RESTORATION COST

XMAN JR · Mar 4, 2021

Hope this in the right thread. lol Any ways I have posted some pictures of the 68 hemi coronet that i did body & paint on for a guy. He got a hold of me the other day & wanted to know if i would be interested in blasting & painting some parts like bumper brackets, rear housing,leaf springs & other chassis parts. The guy that does his blasting & powder coating retired. I have done all this stuff for family & friends but never for anyone else. I have no ides what to charge him. He also just might want me to complete the car for him if he sees that he will not have time. I told i can do it all but the engine install. The car is a shell. Between family, friends & a restoration shop i worked at for a bit i have done it all but engine, trany & rear rebuild. I just dont know what to charge him. I was told by a friend of his & mine that if he likes my work & price that he has other cars he wants done. This guy has done done his own cars before but he has been busy with his businesses. Here are some cars i have done in the past. Thanks for listening.

1967coronet · Mar 4, 2021

Nice work. They all look great.
Jmho but right now the deal seems to open ended.
You and the owner are the only two who now if this deal can work.
I will add also that all small parts that need powder coated that can ship..... well contact leanna on here.

440Coronet500 · Mar 4, 2021

You need to estimate the time you believe that this particular job will require. Apply your established hourly rate including overhead plus materials. 440'

Darter6 · Mar 4, 2021

440Coronet500 said:
Apply your established hourly rate including overhead plus materials. 440'

That would be the best way. You need to come up with a hourly wage. Check in your area what body shops charge.It may be as little as $50 per hour. Out here it's anywhere between $100 to $125 per hour.

mccoymail · Mar 4, 2021

I once had a paint guy do some sheetmetal work and paint for me. He was a retired body shop guy and worked for cheap. Regardless, the deal was that I paid an hourly rate, in cash, every 2 weeks. That way I could monitor his progress and if I was ever unhappy, I could pull the work from him and neither of us would owe anything.

Ron H · Mar 4, 2021

My brother got the gumption to buy a vapor hone machine few months ago as he was restoring a classic motorcycle finding it a PIA locating shops to do this work. Pretty neat machine; but yeah, got to figure out what to bill as that machine cost over $6k then add materials/media, cleaning, disposal, utility fees, etc. He’s not done any advertising to do parts; but has done some work for his car/bike friends.

Suppose a simple way to determine fair charges is to check around obtaining quotes and asking people who’ve had this work done what they paid for it. It’s nice if you can finds local places that do this work to avoid shipping costs that can cost near as much to do the job. I'll check with my brother and reply if he has any info that might be useful.

dadsbee · Mar 4, 2021

Blasting parts, the worst job in the entire deal. I've lost count of the hours just cleaning up my Dart and my Bee restoration probably accumulated 200 hours on smalls alone.

My body and paint guy charges $65/hr CANUCK bucks.. but of course his guys better have logged hours from the time they come in 'till the time they go home, so you're really paying $100/hr. His media blasting charge is $150/hr to cover materials, air compressor, etc.

Myself I solely work by the hour (and I only log working time, not in the shop time), I will not quote a job period. You trust my 30 year reputation and customer feedback or go elsewhere. I haven't advertised in over 18 years and I'm still turning down work.

Dave6T4 · Mar 4, 2021

Here's what worked for me when I had my car done. My guy does mainly antique tractor and gas pump restorations, but likes to take in an antique car project each fall/winter. I had seen some of his work and liked it. He told me his hourly rate, which I was agreeable to. The agreement was time and materials.He would keep track of his hours and cost of materials, with no markup. He billed me every two weeks. He said by doing this, the cost of the project would not get ahead of either of us. As long as I paid my bill, he would keep working on my car. If I stopped paying, he stopped working. He would take lots of pictures as he progressed and send them to me. He welcomed me to visit periodically. As the project neared completion, he had me bring all the stainless trim for trial fitting. We found a few hidden surprises that drove the cost up, but that can be expected with old cars. Overall, he did a nicer job with my car than I really needed, but he had to keep his shop's reputation in mind. He didn't want people to see my car and say "Eww, who did that job?" .Understandable. Overall, even though the project went over budget (doesn't it always?), I am happy with the result. My guy was honest and a pleasure to work with. On a prior restoration of a different car, a different shop quoted an overall price of the restoration. Towards the end, I felt they were cutting corners to stay within their quote. I was not as satisfied.

Danny Boy · Mar 4, 2021

Be sure that you are properly compensated for your labor and materials.

Seen too often I've seen where family, "friends" or "friends of friends" expect cheaper rates and when the job is completed and paid for "the love is gone" and they leave....

Darter6 · Mar 4, 2021

Dave6T4 said:
If I stopped paying, he stopped working.

I have a friend that has a body shop. I often wondered why it takes him years when doing a complete resto.
The quote above says it all.

Ghostrider 67 · Mar 4, 2021

Google is your friend....try here and read up. Might give you a starting idea...

SHOP LABOR RATE - Automotive Management Network

super-bee_ski · Mar 4, 2021

Nice work!

slepr1 · Mar 4, 2021

Find out what it would cost him getting it done by another shop and charge accordingly.

eldubb440 · Mar 4, 2021

whatever you think its gonna be...... triple it! that'll get you in the ballpark

Mike67 · Mar 4, 2021

Time and material...on side jobs I usually give the customer material at cost and bump my labor rate.
In your case you also need to figure in utility cost.

khryslerkid · Mar 4, 2021

Time and material. No quotes, just dicide what your hourly rate is going to be. Do like mentioned in post #5.

70chall440 · Mar 4, 2021

Seems to me that if you have done all those cars you have an idea of what the amount of work will be and what it is worth to you. You can go hourly and determine what you think your time is worth or you can go piece meal and set a price for the project, just depends what you are comfortable with. That said, there is a reason professional shops charge by the hour; if the project goes south or the owner pulls the plug you have something to go back to with what's owed. If you go project price and that happens you are in limbo.

69a100 · Mar 4, 2021

Darter6 said:
It may be as little as $50 per hour. Out here it's anywhere between $100 to $125 per hour.

It may be even higher. Good Luck

Budnicks · Mar 4, 2021

Some nice looking cars there

Are you actually licensed & insured with a shop ?
IF so
your rates could be higher to justify
& cover all the necessary legal/obligations/overhead & costs

& not just a hobby builder/painter/body guy,
working for cash
IF not licensed etc., or you're just a hobbyist
then the lower end of the scale prices would be the norm
maybe as low as 1/2 the locals going shop rate

depends on what the going rate is, in your specific area
is this a buddy deal ?
or a strictly business deal ?

what stuff cost, especially hourly real shop rates,
here maybe a whole lot different
then where you live/work

a good/fair hourly rate &/+ materials costs
maybe a lil' extra for your time/trouble
to cover getting/sourcing materials, supplies like chemicals tape paper etc.,
isn't a bad way to go either

good luck

gtx6970 · Mar 4, 2021

I used to do exactly what you're asking
My rate was $35 hr I kept a close eye on actual time , took plenty of pictures along the way and billed accordingly. As long as customers paid accordingly. MY rule was I work on it a week. submit a bill and it has to be paid by the end the following week. The off week I worked on other customers cars .
If not paid, I worked on continued working on something else . As a general rule I kept 2 or 3 cars / projects in the shop pretty much full time without much effort .

I rented a small shop that was about 40 by 60 ft . Between rent , insurance , utilities etc was approx $2000 . Keep in mind overhead eats up money a lot faster than you think. And NO WAY would I take in a customers car without having insurance to cover it. WAY to many possibilities for something to go very wrong , very easily , very fast.

I can tell you to take a bare painted shell to a running car isnt as easy or as quick as one may think

This one came in a painted but empty rolling shell. No suspension except a rear axle just to make it roll . No interior, trim glass, wiring , etc etc etc
Went out as a done running driving car. Best I remember costs were in the upper $20k range. Myself and owner both searched for parts. If I found and paid for them . I billed him at 10% over my costs. Parts hunting time itself is billed at same rate as working on the car.
Any sublet work I farmed out, such as installing upholstery , vinyl top or front and rear glass . Owner paid the bill himself

Car has been done maybe close to 10 years now and the owner has never had to redo ANYTHING I did . He has been super happy with it from day one

RESTORATION COST

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