Guest ghammond Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 Hello,Does anyone here know of a good classic car restorer in Massachusetts?Thanks,GH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
West Peterson Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 Paul Russel is one of the best.Home - Paul Russell and Company Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsancle Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 If the OP has a 540k to restore that might be a good suggestion. But since he didn't specify what kind of car, what kind of work, or what he expected to pay I have a feeling that might be overkill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
West Peterson Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 Or Porsche, or Bugatti, or Alfa... Don't shoot the messenger, I was just answering the question, and quite honestly, in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsancle Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 Sorry. He may have one of those. Or a 72 Gremlin. it is hard to tell what is a "Classic" these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPHIL Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 Tell us the brand of car , and your expectations of the restoration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve_Mack_CT Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 A related suggestion for the OP is to consider a slightly wider geographic range. Once we establish the vehicle, and perhaps his goal (100 point perfection, returning a family heirloom to the road, etc.) their are a few choices in this area. If he is willing to trade off driving an hour to check on it regularly (some shops may not want a "regular visitor".. ) for a little further drive the quality/value/savings of the right match can pay off in the long run.The good news is I am thinking given the economy, many of these guys will be happy to take on another project.Searching this topic on this forum will bring up some good general info as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooter Guy Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 I am not going to directly answer the original question as I have no experience with restoration shops in MA, but wanted to offer up the following as a general thought:If at all possible, try to find the best shop or person for the job regardless of their location. To me it would be "worth it" to have my car in the "right" shop vs. the "close" shop, keeping in mind the end result. Identify the experts in your make and model; when the stars all align and you stumble upon that magic combination of an expert on your vehicle that has a shop and does superior quality work, you've really found something. It can make the difference between "correct" and "close" on your restoration. That stuff matters to some, to others not at all. There are lots of considerations when selecting a shop: your goals, your budget, logistical challenges (location/transportation), restorer's expertise, time frame and so on. There are shops for every sort of car and for every sort of budget and job from the quick flippers to the one man operations that work slowly and quietly out of the public eye restoring 1 or 2 cars at a time over a period of years. Best of luck to the original poster. I simply encourage you to consider all of your options and go with the best you can for your circumstances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ghammond Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Hi All,Thanks for all your helpful information! Much appreciated. Yes, sorry, I should have defined a bit further what my situation is, and what I wanted to do. First of all, I certainly do not have 540k to spend. And you guys might ban me from this site, when I tell you what I was talking about as far as a "classic car". hehe. I have a 1984 Toyota 4runner. It's in pretty good shape. I kept it totally original. No big tires or anything crazy. It's all factory original, and I want to keep it is as pristine condition as I possibly can. Anyway, the original paint is good, but it is developing a few minor rust spots here and there. I try to keep up with them with POR-15 whenever they pop up. Also, I painted the whole under belly with POR-15. Well, anyway, the goal is to keep the truck "for life". Whether that happens or not... we'll see. But I would like someone to take out any of the rust spots and fix it up to a state where it will be in good condition to last longer. I think you really need to keep up with it constantly to make sure it lasts. So, I guess what I'd like to do, is just find a good body mechanic to fix the few rust spots (the right way! by buffing them out or welding when necessary) and just figure out some sort of plan of up-keep on the vehicle so it will last for the long haul. Am I nuts? Probably. But I really like this truck. I also have a 78 Toyota Chinook that I'd like to do the same thing with. Just find a good body mechanic that can help me keep the vehicle up, and prevent it from turning into a pile of rust. I think, if I don't keep onto these things, it quickly will deteriorate, especially in Massachusetts! Thanks all! Hopefully I'm not banned from this website now!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan at larescorp Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Hi All,First of all, I certainly do not have 540k to spend. A 540K is a prewar Mercedes.As far as the restoration of your vehicle, you would likely want to call a few shops close to you. Your truck should not take a lot of experience to do a really nice job. It is new enough that anyone who is going to school for automotive is learning how to work on vehicles just like it. What makes a good restoration shop isn't just how well they can paint, or bolt things back together. It is the ability to build those hard to find items if need be and make the car look as period correct as possible. Your truck doesn't really have many hard to find parts.As far as if your crazy.......We all are. Just ask my wife. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R Walling Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Ghammond;What you are looking for would be called a preservation.That is to say, a repair that will keep it in good condition.Seeing that your car is of the value between $2000 and $3500 (NADA value) I doubt that you would want to spent that amount to keep it running, however, that is what you could expect to pay for this service.It would be best to look into a small one or two man body shop for this service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dship Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 What you're looking to have done to your autos is what I've had done to three of my cars (00 Eldo, 92 Riv, 91 Reatta) over the past four years. On each occasion I have used Prime Buick/GMC's body/paint shop in Hanover, MA on Route 53 next to the Hanover Mall (used to be Dave Delaney's Columbia Buick/Pontiac/GMC) much to my satisfaction IMHO at a very reasonable price....just sayin' that has been my personal experience with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ghammond Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Ghammond;What you are looking for would be called a preservation.That is to say, a repair that will keep it in good condition.Seeing that your car is of the value between $2000 and $3500 (NADA value) I doubt that you would want to spent that amount to keep it running, however, that is what you could expect to pay for this service.It would be best to look into a small one or two man body shop for this service.Well, I don't consider this to just be my "getting to work" truck. It's the first 4runner ever produced, and it's a bit of a love affair. I know that it's only worth about 3k to 5k. I bought it for 5k. But you'd be hard pressed to find one that's in good condition for less than that. But I'm all for spending more than 5k to keep it in pristine condition. I'm not trying to just "keep it on the road" and get another year out of it. I'm trying to keep it in really pristine condition for the long haul. I want it to be a for-life truck. It's a different mindset, when you're trying to keep a truck for life, than just getting a car, using it for a few years and then selling it for the next one because the head gasket blew and the amount to fix it out weighs the price of the vehicle. In that situation, I'd get it fixed, and gladly pay twice the price of the vehicle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ghammond Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 I wasn't around in the 60s, but I bet there was probably similar situations in the 60's and 70's, where you had all these cool cars from the 50s that were still on the road, but getting rarer. Most people probably looked at those cars as just being "old" and "outdated". Why are you still driving that old thing? Because they weren't, quite yet, hard to find, or rare, and you could still find them around if you looked hard enough. Give it another decade, and then the cars fell into the category of "classics" because they suddenly became very difficult to find, and weren't seen on the used car lots any more. But I'm sure there were some looneys like me in the 70s, with a 50s car, saying, this car is really cool, and I'm not selling it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve_Mack_CT Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Ghammond, good luck with your car, sounds like you are looking beyond the value vs. investment that keeps many from saving a given car. Sounds like you have at least one good local lead.HOpe you stick around, both of your vehicles are AACA antiques having managed to survive their initial 25 years of life.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ghammond Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Yes, I'll have to look into this shop: Prime Buick/GMC's body/paint shop in Hanover, MAThanks Dship!I think this might be their site. Looks like a dealership:http://www.primebuickgmc.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dship Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Again, I will reiterate that I am not recommending Prime per say, just telling y'all of my personal positive experience!!!That is their website and yes it is a dealership. But, they perform body/paint work on any/all cars and trucks (mention my name if you'd like to either Sean or John). If you go to the "Before and After" thread started by Mr. Earl on the forum you'll see my 92 Riviera...a Gold Senior and Preservation Awards winner....Columbia (now Prime) did the body and paint work (at a wicked good price). I had gone to a number of local and chain run body shops for quotes, prior. Local/chains quotes for the same work was double that of Prime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cben09 Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 (edited) What town/city are you in,,We have many members in MassAnd there are good shops to,,,body shops,,,engine shops,,etc,,dont forget the Amhurst NHflea market show,,last sunday of the month,,april-oct I think,,Cheers,,Benp/s,,,early,,,they will be unloading 5'30--6 am for the good stuff,, Edited March 5, 2013 by cben09 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dship Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 cben09,,,I'm in Weymouth, MA. Been to Amhurst, NH...agree have to be there by 5:30-6 am or you totally miss out...after that vendors are busy packing up! Don't forget Comcast Center swap meet in Mansfield May 11-12...good stuff, also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ghammond Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 cben09,,,I'm in Weymouth, MA. Been to Amhurst, NH...agree have to be there by 5:30-6 am or you totally miss out...after that vendors are busy packing up! Don't forget Comcast Center swap meet in Mansfield May 11-12...good stuff, also.What kind of stuff are you guys picking up there? Car parts or something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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