The real truth about Automotive Restoration

 

 

Hello everybody, Kevin here from Harrington Classic Car Restorations/ Harrington Super cars.

I have been thinking about the misconceptions that it takes only 10 grand to restore a car.

You can’t even have your classic car painted for that. So lets just get right into the structure of restoring a car from the time it’s bought to when it’s driven out the door for the customer to bring it home.

 

Let’s start with the purchase of a vehicle. Now, you can find a really nice one for 10 grand ready to drive. Although you have to be careful because you never know what is under that beautiful paint, body filler as deep as the ocean, rust, rust holes filled with who knows what. As always buyer beware.

 

Prices are sky-rocketing each and every year for cars that need a full-on restoration job. The good, restore-able, affordable cars for everyday people who just want to drive them are getting very scarce. You can get a total basket case for 3,000-5,000 and depending on the labor rate and how perfect you want the vehicle it could cost between 20,000-100,000 and up. MAKE SURE YOU FIND A REPUTABLE SHOP!

 

Now seeing as you have decided to buy a car to restore or get restored, you need to decide if you’re going to do some or most of the work yourself or if you are going to have a reputable shop do some or all of the work. You need to ask yourself some of these questions.

1. What is my budget? (most important)

2. What can I do myself? Mechanical, bodywork, ect.

3. What do I need others to help me with? Metal work, body work, paint, ect.

4. What do I need a shop to do?

5. What type of restoration do I want. Driver, restomod, cruise in car, total show car?

6. What is the time frame you’re looking to get the car done?

 

Now these are just some questions. I am sure there are many more.

First thing I do when a car comes to the shop is clarify what the customer wants to use the car for; car shows, driver, cruise-in (we will get into the additional questions at a later time in this article.)

I inspect the car and see what the worst areas are and if they need to be repaired or replaced.

 

Going to skip ahead a right now to the stages of restoration

1. Evaluate

2. Estimate

3. Disassemble and catalog

3a. engine and transmission

3b. Trim

3c. interior

3d. body panels

3e. glass

1. sandblast body shell and epoxy

2. Sandblast all parts that are being saved.

3. Assemble car for panel fitment. Making sure hood hinges door hinges and trunk hinges are new or restored. So they are operating as the should. ( this could mess up the whole restoration if not done)

4. Fix all gaps to make them all 1/4 inch (this can be very time consuming)makes or breaks the look of the car.

5. Do all metalwork needed, from patch panels to new panels. There are many things that can make the job better. There are things I do that makes sure I can guarantee all of my work.

6. Block sand epoxy to find highs and lows then start bodywork.

7. After body work is done tape up for first prime (first out of 3 times for show cars)

8. After it cures for a week or two, block sand with 120 and re-prime. For a driver I may start wet sanding for paint here.

9. Block sand again with 180 and re-prime.  

10. For show car I would now wet sand with 320 then 400 for a solid color and 600 for a metallic color.

11. Remove all panels and prep all edges of all panels for paint then paint the underside of hood, trunk lid, doors and fender edges.

14a. if it’s a metallic color I will paint the jams on the car so the panels can cat put back on so the color stays uniform when the car is painted. (sometimes you can get away with having the panels being off if you paint them all at the same time.) must make sure you write down psi at gun , at regulator. what tip you used and which gun you used. How many coats and what the temp was when you painted it. Also make sure you mix it the same each time.

1. Let the paint cure for at least a week before you buff.

2. Now for the wet-sand and buffing stage. There are many different ways you can have the finish of your paint look. You can have it like stock with a little bit of orange peel (yes it looks like an orange) or you can have it look like a mirror. Obviously one takes longer than the other. A quick nib and buff may only take 20 hours or less, although a mirror finish will take longer. Another 20 hours longer at least. don’t forget about all the materials that will be used. At least 4 types of wet-sand paper. Then 3 different buffing pads and 3 separate compounds.

 

Here is a rough estimate, although an estimate on a restoration is not and should never be the FINAL price. There are too many hidden issues in these old cars. Rust, previous bad work, ect.

So let’s get started.

Dis-assembly and documentation of complete car 40 hours

Sandblast and evaluation of car and parts 20 hours

Epoxy body-shell and parts 10 hours

Body panel replacement 300 hours (taking worst case scenario)

Body panel alignment , doors, fenders, hood, trunk lid, trim, bumpers, other miscellaneous parts, 40 hours

Bodywork (depending how bad the new panels are) 40 hours

Prime and block 20 hours

Re-prime and block 20 hours

Re-prime and wet-sand 40 hours

Sand all edges for paint 16 hours

Now you can paint the car apart (solid colors would be ok.) or together if metallic. 8 to 16 hours tape and paint time. Add 8 hours or more to put car together and some added paint time to edge out panels to put all panels back on at tape for no over-spray on painted ares.

Now to buffing lets make this thing shine. 40 hours of color sanding and buffing would be close maybe more maybe less, it’s an “estimate”

 

Ok lets total this up

40+20+10+300+40+40+20+20+40+16+16+8+40= 610 hours

610 hours at medium shop rate lets say $75 and hour (man that’s cheap) that equals $45,750 NOT including materials

Depending on what paint you want or most likely what the shop uses it can cost $500.00 a gallon.

Then there is sand paper, body filler, tape, paper, welding gas and wire, primer, epoxy, grinding discs, cutoff wheels and much more I would add another 5 to 10 grand for all of that. Even though it may be a bit high. So that now brings it to $55,000.00

 

We haven’t even addressed the other parts to make your memory what it needs to be.

Chrome trim, engine, suspension, transmission, interior and all those little parts that need to be restored and painted. So let’s add another 50,000.00 to that to be on the safe side. $105,000.00 and all the labor for that additional work. You can most likely add another $20 to $50 grand on top of that.

$150,000.00 is what a top notch restoration could cost. With guarantees on all parts and paint work.

 

Contact me if you have any questions.