failing body shop schedule

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pete peterson

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I talked to a body shop near me ~Sept., 2021, about doing a restore on my '64 Cuda. He said he's working on an El Camino but could start on mine in Oct. Oct. came & went, & I asked when again. He said Nov. Then, I went in to see him in Nov., & he said end of Nov. I stopped by the 2nd week in Dec. & he said, 2nd week in Jan. Well, this keeps going on & it's Feb., nothing... I don't know what to do, & he doesn't answer emails except to send me the original estimate. I'm not the type to get nasty w/peeps, & I don't want to name names. I've gone to a couple other shops to query their schedules. One said he's backed up for 3 years. It's hard to find shops doing restores here, but the last guy gave me a cpl. more to check out. One guy was ridiculously priced. I don't want him because he wants to remove my engine, that I put in myself in 2001, & he wants to do what HE wants done, not ME! Gads! Do what your customer wants. A big issue for me is that I've had this car since 1968 & want to keep it running. I drive it once/month to keep things going. Well, I've stripped it inside & out to make it ready for restore! Now, I'm at risk of tickets from the cops when driving it bc I have removed all of the chrome, all lights, etc. I'm still driving it just a few (~6 or so?) in the country but at risk of tickets! I digress. I will check with the other 2 shops the guy gave me, BUT... What do you folks think? Give me your ideas. I am in the Cedar Rapids\Iowa City area if that helps. Thx for your time & any comments. Really upset. pete
 
Be grateful that your car isn't there. Too many times cars sit in the corner of shops waiting to be worked on during a slow period. Jobs promised in weeks become months and then become years.

Of course, what is happening is the slow dollar from the restoration is losing to the quick nickel from the one and two day jobs. Body shops are there to make money... and cash flow from the quick jobs pay the bills.

Look for another shop is all you can do. The real high estimates are often there to scare you away but the guy that wants to take your car apart?? Nope, avoid him.
 
To add to the above. Before dropping your car any where have a written contract on time frame and money due. A lot of people set up “draws” on work done as far as money. If the crap hits the fan and you have a contract. Sounds like the guy is running in the weeds to me.
 
I really dont have any advice. BUT, this is funny. I know a guy named Pete Peterson. He is a Bodyman.
 
I learned to do my body work decades ago. I had a few guys that did my work and I learned from them and by doing.
Whats funny is the guy wanting a project. I have one I want to sell with all the body/paint done. Hum...
They do not realize the cost and BS for them to have it done. Costs, time involved, yea finding a shop to do it in a timely manner.
They can not or won't do it.
They want me to do it, and sell it to them for darn near nothing.:BangHead:
Those B body guys!!!
 
So what all are you needing for a restoration? Like what are you having a shop do?
 
Yours is a common story, when I redid the 83 D150 it was in body shop hell for almost 2 years. And I delivered to that shop the truck body on the frame that was 100% stripped. The owner got it about 1/2 done then quit working on it. That was a shop that specialized in car crash repair. The owner figured out he could make money quicker by fixing minor wrecks than by doing my longer term project. I ended up going in the body shop and paying his workers myself to finish it. That body shop owner was an ***. Poor communication skills, never followed through. The shop itself was an inefficient mess, stuff everywhere, no organization.
Got lucky on the shop I chose for the 68 Barracuda. It is a shop that does classic Car restorations only and is run like a real business. He got me scheduled in the work done and out. They did good work. The shop manager communicated well with me and from walking through the shop it was organized and they really looked efficient. My only complaint is that being my car I wanted to go in and see the progress periodically. The shop manager shut that down to once a month and then only for a few minutes. He said it slowed the workers down and he said ‘he had an interest like I had an interest in getting the car done, so it would be best to stay out of the way’. I could understand that, and I had looked at projects in that shop enough to believe they knew what they were doing.
So my advice is, keep looking, focus on shops that do restoration only and find a shop with a manager that is willing to communicate with you.
 
pete peterson said:
I talked to a body shop near me ~Sept., 2021, about doing a restore on my '64 Cuda. He said he's working on an El Camino but could start on mine in Oct. Oct. came & went, & I asked when again. He said Nov. Then, I went in to see him in Nov., & he said end of Nov. I stopped by the 2nd week in Dec. & he said, 2nd week in Jan. Well, this keeps going on & it's Feb., nothing... I don't know what to do, & he doesn't answer emails except to send me the original estimate. I'm not the type to get nasty w/peeps, & I don't want to name names. I've gone to a couple other shops to query their schedules. One said he's backed up for 3 years. It's hard to find shops doing restores here, but the last guy gave me a cpl. more to check out. One guy was ridiculously priced. I don't want him because he wants to remove my engine, that I put in myself in 2001, & he wants to do what HE wants done, not ME! Gads! Do what your customer wants. A big issue for me is that I've had this car since 1968 & want to keep it running. I drive it once/month to keep things going. Well, I've stripped it inside & out to make it ready for restore! Now, I'm at risk of tickets from the cops when driving it bc I have removed all of the chrome, all lights, etc. I'm still driving it just a few (~6 or so?) in the country but at risk of tickets! I digress. I will check with the other 2 shops the guy gave me, BUT... What do you folks think? Give me your ideas. I am in the Cedar Rapids\Iowa City area if that helps. Thx for your time & any comments. Really upset. pete
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I can't remember ever seeing or hearing about a body shop that has a rigid schedule in the 45 plus years I've been in this hobby. You need to talk to Car guys in your area and see who everyone else is using.

Depending on how extensive the work you want done is, try your local Community Colleges that offer an Autobody course. They may take your car as an instructional piece to train new apprentices. I've seen some great work come from these Colleges as the instructors are usually quite proficient.

Cheers!!
 
AAndrews said:
I can't remember ever seeing or hearing about a body shop that has a rigid schedule in the 45 plus years I've been in this hobby. You need to talk to Car guys in your area and see who everyone else is using.

Depending on how extensive the work you want done is, try your local Community Colleges that offer an Autobody course. They may take your car as an instructional piece to train new apprentices. I've seen some great work come from these Colleges as the instructors are usually quite proficient.

Cheers!!
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Thx AA, good idea. I used the local comm college to paint a fender that I put on one of my pickups in 2013. I hope to check that out soon. pete
 
dano said:
So what all are you needing for a restoration? Like what are you having a shop do?
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Hi dano, I basically just want the body work & a good paint job. There is a dent\wrinkle in the roof, a little rust in places, & the driver's side floor board is bent some due to rusted out rails under and shops raising it on their hoists using those rails even tho I'd asked to have the supports put under the outside areas. I only want under the hood painted & maybe the tops of the inside fenders, nothing more under there. I restored it in 1976 for $350, like new outside. It still looked like new, except for the roof dent that'd just happened, when I gave it to my nephew bc I was getting older, he was the right recipient, & I got divorced. He let it go badly, died in 2015, & I got it back in 2019. It's not a big restore in my opinion. I did lots of body work on it myself until 1976 at which time I was going to just "keep it" for posterity & not drive it much. It was a beauty up until 2008! pete
 
Restorations are tough to price as there is so much that can be hidden .Most collision work can only charge so much by law but with Restorations the sky is the limit. Always have some kind of contract. A shop I worked at hourly rate always had a back burner resto on hand for when things got slow. I don't know how he handled his pricing but never had any complaints. I've seen some shops push cars outside because of non payments. Good Luck in your search.
 
Say what you want, but the restoration shops with the reputations of high cost do the best work, pay their employees top dollar and have the most skilled and happy camper employees, and meet deadlines within reason. There is a waiting list, they tell you up front, keep you informed of progress and tell you about delays and problems. They have project managers that do not work on cars, just manage projects and clients and you pay dearly. But if you want top notch show quality work, this is what it takes. In the end it will add some value to your car, especially if it is a highly collectible car.
I highly recommend Muscle Car Restorations in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. You WILL get most in customer satisfaction.
 
Big_John said:
Be grateful that your car isn't there. Too many times cars sit in the corner of shops waiting to be worked on during a slow period. Jobs promised in weeks become months and then become years.
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Tell me about it. I have a tale of two shops. One I am not dealing with but my Dad and his friend uses. Just met the guy and he has it going on.Organized, clean shop. Works on draws. Writes up a contract. Wants to get the car OUT of his shop ASAP so they work on one at a time and don’t have customers cars piled up waiting. I will be using them in the future.

Currently, in another shop, my Valiant has been tied up, mostly sitting idle, for 3 years and 5 months. Tons of excuses from Covid, people quitting because Covid Unemployment money was an easy hustle, parts delays, employees getting fired for stealing, ….. on and on. The best way to describe the shop is 10 lbs. of **** stuffed in a 5 lbs. sack.

Go with the shop that is the cleanest and writes a contract.
 
Find a guy like me that does it for a living and as a side job. The problem with restoration style repairs is most people do not have the amount of money it takes to pay someone to give them a quality job, which takes time and money. Time and materials is the only way to bid a job. $50/hour and $25/hour material is probably average for a guy working at home. Shop rates are probably 60 and 40 in a collision shop and 60-150 plus materials in a restoration shop. I am not far from you in southwestern Wisconsin so those rates are probably pretty close.
 
go-fish said:
Tell me about it. I have a tale of two shops. One I am not dealing with but my Dad and his friend uses. Just met the guy and he has it going on.Organized, clean shop. Works on draws. Writes up a contract. Wants to get the car OUT of his shop ASAP so they work on one at a time and don’t have customers cars piled up waiting. I will be using them in the future.

Currently, in another shop, my Valiant has been tied up, mostly sitting idle, for 3 years and 5 months. Tons of excuses from Covid, people quitting because Covid Unemployment money was an easy hustle, parts delays, employees getting fired for stealing, ….. on and on. The best way to describe the shop is 10 lbs. of **** stuffed in a 5 lbs. sack.

Go with the shop that is the cleanest and writes a contract.
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Thx go-fish. I suppose the one you want to use "in the future" is in CA, too far away for me.
 
67Dart440GT said:
Find a guy like me that does it for a living and as a side job. The problem with restoration style repairs is most people do not have the amount of money it takes to pay someone to give them a quality job, which takes time and money. Time and materials is the only way to bid a job. $50/hour and $25/hour material is probably average for a guy working at home. Shop rates are probably 60 and 40 in a collision shop and 60-150 plus materials in a restoration shop. I am not far from you in southwestern Wisconsin so those rates are probably pretty close.
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Hi Dart, thx. Do you know the place called, "Muscle Car Restorations in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin" that another guy mentioned?
 
67Dart440GT said:
Find a guy like me that does it for a living and as a side job. The problem with restoration style repairs is most people do not have the amount of money it takes to pay someone to give them a quality job, which takes time and money. .
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*restoration shop* should scare the crap out of anybody unless their car is a numbers matching high value car. You're going to pay out the wazoo. I took mine to a restoration shop for a rusted over the rear wheel pan and crusty rails (I don't have a garage). They basically wanted to back half the car! *ouch*. Found a body shop that does side work and was advertising online, guy did a great repair at a great price and left the good metal intact. My car is a driver, not a show car or numbers matching. To the OP the guy you're talking with is sending out major red flags *run*.
 
pete peterson said:
Thx go-fish. I suppose the one you want to use "in the future" is in CA, too far away for me.
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No. The BS one is in Cali where I am moving away from ASAP. The good one is in the Oklahoma City area where I am from and where my folks still live. I can give you the number for the guy if you are available interested. This guy would definitely do what you are asking if you could get it down there. He would want to nape the it first and then do a quote. You would have to bring it down and then bring it back or see if he could work it all in to where he got started on it right away.
Let me know if Oklahoma isn’t too far for you.
 
I found my paint guy through the paint supply shop.. if you have a local supply shop that supplies car paints and car painting supplies ask them if they know anybody who does good work at a reasonable price... They know who they all are they deliver the paint to them and supplies...
 
67Dart440GT said:
Find a guy like me that does it for a living and as a side job. The problem with restoration style repairs is most people do not have the amount of money it takes to pay someone to give them a quality job, which takes time and money. Time and materials is the only way to bid a job. $50/hour and $25/hour material is probably average for a guy working at home. Shop rates are probably 60 and 40 in a collision shop and 60-150 plus materials in a restoration shop. I am not far from you in southwestern Wisconsin so those rates are probably pretty close.
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I vote for this guy if he's available.
The work he has posted on the forum is superb.
 
Bought a 69 GTX off of this shop who also did the body work. He is a collision guy, but is also partial to Mopar muscle. Can't say what time line or rates are but will say he's a super nice guy to deal with and the work performed was great. About 2.5 hours from ya. His name is Brian.

Bodensteiner Body Werks
 
go-fish said:
No. The BS one is in Cali where I am moving away from ASAP. The good one is in the Oklahoma City area where I am from and where my folks still live. I can give you the number for the guy if you are available interested. This guy would definitely do what you are asking if you could get it down there. He would want to nape the it first and then do a quote. You would have to bring it down and then bring it back or see if he could work it all in to where he got started on it right away.
Let me know if Oklahoma isn’t too far for you.
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Yes, I would appreciate the OK guy's name & #, & thx. pete
 
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