For me, the trick has been personal referrals and loyalty. The only time I’ve experienced body shop jail was with CatVert and that’s the only one of my resto projects that didn’t go to the guy I usually deal with. He just wasn’t up for a project of that scope at that time. The shop that did CatVert wasn’t a blind choice, but the referral was based on an acquaintanceship rather than direct restoration experience. It was also a shop whose bread and butter was collision work. And finally, it was too far away from me to visit more than once a month so direct supervision of progress was lacking.
So I’d boil it down to a few things:
Were you referred by someone with direct experience as a restoration customer? (If not, you’re already on the wrong foot, IMHO)
Is the shop mostly focused on restoration work?
Can they give you referrals for people with the same type of car as yours that were done more than 2 years ago?
What do the referrals say about how long those projects took,how much they varied from the original estimate (both time and cost) and what drove the variance?
How old is the restoration and, for older referrals, how well is the job holding up?
When you find someone good, pay them what they are worth. Don’t tell them what you could get it done for at Maaco. If they do a good job, give them your repeat business and refer others. Understand that variances occur because some things aren’t visible until the car is stripped, so don’t assume they’re just trying to jack up the cost. On the flip side, if things aren’t going to plan and there is no good reason for the variance, don’t be shy about pulling the car and finding someone new. Body shop jail doesn’t allow reduced sentences for good customer behavior; the sentences only seem to get longer!
The shop that did my '68 was great. Not only that but when we went to visit Dad, he took us by to check out the car, and the shop. The guy who was doing the body came from the back, walked us around the car and showed us everything that had been done, what else he found, what he had to make and what he was doing to get better panel fitment than it left with from the factory. Super nice guy, and very proud of his work. Old enough to remember these cars when they were plentiful. Also showed us a couple of other muscle cars that were either in various states of repair, or waiting in line. But looking at it at the beginning stages, would never have dreamed it would turn out that good (car was straight, but he just did that good of a job). Keep in mind this wasn’t a total resto, but correcting damage, and a fixing rust issues.
As far as painting goes, Dad could have done just as good a job, he is terrific w/ a gun, he just doesn’t have the patience for panel replacement.
Hi, I’ll throw in my 2 cents worth. Here are a couple of pictures of when my cat got hit back in the '80’s. I had just started to pull away from an intersection when a guy ran a red light. Lucky for me I wasn’t any further into the intersection or he would have wiped out the door and maybe me too! Anyway, I took her to what I thought was a ‘reputable’ body shop in the Denver area. Well being young and naïve, I took them at their word that the repair would be done correctly. Aside from the obvious damage, The inner fender support was damaged, the radiator support was damaged, the mag 500 wheel got bent and the weld on the forward frame rail got broken. Instead of replacing these items (or fixing them correctly), they just took a big sledge hammer and beat out the damage as best as they could. So, looking at her now just reinforces my belief that I trust no one when it comes to working on her. I can’t afford to have her repaired correctly, so she will have to stay this way until circumstances change. I also agree with cyclonelou about machine shop work also. Again who has mega $$$$$ to have engine work done by someone who really knows what they are doing??
Lots of good advice here about asking lots of questions, talking to previous customers if you can and trust your gut instinct or if all else fails, do it yourself!
Have a good one everyone
A couple of things I would add to all of the commentary:
You can save yourself a lot of time and money if you have the skills and ability to disassemble the car yourself. Of course, you’ll also need a place to do it and store all of the parts. I think that I’ve saved quite a bit of time and money doing so myself – carefully took photos and bagged and tagged everything. And when the car was nearing completion in the body shop, I began cleaning/refinishing as many of the original parts as I could so that they were ready to go once I picked the car up. I REALLY enjoyed that part of the process – the only part I enjoyed more was the first drive once it was put back together.
In addition to agreeing to a schedule (and understanding that it might take just a bit longer), I found success in agreeing to a disbursement schedule. By that I mean that I agreed to make periodic payments once a certain amount of work had been completed. That certainly helped to move things along and keep it on schedule, as my body shop understood that they would get their next payment as soon as the agreed to work had been done for that phase. This process is very standard with commercial construction loans (which is where I learned it).
I like the idea of a disbursement schedule. When we hire contractors, it keeps them motivated to get the job done and gives us another opportunity to give those projects a little more oversight.
As far as machine shops go, I have never gave a machine shop a complete engine job. I have always had them bore, balance, etc. But have always done assembly myself. Heard too many horror stories.
I’ve always done my body work myself. I’m not saying I’m really good at it. But I have the patience to redo anything I’m not happy with. I always left the painting to someone else.
But machine work is one thing I have to shop out. In my area, Dearborn, we have more than enough quality shops and a few bad ones. I had one engine built years ago and all 8 exhaust guides went bad. That shop had picture of a couple racers who’s engines they worked on on the wall, never used them again. Another shop I was lucky that I got my block back when I did because they closed their doors never to reopen and guy had to work to get their parts back. I now use a big name shop that backs their work, they have cars they race with their name in big letters (Livernois Motorsports). They’ve done great work, quick, and a good price. I’ve had a couple blocks and cranks worked on by them. And they will get the parts I want or need at the best price also. I always assemble myself anymore because I enjoy that kinda chit.
My first cougar I did all the body work and primer myself. Did all the prep work and took it to non-other than Earl Scheib, and for $119.95 They did a really fantastic job. The painter took extra care because he was a classic car buff. A few years later it was broad sided and after redoing the body I was able to get it painted at a chevy dealership one Saturday morning (side job) by their painter for only $500. He used their latest enamel paints. Would have cost me more than a couple thousand anywhere else.
