Body panel replacment hours

[Shoooter]

I was wondering if we could make a sticky on body panel replacement hours to do the work.  I know every shop and every car is different so it's hard to do but it might help people out that are buying projects.

For example say you just need a quarter replaced, no inner other trunk extensions. How many hr would that be. Best case scenario type deal. As we all know not all panels fit the same because cars were driven hard and crashed back in the day. I don't think a price is accurate as shop rates and dollar exchange plays a factor in it.

Anyone care to chime in?

[Cuda Cody]

The idea has crossed my mind to make a video on how to replace quarter panels or floor pans.  But there are so many variables it's one that I haven't been able to work out in my head how I would do it.  One thought I had was to have a weekend where I have 4 or 5 people come over and stay at the house for 2 or 3 days and we do some restoration stuff.  I would have different stages of the restoration set up and we cover as much as we can.  Things like quarter panel replacement was on the list.

[Cudakiller70]

Very neat idea @Cuda Cody similar to some of the metal fab workshops! Not sure you want everyone hanging out there though  .

[Shoooter]

That's a great idea Cody.  I was looking for just a rough estimate for time. I think it would help people make a choice on project cars they buy. We see it all the time , people buy cars thinking it won't be too bad then they get into it and it stalls. If they know you are saying 6-8 hrs per side on quarters  10 hr on floor pans ect. That way they can figure out a estimate on hours. If someone sees that they will need 100 hr at the metal shop and it's $100 a hr it might give people a more realistic idea on cost for a restoration

[Cuda Cody]

I'm like the worlds slowest body guy.  Never done it for money so I work at a snails pace.    Sometimes at the end of the day I look back at what I did and think, well that was whole day spent on a 15 minute job.      

That's a great idea Cody.  I was looking for just a rough estimate for time. I think it would help people make a choice on project cars they buy. We see it all the time , people buy cars thinking it won't be too bad then they get into it and it stalls. If they know you are saying 6-8 hrs per side on quarters  10 hr on floor pans ect. That way they can figure out a estimate on hours. If someone sees that they will need 100 hr at the metal shop and it's $100 a hr it might give people a more realistic idea on cost for a restoration

[Shoooter]

Believe me I know how that goes !!

[RUNCHARGER]

I think Cody's idea is best.
The problem with doing metal replacement is the domino effect. I think 20 hours would let a conscientious guy do a very nice job on a straight quarter replacement. However you will find more stuff to do when you open it up and a production body guy could probably knock it off in less time but not do it the way it should be done.
I would gladly pay Alan's metal guy (Keith Sims) twice the hourly rate as I would a production body guy because it would be better value.
Whenever I do a job I never take the time for photos. It would be great to have a photo essay of some of these jobs from start to finish so a first timer could study them to guide them through it or even just see what is involved in a proper job.

[Timbbuc2]

I'm like the worlds slowest body guy.  Never done it for money so I work at a snails pace.    Sometimes at the end of the day I look back at what I did and think, well that was whole day spent on a 15 minute job.      

That's a great idea Cody.  I was looking for just a rough estimate for time. I think it would help people make a choice on project cars they buy. We see it all the time , people buy cars thinking it won't be too bad then they get into it and it stalls. If they know you are saying 6-8 hrs per side on quarters  10 hr on floor pans ect. That way they can figure out a estimate on hours. If someone sees that they will need 100 hr at the metal shop and it's $100 a hr it might give people a more realistic idea on cost for a restoration

That is the way it is when you do work for yourself. You take more time to make sure its correct. Or as perfect as it can be.

[Shoooter]

Maybe you are missing what I'm getting at here. Most likely there will be more stuff to replace once you open up a car. All I'm after is a ball park time frame. Yes everyone works at different speeds and it is different quality as well.  I was just hoping we could make a list to help people. Maybe it has to have different hr for experience levels. Like a shop for just a quarter would charge out X amount of hr and a first timer at home took this long.

[RUNCHARGER]

No: We get it okay. I agree with your idea, I just am always concerned about sugar coating things and then a first timer could be disappointed. On the other hand you don't want to stop people from jumping in either.

[anlauto]

I would gladly pay Alan's metal guy (Keith Sims) twice the hourly rate as I would a production body guy because it would be better value.

I just came home from Keith's shop...
A)I don't think he's ever pulled a quarter off and found nothing underneath to fix....
B)I don't think he's ever had an AMD just "fall in place" ready to weld on....

For those two reasons, and many more, I think there is no way a production body guy can quote an accurate price to R&R an quarter.... and if he does, he may end up cutting corners to get it done in his quoted price.

Working with Keith for over 15 years now, I(we) can give a "ballpark estimate" of fixing an E Bodies but that's about as good as it gets.....to quote Keith...."I'll fill all those holes with money !" ....and "it is what it is and it takes as long as it takes"

[Shoooter]

I completely agree. It's usually not jut the quaternary that needs work. Just though a ball park thing would be good. Some people might only budget 6hr a quarter when there are looking at a car and there budget when in reality it could be 20 just for it. Same idea with door skins and floor pans.

Maybe a better way it for people to post how long it took them and there experience level? I know I have looked at a few basket case cars and been like oh it's not too bad, then I add up the cost of metal and install and I'm running the other way

[70chall440]

I understand the "ask" here but I also understand all of the comments. If there was such a list and say it stated a quarter panel took 10 hours (or 20) and someone was buying a car and used this as a decision metric and then it really took 20 (or 30) at shop rate, they would be back on here screaming.

I don't know for certain, but if I had to guess, I would say it took me around 40 hours to replace both quarters, of course that was after about 3 years of thinking about it.... 

[Shoooter]

That's what I like to see. Thank you.

[jimynick]

The standard Mitchell allowance on most old school 1/4 replacement times was in the 14-16 hr range, but that did not include any pulling or patching, but did allow for rear glass R&R as well as the bumper and taillight if applicable. The outer whlhse would run from 2.5-4.0 and the inr would be 4-6hrs depending on it's complexity. Those were times for new, OEM panels in a straighr R&R situation. If you want ot spot welded all around to duplicate the factory welds, I'd add another couple of hours and you'd need to find a shop with the proper equipment as well. These times are hard to correlate with what we're now working on 40 years later and the mentioned 20hrs for a 1/4 would not be out of place in my opinion. These times do not also include time to fit the A/M parts most of us use and you can spend a lot of expensive time doing so. I had my AMD 1/4's and inr/otr whlhses in and off a dozen times chasing the nice fit. Don't know if this helps, but hope it does.