I am at the point of getting some bodywork and Satin Paint on my 55 Chevy, I can do some bodywork but it will be minimal. What do you guys think I should realistically budget for a basic driver with satin finish paint and a nice pearl or flake top, body work will be replacing rocker panels for sure and removing door handles, other than that it is pretty straight just needs finish work and then squirt it. Interior I want a middle of the road tuck n roll not the cheapest and not over the top,shooting for a Nice 50's mild Kustom on a Budget. Just trying to get some basic guesstimates? lets hear some figures Pleeez...... Thanx,xtra
Good question. I'm getting close to the same point in my build & I look forward to replies. However I'm not holding my breath for a reply because the question is hard to answer... sort of like "how much to build a house?".
Yep Nelly I thought of that exact same thing when I wrote the post, I tried to narrow down my expectations but that is hard too! we all want a super nice job at a reasonable price! but again I need to be reaslistic I know not to expect a 15 grand Body work & paint job for say 2K. I respect alot of HAMB opinions so I thought it was worth a shot?
well short of a good friend deal I see a sstarting point on the body work and satin finish at about 5 k and an iterior start price of 1800.00........that is an okla estimate..
call the local vo-tec or community college and find an auto body program. they work for cost of materials usually. you'd be lucky to find one that does actual body work.
I have in the past got good bodymen to do sidejobs on cars Ive built. That way I dont have to pay the shop prices, and he would knock it out on the weekend. I do the same with grabbing a decent painter and renting a spraybooth to spray my materials. I now do my own bodywork and spraying.
Someone will reply from the west coast but here in the north east body shop average around $45.00 an hour for body/paint work and paint is a little pricey depending on what type you choose. I do not think that anyone here will be able to give you an exact cost without seeing the car and knowing what your colors are going to be. I just had my interior a 33 coupe tuck and rool type nothing fancy and it was just under $4K. Good luck and save alot.
they don't do real bodywork anymore at the one I went to. KCKCC has a program last I knew, they might do it. There is a mexican body shop on 39th, I have seen some nice lowriders out of there, don't know price, but the work is great.
I agree. I'm in 1,500 on an interior with a good friend that's an upholstery guy. 700.00-1000.00 of that was materials. We are no longer good friends I may add, and I have bare springs and am teaching myself the fine art of upholstery. I wouldn't even look at the body for less than 2K and you're probablty lookin' @ 3K for a more real number. That's here in the mid-west you're in SoCal where the cost of living is moderately 3 times what it is here.
Sled you don't wanna know the price in there either. That guy is a nationally recognized builder with the hopper crowd. But if you really got to know I got friends down there and I speak the language, I'll go with you just to see a grown man cry.
Livining in Cal like yourself I would say you would be looking at 5K min for a good job. Depends on what quality you want, and without seeing the car it's hard to tell.
Wow, only $45 / hr. I have buddies from here to CA and they are running anywhere from $75 - $100 + / hr.
Just a suggestion on the interior; I don't know about in CA, but up here, they teach the prisoners in the minimum security prison upholstery as a trade. We had the seats and door panels in the wayfarer done for $250 plus fabric, they supplied the foam. My dad just had a whole tuck and roll job on his '63 bonneville convertible done there and I think it was about $300 plus materials. Fleetmaster also had his seat done, but I don't know the cost. The guy who did his is now out and is going to finish the rest of the car too. Their work is of the utmost quality and for most rods, the instructor actually ends up doing the work. They'll do any work you want, including embroidering logos or whatever in the seats. We got turned on to it by some friends of my mom's who work there, but anyone can have it done. Up here, the parts actually get dropped at the Salvation Army and the money goes to them. It sounded too good to be true to us too, until we saw the work. Like I said, I don't know if they have that in socal, but it wouldn't hurt to check it out. I don't have any pictures of the wayfarer, but it's a simple cloth and vinyl tuck and roll and the bonneville has just an off white tuck and roll job with a 60's horseshoe style on the buckets and back seat, here's a picture of fleetmaster's seat:
paint...I'd prolly weigh in around 3,500 for all of what you wanted. as long as the car is straight"ish", you could probably even go glossy for that. But I am cheap. Interior- I would figure at 1500 to 2000, depending on materials. H.R.H. here on the hamb has himself an upholsterer that is really good for "El Cheapo" if you get my drift. But I am of the opinion that everyone should just pony up and get Fat Luckys to do it.
That's a very good point. Body work isn't rocket science (although I know it does take skill to do it right) A good job takes a lot of time, and time is money. You're also probably looking at close to a thousand bucks (if not more) just for materials. If you don't have anywhere to work on it that's a different story. If you have the time you might even be able to take a few cl***es at your local community college to hone your skills.
I dont know where these interior prices are coming from. Around here, for a really nice traditional tuck and roll vinyl interior, your gonna spend $4500-6000. Most customs you see built today have top stich rolls and pleats as it saves a lot of time, and takes less material. I think for $1800-2000, your getting top stich, not tuck and roll.
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