Why I am worried about Body Work Guys in General

[X33RS]

Not everyone has loads of money for high caliber restorations.  Most (I'd say 95%) of the cars you see at the local shows and cruises are of nice driver quality.  Lets face it, the high end 6 figure restorations aren't driven and almost never come out unless the owner wants to knock it down to #2 condition.  Actually the driver quality cars have become more and more frequent as more people want to drive and enjoy rather than sit and stare at the car.

Another fad that has really taken off in the last 5-8 years are original unrestored cars.  I own a couple of those here myself.  After 45+ years they can't compete in restored class competition, but they still present very nicely.  That doesn't mean the car should be or needs to be restored.  I guess to some they are cars that haven't had "attention to detail"    But it's actually quite the opposite.  Lately they have become even more desirable than high end restored cars in some cases. 

It's all about what the owner wants out of his/her car, and I'm not going to bad mouth either way.  As long as they enjoy it, that's what it's all about.

[janobyte]

No, point here is cars being presented as being restored demanding high prices with multi issues covering layers of filler.

If top dollar is being paid for repairs , attention to detail pretty %$# well be a priority of the shop. Now, if the owner wants to cut costs, that's on them. Most legit shops will turn them away not wanting their name associated with the work. More cash in insurance jobs ,that's nothing new.

[ko-lek-tor]

No, point here is cars being presented as being restored demanding high prices with multi issues covering layers of filler.

If top dollar is being paid for repairs , attention to detail pretty %$# well be a priority of the shop. Now, if the owner wants to cut costs, that's on them. Most legit shops will turn them away not wanting their name associated with the work. More cash in insurance jobs ,that's nothing new.

Not disputing anything posted, but I felt the point I wanted to make is: How can someone miss such noticeable details if they are going to the trouble of painting, and by  the 3 examples, the paint looks pretty good, so how could such egregious errors occur if replicating an original look? More so, how can one side to another get so screwed up on the same car? Just makes me want to cringe. When I see work like this, it only makes me wonder what else is wrong. I would at least like a car to look correct even if the work under the paint is sub-standard. My (speaking for many on here), car may not be a 900+ point MACN resto and more of a "driver", but I want details in every aspect to be correct so there is no doubt the car IS what is claimed or represented. I feel it is a disgrace to put this much work into a resto and have it come out like the examples cited, just inexcusable.

[X33RS]

I wasn't referring to that Janobyte, but okay.  

Buyer's need to do their homework.

[X33RS]

No, point here is cars being presented as being restored demanding high prices with multi issues covering layers of filler.

If top dollar is being paid for repairs , attention to detail pretty %$# well be a priority of the shop. Now, if the owner wants to cut costs, that's on them. Most legit shops will turn them away not wanting their name associated with the work. More cash in insurance jobs ,that's nothing new.

Not disputing anything posted, but I felt the point I wanted to make is: How can someone miss such noticeable details if they are going to the trouble of painting, and by  the 3 examples, the paint looks pretty good, so how could such egregious errors occur if replicating an original look? More so, how can one side to another get so screwed up on the same car? Just makes me want to cringe. When I see work like this, it only makes me wonder what else is wrong. I would at least like a car to look correct even if the work under the paint is sub-standard. My (speaking for many on here), car may not be a 900+ point MACN resto and more of a "driver", but I want details in every aspect to be correct so there is no doubt the car IS what is claimed or represented. I feel it is a disgrace to put this much work into a resto and have it come out like the examples cited, just inexcusable.

  Understandable and I agree.  That sort of gets back to what I mentioned before about owners not wanting to (or simply can't afford to) spend the coin to do things correctly, so they go to a substandard shops, and corners are cut, things get missed or just flat out done incorrectly.  Unfortunately when that car goes up forsale the owner quickly finds out those mistakes are very expensive to correct after the fact and it reflects the prices that educated buyers are willing to pay.

[janobyte]

AGREED

[69Z28-RS]

Not everyone has loads of money for high caliber restorations.  Most (I'd say 95%) of the cars you see at the local shows and cruises are of nice driver quality.  Lets face it, the high end 6 figure restorations aren't driven and almost never come out unless the owner wants to knock it down to #2 condition.  Actually the driver quality cars have become more and more frequent as more people want to drive and enjoy rather than sit and stare at the car.

Another fad that has really taken off in the last 5-8 years are original unrestored cars.  I own a couple of those here myself.  After 45+ years they can't compete in restored class competition, but they still present very nicely.  That doesn't mean the car should be or needs to be restored.  I guess to some they are cars that haven't had "attention to detail"    But it's actually quite the opposite.  Lately they have become even more desirable than high end restored cars in some cases. 

It's all about what the owner wants out of his/her car, and I'm not going to bad mouth either way.  As long as they enjoy it, that's what it's all about.

Great post....   

[firstgenaddict]

I do one car at a time so I can devote 100% of my attention, research correct finishes etc...to avoid those issues.  Not trying to sell myself here, just showing both sides of the coin.  It's not always the body shops fault for certain things.  There is alot more behind the scenes that reflect some of the poor decision making.  I run into it quite often and have actually turned work away if I think the customers decisions are detrimental to the end result.  I don't like my name on something that's going to fall apart in 5 years.

The research is what I find interesting, and it is more for my own knowledge and to ensure the car is accurate, than the insistence of the customer as most don't understand many of the little technical differences restorers find interesting.

X2

It takes a lot of effort to duplicate the controlled chaos of an assembly line.

[X33RS]

I do one car at a time so I can devote 100% of my attention, research correct finishes etc...to avoid those issues.  Not trying to sell myself here, just showing both sides of the coin.  It's not always the body shops fault for certain things.  There is alot more behind the scenes that reflect some of the poor decision making.  I run into it quite often and have actually turned work away if I think the customers decisions are detrimental to the end result.  I don't like my name on something that's going to fall apart in 5 years.

The research is what I find interesting, and it is more for my own knowledge and to ensure the car is accurate, than the insistence of the customer as most don't understand many of the little technical differences restorers find interesting.

X2

It takes a lot of effort to duplicate the controlled chaos of an assembly line.

Agree, I also enjoy finding the differences in assembly plants, and within those there are timeframes during production when changes took place, etc...Takes alot of original unrestored cars to document some of these things.  Ford mustangs are some of the more involved when it comes to this.  3 different assembly plants and all 3 did it differently, along with changes in procedures every 2-3 months.  It can be frustrating sometimes.  One example is how Dearborn used "batch paint" for the bottom side of the car (rather than red oxide like San Jose) but the problem with batch paint is that it's basically left over drums of various colors all mixed together (Ford was frugal), and that batch is constantly changing throughout production as you can imagine, as more left over paint is mixed in.  So you need to find an area on the floor (under a plug or clip) that is preserved to color match it....or....find another original unrestored mustang from the same plant and within a week or so of the build time frame to at least get a close color to the batch paint that may have been used at that time.
   Okay I'll quit babbling.

[firstgenaddict]

My dad restores Flathead prewar Fords and he has told me about the Batch mixing and related problems with paint on the early Fords as well...

Henry didn't waste anything, Kingsford Charcoal was started to make use of all the scraps of wood from the early bodies. (Model T's and Model A's used wood through out the body structures and had the sheet metal as the outer skin.)

[X33RS]

Pretty cool stuff.  Neat to meet others on here with a mix of interests.  Your dad into Fords and you're into 1st gens.  Should be interesting conversation around the dinner table 

[BULLITT65]

There are a number of guys on here into other makes and models, we all just happen to all be fans of 1st gen Camaros as well.

[janobyte]

There are a number of guys on here into other makes and models, we all just happen to all be fans of 1st gen Camaros as well.

Other "toy" out back is 2400# full on race 48 Anglia. I love earlier Ford trucks. Want a TRI 5 Gasser. Dad's picking at a 38 International with SBC ,shortened bed ,Fatman Fab front end...who don't dig Mustangs??

[X33RS]

That is refreshing to hear.

[firstgenaddict]

I like firstgenabout anything...
First gen Shelby Mustang fastbacks!  
First Gen Z16 Chevelles!

I grew up working on Flathead Fords... my dad used to say... A 67 Camaro isn't an old car, I had one new!