$5000 Paint Job????

[gadget73]

they don't make the new car I want anymore. If I had the money for say a Deusenberg or a Cord, I'd put 30k into a paintjob before I dumped it for a 30k car.

[1987cp]

Absolutely.

[Forcus]

I'm sure you got your answer but on these old box Panthers the panels are incredibly wavy. I'm guessing that the quote was high due in part to the amount of labor necessary to block sand those big long panels properly so they are semi flat. My '87 has all original paint except for one quarter and the body finish is just horrible (compared to today). Could also be he doesn't want to do it if he does a lot of insurance jobs. I've heard some places bid high just because the insurance work (quick in and out, no full repaints usually, and structured pricing) is their bread and butter.

[P72Ford]

My Dad, borthers and I have been using a local guy for a while now.

He's done my Dad's car (in black, all bodywork, jambs, installed a roof panel, all panel fitment, etc), My dad's truck (5 colors, jambs, etc), my brother's F350, and a ton of people we have referred/ handled the logistics of.

He is a craftsman, his work is phenomenal, and his prices are borederline absurd (cheap), for what you get. My Dad's car was $3000. PPG single stage, and it is perfect (except for a recent ding). My brother's '05 F350 (total paint job, minus the jambs, same color), was $2200. There was quite a bit of bodywork, and the paint is Dark Toreador Red.

My Dad's big truck (just the cab) was $3500. 5 colors (black, red, yellow, blue, and semi-gloss black), graphics, lots of taping and time, and he only had it for 4 days. Painted under the hood and everything... you can't tell it used to be white.

If I keep the Ram, I am thinking of having him fix the driver's door damage, and the few dings in it in the spring, repaint the door handles and grille (maybe the bumpers and mirrors too), etc. (I'm thinking with a 2/4 drop and big 20s the monochrome look will look great). Pending an estimate, he said $1200... and I know the truck will look great when done.

Most of the time we give him a really open timeline (except for the big truck), but it rarely takes more than a week.

The thing that enables him to be so fair, is that he works at a paint store, and is a paint rep for one of the manufacturers, I'm not sure which one (used to be PPG). So he gets the materials for cheap. But all the work I've ever seen him do, from restoration to collision repair, is top notch.

[gadget73]

My '87 has all original paint except for one quarter and the body finish is just horrible (compared to today).

yeah, the fit and finish on these things does pretty much suck. Pull all the trim off sometime and look at how much they hide with the brightwork.

[LTDMan83]

While I agree that the Fit and Finish on most of these cars does suck compared to alot of the newer stuff out now, I will be proving that statement wrong very soon, with my Merc. Of course, my car has all original panels (which fit exceptionally well from the factory already, one of the best I've ever seen come out of the factory), so I have a much better chance of making mine perfect, than a car with panels that where pieced together from many different junkyard cars would. Nothing will be hidden with brightwork either, because it's all being deleted. Just wait.

[Forcus]

yeah, the fit and finish on these things does pretty much suck. Pull all the trim off sometime and look at how much they hide with the brightwork.

I did when I was checking for hidden rust, it was pretty funny (in a nauseating way), one of the aluminum or stainless small lower trim pieces just ahead of rear wheelwell (between the wheelwell and rear door) didn't quite fit (the stamped hole in the panel where the retaining stud goes through). So they quite literally punched (using a hammer and punch) a hole right next to the stamped hole so they could move the car down the assembly line. So much fail.

[gadget73]

lol. yeah I had to make some new holes in my fenders to match the trim. My trim is piecemeal from several vehicles, and the holes in the trim weren't all the same. The factory used simple self-driller sheet metal screws to attach this crap, so the holes match the trim, not the fenders. In a few spots I tried using the old holes, and the trim just did not sit right, so I had to make some new ones. I also added all those stainless panels to my car, and those are also held on with sheetmetal screws in a lot of spots. Let me tell you, drilling holes in the side of my freshly repainted car to attach those panels was not exactly the most comfortable thing I've ever done.

[yucatecd]

Dear Panthers,

Thaine wrote:"they don't make the new car I want anymore."

Yep, that's why I drive an 89 Colony Park. Had it devinyled and repainted 10 years ago: $2000.No clearcoat, straight paint. Parked outdoors. Several rust touchups since and need another.

Donald McCaig

[Forcus]

Let me tell you, drilling holes in the side of my freshly repainted car to attach those panels was not exactly the most comfortable thing I've ever done.

Yeah that would suck! Some day I'm going to pull the GMQ apart to fix all the typical 50-80's domestic issues like ill fitting trim, panels, etc. Although I have to say that my GMQ is nowhere near as bad as the 70's Trans Ams I have owned. Each fender had minimum of a half inch of shims, some much more, and they were all factory. The hinges on the long, heavy doors would wear out in a year or so so most of them have damage from having the doors slammed, hard.

[Forcus]

Dear Panthers,

Thaine wrote:"they don't make the new car I want anymore."

Yep, that's why I drive an 89 Colony Park. Had it devinyled and repainted 10 years ago: $2000.No clearcoat, straight paint. Parked outdoors. Several rust touchups since and need another.

Donald McCaig

I dunno, I would consider a CTS-V wagon a fitting replacement!

[yucatecd]

Daer Panthers,
When I said that I keep my 89 CP because I can't find a replacement, Forcus wrote: "I would consider a CTS-V wagon a fitting replacement!"

Nope. the CTS-V wagon's back seat doesn't fold.and sometimes I need that cargo space. The CTS is narrower and higher. I couldn't fit two 400 dog crates side by side in the cargo space. Modified CP and CTS have the same gadgets except the CTS has heated seats which I can do without and autodimming side mirrors I plan to install. The CTS gets 18mpg, the CP 21.

The CTS is more powerful. No advantage. Fastest I go is 85 or 90 and I accelerate passing or on ramps.

I haven't driven the CTS but suspect handling would be similar to the Scotified CP.

The CTS's big advantage is safety - side and front airbags.

It's big disadvantage: at $38,000 base price it'd cost more than the CP has cost for purchase, tires and all repairs and mods over 10 years and 220000 miles.

Donald McCaig

[1987cp]

The CTS wagon has non-folding rear seats? Whose brilliant idea was that?

Next someone's going to be telling me that Dodge Magnums also lack folding rear seats.