what does this cost now?

[lloyd3]

Looking for something else and found this restoration shot from back in 2008. The car had just come back from the paint-stripping (walnut-hull blasters) operation. The job didn't get completed until 2013 (I wasn't sure it ever would).

I wonder what something similar would cost now-a-days?

[Kern Dog]

Great point.
I'm appalled at the prices some people speak of for body and paint. I've heard $20,000 mentioned in regards to a complete body and paint if there is no rust.
Now, I am well aware of the amount of labor involved. I have done amateur body and paint for years. I'm nowhere near good enough to work in a shop but I have turned out some nice cars that I sold or projects for friends.
It takes a lot of time, space and tools to do a complete body and paint job.
Every legitimate shop in California has to comply with numerous regulations. It is no wonder it costs so much here.
One day I'll be to the point where I'll have to pay to get my stuff done but until then, I'll keep doing it myself.

[lloyd3]

This started as an accident repair and then it grew into something bigger. I think I had something like 30k in it at the completion of this 5-year project (12k was covered by insurance).  I had found a "competent person" (& an honest one) and I didn't want that opportunity to get away.  I'm guessing that it would cost a great deal more now and finding the "right" person would even be tougher.

I obviously don't know this but I'm guessing that the window to "save" or restore a 60s muscle Mopar is closing somewhat. The availability of decent parts can't be getting any easier (some may be, but certainly not all) and the numbers of competent people are dwindling IMHO. As those folks retire, those skill sets are lost and are mostly not replaced.

I'd be curious to know what having someone like Mark Worman's (i.e., Graveyard Cars) costs are to restore a car these days. I'm guessing 100k doesn't even begin to touch it

[Mike DC]

Yeah, you're not getting one of Worman's TV restos for $100k.  That number probably falls under "If you have to ask, you can't afford it."  There are enough Joe Rogans out there with blank checks to keep him busy.   

Modern restorations are so intense.  30 years ago muscle cars were considered "restored" after a lot less stuff had been taken apart and redone.



The group with the knowledge for that kind of work is dwindling for sure, but I think it's a long way from gone. 

I think it's also just changing.  The knowledge for a detailed stock restoration is a specialized thing and younger generations of car guys don't care about it as much as elders.  (They have no reason to.  These cars were decades old by the time they could ride a bike.)  On the other hand the knowledge of how to modernize an old car (brakes, steering, electrical, etc) is much MORE widespread than it was 20 years ago.   


There is the element of usable cars & parts drying up.  The aftermarket has some kind of religious belief against making original-quality stuff so we are stuck with that.  But in the next 10-15 years there will be a lot of muscle cars coming onto the market as baby boomers die off. Like, tens of thousands.  It won't be a good time to restore a crappy car but it will be a good time to buy a whole one.  At least if you have the money.  Younger people mostly don't have anything to spare because the economic situation has changed. 

I think a decent percentage of those cars coming up for sale will end up outside the USA.  It won't be the vast majority or anything, but it will be enough to cause a lot of griping around here.       

[70 sublime]

I think the young people that may or may not be interested in our cars when we can no longer use them and they come up for sale are not going to be the ones to buy them as they do not have the extra spending money to play with

The guys that are going to buy them are the new older guy group which there is always going to be out there
The ones that could not afford a toy when younger and raising a family but now kids are grown ( and hopefully moved out ) and are thinking about I want an old car