gypsy_restorations wrote:Happy holidays everybody
I have A 67 back that is in need of some rust repair. I hired somebody who tried to do it but obviously as its looks it seems he didn't do a very good job.
I think my best bet is to sand blast down to metal and then work from there as it has a ton of bondo.
A 67 Fast Back is a very sought after car and worth a pretty penny when done correctly even as a custom.
I would like to see some really good pics of it first especially of the rust in detail.
I will not go into too many details as why metal work is so expensive but most do not like doing the work and even fewer are good at it! Paint work is another story entirely and I will not do a complete Paint job for ANY customer as its too labor intensive for the average guy to afford me to do a paint job for them.
Back to metal work:
Not many China made repair panels fit correctly if at all and must be fitted to even get close to working. Often Hand making parts is the only option for unobtainable pieces.
To add to it consumable prices fluctuate monthly and are NOT cheap! Welding gas i.e. Steel mix ,Argon, Oxygen and acetylene, Cutting wheels, grinding disks,Sanding disks, Wire wheels, Drill bits, Hi speed files, Glass for Blasting and Chemicals such as Acids, Acetone, & Laq thinner are all needed for this type of work. And you go through the stuff like its candy!!
This is one of my wheel well lip repairs:
Check out some of my repair work on this thread
viewtopic.php?f=12&t=21429Mustangs are notorious for Rusting out really bad, I mean really bad! the deeper you dig the worse it gets before it gets better. new metal can not be welded to rusted metal! so you have to keep cutting till you get to good clean metal.
Metal work often needs to be Blasted clean as well this is just another step in the process and again its not cheap.
I use Glass to blast with not Sand it costs more around $14 a 50 lb bag I don't recycle the stuff so it gets a little spendy. I use a lot of it!
Welding Gas is another consumable that the price fluctuates weekly as does welding wire and other consumables. I just bought a dozen cutting disks for my Die Grinders I paid $1.50 each, My Roll lock sanding disks I buy by the box of 50 I think I paid $40 a box, in 3 different grits! a dozen and a Half Drill bits cost me close to $150 just the other day.
Not junk Hi speed steel but Cobolt drill bits and NOT the Junk from Lows, Homedepot, Amazon or Ebay! but Real Cobolt Drill bits from an industrial supply, You cant do this stuff with Junk tools or Junk consumables!
I use Mig, Tig and Gas welding NOT just one process but 3 as different parts of the car and different parts require different repair methods.
Jim is in Arizona and I am in Pahrump NV. we both take on side jobs Occasionally.
I myself am currently very busy with a full time job plus I have 4 or 5 of my own running projects currently.
My job comes first, customer cars 2nd and my own stuff last one of the reasons my cars take so long.
I am in no way cheap! And Ya I make more Money for a living than Most do! I am not ashamed of it!!!! I get paid for what I know NOT what I do!
I do not Bid jobs or give estimates! But I do take on side projects occasionally, I work by the hour. I do a Pay as you go deal.
By individual projects on the car and or by Block time (Pay as you go 20-40 hr at a crack) (Once your money for time runs out I stop! whether its done or NOT! I do not give time away! I have my own problems!)
I have had project owners tell me no problem keep working and the time ticks by 6 months without catching up the bill then it sits for 1-2 years later and I end up owning another car half done that I don't need!
So I have conditions I have to like the project, you have to stay up to date with paying your bill up to date as work progresses you also have to buy parts & pay for consumables for the repairs in a timely manner.
I don't generally charge for storage as long as work progresses, If work stops you need to come get the car! I am not a charity, I don't work for free and I do not want another project car that just sits in front of my shop!
I am also not responsible for damage or theft. (Nothings been stolen yet!) I have had cars damaged by the wind out here so its best if its kept inside only way to do that is if its being worked on other wise its outdoors for it!
I am not open to taking on any more full restoration work at this time but metal work as a side job is a little different, I am in need of some extra cash for my own current projects so if your serious post up some pics of the car and send me a PM.
There are a couple of guys that visit this web sight occasionally that will do a 500 hr restoration for you but I am not one of them! 500 hrs into a car is NOTHING!
I would not want to estimate how many hours I have in my Firebird but its far north of 2000. The 41 Ford I did was 2500+ hrs. The 48 Lincoln Zepher was close to 3000.
Auto restoration Is not a cheap a hobby, Nor is having a car restored, If you cant do it yourself then you have to pay some one and you always get what you pay for.