The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Was it worth $1,580?

I just had the following done to my 55 cab and was wondering what you guys think of the total price of $1,580? It was over my budget but I think it was worth it. Sure was nice to see the cab in one grey color!

Shop drove 10 miles to pick up cab.
Welded in 2 new floor pans (I supplied the pans). They had to fix my hack job on one pan.
Welded in 2 new inner and outer lower cab corners (they purchased the corners).
Welded a small patch near the top windshield area and a couple other small fixes.
Bead blasted the cab.
Covered it in 2 coats of Epoxy Primer.
Welded a tricky patch on the rear fender, bead blasted it and covered it in Epoxy Primer.
The invoice was broken down as follows: Body Labor was 23hrs at $40/hr, Paint Labor was 4hrs at $40/hr, OEM parts cost $114, Paint Supplies $96 and of course tax at $90.

I plan on doing all the filler and blocking.

That sounds like a pretty good price for all the work that was done. Think how many tools you would have to buy to do the same work. Just wait till you have to buy the paint!! Joe

Sounds good to me-I payed $1100 alone just for the frame and cab to be blasted..did a partial floor job myself..

Keith

Yeah, I kind of did buy a MIG with Gas and proceeded to destroy the new floor pan I bought. Then, one not to give up easily I bought another pan and destroyed that one too! So I was into it about $500 before I gave up! Oh, well, live and learn.

labor seems fair enough............I would had thought 50 plus

Thanks for the input. I wanted to believe that it was a fair price, you've all made me feel better about parting with my money in a recession. Now I just need to hide the checkbook from my wife...

Ya got know when to hold em and know when to fold em jomichael- We all have aspects of retoring that we prefer to outsource-well most of us anyway..

Keith

Consider the destroyed floor pan as tuition and next time practice welding on some scrap or old fenders. Metal work is not always as easy as it looks, you are paying for a man's knowledge and ability. It has been said that a true master is one who knows how to fix his own mistakes.

goin rate round here is right at $40/hr for body work ....You didnt get TOOK ..
You payed the present rate.
your bill seems fair.
Tim

I am a 3 hour drive west of you. Same labor rates here in most shops. Labor & paint rate is fair, the labor hours they said it took is very fair.

For $40.00 an hour I'd drive to Florida from California.
Gene

How about the pictures. With that kind of savings you can buy a digital camera!

you folks are lucky getting a labor rate of 40.00, around here it is closer to 80.00 just like everything else, just to expensive. Mike Bourg

I would be happy to pay $40 per hour. Here in Ga in the burbs you pay $55-$65 hr. Dealerships charge $80-$90+ per hour to do general automotive work.
I just finished a 1965 Mustang Convertible. The paint/body work was right at $13,000. Did not require much body work but the paint was removed to bare metal & some old bondo was replaced with modern filler. A lot of sand paper time. The RED paint/supplies (wholesale came to over $1000). Looks great but with every thing else to complete it, I doubt I will ever get back what I have in it. It did receive a trophy at the first 2 shows I entered. I have not shown it lately. I guess its the "love" for the hobby we have to think about & not the price we pay for the LOVE!!!!!

A friend of mine just paid close to $10,000 for paint job and brake job on a 65 GTO. That was for a complete soda blast to bare metal and all the patch panels. The chassis is still nasty along with the engine/drive train. The wheel wells are still dirty as well. Joe

$10,000? That is not too much for a paint job alone if it included bodywork and done by a master of the trade. Otherwise "SCREWED"!

$1580 for a complete smick looking cab...........


Bloody bargain!

That hourly rate is very good......to have it all patched and one colour, I bet the smile on your dial would have been worth $5000.

seems like a fair price, better than beating away for years,only to have to cut the work already done when trying to reassemble.

Unless you're a gluton for punishment,or just like to buy tools
(my problem)

I wish I only had to pay $40/hr. Most places here in northern Alberta, Canada are over $100/hr. Hope your project goes well and when you spend more money on it you can always remind yourself that you're spending way less then those frozen suckers up in Canada.

Well, 4 years ago, I took my '62 into Oneday under my friends commercial account. My truck was literally hammered all over! Not one panel was straight, and the floor was swisscheesed! I did weld in the patch panels for the floor, and remove all of the trim, mirrors, bumpers, etc. They smoothed it all ( mostly) welded in my rollpan, and painted it naval grey outside, and gloss black inside for 1200.00 . It's somewhat cheesy, and I'm sure there's a Corvette's worth of plastic under the paint, but it doesn't look bad to the layman! I know it's not the level of perfection most of y'all are seeking, but it get's me by! I was astounded by the difference, especially after having paid 5k to straighten and paint my '66 chevelle 12 years ago!

BTW, I did'nt get a breakdown, but $40.00 seems likely for bodywork rates around here. Unless you go to a dealer or some other bigwig.

I believe there are body men that will do a job for you on the cheap if you are not anal about the finished product. I remember my first 51 was a faded green and I found a guy that worked at a body shop to paint it. He did it in his one car garage and charged me $40.00. Of course that was 1968.

For that labor rate I'd have them do the whole truck. You got a good deal if the work was good.