Projects Finishing a Kustom Merc on a budget?

Thanks for all the advice.. so the guy selling that chopped/bagged merc told me he would sell me his other one that looks just like it and is finished with a gloss black paint job and all white interior (just like I'm after) but he said he would like to get $65k for it.

Then he said oh this one that needs to be finished would just need some light body work before paint and that I can find a body guy who would work for $20 per hour, and $20 x 40 = 800 so not that much and I can find some guys that are cheap south of the border for interior. I took that all in and realized I need opinion of people on the HAMB hence my post. I know you can't even pay a person to flip burgers for $20 in SoCal these days so the BS meter was triggered.

As for the chick magnet.. yep... I had my chopped 53' chevy in the past and never picked up any women.. but the couple girlfriends I had when I had that car enjoyed it and I felt less embarrassed asking them to go to a nice dinner in the car and dress up if it had a nice interior haha.

Lastly, I have the money to drop on a full blown finished Merc or 53' Chevy but just refuse to invest more than the $45k total right now.. it could just be there isn't really anything out there for me because of my budget.. and that's ok too.. that was kind of the point of this post, to find out if im being realistic or not and it seems im not.

 

Whatever money you think you can finish it for double that amount and then add another twenty five percent for odds and ends. Even then if you do it on the cheap you’re going to blow your budget. I’ve seen it so many times.

 

If you want to stand out, leave it as is, Flathead and all. They don't all need to be chopped or bagged, many have been ruined with a bad chop, enjoy it for what it is!

 

@SDrocker It's been almost 2 decades since I lived in SD. Even then, the drive down for an interior was a fading memory. There is a long post on here about it from WAY back. The material in this global economy is going to cost the same for the good stuff, and the labor difference isn't what it used to be.

The 20 bucks is a red flag, so is the 40 hours. That would be final blocking, quick n dirty. You could spend 40 hours just prepping all the jambs!

Stick to your budget! Keep looking, keep talking to others. You only need to find one. THE ONE!
Doesn't hurt to look at them either. Gives you more experience with what good and bad work looks like.
Check with old timers, they will know some of the cars still tucked in garages.

 

and you will be popular at any meet.
All the customs will want to park next to you and get pictures.

 

Thanks for the advice!

 

Yeah I wouldn't believe or trust anything the guy says that said a Merc could be painted in 40hrs. He clearly knows nothing. And if he thinks it can be painted in that amount of time how shitty has the rest of the work been done on it.

 

I think the 40 hours he said was the prep before painting... then he said something about how he was able to get his other merc painted for $3500 9 years ago after all the body work was done... maybe that's true. I think his other car and the ones he's built look legit (I saw his Facebook profile). I think he was just trying to make it seem the cost to finish the car wouldn't be that much so I buy it haha... I'm overly reserved and usually want to check multiple ways something is a good idea or investment but that was obvious right away to me it would cost way more to finish! If he wanted $65k for his other one clearly he knows it would take a lot more than that to finish it up and maybe was just hoping for a sale.

 

this
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/media/tj-upholstery.576968/
which leads to this
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/current-tj-upholstery-information.1183200/
another
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/tijuana-upholstery.1190471/
these are more recent (2020) than I remember. There are 4 pages on results for Upholstery in the title here.
asking for Tijuana in the title gets these.
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...tijuana&o=relevance&c[title_only]=1&c[node]=5
Some of this may be BS but read up on it. I had a good friend who spoke Spanish with me a few times. I also went alone a number of times. Great people, fun times, great bargains, but that was many decades ago.

Just like San Diego, the tourist traps are going to skin you as much as they can, but the local stuff is where you can enjoy life.

All that to say you aren't going to find a super deal on Avenida Revolucion over the guys in National City or Lemon Grove.

 

Thanks! I had seen some of these threads as well because I was curious and was trying to finish up the interior on my 50' Shoebox before I sold it in April this year. I think everything has drastically changed in San Diego in the past 5 years and I imagine the same holds for TJ. I also don't feel comfortable going down there for any type of paint or upholstery.

 

The prep is 99% of the work. There is no way you are properly prepping a car that size in 40hrs with one guy. Painting takes an afternoon at most once prepped.

 

Yep! My thought was I would spend a couple years doing it myself and getting better and repeating all my shitty work as I get better until I'm closer and then find someone to do the last bit and correct my work and then paint it... and in the mean time I could just paint the damn thing with a foam brush like I did with my 66 C-10 and cruise around... with the interior being done now so I could feel its nice inside... but again like many have said it seems even that approach will lead me to blowing way over $45k total investment.

 

If I couldn't do the work myself, I'd have the car loaded on a trailer and on it's way to @Lloyd's paint & glass before he has a chance to change his mind! I might even rip my pocket trying to get at the cash to throw at him!

Around here, paying for labour at shop rates couldn't get the car done anywhere near your budget.

 

Yea totally!!! I was penciling in the costs to ship there and to CA.. etc.. I agree that is a good option.

 

After looking at the pictures full size that car needs a ton of work to get it ready for paint. No chance it's getting done in 40 hrs. The front end alone could probably take 40 hours to get the hood fitting properly. The welds on the a pillars haven't even been ground down. The floors install looks hacky. I'd be scarred to see what is going on under that primer. No pictures of how the air bags were installed but based on the other work I would be leery.

 

Thanks for your advice! My thoughts were no way 40 hours would get it ready for paint... also when I first saw the car listing before asking the owner my thought was 2-3 years of body work if I did some of it and learned and repeat as my skills got better. I imagine after then probably 40 hours for a professional to prep for paint.

 

The problem with "2 or 3 years of bodywork" is protecting the body during that time. It needs to be down to bare metal to straighten, then a good etching primer. That is not designed to stand up over time without a top coat. Then filler sanded repeatedly, with touchups of the bare metal where it has been sanded. After that, high build primer which is also not designed to be left bare. This means a climate controlled garage as a bare minimum.

 

Thanks for the advice! Yep... I don't keep anything I care about outside ever. The only risk to the paint would be when I drive it somewhere which would be for a couple hours tops.. but other than that it would live in my garage except when I do any body work and would pull it outside in my driveway. I also don't know if that's realistic either. I definitely don't want to make a mess inside my garage with dust/paints.

 

There's an amazing build here on a Cabriolet. It shows what's required to get top notch body work done. The effort, the time, the expertise, the tools and work area. It started 5 years ago. It's in final prep now.
Yeah, 5 years of someone who knows what they are doing and it's not painted yet.
I wouldn't expect anyone to go to this amount of effort on their first project. It does show what it takes.
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...938-ford-club-cabriolet-build-thread.1214234/

Also look at @JimSibley 's builds. He also knows what he's doing and it is quicker, but also done by a very experienced HAMB'er.

There are a lot more than these for you to check out and see what is involved. This is why you want to buy something done, but also educate yourself on what to watch for. There was a 32 Tudor on here a member bought that was an absolute horror underneath.

 

Thanks! In that case my 3 years is really 15 years (10 to learn and maybe 5 if I'm lucky to finish) and that's not going to work out well for me! It's amazing to see how well this work is documented on the HAMB! Also amazing work too!

 

You might think about looking north of the border as well. This is Canadian dollars so just under $13,000 US. Not sure what the interior is like but with a Mustang II in it bagging it would be relatively easy to do (front is literally just bolt in)and lots of wiggle room to pay for a chop.
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1126010232869727/?ref=search&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post&tracking=browse_serp:023bbe3f-b47b-4097-9fe0-f2843062ca1c

 

Have MAACO or Earle Schieb paint it and if there's any rough areas after painting it, hit them with primer spots, youll be all set for under $1000.

Flat window glass is about $60 each times 8 windows $480 if you put them in yourself.

Mexican blanket interior 4 blankets $100 and hand sew the corners to make them slip on's
I'm seeing under $2000 and you'll have a shiney good looking Merc custom, get after it!

 

Lots of done-ish chopped Mercs out there for under 30k........

https://www.facebook.com/marketplac...h&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post

https://www.facebook.com/marketplac...h&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post

https://www.facebook.com/marketplac...h&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post

 

'53-'54 Chevs, drive and enjoy, save up for a chop. First one is extra tasty:

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/cto/d/santa-rosa-1953-chevy-chevrolet-belair/7889298584.html

https://minneapolis.craigslist.org/csw/cto/d/chaska-1954-chevrolet-door/7889073382.html

https://nh.craigslist.org/cto/d/somersworth-1954-bel-air/7884366219.html

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2868727145...55-0&campid=5335981329&customid=&toolid=10049

 

Couple chopped Chevys:

https://www.facebook.com/marketplac...h&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post

https://www.facebook.com/marketplac...h&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post

https://www.facebook.com/marketplac...h&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post

And others:

https://www.facebook.com/marketplac...h&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post

https://www.facebook.com/marketplac...h&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post

https://www.facebook.com/marketplac...h&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post

 

I can paint that car for $100 .

Will only take about an hour

A waiver must be signed

 

Thanks I can say I officially have experience importing cars from Canada.. the chopped 50 shoebox I had recently came from Canada! The price looks good and some room for the chop. The only issue I see is bagging the rear would need a C-notch done and that's outside of my skill range. I had estimated $10k to do an airbag setup on a 53/54 Chevy if it already has the Mustang II front because of the rear needing c-notch and then the cost of lines and tanks/etc. It's almost lowered enough maybe that could wait and the chop could get attention first.

 

Haha.... I figure we'd have all sorts of opinions and suggestions... I'm not opposed to this either.. or at least get the seats done nicely and carpet.

 

I would make sure you make yourself very familiar with what it takes to get things where you think you a want them before a serious search. Like the car you posted doesn't look to bad until you realize that the front sheet metal has all been welded together and the hood fits like shit (not to mention whatever the hell is going on down the front of it) so that means it not just making panel adjustments to fix the problem it is metal work. If that wasn't done properly what else is wrong that will show up when more serious work needs to be done like paint?

 

My buddy bought a 57 Dodge Coronet stripped all the moldings, grill, bumpers and emblems and did some minor bodywork. Had Maaco paint it 2 toned. They even gave him the paint codes and the place they got there paint from .He contacted them and got a couple of aerosol cans of paint from them so he could paint his dash to match the outside of his car. While the stainless was off, he had it polished and had his bumpers re chromed. He took an upholstery class at a junior college and did his interior. After he put it all back together he entered his Coronet in an all Mopar show and won his class and was runner up in Best of Show. Someone saw his car and also did a photo shoot for a Mopar book.