Visited My 73 Mach1 at the Body Shop Today

[Steve73QMach1]

My 73 Mach 1 was dropped off at the local body shop in March 2011. It has been there ever since. There has been slow progress there because it is quite a busy place. I was not in a hurry to get it back so they worked on it when they had time between insurance jobs. I went to visit the car today and was told that it is ready for the paint booth next week. I'm starting to get excited about seeing this car back in its original Blue Glow paint. I have a lot of new parts waiting to be installed. When this car is done, I will have two Blue Glow 73 Mach 1's - one is a 4 speed and this one is my automatic. Here is what the car looks like today. Hopefully next week I will be able to post some pics of the new paint job.

 

[Go Time]

Thats exciting , Cant wait to see more pics.

 

[Stangace20]

I feel your pain, my 72 was in the body/paint shop for 1.5 years...mainly cause the guy just used it as filler work for his main biz which was collision repair....sorta sorry we took it to him really

 

[jeremycfr]

Cool deal. I cannot wait to see it

 

[Steven Harris]

You're right - Exciting!

 

[Mustang Ricky]

I know how you feel! Mine was 1 month short of 2 years! Enjoy the process. Worth every minute!

 

[sm3570]

Mine has been there since Feb of this year but I should be getting it back really soon. So not too shabby.

 

[will e]

Yeah, mine was the same. It cost a less than taking it to a 'restore shop' which may have done a 'more perfect' job but mine was a driver. It was mostly filler but they also had a guy dedicated to the wet sanding so that really helped.

Can't wait till yours is done. Nothing like a fresh coat of paint!

 

[[email protected]]

My car went to body after stripping on July 23, should be out by Nov 1st. 1 man shop 1 car at a time but it is looking better all the time. I have pics in my garage

 

[Dashbrazil]

Man, spans of time like that make me dread the day it's time to drop her off at the body shop but it's going to be worth the wait! Can't wait to see the pics, here's hoping nobody wrecks their car near the shop in the next week

 

[mach71351c]

Looking good.

 

[Elena73Mach1]

Wow, I thought I was the only one waiting a long time. This thread makes me feel better. I'ts been 7 months (since June) and I won't probably see results until spring.

 

[Steve73QMach1]

The shop that has the Mach 1 is closed from December 24th through January 2nd. I was hoping to have it back as a Christmas present but that didn't happen. I have heard rumors though that it has been painted and is waiting on argent hood paint and stripe application. The open space I had reserved for it in the garage is getting smaller everyday.

 

[caspianwendell]

The shop that has the Mach 1 is closed from December 24th through January 2nd. I was hoping to have it back as a Christmas present but that didn't happen. I have heard rumors though that it has been painted and is waiting on argent hood paint and stripe application. The open space I had reserved for it in the garage is getting smaller everyday.

She will be home soon

 

[Mister 4x4]

I don't know what kind of deals everybody is getting, but am I weird to think that several months (let alone years) at a body shop is just a tad ridiculous?

I recently watched a friend go through that process with a local body shop and they had his '70 Camaro for 8 months... 'all they had to do' was weld on some quarters, line everything up, smooth, prime & paint. During that time, Gonzo kept giving them money (almost $6K, all said and done), and every time he went to the shop, they either hadn't done a thing, or had actually messed up the quarters, and cut out something that had been properly repaired (because they couldn't figure out how the quarters actually went on). The shop was raided by the cops and the owner found to be into drugs and other bad stuff... but Gonzo got his car back and won the court case.

On the other hand, another friend of mine took his '72 FB to a different shop, and had it back within a few weeks, for about half of what Gonzo paid. (I know where mine is going when it's time for paint).

I understand that some jobs take more time and money, and I understand that shops will cut a deal if timeliness isn't a factor. But damn - anything over 6 months just seems unacceptable to me (and that would be with lots of repair work involved). I can't see where my money would be any less valuable than a check cut by an insurance company. I get the whole "less work for more money" because insurance jobs are notoriously over-priced - that's totally out the window, because I would expect a body shop to know how much it'll cost to effect body work and paint my car before they get started. I can also understand some minor adjustment to the final price (no more than $1000 though) because of things encountered along the way.

I guess I'm just too impatient and less enthusiastic about having someone else do the work for me after all I've been through. Based on how bad off my car was from the start, if I'd had someone else do the work for me, I would be $40K into my project already or it would have a different VIN (as I'm sure nobody "professional" would've even touched mine, except to part it out).

Back on topic - I can't wait to see these cars come back from the body shop though... and I hope they're all worth the wait.

 

[sm3570]

I don't know what kind of deals everybody is getting, but am I weird to think that several months (let alone years) at a body shop is just a tad ridiculous?

I recently watched a friend go through that process with a local body shop and they had his '70 Camaro for 8 months... 'all they had to do' was weld on some quarters, line everything up, smooth, prime & paint. During that time, Gonzo kept giving them money (almost $6K, all said and done), and every time he went to the shop, they either hadn't done a thing, or had actually messed up the quarters, and cut out something that had been properly repaired (because they couldn't figure out how the quarters actually went on). The shop was raided by the cops and the owner found to be into drugs and other bad stuff... but Gonzo got his car back and won the court case.

On the other hand, another friend of mine took his '72 FB to a different shop, and had it back within a few weeks, for about half of what Gonzo paid. (I know where mine is going when it's time for paint).

I understand that some jobs take more time and money, and I understand that shops will cut a deal if timeliness isn't a factor. But damn - anything over 6 months just seems unacceptable to me (and that would be with lots of repair work involved). I can't see where my money would be any less valuable than a check cut by an insurance company. I get the whole "less work for more money" because insurance jobs are notoriously over-priced - that's totally out the window, because I would expect a body shop to know how much it'll cost to effect body work and paint my car before they get started. I can also understand some minor adjustment to the final price (no more than $1000 though) because of things encountered along the way.

I guess I'm just too impatient and less enthusiastic about having someone else do the work for me after all I've been through. Based on how bad off my car was from the start, if I'd had someone else do the work for me, I would be $40K into my project already or it would have a different VIN (as I'm sure nobody "professional" would've even touched mine, except to part it out).

Back on topic - I can't wait to see these cars come back from the body shop though... and I hope they're all worth the wait.

Mine was supposed to be less than 6 months, actually about 4 1/2 months (sand the whole body to bare metal, do all the body work, fill badge holes, etc etc). The shop owner/lead body guy got in a nasty accident and almost died. That set the whole thing back by several months. All told, about 8 months in the shop.

 

[Mister 4x4]

Fair enough, and totally understandable. Like I said, I'm not sure what kind of deals have been struck, so I'm not bashing anybody's efforts or anything. I'm just not seeing it taking all that much time to get some metal squared away and paint applied.

 

[OpiemusRex]

My 71 has been at the car builders, all the mechanical parts have been replaced, since May.That's why I don't have a decent picture without a garage or car lift in the background. To his credit though, I have consantly added more and more tasks to the original restoration plans.

I can hardly wait until I send it to the paint shop. :s

 

[Jim and Jutta]

Fair enough, and totally understandable. Like I said, I'm not sure what kind of deals have been struck, so I'm not bashing anybody's efforts or anything. I'm just not seeing it taking all that much time to get some metal squared away and paint applied.

I've got agree with you that unless they're giving a person a "really reduced priced", it shouldn't take any longer than the insurance jobs they're doing. In other words they work on it in the order it came in and they work on it full time once the work starts until finished (unless they run into issues they discuss with you an explain the delays). Of course, if the shop is doing it as a favor that's another matter, paying customers come first.