Car Restoration

[fsanford]

So I "rescued" a 68 Pontiac Firebird that was going to be shipped overseas. Long story short the guys deal with a German buyer fell through so took it off a guys hands rather cheaply.

For guys that have done restorations, did any of you try powder coating chrome? Thinking of doing the bumpers in a powder coat black, and paint car a gun metal gray metallic. Also thinking of doing a black candy chrome anybody try this?

Also the quotes i am getting for sanding and painting are like 30K, (I live in Cali, so probably more expensive than other places) but that seems high. No rust, no putty on this car, its an Arizona car originally. Little metal fabrication needed.

 

[BCClone]

So I "rescued" a 68 Pontiac Firebird that was going to be shipped overseas. Long story short the guys deal with a German buyer fell through so took it off a guys hands rather cheaply.

For guys that have done restorations, did any of you try powder coating chrome? Thinking of doing the bumpers in a powder coat black, and paint car a gun metal gray metallic. Also thinking of doing a black candy chrome anybody try this?

Also the quotes i am getting for sanding and painting are like 30K, (I live in Cali, so probably more expensive than other places) but that seems high. No rust, no putty on this car, its an Arizona car originally. Little metal fabrication needed.

If no putty and all original, I'd go with original color for the body. If you want to pimp out the interior, bumpers, what have you then, it wouldn't be as bad to get back to original.

 

[ThatllDoCy]

I watch a lot of Velocity TV, and I believe they did one of these on Overhaulin'.

I'm not you, but if I were, I would start with modernizing the brake system and steering if it is wonky. Keep the original stuff in case you sell, but safety first.

If you dismantle the car for them, and prep the body that will save you a ton of hours of labor.

Congratulations, and have fun with it. I would love to buy an old car and modernize it, but keep the original look mostly in tact. On Overhaulin' Foose almost always gives those old muscle cars a more aggressive stance, tucks the bumper and puts on custom wheels. It's sounds like you have a pretty clean vehicle though.

 

[Entropy]

What type of paint? Is it lacquer? That costs more than modern base/clear and is trickier to shoot.

Resto-mods are pretty popular (old look with modern drive train) but requires a fair amount of fabrication to make happen.

If it's a numbers matching car (original drivetrain, body, color, etc.) it's usually worth more in that state.

 

[kingcy]

We need to see before and after pictures.

 

[mywayorcyway]

So I "rescued" a 68 Pontiac Firebird that was going to be shipped overseas. Long story short the guys deal with a German buyer fell through so took it off a guys hands rather cheaply.

For guys that have done restorations, did any of you try powder coating chrome? Thinking of doing the bumpers in a powder coat black, and paint car a gun metal gray metallic. Also thinking of doing a black candy chrome anybody try this?

Also the quotes i am getting for sanding and painting are like 30K, (I live in Cali, so probably more expensive than other places) but that seems high. No rust, no putty on this car, its an Arizona car originally. Little metal fabrication needed.

You've probably figured this out with a little quick googling, but estimating a paint job is nearly impossible unless you're going the Maaco route. That said, $30K sounds really, really high, even for a show quality finish. There is a tremendous amount of prep on a car that old and it will be very expensive, but I would keep shopping. If the car is as you say it is, I'd be hard pressed to believe it would be more than $20K.

The most recent car I saw done was a 70 Chevelle that had some rust on all of the panels, with three of them needing to be replaced entirely. It was a frame off restoration including interior, and that ran $60K+...and that didn't include the engine work.

Stuff is expensive!

 

[fsanford]

We need to see before and after pictures.

So here is the before. I had a new holly carb put on her, new disc breaks, new fan, new suspension, pretty much everything done to make it so you could go on a nice long cruise. The next step is the paint and chrome/powder coat.

The interior is original, will not change much. Maybe a few cosmetic things.

 

[fsanford]

What type of paint? Is it lacquer? That costs more than modern base/clear and is trickier to shoot.

Resto-mods are pretty popular (old look with modern drive train) but requires a fair amount of fabrication to make happen.

If it's a numbers matching car (original drivetrain, body, color, etc.) it's usually worth more in that state.

Gonna try to keep her pretty stock, paint is a modern base/clear coat.

The big ticket item is the block sanding after after any fab work, , they are quoting 100 hours at $84 per..

 

[clone34]

I have done a few cars. My advice is drive it and have fun with it. After paint you will be petrified of scratching it. I understand not wanting to clean chrome all of the time. I wouldn't black chrome over original bumpers. Maybe aftermarket ones. It looks like an amazing ride and in great shape. Cruise that bad boy and have a great time with it.

 

[Cyclones_R_GR8]

So here is the before. I had a new holly carb put on her, new disc breaks, new fan, new suspension, pretty much everything done to make it so you could go on a nice long cruise. The next step is the paint and chrome/powder coat.

The interior is original, will not change much. Maybe a few cosmetic things.

That is freaking sweet. It's in incredible shape.

 

[dmclone]

My god, $30K for a paint job seems nuts. I would have guessed $10k at the most.

 

[arobb]

That is a sweet ride that looks to be in incredible shape. Personally, If that's the original paint, i wouldn't repaint it unless there were some major problems and i definitely wouldn't paint over the chrome . Like others have said, just drive it and enjoy it for what it is, and congrats on finding such a nice old car. Would you be willing to share what you paid for it?

 

[kingcy]

That is freaking sweet. It's in incredible shape.

Looks damn good. Very sharp already.

 

[ThatllDoCy]

I don't think you should feel compelled to do anything, it looks great.

 

[ThatllDoCy]

Also, how about some pics of the engine.

 

[southernfriedCY]

Clone34 is a wise man, just drive it and enjoy it. As an investment, that car is at it's peak worth right now. I have exactly the same situation right now with a 67 rs/ss Camaro 350 4speed. Looks great from 10 feet, and as soon as I paint that thing, I know I won't want to drive it for fear of paint chips. I've modernized some things that make it safe and enjoyable to drive, and that's how it's going to stay.

Nice Firebird, btw. Love the black birds!

 

[BCClone]

I agree with others. Drive it and have fun. Restore it later it you really want to. It's in great condition per the photos already

 

[CyPlainsDrifter]

Yup, you're getting good advice here. If you ever have plans on recovering any part of your "investment" do not dump a bunch of money in this car, and especially don't pay more for paint then the car is worth. If you have money to burn and don't mind losing your ***** on it, then do whatever your heart desires. People who restore/customize cars as a hobby rarely come out on the plus side. I have seen scads of sweet custom and restored rides sold for a mere fraction of what the owner spent on the build. If you decide to fix it up and can't do 100% of the work yourself, sit down and figure out how long it will take and how much it will cost and then multiple both by 3 or 4 and you might end up close to reality, if you're lucky.

 

[fsanford]

That is a sweet ride that looks to be in incredible shape. Personally, If that's the original paint, i wouldn't repaint it unless there were some major problems and i definitely wouldn't paint over the chrome . Like others have said, just drive it and enjoy it for what it is, and congrats on finding such a nice old car. Would you be willing to share what you paid for it?

$7500.00 I was fortunate to be in the right place at the right time.

Guy was in a bind. I also had a family member who is a police officer run the vin for me to make sure it wasn't stolen, given that it was bound for Europe.

I went to the guys place (warehouse) and its kind of sad to see dozens of classic American cars shipping to Europe and Australia. Lots of Ford Mustangs, Road Runners, Super Bee's, GTO's. Apparently its a pretty big business

Appreciate the input, I think I will just drive it for awhile as all of you suggest.. Gonna do some car cruises and events later this summer.

Will allow me to save $$ for a awhile ( a long while) should I ever paint it. And if I don't paint, maybe will save enough to buy a vintage Charger or Road Runner, though not expecting the deal I got on this one.

 

[Entropy]

Gonna try to keep her pretty stock, paint is a modern base/clear coat.

The big ticket item is the block sanding after after any fab work, , they are quoting 100 hours at $84 per..

The fab work I can understand the cost. The block sanding? I don't know. I think they see old car restoration and they start adding zeroes on the end. I called it "The Corvette Tax" when I used to own one. Everything was more expensive for those cars (even things like water pumps).

Also, $7500! That is a steal for a vehicle in that shape. I'm not as big a fan of the auto transmission, but that's a great cruiser.