I'm in the same boat as you, broke but still wanting a nice car.

I chose to buy all the equipment and do it myself because I know the car is done "right" and by the time I get done I will have learned volumes and that my friend is priceless.

One thing to be aware of is this guy who does the work on the cheap still needs to make some scratch for himself so that means cut corners.
Sounds kind of like a bondo king, you know the type, stuff a hole with newspaper and slather the plastic on.

When it comes down to it, you need to ask yourself what you want out of the car?
Then ask yourself how long do you think it will take you to finish it. Then multiply that number by at least 3.

At that point would it be cost effective to rent equipment?

 

thats what im worried about. i dont want a ****ty body ive spent alot on the mechanical aspects of the car and i want her exterior to reflect that time and care.

my only concern is that i don't have a paint booth or large enough garage with ventilation so i'd be doing this either out on my driveway or my grandfathers driveway that has a car port but no sides to it.

any articles and advice would be golden for me :welcome:

 

Regarding the garage situation depending on what type of paint you're looking at (metallic, bc/cc, SS) you might be able to get away with painting it out in the driveway.
I'm contemplating painting my beast outside using a single stage paint.
That way I can put some layers on and color sand out all the bugs and what not that may have found their way into the paint.
Just make sure to check with your environmental laws, some places really frown on painting outside.

Quick question, have you ever seen this other guys work?

 

no he just opened up his own "place" i heard about him by word of mouth. see i needed help installing my new engine so i found by word of mouth at my autoparts store about this guy who was good.

turns out his garage is like a shack behind a used car lot but it turns out he knows what he's doing (he's also not entirely legal) and he did the job great.

when i mentioned to them my thinking about doing the body work myself he said his cousin just came in to texas and hes does body work but because he and his partner aren't here legally they can't charge what they would normaly charge so people get a job done for substantially less.

ive never actually seen his work, i don't even know if he has any work to show really

 

i say hire the illegal immigrant --put an american citzen out of work---

when daddy finishes putting you thru school-- go look for a job

 

i say hire the illegal immigrant --put an american citzen out of work---

when daddy finishes putting you thru school-- go look for a job

dude what's your problem. i didn't ask for the OPINION of *** holes. i have a job but college isn't cheap.

 

not rocket science---start sanding

Sand paper and elbow grease, get to it. In one day you'll find the extent of the rust and how deep it is. Get some metal prep and clean the metal after sanding. Tack weld some sheet metal to shore up the body work if needed. There are people around that can assist. Check out Technical schools Auto body shops if on a budjet. Body filler is not difficult; sand it down and reapply to the imperfections. If you can't decide to paint yourself or another, pay for the painting. Most of the labor is the repair and time. You don't need to spend $1K. I agree, keep an American working. Give students a project. I have done all my work myself. 60 Belair, 46 chev pu, jaguar

rodder

 

If this guy works in a shack behind a used car lot, he's a quickie bodywork dude- I've seen what goes on in those shacks and it ain't right. I'm afraid you'll be sorely disappointed with his work.

If you do the bodywork right, you'll know it's right. Maybe you can bring him the prepped, stripped vehicle, and some quality materials and let him shoot it. My gut tells me to not let him touch the bodywork.

There's nothing wrong with shooting in a carport, either, if you pick the right day and time.

An old buddy of mine had a Cuda back in the day and paid one of these guys to "restore" it for him. When he got it back, it looked perfect-perfect . About a year later the paint started flaking off the rear quarters and what do you think was underneath it? There was gallons and gallons of bondo there. :smash: At that point, he started to network to find someone to do it right, and started to save some money, but he lent the car to his cousin, who used it to move a couple hundred pounds of marijuana across state lines, and the feds impounded the car and he never got it back.

 

Hey. About the carport. If you go to home depot and get some plastic sheating in the rolls you can cover in three sides or all four. Cut vent holes and another tip. Before you start final prep and begin painting saturate the ground and surrounding areas with water. It keeps the dust down and particules from floating into your paint. Just a tip or two. Hope it helps

 

i say hire the illegal immigrant --put an american citzen out of work---

when daddy finishes putting you thru school-- go look for a job

Ain't that the truth, and a good reason why there are fewer
good paying jobs left. As if the wages body techs get, which isn't a clean or easy job, aren't low enough compared to other skilled trades out there already. Being an american, you should be thinking more of calling him in then considering taking work to him.

If your going to try to save money, at least try to find and give the work to some legal american who will do it on the side, and can do it a little cheaper because of low overhead. Many body techs do (yes even ones with years of experience that can produce pretty good work at home). One because they don't all get the great pay, regardless how expensive the work is (blame a lot on material costs, equiptment and regulations a legit shop has to comply with). Two, now with the economy many techs out there may have cut hours.

If this illegal has no problems with coming into the country illegally and will work in some shack illegally, how comfortable do you feel he wouldn't screw you or run off with your money somehow given the chance. What happens if you gave him cash and the feds crack down on him?

I know it sucks being broke, but we don't always get what we want or have to scrape and save or make sacrafices to get it. Which is why, even though I'd like to, why my engine is not at my favorite machine shop getting machined right now, since I am on unemployment.

Are there any skills you can offer? Maybe you could somehow work out a trade to save some money. I've considered putting an add on craigslist (but watch out for illegals and paint gypsys there as well, they often can't spell or take the time to write a coherent sentance) offering to trade a fair amount of bodywork for a good engine for the truck. And I got the truck in the first place a couple years ago for a paint job for a previous customer.

 

i understand the negative views towards hiring this guy...trust me..

my concern is all the body shops i go to are charging me close to what i paid for the car for the body and paint work.

now that she's running at a decent pace what's left is the interior and the body.

like i said i'm a 20 year old MALE FULL TIME COLLEGE STUDENT.

that means my car means alot to me and yet i'm broke most of the time.

the girls like the car now but they'll love the car once she's got good paint and rust free body.

so when as i'm saving up for the imminent task my fears are:

i know i'm gonna need to weld patches in, but i dont know how to weld
i know i'm gonna need to find the sheet metal but i can't find it pre made online so far.
i know i'm gonna end up painting her by myself but ive never painted anything except my kitchen and living room. let alone dealing with the multiple coats of different paints primers and clear coats that i know nothing about.

 

I would recommend that you do the DYI deal..There are a number of people here over the years who have done so and have now beautiful cars..

From what has been described there is most likely a number of rust areas on that car that need attention or replacement..those years of GM are known for rusting..

Sam

 

i understand the negative views towards hiring this guy...trust me..

my concern is all the body shops i go to are charging me close to what i paid for the car for the body and paint work.

now that she's running at a decent pace what's left is the interior and the body.

like i said i'm a 20 year old MALE FULL TIME COLLEGE STUDENT.

that means my car means alot to me and yet i'm broke most of the time.

the girls like the car now but they'll love the car once she's got good paint and rust free body.

so when as i'm saving up for the imminent task my fears are:

i know i'm gonna need to weld patches in, but i dont know how to weld
i know i'm gonna need to find the sheet metal but i can't find it pre made online so far.
i know i'm gonna end up painting her by myself but ive never painted anything except my kitchen and living room. let alone dealing with the multiple coats of different paints primers and clear coats that i know nothing about.

hang in there and just take it a step at a time..

Sam

 

ok now that you understand the illeagle worker part -- heres my idea-- --this is your first body repair and paint job--

sand down the rust and repair with bondo-- sand bondo and whole car -- spot primer-- shoot a coat of acrylic emamel with a hardner on it --

you will have done all the work and you will have learned a lot--

to morrow im shooting my 1966 galaxie with acrylic enamel [black]-- and iv painted cars off and on for 35 years--

in a month or 3 ill wet sand and buff--


good luck with yours and dont be afraid to try it your self -- what the hell its only a paint job --you can do it over as many times as you want --

 

It's the American way , find a guy down on his luck (way down)...struggling..barely making it weeek to week and then keep him down there by paying him some beer money and food stamps and say you'll tell all your friends if he does a good job..







This is a do it yourself forum :sweat:

 

alright i think its been established by now that i'm gonna venture on it by myself. i just dont wanna **** it up because mistakes cost money.

by the posts on here i now know its feesible to do it on your own.

i just have no experience in welding, or auto painting so the continued input does help me out.

the steps are very confusing to me. plus i dont know how much all of this will ballpark cost me.

again i don't know where to get the metal for the patches i'll be needting to weld in when i cut out the rust spots.

 

again i don't know where to get the metal for the patches i'll be needting to weld in when i cut out the rust spots.

I pick pine up from Home Depot or tractor supply, someplace like that.
They sell it in sheets that are like 1.5'x2' or something like that, it isn't quite the same gauge thickness as the stock stuff but then again repop parts arent either, and being thinner it is a bit easier to work with.
Be sure not to get galvanized stuff if you plan on welding it, that stuff creates poisonous fumes.

Total costs are going to depend a lot of the color you choose, brand and how much material you are going to buy.
I just bought a quart of Omni epoxy primer, sand paper and all the goodies needed to paint up the inside of my quarter panels for about $150 the other day.
Mind you this price was for some supplies that i wont need to buy again for a while like: Sand paper, solvents, mixing cups, sanding blocks, bondo spreaders ect.

And keep this in mind, plastic(bondo) can hide a LOT of ugly body work.
My car is a perfect example, looked ok when I bought it but when I stripped it I couldnt believe how bad the welds were and just the amount of crap work that stuff covered.

I didn't have any experience welding or doing body work before I started tearing into my car, but by practicing and working on the parts of the car that are less noticible first you can get in some practice before tackling the stuff that will be seen.
If you have specific questions this site is a great place to find answers, just ask!

 

Should I...

Good move, THIS IS A DO IT YOURSELF FORUM, ABSOLUTELY! There is plenty of help here, everyone will get you through it without charge.

Start with 60-80 grit sand paper and a block of wood. Remove the necessary trim if you can and sand away to the metal. If you need to trim the rust out, use a tin snips (wear gloves). Home improvement stores or autobody shops have sheet metal. Guess the thickness and ask for help. You can rivet them in place, but the bond will creat an environment to start more rusting later. Weld if you can. The sheet metal can be trimmed and formed with a vise-grip, hammer, any tool you can think of. Give us pictures to help you out. Think ahead about the prep-work. Ask here again before you start. You'll be fine. The jobs always look ugly before its polished.

 

I can not recommend enough, LEAVE IT THE WAY IT IS and wait until you are through with school and have a real job and OR a real place to do it. If you have a real job you can afford to have a REAL bodyman with a real shop do it. If you can't afford that maybe you will have a REAL place to do it yourself and do so.

At this point you should be focusing on your studies and use this old car for what it was meant for, to get you around while going to college.

Letting a guy do the work under the circumstances you have described sounds like a HUGE disaster waiting to happen. I can see the car in a million pieces and bare metal and the guy gets rounded up by immigration and you end up with a half done mess. Or the car gets half done and the guy simply finds out that he is in over his head and has to tell you to take it because he has "real" work in the form of quicker money makers coming in.

Listen to someone with gray hair and has learned a few things, LEAVE THE DAMN CAR ALONE AND WAIT FOR A BETTER TIME IN LIFE TO DO IT.

Brian

 

abrian - totally agrre with you --
but

if this guy wants to make his car look better untill then -- bondo the holes do a good sand job on it and shoot a couple coats of paint -- wet sand and buff-- it will last him for 10 years -- or untill he gets out of school and gets a real job--

btw there --whats your major jagarcia

 

drive it the way it is, till your done school, don't get caught up in the fashion show. girls are not interested in cars, their interested in "you" the car is the ice breaker to meet them. find some matching touch up paint and do one panel at a time or scratch or dent this will give you good practice in body work. dont worry about screwing up you can do it again.

 

body work

Young man if its rusted out and needs pieces cut out welded back in good luck like some others said drive it and enjoy school you will be out in the real world before you know it. some would have you believe there is nothing to body work but I know better as I am working a 37 Ford HT that I had a real body man working on until he decided to quit and work on his own 34 so any one doing work on the side as we like to say can quit at any time and call you to come pick yours up and you still got a mess now if its a take it off put it back on job you probably won't have a problem but any thing else goood luck!

39 OLDROD

 

Better drive it and enjoy it now cause with the way things are going, your car will only be allowed to be a flower pot for the front yard ................ as to the ladies , they are only interested in you bank account ............period!!!!

And PLENTY of easy sheep to pick from .....

 

abrian - totally agrre with you --
but

if this guy wants to make his car look better untill then -- bondo the holes do a good sand job on it and shoot a couple coats of paint -- wet sand and buff-- it will last him for 10 years -- or untill he gets out of school and gets a real job--

btw there --whats your major jagarcia

im majoring in nursing

 

I pick pine up from Home Depot or tractor supply, someplace like that.
They sell it in sheets that are like 1.5'x2' or something like that, it isn't quite the same gauge thickness as the stock stuff but then again repop parts arent either, and being thinner it is a bit easier to work with.
Be sure not to get galvanized stuff if you plan on welding it, that stuff creates poisonous fumes.

Total costs are going to depend a lot of the color you choose, brand and how much material you are going to buy.
I just bought a quart of Omni epoxy primer, sand paper and all the goodies needed to paint up the inside of my quarter panels for about $150 the other day.
Mind you this price was for some supplies that i wont need to buy again for a while like: Sand paper, solvents, mixing cups, sanding blocks, bondo spreaders ect.

And keep this in mind, plastic(bondo) can hide a LOT of ugly body work.
My car is a perfect example, looked ok when I bought it but when I stripped it I couldnt believe how bad the welds were and just the amount of crap work that stuff covered.

I didn't have any experience welding or doing body work before I started tearing into my car, but by practicing and working on the parts of the car that are less noticible first you can get in some practice before tackling the stuff that will be seen.
If you have specific questions this site is a great place to find answers, just ask!

right and i thank you all for the help youve provided. it really is great to have a forum like this.