Paint & Body Shops in New England

[MadMaks]

Hi all,

I am wondering if anyone can recommend shops to do final body work and paint on my 1979 911 SC project. Specifically, I am looking for shops in the New England area as I am located in Massachusetts.

In case any shop owners are reading this, here is some background. This car is getting a Subaru turbo 4 cylinder engine (hence the radiator being fit in the pictures). I’ve been welding this shell up for the past two years. The driver side quarter panel, driver wheelhouse, bottom of driver inner fender, sunroof delete, front suspension pan, rear shock crossmember, passenger quarter section, and door latch panel have all been replaced, along with plenty of small rotting patches. I had the car fully media blasted and spent a day sealing it with epoxy primer. On top of that, I applied a very healthy coat of epoxy bedliner to all areas shown in black. I have all exterior parts as well (not pictured)

There are plenty of spots I am very proud of, but also some spots that make my stomach sink. Especially where the quarter panels meet the rockers. That's where I found most of the rust and rot, and it was a nightmare as I kept digging into it. As a result, I now have these very rough-looking rockers. I won't take 100% of the blame because the replacement sheet metal panels I bought had atrocious fitment.

As you can see, I still have some work to do before it is ready for paint, but I wanted to get the ball rolling, as I assume most shops have a long waitlist nowadays.

What I am looking for is a driver's finish, as this car will be abused all year round (yes, including New England winters) and hopefully see some track days. A concours-level paint job would be wasted on this car.

Any shop recommendations would be much appreciated. Also, if anyone has some insight on what a cost estimate would look like for a project at this stage, that would be very helpful.

[Dpmulvan]

Look like you put too much heat in the sheet metal and warped it. A reputable shop won’t paint that without replacing it. Replacement parts rarely fit perfect and need to be massaged, shrunk/stretched/ et. Slapping a bunch of filler over it won’t last either. This weld below has too high wire feed and not enough heat, probably porous and will corrode. Not trying to be a dick just being honest, if your going to do it might as well do it right and once. To fix all that and paint by someone who will do it right your looking at at least $10,000.

[MadMaks]

Originally Posted by Dpmulvan

Look like you put too much heat in the sheet metal and warped it. A reputable shop won’t paint that without replacing it. Replacement parts rarely fit perfect and need to be massaged, shrunk/stretched/ et. Slapping a bunch of filler over it won’t last either. This weld below has too high wire feed and not enough heat, probably porous and will corrode. Not trying to be a dick just being honest, if your going to do it might as well do it right and once. To fix all that and paint by someone who will do it right your looking at at least $10,000.

You are 100% correct. I am not trying to pass that off as acceptable at all. I was actually able to find a shop fairly local to me that is familiar with the fitment (or lack of) for Dansk rocker panels. I also have half a mind to cut a thin strip of metal containing that bad area and just replace it with my own bent piece of sheet metal. But at this point, I am at my limit with body work and would rather have a shop look at it.

Also, I would be very happy if it came out to be around $10,000. I've been quoted nearly $20-30k by nearly 20 shops in New England. I don't know if my wording is unclear, but I am only looking for the paint job and not a full restoration. The nature of this car is very custom, so I will be doing all the reassembly myself.

[Harv]

Sports Car Restoration in CT.

Talk to Matt or Nate.

John

[mepstein]

Paint is expensive, labor is expensive. My painter said it to me this way - “why should I do a discount job for $10k when I have business lined up and can get $25-30k for a premium job”. He also mentioned that it’s his name on the work so he wants it represented as best as possible.

I don’t think the shops are mis-interpreting what you are asking for. It looks like there’s a lot of bodywork needed. Let’s say it takes two weeks of metalwork and bodywork at $175 hour - $14k. $3k for paint (color and clear) and another $1k for primer, sealer and consumables. Another $3k for labor to color sand and hang the panels.

Disclaimer - we don’t paint at my shop so I don’t know how the costs get broken down. I just know that paint is expensive and labor always takes longer than you would think.

For a low cost, down and dirty street/track car, I would suggest Maaco except your car needs a lot of metal work and bodywork and they won’t do a good job on that. They are ok when it’s just scuff and sand.