Floor pan labor cost

[Muletman 18]

Hey all,

 

I'm restoring a '69 Mach 1, and I think I am being taken advantage of by my body shop. The following items have been replaced, what would be a ball park labor cost for the replacement of these parts? I know that labor rates differ by region, so I'm asking how many hours of labor would be reasonable to replace the following?

 

Full floor pan

both rear frame rails

both rear torque boxes

both front toe boards

full trunk floor

partial front frame rail

battery apron

[Fordrevhead 29]

I dont think you'll get too many responses on this one. It's hard to say without looking at it. That's a LOT of work there. Assuming no teardown and cutting out has been done...and having done a fair portion of that here and there before, I will take a stab and guesstimate 60-70 hours to do it RIGHT, NOT including seam sealer, epoxy sealer, undercoating, etc. This also assumes they dont run into anything else needed like Rockers, Inner wheel house, etc.

[Muletman 18]

FRH......thanks for the reply, I know it's a tough question to answer.

[69RestoRod 10]

I'd guess 80 plus hours to did it correctly. The biggest problem with rust is you cut out one piece just to find more rust underneath. About ten years ago I was quoted $2200 for just to straighten a rippled quarter panel and repair one frame rail. When they got into it I had to replaced the trunk floor and both frame rails. Thank goodness I had been hit and the insurance co paid for most of the repairs.

[Fordrevhead 29]

I'd guess 80 plus hours to did it correctly. The biggest problem with rust is you cut out one piece just to find more rust underneath. About ten years ago I was quoted $2200 for just to straighten a rippled quarter panel and repair one frame rail. When they got into it I had to replaced the trunk floor and both frame rails. Thank goodness I had been hit and the insurance co paid for most of the repairs.

 

Yeah a full floor alone for an experienced shop should be $1200-1500 just labor. I took liberty on the "partial front rail" as the front rails and torque boxes are the most work. Rears are much easier. Without proper equipment, sometimes replacing rust is easier than repairing accident damage. Have you seen the pics of Paks Vert on the frame machine with the quarter peeled open like a tin can?

[Pakrat 1,043]

That's all too true. My car was about as solid as they come, I mean literally rust free not most peoples definiton of rust free. I tore the entire car apart myself and bought all my own parts and my friend who owns the most reputable body shop within 100 miles of where I live did me a favor of working on it over the course of two years in his down time, he took care of the media blasting, the frame work, the new sheetmetal, the custom fiberglass, the bodywork and the paint and it cost me like 20k. I feel I got way more than my money's worth out of it and it's a way more perfect job than I would have been happy with for sure but still it was a lot of money and thankfully it was all insurance but I had to dip into my pain & suffering cash too.

 

When I looked at your list like the others I immediatley thought at least two weeks also maybe even three for a quality job by someone with the proper tools and equipment because that is the only way to save time. The only advantage to repairing damage over rust is no dominoe effect. Often as was mentioned rust repair just keeps going unvailing something new with each cut, the cancer rarely stops where it is visable and before you know it you have a whole new car built around a vin tag.

 

If I had to ballpark it from low to high on a 2 vs. 3 week job and labor from $50 - $75 hr then you are looking at as much variance as $4k - $9k and for such a great variance I'd obviously expect far better quailty the higher I went. I've seen lots of folks pay top dollar by the hour for hack work that only took too long because they didn't know what they were doing.

[Muletman 18]

Thanks guys, I'm feeling a little better about this. I still have paint and body to go, the rear quarters and tail light panel were replaced already, good rockers,cowl, fenders and hood. I'll should have a rolling shell in Gulfstream Aqua for about 20k. Ouch!

[Pakrat 1,043]

I feel your pain, it's not a hobby for the timid, that's for sure. That's why they always say buy the best car you can afford up front. A project car for cheap doesn't stay that way for long. Good luck and post progress pics when you get a chance.

[70vert 17]

To give you a rough idea from a very well regarded local Bay Area shop, but one that possibly has Shelby guys in mind when setting their pricing: (based on a car that was driven to them with one seat in and no carpet)

 

-Floor pan replacement, or rather, keeping the trans tunnel and welding everything else in

 

-Rocker panel repair with parts from a full convertible rocker panel

 

-Firewall repair and rear seat floor repair

 

-Cosmetic cowl rust repair

 

-Seat platform replacement

 

 

While you're doing all this, you might consider putting in the convertible reinforcements under the seat and a subframe connector like the Tin Man one that goes through that convertible reinforcement and can be welded to it. It made a huge improvement in my convertible's stiffness, partially due to the fact that there's a huge "T" in the middle linking front and rear frame rails with both rocker panels with a much better structure. Makes a "X" crossflow exhaust a pain, though.

[70vert 17]

Muletman, if you feel that these guys are gouging, you can always tell them you'd rather just go with a Dynacorn body if the costs get too high. Assuming you have room to work, you would get the satisfaction of basically moving all your parts over onto a new body. Then sell your old shell to some body guy who will rescue it on his own time, or use it as a project to learn welding and bodywork yourself. :001_cool:

 

At the very least it might get them to revise their estimate - if $16k gets you a new shell to hang parts on, (and you still have your old shell as a project) and they want your business they might cut you a deal.

 

I've seen car shows where, faced with that kind of work on a Camaro, they just went the Dynacorn route.

[Muletman 18]

70Vert

 

All of the above mentioned work is already done, it's too late for the Dynacorn body. Paint and body is next and they have given me an estimate of 5-7K. Does this seem to be a fair price, I really don't like that they are giving me a range of what it will cost? This shop specializes in Mustangs, I've seen 3 Boss 302's and a few Shelby's that they have done, nice cars.

 

Here is the car when I bought it.

 

Mulet

[Jayru 17]

If they're saying 5-7K, you can be almost certain it'll be 7-10K.

 

As with anything labor related (home, auto, etc.) always add 20-30% on top of that!

 

It never fails to swell larger than the initial estimate... especially when they start to pull things apart!

[70vert 17]

Ok, I think I got it - the above was done for a mystery price, and they're quoting $5-7k for body and paint. If there's any rust repair to be done on the body, that might be a fair price. If that's for prep and paint, that better be a gorgeous paint job. I don't fault anybody for paying big $ for a paint job, just make sure you're getting what you pay for and you can see an example of what that kind of $ will get you in the end.

 

I might check out some local car guys' forums on other message boards to make sure you know what else is out there in your area. That way, you can be sure you've weighed all the local options. In the Bay Area, for example, there's a good place in Sacramento that comes up when I search on vintage-mustang.com that a few guys have used that can save you some $.

 

If you feel that the price wasn't fair for the previous work, and you find somewhere else that's a good deal and has references, you can always take it there and let them know where you're going in a no-hard-feelings kind of way. They might take some $ off on the spot or at least they'll know that they've got some competition . . .

 

 

70Vert

 

All of the above mentioned work is already done, it's too late for the Dynacorn body. Paint and body is next and they have given me an estimate of 5-7K. Does this seem to be a fair price, I really don't like that they are giving me a range of what it will cost? This shop specializes in Mustangs, I've seen 3 Boss 302's and a few Shelby's that they have done, nice cars.

 

Here is the car when I bought it.

 

Mulet

[Pakrat 1,043]

If the cars you have seen by them are Bosses and Shelby's than those cars are also in a different league than the cars most of us drive by far and can afford the deluxe treatment and not exceed their value.