Body Shop or Do-it-yourself

[miked159 10]

hey all, first off great site Im a big fan. My dilema is this: Im considering taking my mustang to a body shop to do the body work, but i tried to get some estimates and all they tell me is $1500-2000 for stripping the car and then we'll see from there (car is a rolling shell, and I dont have the money to rent a trailer and haul it around to diff shops just for estimates). The parts that need repairing dont look too bad so Im considering just buying a welder (thanks for every1 who answered my previous thread) and just doing it myself at my own pace. Im a fast learner, I just need some advice from guys who've been there and done it. Here are some of the pics of the 69 stang. Maybe someone can give me a rough estimate on how much a shop will charge me for this (not including parts, of course).

[miked159 10]

More pics...BTW im deployed right now, so Im just trying to see whats more cost effective for me to do when I get back. On a side note, Im not reluctant to do the job myself (actually I prefer to) I just want some advice before I start purchasing the welder and tools. Thanks in advance.

[S code 69 13]

I've never delt with that much rust but I'm going to guess there's more hidden behind what you cut out. there is no reason you can't fix everything yourself that isn't on the outside where it will be seen, and you can fix that too after you get some experience with the rest of the car.

 

I strip all my cars exterior with a DA and 80 grit, it takes me a few days but I get the best results. for the engine bay and elsewhere I sandblast it, there's no reason you can't do all this yourself.

 

I don't know where you're from but here is something to think about, is this a coupe or a fastback? in the west a nearly rust free coupe needing restored will go for well less than 5K, fastbacks less than 10K. I'd keep this in mind if you strip it down and find more problems, you could have more in rust fixing than a rust free car, by nearly rust free I mean maybe a floor pan and a lower rear 1/4 patch or something. so the only way for a body shop or yourself to know what you're up against is to get it to bare metal, I'd do that before I spent any money on anything else.

[bigperm2 10]

I was in the same boat as you about 8 months ago. My car is a convertible, and probably just slightly less rust than yours. I decided to do it myself because I had just finished restoring my truck (that a pro painted) and it was expen$ive. The results were next to flawless, and worth the money, but I had way more invested than what it was worth. In the past, I had a bronco painted by a budget painter, and it was cheap, but I got what I paid for. So for my 69 vert, I have found that the work is extremely time consuming. I have most of the welding done. I replaced floors, sections of the rocker, and shock tower rust. That was all easy enough since it doesn't need to really look pretty. Be ready for overhead welding since I assume you don't have a rotisserie. I also welded in quarters, outer wheelhouses, truck dropoff, and patched the door corners, and have the filler work started also. That was not as easy. I probaby have about 150 hours into it. The other thing I am considering, is that although I am doing the best I can, my car will not be near perfect when it is done. It will be a driver for sure.

[RogerC 136]

I would suggest taking a welding course at a local vocational school if you can once you return. I had a friend do that and he patched my front fenders as part of his project. Thats a lot of work that needs done so it'll take a while doing it yourself.

 

Check all the work DRAStik did on his car. There's a link to his work in his first post in his thread.

http://www.1969stang.com/mustang/forum/showthread.php?t=7212

[Sidthing 10]

I was in your shoes a few years ago, but it was juggling a 65 falcon, and a 65 fastback while I was in the Marines. I hate not knowing how to do things, and you sound similar. After I got out I went to Wyotech to learn how to do all my own body work and paint, but now I have 24K in student loans since the VA wouldn't pay for Wyotech "due to the nature of my disabilities." I was working for a restoration shop this past summer, and learned a butt load about restorations. You get what you pay for having someone else do it, and a restoration shop might run you 100k (at $45 an hour) to restore a car, they mostly bill time and materials, they averaged 8k to paint a car with some rust requiring a few panels (lower quarters, or floor pans) to be replaced. I could have gotten a bad ass paint job for 24k but I plan on working on old Fords as a hobby the rest of my life. If you want to do it yourself, try to find someone who knows what they are doing to babysit you. It's real easy to mess up a car if you don't know what you're doing. About half the cars at the restoration shop I was working at were started by other shops, and even people who think they know what they are doing hack up cars. If you're not wanting to spend a lot of money this is the wrong hobby.

What branch, and where are you stationed when you're not deployed?

[flight96 14]

Like others in this thread, I was where you are about a year ago. Check out my thread,I have a lot of info there. My advice is, if you do decide to do the work yourself, be sure to do the following...

• Take LOTS of pictures !! LOTS !! Of everything from different angles.
  
• Measure EVERYTHING 3 times before ya cut anything off.
  
• Be sure ya have the right parts ON HAND before ya cut anything off. I can't count how many times I got the wrong parts delivered to me.
  
• Be patient...This will take longer than you think !! If you get frustrated with something, stop, take a breather, go back to it later.
  
• Ask a lot of questions on this site. The knowledge here is priceless.
  
• DON'T start too many different jobs on the car. finish what ya started before ya move on. I got overwhelmed a few times having too many things on the go.
  
• NEVER...and I can not overstate this enough...NEVER weld drunk :biggrin:!! you'll just wind up cutting it off and doing it right when ya sober up...believe me !!
  

Good luck with whatever decision ya make. I will say there is nothing better than looking at the finished (Or almost finished:whistling:) car knowing YOU did the work !!

 

B&DIMHF

[miked159 10]

hey guys, thanks to all who replied. Im gona go ahead and go for it, I wana look down the road a couple years from now and say "ya I brought that beauty back to life with my bare hands". Ill be sure to take that welding course and read lots of books though. Also Sidthing, Im in the navy stationed in Mississippi. Right now Im downrange in Iraq, cant wait 2 get home and start working on this baby. And flight96, sweet thread bro, appreciate the link. Again, thanks guys, Ill be sure to post progress on the Project Forums.

[DRASTiK 22]

NEVER...and I can not overstate this enough...NEVER weld drunk :biggrin:!! you'll just wind up cutting it off and doing it right when ya sober up...believe me !!

 

 

I second that statement:tongue_smilie:

[JTG 10]

I've been tempted to do a lot of things drunk but welding never came to mind!

[jnet4jt 10]

Drinking and welding, sounds like were related some how.