How to transport to the body shop ???

[DAVEN1256]

I don't know if this is the right forum to post this in or if this problem has been covered before. I have a '68 Camaro rolling chassis that is ready to go to a shop for paint. I would like to take it several shops for estimates and to see what different people have to say and offer. I live in Central Florida but am not limiting myself to having it done locally.

MY DILEMA IS HOW TO TRANSPORT MY CAR TO THESE DIFFERENT SHOPS................                                                                                               

I don't own a trailer. I don't have room to store a trailer. Even if I did own one or rented one from U-Haul, my daily driver doesn't have the capability of towing a load like that. I really don't know anyone well enough who owns a trailer and a vehicle to pull it with.

I could rent a trailer and a truck to pull it with from U-Haul. The price of the trailer and truck itself is not bad. The big expense is in the mileage charge on the truck if you went any considerable distance. The grand total for a one day, 200 mile round trip would come in around $200. This could add up after a few trips. Money I would rather be putting into the car.

There might not be any other options other than U-Haul.  I was wondering if any one had any suggestions that I haven't thought of. Any ideas would be appreciated.

                  Thanks,
                  Dave

[tmodel66]

Why not go to the shops you are interested in and see if they will paint it first. When you find one you like just pay the guy a reasonable hourly rate to come to your place and look at it. That way you don't run the risk of damageing it hauling it around.

[jonboy1216]

take a bunch of pics and go around to shops then they could give you a ball park figure,but dont limit yourself to just the cheapest price ask former customers and look at the work being done .its better to pay a little more for it done right than it will have someone else fix their mistakes.i went to alot of car shows and asked about my local paint shop and i never heard a bad word said so that guy has been my painter for 5yrs now and has painted 6 cars for me so far this kind of work needs some investigating before commitment.

[IZRSSS]

Since you don't have the ability to transport...why not make use of the web and take several pictures of your chassis and email them to prospective shops. Keep in mind...all the paint shops will have to go on are your pics. So make sure you photo's are clear and precise. Once you've narrowed your search you can either rent a transport or ask the guy to come by and look at it.

[GaryL]

If it is a roller buy a car dolly then sell it after you are done. Not much load on the tow vehicle if you get one with brakes. You can buy a new one for $1300.

[jeff68]

I just recently had my car moved to a restoration shop for the body restoration.  I started by searching for the shop that I wanted to do the work.  IMO, this is the most important step - way more important than what it will cost.  Look at lots of cars done by the shop to get a feel for their quality level and how consistent their work is.  I was lucky since the shop I chose turned out to be less than 10 miles from my house, and it turns out the owner lives about 1/8 mile from me.  Small world.  Anyhow, I met with the shop and showed them a bunch of pictures.  They gave me a very broad estimate from the pictures and my description of the car.  They then wanted to set up an inspection of the car to refine their estimate.  I was definitely more worried about the quality of the work than getting an accurate estimate, so we skipped this step.  To me, the car is what it is and needs whatever work it needs to be done right.  So, we made our agreement, and they came & got the car with their equipment.

I would think that any good shop would be willing to come see the car in order to provide you with an estimate.  They should also be able to transport the car to & from their shop.  As previosly mentioned, none of this is free and I assume that they would bill out at their normal hourly rate (or perhaps slightly less) for these services.

Also, make sure that your car is insured, even though it may not be registered or driveable.  Make sure that the insurance covers trailering and loading/unloading.  I was able to get insurance that covered all this through Hagerty.

[DAVEN1256]

Thanks to everyone for you suggestions.

[69Z28freak]

Hey Daven. The shop that now has my car came to my place twice to inspect the car. That is how I knew they were the right shop. They made an effort and gave me the impression that they cared. Plus I also had met them and talked to them several times before. I build up a relationship with them by asking lots of questions. I was fortunate on this restoration that my car was a perfect driver and drove it to the shop.

However on my previous car I was in your position. I had only the stripped shell and wanted to get some quotes as most shops don't like to quote without checking the car over, and won't give a final quote until the paint is striped. I was lucky that I knew a guy who had a business and I got him to drive me around to a few shop one afternoon with his trailer. Since the car was a striped shell it only took a few of us to lift it onto the trailer on my dolly.

I would say that you should probaly take the advice of taking some pictures or your camera or computer with you to show a few shops and get a vibe for which shop feels like the best place for your car. Take into account how interested they are in your business and if they seem to have experience restoring your model of car. If they have not done a lot of Camaros in the past, they might not be as sharp as a shop that does a lot of them. I chose a retoration shop as oppossed to a body shop that only does repairs.