Well for a while Ive been on the fence about whether or not to continue modding the car or to find a new toy. The car has sentimental value to me since its the first car Ive owned, but its time for some major work that needs to be done.
Ive had three quotes for body work/paint, nothing crazy, I would like to stay with silver. However, the hood and fenders have hail damage, the entire front end(1/4 panels, hood, header panel, doors) need to be aligned, there are numerous dents and dings that need to be fixed. I was told the hood was so bad that it should be replaced because reparing it cost more. I was expecting to spend around $2500 for the work and Im finding out that it will be atleast $4500 to do it right. I guess I could Maaco it for cheap, but the car would look like ass and I refuse to do it. If I spent $4500 on paint, I'd be scared to drive it really knowing how hard body parts are to find. I really want to keep the car alive, but want to be practical at the same time. Im tempted to look for a decent foxbody stang as a new toy.
Im not sure what to do at this point, Im an engine person, not a body/paint person, so this is new to me. Opinions?
ah, thats exactly how i feel about paint/body work. if i pay/work hard enough to have it done properly, then i dont like to drive the car anymore for fear of havin someone elses carelessness destroy it.
for me, i decided to leave this current car "ugly" so i can drive/beat on it w/o fears of ruining any hard/expensive bodywork
Panels are easy to align, just time consuming, best way to learn is to get a bag of shims and get to it, remove your moldings/emblems yourself and try to find a straight hood yourself.
Simple tasks that will save you money, if you feel confident with yourself strip off the old paint too to save good $$
Its mainly all the dings that concern me, they arent too noticeable now, but when its painted it will look like . I can pull moldings and whatnot, but like I said, Im not a body person so fixing numerous small dings/dents is not for me.
a paint stir stick..
you can save a load of money doing the bodywork on your own..
the major thing paint companies con you out of is prep work.. and labor.. the stuff to do it isnt all that expensive.. so if you did most of the prep work.. and got most of the hard stuff done.. it wont cost as much
they always over-charge you for paint.. and overcharge you for cleaning supplies... its a vicious circle. (lmao.. my cousin worked for a big time paint company.. and they ripped off so many people.. now he owns his own business and doesnt do all to bad..) he would have charged me about.. err.. $1800-2500 for a paint job and thats with using different colors and tu-tone also so yea
It's like this: If Maaco can make it look decent (not show quality, but decent) for areasonable price, surely it's better than giving up on the car altogether...
I agree with thunderchicken. I knew a dude that went that route. Did his own body work and had Maaco or one of the other el cheapo paint shops shoot the car for less than $500. Everyone thought he had a high dollar paint job because it was one of the best looking cars around.
MAACO did mine nearly 4 years ago for about $300.00.I did the body work myself,and removed everything I could before I took it to them so there would be less masking.The car still looks great.Patriot Blue Pearl.Very nice.
Macco does do different grades of work. Basically, the more you pay, the better of a job they do. I saw a 2000 dollar job, and it looked pretty good.
thats part of the reason i let mine go. i could just see it getting to where i wanted it, all finished up and having some awhole slam in the rear quarter or something. replacement pannels are getting kind of scarce never mind a decent rust free chassis. i think it was the rust free doors that made me realize it could be an issue. if i wrecked the stang i could simply pick up any number of stangs out there for a swap car, or buy new pannels wich are readilly available. far many more options with the mustang. it wasnt cause i thought the mustang would be better. the tbird would have been every bit as good as the stang as the same suspansion, brakes and drivetrain were going to be used as well as they weigh about the same. i regret it though. i realy like my halfbreed alot, but i loved that tbird.
you can save a ton by prepping it yourself. alighning pannels shouldnt be to bad. re hang the doors so they are good and then grab some shims and work your way back to front. i hate sanding but its probably the best way to fing your high and low points. if its rust free and has no bubbles etc. you shouldnt need to sand all the way through. id at least try to smoth the pannels/dents out myself. you cant hurt the car, anything you do to it can be fixed. if you truely suck at it have someone pick it up from there.
it looks like a great car dude. i wouldnt let it go if it has alot of sentimental value and isnt hurting you to keep it up. if it starts becoming a liability, hastle or money pit than maybe its time. one thing for sure, youve had it so long that once you get rid of it, its not going to be long before you will need to fill that void!
I work in a Body Shop. If you can find the dings/dents and want them fixed without spending alot of money sand the whole car yourself and try to fill in the dings with some body filler. Prep work is the hardest part and labor isnt cheap, but it can be done fairly quick. Aligning panels isnt difficult as said before.
I dont trust myself to strip the paint and start sanding. I compare it to trying to build up a motor with no previous experience. I know my limits and I will leave it to someone who knows what they are doing. Especially when it comes to using body filler and what not. That and I just dont have the time to do it myself, I dont mind paying, but I just cant justify dropping $4500 on a car thats worth $1500 at most.
As far as Maaco, Ive heard horror stories from the Maaco here and also from Maaco period. Just because you spend alot at Maaco doesnt mean you get a quality paint job. I buddy dropped over 6000 on a paint job and it was horrendous, he eventually got his money back and they had to strip the entire truck and do it again. As I stated, I refuse to take it to Maaco, theres no way in hell. If there was a middle of the line paint place around here I would consider it, but Maaco and Earl Shive are out of the question.
-it always helps to have a friend in the body biz too. or if you have access to a air compressor and a rotorary sander, it doesnt take long to learn how to strip panels. and you wont see me on Chop, Cut, Rebuild, but now im not too scared to hit a panel with a rubberhammer or the like.....
I just replaced the fender on my base t-bird...It's amazing what you can do with a couple hammers, dollies, and a 2x4 :hick:
The fender is aligned better now than the original fender was.
Take it from me...you sound like you are in the same boat i was a few years ago. I had an 85 TC converted to 302, ran 11.7's, had it for 13 years. I got a quote for paint/body work at $4500. I sold the car roller and bought a NICE 87 notchback roller for 5000. Well, one year later I was trying to buy back my 85, even for more money than I sold it for without any luck. So I drove 8hrs each way to buy another and start all over. My point...don't sell it if you are even slightly attached to it.
Jim
u cant realy tell in the pictures of my car, but the paint is ... its chipped dinged, scratched, gouged, and leaves alot to be desired. i still drive it tho, and take it to local shows. hell... even with it like it is and slightly discolored to boot, i won a 3rd place trophie at a ford show. i say keep it, save alittle at a time, maybe even look into doing some work yourself, like replacing body pannles. hell, for not much y ou can buy an entire front end. i think aerobird sells hoods for like 75, and fenders are everywhere, usualy 25 each or less. i say keep it, save for a little while if you have to and do as much as you can by yourself.
also, you could try making friends with somebody who runs/works in a body shop lol, sounds stupid, but i talk to lots of people and usualy people offer there help or at least offer the "cash" discount. like a friend i work with now offered to do my car for 2500 cash :D
I dont plan to sell the car, Im just undecided as to whether continue modding the car or just leave it as it is(let my dad drive it) and find another toy. The car will always be mine, but I think Im just going to start looking for another project.
Hey man we all been there, I almost bought a mark viii 2 months ago when I blew up that 306... glad I didn't cause I'm just about done putting in the new motor and working on the car helps me keep my sanity... plus I've had mine for 12 years now and its been in my family since 1988
I'd say kept modding it and get it in the 11's.. nothing better than a 11 second sleep.... well maybe a 10 second sleeper but we'll save that for down the road..
Modding the engine and whatnot isnt really an issue, its the body/paint work that I am undecided about. In other words, I like driving a quick car, but I want it to look nice at the same time.
Before I was only concerned with speed, but now my tastes are changing slightly to include appearance.
You can always had a car to beat on. I wouldn't paint my car until I had everything on it the exact same as I pictured it on my head. That way I can go sit outside somewhere when its hot/cold inside the car, and just plop right down on the hood and windsheild and stretch all out with my feet on the header panel.
I am not saying I like to jump on and abuse my car, but with a seriously messed up hood that I have to replace anyways, might as well use it.
The thing I hate about alot of new/nice cars, is if you drop a tool while working on the engine and chip the paint, lots of people freak out. If you ran up and hit one of my cars with a baseball bat I wouldnt really care or notice. Its not that I don't care about my car, but I already need new front end (Not hail damage though....) doors trunk and lots of bondo on the quarters and the wheel wells. After I get all of the parts, noone will be allowed to lean on it.
when my cougar got wrecked i was upset bc it was over for the car the box was torn up pretty bad. and i found my current car less than 12 hours after it got wrecked i do enjoy the mustang. it comes with the 11 inch rotors. siff springs floor shifter exct. it can corrner with some sticky tires. but i really really mis the cougar.
i did have the cougar painter at macco. took all the lights and emblems off for them so less taping was needed. but for 1000 it wasnt bad and lasted a long time i was happy.
oh and lets not forget one thing about the most of mustans have been beat, crashed/choped swaped and over priced in most cases if it's got a 5.0 lets forget 5 -speed