New member from GA

[showbizcustom]

Hi, I love cars but also love to customize them as well. Love individuality and personality in a car. I'm from Southeast GA but went to college in CA. Been there for 11 yrs but back in GA. Have several projects i'd like to work on but cant find the right shops to do the quality of work i want for my budget. Every shop wants $50k to $100k to restore a car these days. I just need reasonable body and paint but get quotes of $25k minimum. Its crazy these days, dont know where these guys find the money. Anyways, I have a 1971 impala convertible thats custom that I'd like to build over. some specs: ls1, 4L60E, 4.10 POSI gears, 26 inch wheels, chromed front, ostrich interior, etc. I also have 3 1969 camaros and 3 1970 chevelles that I'd like to build pro-touring/pro-street cars with. I bought my first 1969 camaro over 7 yrs ago and still havent been able to drive it due to the lack of a shop in the area that I feel comfortable with doing a great job on one of my dream cars. Plus, bad dealings with other shops. Right now thats all it has been is a dream. Would love to have a one-stop-shop that I could build long term relationship with to do builds with. I'd like to build a car or two per year. I love LS motors but only fuel injected. Will buy LS1, LS3, L92 or L99 at anytime for the right price. looking to install 2 ls motors at the moment. Feel free to contact me with referrerals for the GA, Fl, AL, SC areas. Looking forward to meeting and working with great ppl now that I finally have more free time on my hands to devote to what I love to do.

[JEFFTATE]

Welcome to the site ,
The cost of materials has gone up a lot.
That is where (a lot of) the cost of restoring a car has increased .

[GeoffP]

Welcome - fellow Georgian here. Yes, costs have gone up a good bit but unfortunately the good shops also carry a price premium. It's hard to find good work at a decent middle class income price anymore. I think you'll find the predominate suggestion is to do as much work as you can yourself. Just doing one car restoration with some moderate sheet metal replacement will more than cover the cost of a decent welder with the labor savings of doing it yourself. Don't listen to me though because I can't weld! Just kidding - I intend to learn to weld when I have time to. Also do lots of research and try to make build decisions that you can stick to being aware that scope creep can end up costing you a lot in wasted money by buying and selling parts as you change your mind.

I hope this helps somewhat!

[showbizcustom]

Welcome to the site ,
The cost of materials has gone up a lot.
That is where (a lot of) the cost of restoring a car has increased .


Yeah Im sure there is a great cost increase in materials. I definately dont mind paying for the materials seeing that Im also a business owner and can open wholesale accounts with companies directly. Even so, Those quotes are still high. Especially on a 1969 camaro when you can pretty much order all sheet metal panels for the car. I guess I need to enroll in welding and I could save and DIY.

[showbizcustom]

Welcome - fellow Georgian here. Yes, costs have gone up a good bit but unfortunately the good shops also carry a price premium. It's hard to find good work at a decent middle class income price anymore. I think you'll find the predominate suggestion is to do as much work as you can yourself. Just doing one car restoration with some moderate sheet metal replacement will more than cover the cost of a decent welder with the labor savings of doing it yourself. Don't listen to me though because I can't weld! Just kidding - I intend to learn to weld when I have time to. Also do lots of research and try to make build decisions that you can stick to being aware that scope creep can end up costing you a lot in wasted money by buying and selling parts as you change your mind.

I hope this helps somewhat!


Yeah, I agree with learning to weld. I could spend $1000 and get two brand new front fenders and 2 replacement quarters and weld them myself and be done. I'd love to add a few body mods but definitely not $75,000 worth. I have my own materials and resources for anything for the build. Basically if I can learn welding im good lol.

[Schwartz Performance]

Welcome to the boards!
Unfortunately, there are a lot of costs associated with a business than most think-- which is the reason for the $50-$110/hr shop rates.
Parts have gone up in price too of course, and all the nickel and dime parts can kill ya if the project car never had them. Parts research for restorations can be very time consuming too, along with the rework and fitting of a lot of aftermarket parts including body panels.

Geoff has the right idea, doing the work yourself to save costs. There are a few shops in Georgia that I know of, pm me if you'd like- and I'm sure others will chime in too!
-Dale

[SparkyRnD]

welcome to the site from another Georgia member, and as others have mentioned, costs and talent play a lot. Make sure to heavily research the various shops, and look at them in person. There is a lot of talent out there, but it does cost.

[showbizcustom]

welcome to the site from another Georgia member, and as others have mentioned, costs and talent play a lot. Make sure to heavily research the various shops, and look at them in person. There is a lot of talent out there, but it does cost.

thanks, thats good advice. Hopefully I'll find someone. I just need a really good quality body work and I can pull the rest off.