[HWYSTR455]

Originally Posted by tom s

I broke my own rule on this last car.NEVER buy a car that needs body work.Scratch and shoot maybe but NO serious body work.Tom

Yeah, I totally agree with this. Body & paint is labor intensive, and is expensive. Not to mention getting good body/paint work done is a massive challenge. Most collision shops will do more damage than good, and a resto shop charges 10x or more. Not to mention how long it will take.

You certainly can buy cars done for way less than building them, at least when it comes to body & paint. How many times have you heard someone say they are buying a car for a donor engine, trans, or differential? That's because after all that time, money, and effort the previous owner put into it still wouldn't justify spending the money to get the body and paint done.

I was watching Mecum a few weeks ago, Harrisburg I think it was, and saw some very nice stuff go across the block in the mid-20s to mid-30s range. My jaw was dropping and out loud said 'Can't even build one for that'. Shoot, for twice that even.

You definitely save big doing as much as you can yourself. And seeing some of the work shops around here folks say are 'good' makes me feel I can do it better, without ever doing any body work in my life. It's sad, and frustrating.

Sadly, to get a car to the 'next level', 9 times out of 10, requires body and paint. Just about every hobbyist can bolt stuff on, or swap an engine, but where do most cars you see in the local burger joint cruise lack? Yeah, body & paint. But once that's done, usually, it will last a long time, and at most just require a scuff & shoot in the current owner's life time.

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