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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / Need Restoration Shop

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Posted By Discussion Topic: Need Restoration Shop     coupeguy 02-03-2012 @ 10:04 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 1 Joined: Feb 2012 I would like to buy and restore a 32 to 34 3 or 5 window coupe. I am not a mechanic and I don't have the space available to do the work myself. Is there a reliable shop in Southern California that can do this kind of work? I want to restore the car and not hotrod it so it is important the the work be done authenically. Hope someone can recommend a good shop. CharlieStephens 02-03-2012 @ 2:04 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 888 Joined: Oct 2009 I have lived my entire life in Southern California. I bought in 1969, restored and still have a '32 roadster. I have never heard of the type of shop you are looking for. You will probably have to settle for buying a copy of the restoration guidelines from the club and after studying up going to various shops that specialize in the part you are working on (body, paint, frame, engine, upholstry). If you are not already in a local chapter of the club you should consider joining one. The contacts are in the front of the roster. I would like to mention that it would be a good idea to get a handle on the cost of the whole project as it is often cheaper to buy one that is finished or nearly finished. One final thought, you should enable your PM and email. Charlie Stephens This message was edited by CharlieStephens on 2-3-12 @ 2:06 PM TonyM 02-03-2012 @ 2:50 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 458 Joined: Sep 2010 There are no shops in So Cal that can restore old Fords? Coupe Guy, Check Hemmings Motor News in the Services Offered Section. You might be able to find someone. This message was edited by TonyM on 2-3-12 @ 2:51 PM Stroker 02-03-2012 @ 3:24 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1460 Joined: Oct 2009 With all the greatest respect for Charlie's advice, particularly buying the best example which experience will show is the least costly in the long run.....I, (A So-Cal native), would also suggest that if there was any geographical area in the US where you can find "ANYTHING" it would be SoCal. As with all professional services, quality comes with a price. I'm sure Jay Leno's collection, or Nick Alexanders former woodie collection came at great cost. I'd take Charlie's advice to buy the best, most complete and original vehicle as a starting point. Second, I'd join your nearest EV8 Regional Club, as the members generally are a good starting point on who, in your area can be trusted. Third, since our economy is still not "roaring", I'd be willing to speculate that it's probably not a bad time to "negotiate" trjford8 02-03-2012 @ 8:46 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 4215 Joined: Oct 2009 I would also add to the comments by others that buying a nicely resored car is far cheaper than paying someone to restore your car.In addition you can drive the restored car now and not 5-6 years from now. Depending on your age, time is of the essence for many of us. Join the V-8 Club and also join a regional group in So Cal. The V-8 Times magazine has many ads in it with nicely restored cars. If you are new to the hobby take an experienced V-8er with you when you go to look at car for sale. Having someone inspect the car can save you a lot of money down the road. In today's economy there are some good bargains out there on old cars. 32-34 coupes are pricey, so be prepared even in a bad economy. The three window will be much more expensive than the 5 window. Old Henry 02-03-2012 @ 10:09 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 738 Joined: Apr 2010 As any owner of any early V8 Ford will tell you, even after you think you have the car as good as it can possibly get and spent as much as you possibly can (and way more than you ever thought you'd spend) it just keeps coming. Keep in mind that these old Fords only had a 90 day warranty. That was it. A huge part of the Ford income stream was from the thousands of company garages that thrived on the constant maintenance and repairs needed for these cars. There is a long list of maintenance required every 1,000 miles, another for every 5,000 and another for every 10,000. The owners manuals were more like shop manuals detailing many maintenance and repairs expected by be performed by the owners that owners of modern cars would never dream to be involved with. To sum it up, buying a classic car of any kind with the expectation that once it's bought and fixed up you just drive it is just not the case. That is probably why most of the "average" (not talking about the minority millionaires that hire all of their work done) classic car owners can only afford to be do-it-yourselfers handling most of the ongoing and never ending maintenance and repairs by themselves and thoroughly enjoy it as an important part of the hobby. It's just a reality to face when buying a classic car and will create a great ongoing expense for someone that is "not a mechanic." All the more reason to buy the most complete and best running car you can afford because that will only be the beginning of the "money pit" that you will find that you have bought. But, as bad as it sounds, it's darn well worth it! Old Henry (The older I get, the better old looks.) This message was edited by Old Henry on 2-3-12 @ 10:20 PM supereal 02-04-2012 @ 10:54 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 Before you embark on any restoration project with a shop, negotiate a written agreement setting out the scope of the work to be completed, at least an estimate of the final cost involved, and a prospective date of completion. You may hear that "we won't know until we get into it", which is often true, but can be the seat of disputes. Any reputable shop should be able to give you at least a "ball park" response. As wisely said above, the best course for anyone not experienced in restoration is to seek a vehicle that is already restored. In 99.9% of the time, it will be the most cost effective way to get into the hobby. Most, if not all, cars are being sold at or below the actual cost invested, not including the extensive labor cost. Do your homework to prevent overpaying, and demand proof of any work done that the seller contends raises the value. This is a great time to buy if both the car and price are right! deuce_roadster 02-04-2012 @ 5:29 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 284 Joined: Oct 2009 coupeguy, If doing the work yourself isn't a particular thrill for you, and you have deep enough pockets to pay someone else to do all that work and research, you would be WAY WAY ahead to do as suggested and buy a properly restored car to begin with. Are you aware of the current costs of things? Would it surprise you to know that primer costs 250/gallon ready to shoot? And to do it properly you need 2 kinds of primer, sealer and surfacer? Magnify this by a factor of 1000 and you will get the idea of the costs involved. If it were me and I had the money, I would go to a few National meets, Hershey in the fall and talk to people. You will see nice cars for sale. Those of us that own these cars ain't that young and they unfortunately DO come up for sale. (Jay Leno and Nick Alexander don't have to worry about costs.)

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