What does it cost?
Working on our cars is definitely a labor of love. I have owned my A-66 vert since 1979 and it is a "member of the family". The cost of labor for mechanics and body work is very high. I could not see myself letting it ever go! Understandably, no one wants to work for nothing. Unless you have deep pockets and a car worth 6 figures, it is difficult to justify the cost of having professionals do everything. I worked as a mechanic in the 1970's and my skills in this area are old; but perfect for my 50 year old Challenger. In my case, the body work is the issue. I am no body man, but I am updating my skills in the welding area, and go slow in making the body repairs. I learn as I go with the help of some Utube videos, and patience. I am also contemplating learning to paint a car. Single stage as was original and non-metallic helps. I was also thinking about talking to a local body shop who may rent me their paint booth on a weekend and use my general equipment. As it is, I have over 30K in mechanical and body sheet metal I have either saved or bought recently and giving it a shot. The restorations taking place on the forebodies, forabodies, forbodies and other forums are
indispensable as we share our work and knowledge with everyone. If you have a decent mechanical skills, common sense, and take your time. It is doable. And a willingness to learn something new. Trial fitting my new two piece trunk; feeling good with it. Give it a shot. It is worth the financial benefit.
Working on our cars is definitely a labor of love. I have owned my A-66 vert since 1979 and it is a "member of the family". The cost of labor for mechanics and body work is very high. I could not see myself letting it ever go! Understandably, no one wants to work for nothing. Unless you have deep pockets and a car worth 6 figures, it is difficult to justify the cost of having professionals do everything. I worked as a mechanic in the 1970's and my skills in this area are old; but perfect for my 50 year old Challenger. In my case, the body work is the issue. I am no body man, but I am updating my skills in the welding area, and go slow in making the body repairs. I learn as I go with the help of some Utube videos, and patience. I am also contemplating learning to paint a car. Single stage as was original and non-metallic helps. I was also thinking about talking to a local body shop who may rent me their paint booth on a weekend and use my general equipment. As it is, I have over 30K in mechanical and body sheet metal I have either saved or bought recently and giving it a shot. The restorations taking place on the forebodies, forabodies, forbodies and other forums are
indispensable as we share our work and knowledge with everyone. If you have a decent mechanical skills, common sense, and take your time. It is doable. And a willingness to learn something new. Trial fitting my new two piece trunk; feeling good with it. Give it a shot. It is worth the financial benefit.
