Dat Ting Gotta Hemi ?

[anlauto]

I'm currently building a 1970 Charger resto-mod for a customer (yes I know, not an E Body) wasn't too happy painting the car white, even though we went with the newest 2022 Dodge white....


I got pretty happy just now when my body shop sent me these pictures....looks like you could cut bread with those body lines 

[Brads70]

Red guts and a red bump stripe? Those are big quarters and take a lot of work to get the body lines nice! Good job!   

[anlauto]

Red guts and a red bump stripe? Those are big quarters and take a lot of work to get the body lines nice! Good job!   

BLACK....vinyl top, interior, bumble bee stripe, hood stripes    The owner is making a modern version of a car his Father had when he was 16 

[dodj]

wasn't too happy painting the car white

It's only the best colour out there!  Maybe I'm biased?....nah.
Charger looks great!

[anlauto]

wasn't too happy painting the car white

It's only the best colour out there!  Maybe I'm biased?....nah.
Charger looks great!

Is white really a "colour" ?

[70_440-6Cuda]

Wow.  That looks amazing!  I had a '69 440-6 waaaaay back in the day and had it painted for $3600 in the original dark green metallic.... those are seriously crisp body lines and I like the white - wouldn't have thought so but it is going to be very very cool. 

@anlauto can I ask what does a good paint job like that cost these days?  Assuming no sheet metal replacement and everything lines up marginally well to start with and the car is completely disassembled - I am getting some CRAZY quotes and curious what your experience is - thanks

[anlauto]

So, the shop I'm using now, is a guy, a lot like myself, running a small business out of a shop at home. He's done three cars for me so far, and he's currently working on number four (this white 70 Charger) and number five which is a FF4 green AAR Cuda. I will be dropping off number six, a purple Demon in about two weeks when I pick up the Charger....

From bare steel to finished polished paint he's charging me on average $22,000.00 CDN which is about $16,500.00 USD .....
That does not include ANY rust repair... This Charger had over $10K in metal as well

[anlauto]

I guess I should mention time frame, that always seems to be a big issue for many shops.

The black car, being the first car Was dropped off March 25th 2021, The two convertibles followed that....

I would say the first four cars were done in 20 months HOWEVER....He goes on vacation for all of July/August 2021 and all of July/Aug 2022, so really the four cars were done in 16 months or an average of 4 months each, which is very respectable.

I hope that the Demon will be finished before July 2023.....but he also has to finish a 69 Chevelle for one of his buddys

[70_440-6Cuda]

Alan those are gorgeous, man does that get the blood going!  Very respectable prices and time frame if you ask me.

Thank you for that, very helpful in getting some idea of what I am in for.... Paint and metal fab is something I always wanted to do, but don't have that skill set.  A good paint an bodyan is like a good contractor, when you find one stick with him!

[anlauto]

One thing to mention is that I also deliver the cars, totally stripped, already media blasted etc...so those numbers don't include that. He doesn't have to worry about taking the car apart or anything like that, when he gets them, he knows exactly what has to be done and gets to it...likes working on two at a time, taking a break from body work on one to do metal work on the other etc...
We work well together...and I will never give him up....

[cudamadd]

anlauto  you have an  outstanding body man there . They look fantastic, And with your knowledge and expertise your  finished cars are beautiful. 

[anlauto]

Thank you, like some shop owners that take all the credit for the work their employees do, I will never take credit for his work, but it sure makes the cars I restore look nice 

[blown motor]

So he's doing all the metal and body work plus paint and polish, is that right. I'm always wrestling with redoing my Challenger but man that's a lot of cash. Sometimes I think I could sell mine, add half that and be ahead of the game. But, maybe not.

[70_440-6Cuda]

Most shops around SoCal are not interested in doing restoration type work and just want to crank out marginal insurance work for the masses.  I have been looking around and shops are quoting as much as $60K for a full blown rotisserie paint job with minimal metal replacement - crazy talk around here 

[dodj]

Is white really a "colour" ?

Well...maybe not depending how you look at it. But if you believe white is not a colour, then neither is black....

And both of them look better than all of the others!  lol     Right Murray?