Why I am worried about Body Work Guys in General

[ko-lek-tor]

Bentley, aside from the emblem placement and the stripe the paint job looks real good, is this your car?

Oh, No, it is not my car. No, my car is in limbo and has been since the first of the year when the guy bailed on finishing the job. Now, it is a half done project. No, this car was on ePay. It just seems so senseless to turn out something like this and that is why I took my car to someone I could trust to do the work right after a lot of setbacks. Just wish he would have finished car as agreed. He told me he was getting out of the resto business as there was no money in that kind of work and he had the car 8 months! The point of this car is if the emblem and stripe are wrong, to me, all the work is suspect as being sub par.

[1968RSZ28]

Bentley, aside from the emblem placement and the stripe the paint job looks real good, is this your car?

Vince, the car is listed on eBay (in-case you're interested)...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Chevrolet-Camaro/131469409831?_trksid=p2060778.c100276.m3476&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20140725133649%26meid%3De3ddd405f76f410baaa4545fa9cf2047%26pid%3D100276%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D4%26mehot%3Dpp%26sd%3D221725446142

 

Paul

[Sauron327]

I have customers who understand the time and money required to do the job right. I've also had one that was trying to save a buck and had the car finished and painted elsewhere after I did the all metal replacement and modifications for fit and gapping. The car then got shipped back to me and I had to repaint parts of it that were done poorly by the other shop. Unfortunately the entire car should be reshot but he cannot afford it. Save a nickel, waste a dollar.

Documenting a build with photos is standard procedure for some. Owners two or more states away can't pop in and they are provided progress photos of the build. I do the same with in or out of state jobs for reasons previously mentioned by X33RS. And if the owner ever sells their car, the buyer can see the build from bare metal to paint.

I know of a shop that bangs out cars to sell at Barret Jackson. Cave and pave jobs. The owner told a customer there was more filler in one fender than in an entire car. But it's B.J. so it must be a quality.

[Sauron327]

That place does not do restorations, they just flip cars. One of their cars was the topic of discussion with photos at Team Camaro. Typical for a classic car dealer. I've seen local cars before and after they landed at a dealer and know what's under the paint.

Vince, the car is listed on eBay (in-case you're interested)...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Chevrolet-Camaro/131469409831?_trksid=p2060778.c100276.m3476&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%




3D1%26asc%3D20140725133649%26meid%3De3ddd405f76f410baaa4545fa9cf2047%26pid%3D100276%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D4%26mehot%3Dpp%26sd%3D221725446142

 

Paul

[BULLITT65]

Hey just ran across this current listing:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Chevrolet-Camaro-Z28-/171737097679?forcerrptr=true&hash=item27fc5425cf&item=171737097679

Maybe they used the same body shop, only this time they only goofed on one fender...

But then ran the rear stripes right up to the glass, to " top" it off.

[ko-lek-tor]

Another. Incredible! How does this happen? http://www.ebay.com/itm/Chevrolet-Camaro-RS-SS-/191547492530?forcerrptr=true&hash=item2c991ec8b2&item=191547492530#ht_3972wt_1312

[69Z28-RS]

well..  .. maybe a bit too much alcohol before they installed those emblems??

[Kelley W King]

 lot of flippers and just people that do not know take cars to body shops, not restoration shops. I wonder about these cars on TV and other places that are done in a week, just what do they look like a year later. Years ago I had some body work done on my corvette and the guy just gellcoated for me to paint. When picking it up I asked how long should I wait to prime sand and paint. He said as long as you can. When I questioned that, he said well a year would be best. Well I did not and later I found out why he said it. My last one was primed in the spring and I took it home and let it sit in the sun all summer before paint. This one looks good

[z28z11]

well..  .. maybe a bit too much alcohol before they installed those emblems??

I suspect some will hire anyone that walks in off the street, sober or not. If you can hold a piece of sandpaper with one hand, you're eligible.

Don't take it wrong - like any other business, good employees are hard to find, harder to keep sometimes. Way of all things -

[rich69rs]

Paint / body / striping can be done correctly - time, money, and attention to detail on everyone's part.  No place to cut corners.

http://www.camaros.org/forum/index.php?topic=11835.0

[68camaroz28]

Some look dang good but what's underneath can be, well simply said, bad news. I've seen some bondo warriors! As previously noted, any good shop will document for both the customer and themselves the process. I must have a couple thousand pictures of my restoration.

[janobyte]

My buddy who shot my car has some pics of others work he has corrected. Pretty cars initially , but a lot of filler discovered underneath. Believe it or not , a clean one was a rare find 30 years ago, in NE Ohio anyway. Unless it wore a special badge or primarily  was a Drag car, it was nothing unique seeing them in ruddy brown primer rotting away in a field or junk yard for that matter. When I was hitting some meets in the late 80's early 90's the cars around me were already on their 1st build. Guys would question me about the Z still wearing it's original paint. And that was a long time ago. I have posted before, as has many, have the car inspected before buying. Not that my car is going to be on the chopping block anytime soon, but if it was ,I would see no problem going in halves with a potential buyer to have the car professionally inspected.

Also brings up a question on certification. How long is the time frame before one questions the validity? One would think if your shelling out 50-60-70K+( and up) for a car ,for a few grand you would have JM standing next to you. But I'm a cynic.

[dannystarr]

Totally agree... I was looking at a car that was certified by Jerry, but the paper work was 13 years old! How do I know the engine, trans, and rear are STILL what was in it during that inspection. That doesn't include the other 4 or 5 big ones... Smog, Dist., Water Pump, Carb, Generator etc. I learned a valuable lesson many years ago that I am STILL paying for... D

[VINCE Z28]

Also be aware that it might take Jerry weeks to get out to the west coast to certify your car. In my case it was something like two months.I was the seller and the buyer was paying to certify the car.

[janobyte]

It's sad when you here stories of the retired couple who finally buy the car of their dreams, only to find it needs more $$$ to get it right. And, via these reality shows, dirty nasty undercarriages are becoming par for the course! "Drivers" they call them. I call it " little attention to detail" or "short cutting"  Perfumed Pigs...