another charger to dig out 70 rt/se

[Troy]

$30k just to paint it!!!? .....a body that's already repaired, straight and primed?? That's a lot. You could get the body repairs and the paint done to show standards for will around 30K US here (obviously not for a car like the above one but a 70 charger with the usual trunk floor, rear fenders....etc etc !). Thought most things where cheaper over there!!!

Umm, repaired and primed maybe. They're only doing the rough work. The "straight" part is up to you.

Troy

[charger chris]

I bet the low half is rotted. It will be fun to watch him get this car out of the ground. Can't wait for the video.

[hemi-hampton]

$30k just to paint it!!!? .....a body that's already repaired, straight and primed?? That's a lot. You could get the body repairs and the paint done to show standards for will around 30K US here (obviously not for a car like the above one but a 70 charger with the usual trunk floor, rear fenders....etc etc !). Thought most things where cheaper over there!!!

Who said body in white will be straight. getting it straight the most time consuming part. You'll probably have to at least coat it end to end top to bottom with body filler to smooth out wavy body, then spend weeks priming & blocking & priming & blocking. Thats if you want a nice straight show car. If not sure it could all be done for $25-$30k. I know when I did show cars for Chrysler we charged much more then $30k to paint & thats on a brand new car with Zero miles & zero bodywork. LEON.

[cbrestorations]

I did all the metal, body and paint on Lenards car plus welded in us car tools subframe connectors, torque boxes, upper and lower core support braces and inner fender reinforcement brackets for 17k. All parts and labor

[hemi-hampton]

And I did this black Hemi car for under $10k

[cbrestorations]

How much metal did u have to replace

[hemi-hampton]

Core support, some patches in small rust holes, undercarriage blasted to bare metal & primed also, trunk painted, ect, ect. LEON.

[cbrestorations]

nice job by the way. I had to replace, rear valance, valance corners, trunk, trunk extentions, both wheel houses, quarters, rear window filler, package tray, rear window support, plenum, roof skin, patch both rockers and patch roof structure.

[hemi-hampton]

nice job by the way. I had to replace, rear valance, valance corners, trunk, trunk extentions, both wheel houses, quarters, rear window filler, package tray, rear window support, plenum, roof skin, patch both rockers and patch roof structure.

Last time I did that much replacing of metal & painting I charged the guy $25k. $25 a hour & had 1,000 hours into it. LEON.

[Kern Dog]

$25 per hour? Was this in the early 90s ? I haven't worked that cheap since then!

[hemi-hampton]

$25 per hour? Was this in the early 90s ? I haven't worked that cheap since then!

thats was in the early 2000's. That was cash under the table working out of my garage, so $1,000 a week. thats good enough for me to pay my bills. What state & where do you work now that pays you over $25 a hour now? So Kerndog, your making $50 a hour now. Must be nice. Whatcha do that pays that much? And Yeah, Doing Auto Restorations will not make you rich. LEON.

[Kern Dog]

I'm a Carpenter/Framer.Northern California.  Our hourly wage scale is $42 plus medical, dental, pension and an annual vacation check. Pretty good gig but I often have to drive 80-100 miles each way.
There is no way that I could make this money doing body and paint work. I am skilled enough to do decent work but I take too dang long doing it. A more skilled person knows ways to avoid mistakes, saving tremendous amounts of time. Many of my paint jobs look nice when done but along the way I get orange peel, fisheyes, sand scratches visible, water in paint, etc. I'm doing better now that I have accepted that I needed glasses! Some flaws I had just were not visible to me until I had a shine on the car. Block sanding did not always reveal the flaws good enough for me to see and correct them.
I say that the $17,000 to take a car like Lennards from start to finish is cheap! Good metal and bodywork takes patience and skill. "Great" bodywork is the kind that looks so good, you think that the car is a ZERO mile survivor. A skilled patch and panel guy will weld stuff right and finish the section properly so that the panel won't need 1/2" of  filler to look right.

[hemi-hampton]

No Wonder, California cost of Living is 3-4 times more then Michigan. Everybody has to make big money just to live in California. I have Relatives in Sacramento area & houses that are $300k there you can buy for under $100k here. I wish someone would buy that body & white offer & then give to me to paint. I'd like to see how wavy it really is for myself. LEON.

[cbrestorations]

$42hr....what the hell am I doing building cars. Ur company hiring?

[Kern Dog]

Ha ha...Yeah, the cost of living. We live on 1.2 acres, we paid $550,000 in 2004.  Cars still cost the same. Gas, food, spark plugs, same....full release Oriental massages,  medicine...same as anywhere, right? The only thing I see more expensive is the house payment.
I can work on stuff almost every day outside. No snow, no 120 degree days either. The reason the houses cost more is because of the weather. I have In-Laws in Arizona that want us to move there. No thanks...Too hot, not enough greenery or trees.
No matter how much a man makes, you can still live paycheck to paycheck! We have no kids though so we are not as cash strapped as some are.
I still don't seem to have the time or money the OP seems to have. You have some serious bloodhound skills for finding these 68-70 Chargers! I liked that black 69 car you brought to Spring Fling...

[Mopar Nut]

Chris, was that you on Vegas Rat Rods where they customized a 68 Charger.

[hemi-hampton]

Chris, was that you on Vegas Rat Rods where they customized a 68 Charger.

Yeah, I seen that last night. I would of bought that Pistol Grip myself. LEON.

[cbrestorations]

It was all fake except the part about me giving him a few things...they only used 10 percent of what we filmed, kinda sucks. I wish he would of come over 2 weeks later so everybody else's junk was out of there and my chargers back.

[Bad B-rad]

That is/was/will be again is a cool ass car!!!!!! Trailer hitch, luggage rack, cool ass green color, the 70 R/T door trim and that cool ass pinstripe. Oh MAN
I want a luggage rack and trailer hitch for my 69!!!!!
GOOD LUCK!!!!

[Mopar Nut]

It was all fake except the part about me giving him a few things...they only used 10 percent of what we filmed, kinda sucks. I wish he would of come over 2 weeks later so everybody else's junk was out of there and my chargers back.

I like the Challenger SE you have, glad to see Steve did not call it a Chevy.

[cbrestorations]

It was all fake except the part about me giving him a few things...they only used 10 percent of what we filmed, kinda sucks. I wish he would of come over 2 weeks later so everybody else's junk was out of there and my chargers back.

I like the Challenger SE you have, glad to see Steve did not call it a Chevy.

Steve is a Mopar guy

[moparstuart]

It was all fake except the part about me giving him a few things...they only used 10 percent of what we filmed, kinda sucks. I wish he would of come over 2 weeks later so everybody else's junk was out of there and my chargers back.

I like the Challenger SE you have, glad to see Steve did not call it a Chevy.

Steve is a Mopar guy

met him at a Rat Rod show in Fort Smith Ark last year  he was drooling over my Hemi Rat  . My son and I with steve hunting rat parts in the swap area

[moparstuart]

My buddy bought some huge pistons to make tail lamp housing for his rat rod  , Steve was nice enought to draw out a design he would use on them . he was a super nice down to earth guy  . 

[Mopar Nut]

Steve is the reason I like rat rods, ever since the the first episodes, he has excellent design ideas.