while I'll never sell her while I'm still upright, when I leave this blue marble, my estate will still make $$$$ out of her if they wish, even without the 100 point restoration.

[Timothy L Schabacker]

Buy expensive: cry once
Try to buy cheap: cry many times

[Thomas A. Arima]

I think the difference in the approach of body and paint is personal based on not only philosophy but budget. Philosophically, are you just trying to make a decent looking driver by eliminating rust and bad past repairs or going full hog and doing everything as correct as possible? In our 356 community, we have everything from rusty drivers to full concours and they all put a smile on our face when we drive them.

Mike

My baby was a daily driver and that's all I want out of it. Minus the rust, of course. But the shop seems to have other ideas...

[Harlan Halsey]

Back then I wished that I could have afforded a new 356. Had I done so, in a year of daily driving, it would have acquired a few stone chips and a little sympathetic wear inside and out, what is properly called patina. I have always restored my 356s to a little better than that standard, and maintained them there. Not concourse, but not embarrassing. And I always used to be upside down with regard to cost when the restoration was done. Today, if I paid myself $50 an hour I'd still be upside down, but since I'd gladly do most of it for free, that doesn't matter. I am shocked at the price of paint supplies, now pushing $1,000 to put the modern 2 stage equivalent of a $30 gallon of lacquer on a 356. Of course there's still Earle Scheib. I knew someone who got a pretty good job by doing all the prep work himself, including the critical taping, and only had the Scheib painter shoot the car in their booth.
Excellent body work has always been expensive, and today it is nearly impossible to find anyone who can do it.

[Dan Kalinski]

Back in the day, according to my family and friends, paid way too much for these cars. Today, under current market values, spent a fraction of their value to own these cars. Most were purchased as completed projects and one we took on as a complete restoration and others we decided to simply bring back to life. Each owner decides what they can do with sweat equity or to open the check book to achieve the results they want. In the end, you decide on what the car is to be; Driver or Concours. For me, the driver car is important to have and, to have Concours cars to drive into "driver" status is equally important. I only get one chance in this life time to love and drive these cars and will do so at every opportunity.