Professional restoration shops length of time to finish car data

[Smos001]

Need some help,

Doing some research on people's experiences with the length of time it took to finish their full restoration on their car or trucks at a professional shop. 

Love to hear your story. 

-Type of car or truck

-Type of restoration: stock, modified, custom build, full or partial restoration. 

-Length of time it took from start to finish

-Any issues you had during the build

I  don't want the name of the shop. just the information. I just want to get some data. 

Thanks for you help,

[1937hd45]

Main issue is the customers ability to pay $1,000 - 2,000 per week until the project is finished, simple. Bob

[70sWagoneers]

I work in a professional shop, it takes forever

[padgett]

So it costs $1k-$2k/week to free a garage space at home & have a potential car your heirs will either sell for peanuts or have Dan Short declare it was done wrong.

[joe_padavano]

I don't have first hand info, but I do know that high-end shops like White Post are frequently delayed by the car-owner's funding constraints. Delays due to money are not really applicable to the length of time it takes to actually work on the car.

[60FlatTop]

Define professional restoration shop first.

[alsancle]

2 hours ago, 1937hd45 said:

Main issue is the customers ability to pay $1,000 - 2,000 per week until the project is finished, simple. Bob

 

Bob, you are thinking about the 1970s when you were working at a shop.

 

To the original poster,  your question is WAY to generic.  You need to specify the car and its starting condition.

[Smos001]

Thanks Alsancle,

I will try to be more specific. 

Professional shop: I would say a shop that is not a home shop or a side business. A shop that has a business license and does this as their main focus. That they employ people to do classic car restoration work on your vehicle.

Type of restoration: Information about time it takes to do a full restoration. Nut and bolt, rotisserie restoration. Paint, body, mechanical, etc. everything done. Looks  and runs factory fresh. (but, I will take info if you had a partial. just state what was done and how long)

Type of vehicle: any full restoration car or truck. custom or stock OEM. would love to hear about all. I know the times will be different. 

Please give me the time in months  and or years.

Assumption is you can pay on a time. The customer is not a factor in the time calculation.

Much appreciate all inputs.

Thanks

 

[Mark Simmons]

I would add to this as alsancle said the condition of, type of, and year of the car that is being restored,modified,etc. A Ford model "A"versus a Packard or Buick is a world of difference. Also the level of work a shop has produced in the past(reputation) can add to the price or not depending on what level the owner is willing to accept. Quality always takes time and time equals dollars. 

[Rusty_OToole]

Last April I took my 66 Dodge to a body shop. I estimate it should take 1 - 2 weeks to fix, based on 50 years of fixing cars, 20 of them spent working in a body shop. The car still isn't done. Although it was promised it would be done shortly 3 or 4 times. This is typical.

[28 Chrysler]

I have had to reverse engineer missing parts for low production cars ( Elcar 6 ) & 1920s boats.

A car that is made to look straight with body filler and bolt on aftermarket parts takes much less time.

Professional means that they make their living off their job,  sometimes  it has little to do with the  final outcome.

[60FlatTop]

1 hour ago, Mark Simmons said:

A Ford model "A"versus a Packard or Buick is a world of difference.

 

Even that might be too generic.

[edinmass]

Ok, let's pick two or three cars.

 

1915 Ford T touring, done in one years time, decent barn find. One year and 135,000.00 all in except car cost

1932 Cadillac  V-12 Limo, one years time, decent barn fine, 575,000.00 all in except car cost. Not Pebble quaility, but close. Add 150,000 more for Pebble Beach.

1957 Chevy convertible, one years time, decent barn find, 325,000.00 all in except car cost, correct and not over restored.

 

 

1929 Rolls Royce P1 Conv Sedan, one years time, decent barn find, 875,000.00 all in except car cost, Pebble Beach restoration.

 

 

These are accurate numbers using the top ten shops in the country that do this type work in a one year time frame. If it's a two year time frame figure a fifteen to twenty percent savings tops.

 

Year,make,model,Series can vary cost as much as forty to fifty percent on the same car......I.E. Roadster vs Conv Sedan VS Limo.

Edited August 26, 2017 by edinmass (see edit history)

[Steve Moskowitz]

In my opinion this is way to general.  There are so many factors that go into a job.  How many employees does a shop have?  What work are they equipped to do?  Some do their own interior work and then some farm it out and that can end up in huge delays.  How rare is the car and how hard are parts to find?  What condition is the car in to start?  There are so many variables in certain restorations.  I know a shop who has refused to do a job unless the paint can go through a full season of heat and cold before they put the final coats on.  Of course, everyone is right about payments to shops.  Never heard of one that did not have a customer get cold feet at some time during the restoration based upon costs.  Look at the cost of paint and chrome today compared to 20 years ago!

 

What you see on TV is not the norm for most restoration shops and someone should plan on a couple of years at least and then add some more time to it as things never go the way you expect. 

[39BuickEight]

I know folks who have paid shops to restore their cars, and this answer won't help, but it's what it know:

 

it depends

 

 

it depends on how on how bad the car was to start with

it depends on how hard parts are to source

it depends on whether the owner wants a concours car or simply a nice car

it depends on the quality and organization of the shop

it depends on the availability of funds

it depends on how many employees are working on it and what they know

it depends on the adaptability and understanding of the shop and owner

 

it depends of everything

 

Every project is unique and every shop is unique.

 

a few months to several years

[Smos001]

 Thanks,

I understand about the specifics and the variables involved can affect the time.

Much appreciate anyone's story about their restoration time.

I agree, if you could add  any details  to your story about the  car, the state it was in prior to the restoration, type of restoration, quality, etc.that would be great.

Tell me your story about your car, the type of shop and the time it took.

This would be great. Edinmass reply was a great example. Thanks. keep it coming. I thank you all for your information and discussion.

 

 

 

[edinmass]

Money is the only factor in getting a car done, and even unlimited funds still limits most shops to a one year restoration. Five years is not uncommon, many shops slot their time to what the customer can afford per month. Theus, even with a decent car and an unlimited budget, you won't get a car worked on right away, the big shops often work one and two years out with big projects. Many shops don't like the time/show/judging pressure and will refuse total restorations with stated goals and time frame. Open ended answer to your question is a cheap common early car like a Ford would be 150k in a year, complicated multi cylinder CCCA exotic with lots of problems could easily run 900k and a basket case could add another 500k easy. A post war car with lots of production and easy to source parts New and used figure 200k to 350k without unusual problems/severe chrome issues. The only easy cars to do are Ford T's and A's, Mustangs and Camero's, and a few fifties cars like T birds and such. Oddball post war cars and exotics can run MUCH more. As others said, your question is too broad. Figure any restoration will put you under water by three times is a good rule, unless your doing a seven figure car, where numbers often work out better, but still the numbers game can be all over the place.

[Rusty_OToole]

Speaking of payment... on the above simple paint job, which should have been paid for after it was finished, I have already paid 4 or 5 partial payments plus paid for all paint and materials. Every time some work is done, the guy calls me and I pay him, in cash, the same day. He knows I am good for the money because he has done cars for me before. The reason we do it this way is, I tried paying in advance and found to my sorrow, that he will shove my job out in the back yard and work on someone else's car (who doesn't pay him) if I do.

 

In other words I pay a down payment in advance, and pay all bills in cash as soon as any work is done and he still won't work on my car. This is typical, I have run into the same thing before. Especially with body men for some reason.

 

For you professional shop owners I would appreciate your advice on how to get your colleagues to keep their promises and do the work they agreed to do.

[mercer09]

Rusty,

I would find another shop or pay a bit more. the aggravation wouldnt be worth it to me.

[cahartley]

The absolute WORST mistake anyone can make is paying ANYTHING in advance.

I had a customer who would come in every now and then and pay me $200-$300 in advance just so he wouldn't get bills.......he HATED bills.

I hated taking his money because everything I did for him felt like I was working for nothing.

Incentive goes right out the window.

You have to keep them hungry to get results....... 

[chistech]

I am currently restoring early Chevy cars and other GM cars as a hobby business. I do full frame off, rotisserie restorations to simple interior and roof work. A full restoration takes me a year and this biggest reason is im always waiting for the body shop, plater, and machine shop. I will not keep more than two cars in my shop at a time but will take in other, quick fill in jobs while waiting on the above three. I have a 31 that I'm still waiting for the radiator shell to come back so I can finish up the chassis and get it running. The body is still out for paint and they're 2 months behind where they should be. Even with the other shops holding me up, I've pretty much been able to stay on the one year timetable with full restorations. Other jobs I've even gotten back to the customers early. If I do a job that doesn't require any outside work, I usually deliver quicker than the time estimate I give. I've had numerous calls recently as many are discouraged at how long and how expensive it is at most restoration shops. I do not really advertise and by mainly word of mouth, people have learned of me. I've actually seen a huge spike in calls over the last month or two and from clear across the country from me. I do work alone but my brother will be starting with me soon as we're both getting close to retirement so I'm looking into growing the restoration business possibly.

[mercer09]

Wow Ed, those numbers are double what I would have thought.

 

but you are obviously in the know.

[auburnseeker]

I have a friend that does restorations full time.  It takes him about 6 months it seems.  He usually works on 2 cars at once,  so he can take a break on one or wait for parts.  Sometimes a third appears for a small fill in  couple day job.  He does mechanical, electrical, paint and body.  He also puts in interiors but doesn't actually sew them up.  Pretty much every car I have seen come in,  gets totally stripped to a shell, off the chassis,  That and the body if necessary gets blasted, though he prefers to strip paint with a razor blade, then it all starts from there.  He's talented enough he took a 59 Fuelie Corvette cut the nose off it,  then bought all the pieces and assembled the whole nose from scratch when the new nose wouldn't fit the car properly.   HE sent that nose back.  Car looked beautiful when he was done.  I actually polished some of the stainless parts for the hardtop for him as he knows I can do show quality stainless polishing and dent removal.  

In the last couple of years he had a 47 Caddy sedan,  the 59 Corvette, a 68 Olds 442 convt.  a 66 Chevy Nova, a 70 Chevy Blazer and a 60's Porsche Coupe go through his shop.  The porsche was just a complete disassemble and new paint,  not a full restoration.  I would say the cars when done are probably solid #2 condition as most aren't going to be nationally judged at major shows,  though you really have to look to find anything wrong and that is usually stuff that wasn't replaced at the customer's request. 

Infact if I ever need any work done I can't do,  he is going to get first stab at it. 

[Smos001]

 

What about custom cars. 

Also, I have been hearing from most people that 2 to 4 years is not uncommon. Anyone out there have an experience from a shop that took over 2 years? for whatever reason.

Very enlightening discussion,

Thanks,

 

[Smos001]

70SWagoneer you stated you work in a shop and it takes forever. Could you give some insight on what the time frame it takes in your experience and the type of car, type of restoration etc. Would love to here from all sides.

Thanks

[ols car dog]

Edinmass,can I ask what a pro restorations shop hourly rate is in your part of the world.We have a good shop in south Louisiana that charges 59$ per hour. Granted I  have never seen them take on a Dusenburg ,but the quality  of work is quite good.They have to take on a lot of cars just like the larger shops.I,m sure it's all about getting paid  just like any other business

[alsancle]

Shop rates in the North East are more,  say 65-80 an hour, but it is not just the rate.   The issue is the number of hours it takes to really do a car right.   Ed is talking Pebble level with his numbers, but even a very nice cruise night level paint job is very expensive if done correctly.  Restoring a car is a fools game and I don't understand how I always fall for it.

Also, if we are going to get picky,  then certain cars should only go to certain shops.  You really don't want someone who is otherwise talented learning a car he has never seen before.  

[Rusty_OToole]

4 hours ago, mercer09 said:

Rusty,

I would find another shop or pay a bit more. the aggravation wouldnt be worth it to me.

I already tried paying more and that made him work slower. I already tried other shops and they did worse work, charged more money, and took just as long or longer.

 

It's like body shops exist in some bizarro world where paying more gets you less.

[edinmass]

Gentlemen, please understand these numbers are for Pebble Beach perfection, on multi cylinder exotics that have much more wood, finished wood, super charged and DOCH motors, etc. As far as restoration shop hourly rate, it runs anywhere from 85 to 225 per hour. The shop I know of that is at 225 is very busy, and isn't taking any new projects for about nine months from what I can see. Have you ever seen how many parts there are in the Big cars? Literally thousands more parts. On a senior Series Pierce Arrow there is probably 1800 pieces of chrome and stainless. In 1931 PA advertised they had 700 pieces of chrome and stainless just in the engine compartment, on an eight. Ever see a Duesenberg dash? It has lots more gauges, that are much more detailed and intricate. Ever take apart a Springfield Rolls clutch? If memory serves me it's about 600 parts in total with all the hardware and linkage. We are NOT talking production cars when the numbers exceed 400k. Have you purchased a custom run leather or top material is a special color? Time and money. A decent big open car top and upholstery can run 100k fast, FAST! Look at the finish work on the IF class cars at Pebble this year, figure twice as many hours as a comperiable V-16 Caddy. Nothing ever fits, all the bolts and hardware are special. We often spend 10 or 20 grand on special hardware manufactureing and finishes. I drove 600 miles in one day to get a set of 1932 NOS AC plugs for our car this year, that's the kind of attention to detail we are talking about.

 

I see many home restorations that are very nice, and can think of about six or seven guys who do Pebble Beach quaility in their garage at home, the rare exception, NOT the rule. Today many shops sub out lots of specialty work, babbit, gauges, chrome, carburators, distributors, generators, etc. Good shops get good money, and they usually know what their work is worth. Have a carb problem you can't fix? I know people who CAN fix it, but you must be prepared to pay their price. I regularly see new total restorations where the car LOOKS great, and can barley make it on or off the trailer. I recently recommended to a gentlemen who had a newly restored car it wasn't safe to be driven on the road. He had spent over 300 and the car wasn't fit for the street. I see this  ALL the time. A shop I work closely with that does exotic engines have half their work as do overs from other incopentant shops. Recently a shop received a rebuilt Carb that would not adjust or run correctly, taking it apart showed glass beads inside, plugged passageways that were never cleaned as they didn't have the special tools, etc. Does the shop you use have an engine and chassis dyno? If not they probably can't test and tune the car properly. We use a five gas machine on a chassis dyno to set up the carburation and ignition system. All the fancy machinery we use today was available and used at the factory in the 1930's. There is no substitution for time and precision.

Edited August 26, 2017 by edinmass (see edit history)

[61-63]

I had a friend, now deceased, who owned and operated a paint and body shop for fifty years.  He made his living and kept his business operating doing insurance repair work

on modern vehicles but also took in vintage car restoration work and always had two or three in his shop.  His old car restoration work was not "high end" work but he did very

good paint and body work.  My observation is that restoration jobs took six months to two years on average.  He did a '65 GTO for me (paint & body) and it took about six months with me down there helping and nagging.   

 

I have another friend who owns a sure-nuff "high end" restoration business and I think jobs he does normally take one to two years but each one may sit in a storage building he has for three or four years before it's number comes up.  As others have said the owners ability to keep sending $$ can have an effect on his timing as he is definitely not cheap; he always seems to have one sitting over by the wall waiting for more $$ to arrive before they take it to the next step.

 

IMO unless a person is young to middle aged AND the car has some special/personal significance the best route is always to just go out and buy the best you can afford.  Unless the car is a really rare or significant something or other the person who pays for the initial restoration always looses their butt.

 

[Chris Bamford]

11 hours ago, Smos001 said:

Need some help,

Doing some research on people's experiences with the length of time it took to finish their full restoration on their car or trucks at a professional shop. 

Love to hear your story. 

-Type of car or truck

-Type of restoration: stock, modified, custom build, full or partial restoration. 

-Length of time it took from start to finish

-Any issues you had during the build

I  don't want the name of the shop. just the information. I just want to get some data. 

Thanks for you help,

You're a man of many questions, which is fine by me. 

 

But that raises a couple from my end -- why are you asking , and how will you use the information so generously given?

[Chris Bamford]

11 hours ago, Smos001 said:

Need some help,

Doing some research on people's experiences with the length of time it took to finish their full restoration on their car or trucks at a professional shop. 

Love to hear your story. 

-Type of car or truck

-Type of restoration: stock, modified, custom build, full or partial restoration. 

-Length of time it took from start to finish

-Any issues you had during the build

I  don't want the name of the shop. just the information. I just want to get some data. 

Thanks for you help,

You're a man of many questions, which is fine by me. 

 

But that raises a couple from my end -- why are you asking , and how will you use the information so generously given?

[billorn]

It will take longer than you think it should and cost more than you should spend. You will give up before its done and take the car home once it looks like a car again and the engine runs. It will never work properly but youll put up with it because you dont want to spend any more money.

[Xander Wildeisen]

9 hours ago, edinmass said:

Ok, let's pick two or three cars.

 

1915 Ford T touring, done in one years time, decent barn find. One year and 135,000.00 all in except car cost

1932 Cadillac  V-12 Limo, one years time, decent barn fine, 575,000.00 all in except car cost. Not Pebble quaility, but close. Add 150,000 more for Pebble Beach.

1957 Chevy convertible, one years time, decent barn find, 325,000.00 all in except car cost, correct and not over restored.

 

 

1929 Rolls Royce P1 Conv Sedan, one years time, decent barn find, 875,000.00 all in except car cost, Pebble Beach restoration.

 

 

These are accurate numbers using the top ten shops in the country that do this type work in a one year time frame. If it's a two year time frame figure a fifteen to twenty percent savings tops.

 

Year,make,model,Series can vary cost as much as forty to fifty percent on the same car......I.E. Roadster vs Conv Sedan VS Limo.

I will build/restore 57 Chevrolet's all day for the number you have listed. I do not even know how a person could spend 325K on a 57 Chevrolet. That would have to be one rotten rag top. Parts = labor in most cases. 50K in after market parts gets you all you need for the bottom end of a custom/street rod. The car pictured won ISCA awards and was about 125K all in. Pictures are a few years old, some parts and labor would be higher. No where near the 325K range. Less labor in bolting on after market parts. Ls3 engine $6,800, no way $6,800 in rebuild costs of a 283 small block.  Please send me anyone wanting to pay that number, and the build will come in under budget. 

[1937hd45]

Pick a shop with the staff that has a passion for the car you want to restore. It is rare that an owner shows up with a car, the funds, attitude and desire to have a perfect restoration . Guys working on it also have to be in love with it to have it turn out perfect.  I got to work on one in my lifetime, and it was a joy, just a shop employee, but it sure was fun. Bob

Edited August 27, 2017 by 1937hd45 (see edit history)

[Smos001]

Quote

Chris Bamford wrote: "You're a man of many questions, which is fine by me. 

 

But that raises a couple from my end -- why are you asking , and how will you use the information so generously given?:

 

 No worries Chris,

I will not pass this highly classified information to the Russians.  

But seriously,  a friend and I are having a discussion about restorations. We were saying that it takes time to do a great restoration by a professional shop. The question then became, what is that time?   What do we expect from the professional restoration industry? There is not a lot of information on the subject. 

Just like this thread, a lot of general information ( good info, thanks). But, very few exact times. How many years did your restoration take after you dropped it off? 

What we all understand is it depends. But, I would love to hear about people's exact experience in time, with a  professional shop and the details of the car or truck to compare.

 

Thanks

 

[alsancle]

10 hours ago, Xander Wildeisen said:

I will build/restore 57 Chevrolet's all day for the number you have listed. I do not even know how a person could spend 325K on a 57 Chevrolet. That would have to be one rotten rag top. Parts = labor in most cases. 50K in after market parts gets you all you need for the bottom end of a custom/street rod. The car pictured won ISCA awards and was about 125K all in. Pictures are a few years old, some parts and labor would be higher. No where near the 325K range. Less labor in bolting on after market parts. Ls3 engine $6,800, no way $6,800 in rebuild costs of a 283 small block.  Please send me anyone wanting to pay that number, and the build will come in under budget. 

 

 

You did not post restoration pictures but I agree with you that a rest-mod is significantly cheaper than a restoration.   With the former, you have unlimited choices with how to do something, just the requirement that it works and looks good.  With a restoration,  you have very little choice.  

 

I'll guess I'll further agree,  that  certain makes/marques lend themselves to more of an assembly line approach to restoration because of the quantity of the car and the availability of parts.   I think a 57 Chevy,  T-Bird, Corvette, Mustang, etc lend themselves to more efficient restorations.

 

As for concrete rules and times with rare cars that you can't pick up a catalog and buy parts, there are none.    Too many variables:

 

1.  Condition of car, completeness

2.  Scheduling/availability of shop

3. Scheduling/availability of sub contractors (chrome, etc)

4. Ability for customer to pay.

5. Ability to procure missing or damaged parts.

 

I have seen Pebble Beach restorations done in 16 months.  But the restorer is acknowledged as one of the best in the country,  he was working on  a rare car but one he was familiar with and the customer had an unlimited checkbook.

 

I've seen a very similar car, with a different restorer and customer take 10 years or more.  The reasons for the 8 times longer are all in the list above.

Edited August 27, 2017 by alsancle (see edit history)

[Ed Luddy]

Based on a late 60's-early 70's GM car or similar make ie; Ford or Mopar it takes about 1000 man hours to do a typical full restoration. So multiply that by shop rate, say $65 per hour= $65,000 labour. Now add in the parts,paint & trim for let's say a 1969 Chevelle SS for the sake of ease, $30,000. Add another 10%=$9500. You are at $110,000 for a basic resto on a common Chevy that has an abundance of available vendors and used parts around. If it's same vintage Mopar add another $20,000 because of parts scarcity and lack of reproductions. 

 Going further back and upscale car to let's say a 1949 Cadillac, you will probably need almost double that.

 Better to buy a done car from an estate sale!

[John348]

I just had a car painted on Long Island by a well know Corvette restoration shop last year. A 1960 Impala.  I gave them a bare stripped shell of a fairly if not very solid car. I lined up all the sheet metal prior to them getting the car so all of the gaps were perfect. I asked for a budgetary number with an NTX. The number quoted was between 12K and 15K, bill came to 17K but that was my dealings for that because I added some additional work. Before I gave them the car I negotiated an hourly rate for any extras that might pop up. Yes this is negotiable. I understand about paying $100 plus and hour for an experienced tech, but I am not going to pay that for some kid learning the trade.  I served as an apprentice for 5 years myself so I do understand and appreciate the need to pass on the skills. We came up with a blended rate to factor in the lower paid people. who do the lesser skilled jobs.

 

I dropped my car off on Memorial Day Weekend last year with the understanding that it was to be done by Labor Day Weekend. The asked for me to drop off half of the agreed budget price and I informed them that was not going to happen. I was not about to get involved in an antique restoration shop "ponzi" scheme, using my money to pay to finish the other cars in the shop. I dropped of the car with 3K and would talk to them as the work progressed. I was there every week at least once. I did notice the same cars in the shop about 25 or 20 were in the same spot and showed no evidence of being worked on. Those same cars were there when I picked up my car on Election Day, not labor day as promised.

 

I basically GC'd the car I took car of the chrome, interior, mechanicals and purchasing of parts. I removed any and every excuse that they had for delaying the job. Yes they were looking for money, every month, and I gave then half of what they were looking for every month. I also showed the manger when I gave them the check a printout of the balance in that account to show them that I had the money to pay for the job, but I needed a product in front of me to justify paying them. I worked as a Foreman for a large  electrical contractor in NYC and I was familiar with payments and schedules. Most people who drop off their cars are not and that is where the problems lay.   

 

When Labor Day came, they were looking for you guessed it ........ more money... I told them NO, no more money until it is in the booth  READY TO GO and the color is mixed and I approve it and spray outs are done, and I was going to start deducting money from the overall bill if my car becomes a "shelf" like the other cars still sitting in the same spot in the shop. They called me around Columbus Day saying it was in the booth. I headed there after I got home from Hershey. Yes it was i the booth but no paint was mixed, no spray outs, no nothing. I told them I will be back with the check once they fulfilled their end of the bargain. I then said said I wanted two sprayout s of each sample and a pint of the approved paint that I am taking home with me, for that just "in case" situation.

 

I do admit I am very happy with the work that they performed, but I had to stay on top of them. One thing that stuck out in my mind looking back is when I went out to look at the progress of the car with the Shop Foreman everybody was leaning against the wall smoking cigarettes, which did bother me. The guys who worked for me if they saw me show up with anyone who looked like a customer the gave the appearance that they were doing something, makes everyone look good, not these guys they could care less that their supervisor was there. I would have laid then off if it were me. I understand about breaks as a union electrician, I specialized in them,, but,,,,,,,,,

 

One thing to consider about 1/4 of the cost of every restoration is shipping! The forgotten cost!!!!

 

There are way too many variables on these cars to get a price that is set, not like a collision on a new car. so most likely it will be T&M, rates go down where overhead is less but a job is hard to control when you live 500 miles or more away. Most people can not do everything themselves, I am fortunate I am pretty good at everything but paint, so it is easy to manage all of the other aspects. If you pass the car off to a shop to do everything. Items such as chrome they are subbing out and  then adding their mark up and hourly rate as it is needed, so the cot is going to go up.

 

 

[Xander Wildeisen]

I worked in construction for 15 years. My father owned an electrical shop. I have been on jobs that had penalty clauses in the contracts for the buildings not being done on time. I have been on large commercial construction jobs that have a printed out graph/time line, for every trade to complete the work. With only a few reasons that work could be set back. No way a construction company could get away with what goes on in the custom/classic cars. What goes on around here in the cars is very sad. It is why I have said over and over again on this forum. An honest conversation needs to take place about what goes on in the car world with small businesses. Open a custom/restoration shop around here and you will be a target. Strung along with delays, bad parts, space looked up and other trades not pulling their weight. It makes this sector of an industry easy pray to push a shop into the shady side of things. It goes on all the time out here. When I say that a customer told me that I was a target, that is no joke. What has been done to me and my business is off the chart. And I do not know how the State can not talk about this one, people got caught on this one. Crank out cars, do quality work, priced at a fair price. You rock the price fixed boat. The pictures you see below were taken about two months ago. The house that was built with the shop to have a nice location for customers to come out, have a beer under the trellis and talk about their projects. Every year a company party was held, all customers drove out their cars, parked them on the grass. Open bar, keg of beer, roast pig and other food. $1,000 dollars out of my pocket every year. And all it does is make you a target. People cut the legs out from under a legitimate business. And tried like hell to get me to drink the kool aid. House and shop are sold, contents of the shop are stuffed into two storage locations. And now a building has to be leased. Another business sacked. And with any luck you are pushing a snow ball when you go into a few of these cities. It is gross the treatment of small business in this hobby/industry/trade in this valley. I hope it will be talked about, and a car scene will be a better place for any young people wanting to get involved in what is an incredible industry. It has just been so pinned down around here. And I will ad that some of the custom car/restoration shops from the past have cut all of our throats. With their little scams of ripping off customers and over charging. People are correct, restoration/custom work can be very expensive, but you can see the work. When you here stories of large sums of money being spent, and the work is not there. Makes a person wonder. So many talented people in this industry, and it could be something really great around here with all of the growth going on. This area needs to cut loose of the ways it has been doing things in the past. It just does not fly anymore.