Best experience early 911 body/ paint shop in NY/ NJ/ CT?

[Phoenix]

I've searched and read through all the relevant posts I could find though can't seem to find a solid recommendation.

What is the best quality body & paint shop for an early 911 in New York, New Jersey or Ct? I'm hoping to finish the last bit of Phoenix which would include work on the battery boxes, minor dings, trim brought back to life and a quality repaint with the best paint.

Any thoughts?

[minoclan]

Foreign Specialties in Manville NJ. Larry and Doug have done quite a few projects for me. Loved the results every time.

[brol]

Have you checked out Sports Car Restoration Plainville CT. You will be pleasantly suprised!

860-793-2002

[silver911rdb]

Automobile Associates in Canton, CT. Without a doubt these guys are up there as one of the top shops. Google them, they have a website so you can look at some of their work.

[mpeastend]

+1 on Automobile Associates of Canton CT. They built my engine/tranny & finished my IROC project...wish I had gone to them for the whole thing but I initially thought theyu would be too expensive since they work on top cars, been on the cover of Bruce Anderson's book, are Manhattan trophy winners, etc. But they turned out to be very reasonable. Understand that restoration is by no means cheap but they will definitely do it right. One trip there to see what's in their shop & the level of workmanship will convince you. It is wine country, make a day of it, visit some vineyards & check out the shop. You pass a winery on the way to the shop. Cannot recommend them more highly.

[GaryR]

Talk to Scott at AA Associates, there is no one better...period.

[blucille]

+1 for Auto Associates, their work is top-shelf and they are capable of doing any project on these cars.

oliver, good to see you back, we've been doing some great long-hood drives around here, email me and I'll add you to the list.

Lewis

[304065]

Series900 in Sunapee, NH. Four hours from New York. Damon is a true 911 enthusiast with a real passion for the early cars. He just finished a comprehensive bare metal restoration of my '66, blasted to bare metal, pulled straight on Celette frame bench, unbelievable single stage Irish Green paint (single stage, because that's what the factory did in '66).

(603) 863-0090, call him to discuss. Great guy.

[ken_xman]

Oliver,
I am trying to get you the name and number of the shop that does the actual painting of the vintage race cars we spoke of. Where I visited is where they fabricate and assemble. There is another location off site, and I am not sure if it the same owner or outsourced. I will let you know. Ken

[drcoastline]

Oliver,

I don't have any first hand experience but if you go into the paint and body work forum there is a poster called Porsche962 he has a body shop in Branford CT. From what I gather he specializes in Porsche. He has restored several 962's and is now restoring his own 962. I think he is worth speaking to. He offers a lot of very helpful advise on paint and body work. He is refered to as the GOD.

Good luck I hope this helps.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

+1 for Series900 in NH. It's where my S will be going later this year.

[Phoenix]

Thank you all. I'll research your suggestions a bit. Automobile Associates seems solid and they're less than 2 hours from me.

[blucille]

make sure you can have it roadworthy by May, we've got some great rallies planned....

[faverymi]

I would give my first call or PM to Porsche962 in the forum

Always ready to give you a good proper answer. I think he puts a lot of time on this forum so why not give him some business. My 2 cents.

[Phoenix]

Phoenix is more than road and track worthy. Farnbacher rebuilt the motor before their horrible issues came to light. Spent two great days last year at Watkins Glenn. Drove the car their, rode it hard both days and drove it the 3.5 hours home with no issues ( did need to bleed the brakes though). That's what's so great about these cars.

Mechanically the car is terrific (though I could always use more torque). I'm just looking to kick the cosmetics and details up a few notches.

[blucille]

which DE at the glen? I did one in October with CVR, a buddy did one in June...

LE

[WANNA930]

The number one thing to do is go and look at the work the shop does for yourself. I can care less if they have 100 magazine or trophy cars as the quality is subjective. There are plenty of so called show cars with so called perfect paint jobs that look horrible under close scrutiny.

2nd make sure the shop does the kind of work you want. Collision shops do collision work and will delay your resto and probably cost you more in the end.

Ask for a tour of the shop and look at some of their work. Do they mig weld and then grind to smooth or do they gas or tig and then hammer and dolly the work? plenty of shops swear they do metal work when to them that means running through a spool of mig wire.

If you need panel replacement do they have a real pressure spot welder or do they use a drill to mimic spot welds after they just mig'd it on??

Look for a shop that does street rods as they know how to get a car straight and get the details right. They understand that you have to sand hinges and pinch welds to the same level as the exterior. Then again there are the good and the bad.

I am sometimes amazed at what shops have on their web sites as examples of their work. But body work and paint is the hardest choice as it is what makes or breaks a car.


Have to ask why do you have to have single stage vs base/clear?? I mean did you get your resto to the point where you are replicating paint issues when it was new. Uncut paint, texture, dry spots, etc?? No bash just trying to understand thought process??

[GaryR]

Wanna's correct, there is good and there is GOOD. AA in Canton, CT is an example of a shop that does world class concours winning work... and they do race cars. In other words they can accommodate many different levels of customer. That's the type of body shop I admire.

[Phoenix]

Lewis - The Glen was a Sept/ Oct. DE. A bit rainy which made me nervous as I don't like to take Phoenix out in the rain. That said Tracking in the rain is great experience in car control.

Wanna930 - I'm not particular on single-stage vs clear coat. The car is not concourse and I like to drive it so the most durable option is preffered. Just looking to maintain the orginal color. The shop I'm looking for needs to be highly detail oriented... near perfectionist.

[Phoenix]

After many great reviews from here, I checked out Automobile Associates a few months back. All I can say is, what a fantastic operation. Wow! The shop is a Porsche lovers dream. Ken and Scott were very open giving me a complete tour of their incredible facilities and taking me through several cars in various stages of restoration. Their attention to detail is truly amazing. The car has been there for a bit and is in its initial stages of disassembly.

I happend to be in their area earlier this week and both Scott and Ken took the time to walk me thru their progress and we clarified a few things. Their knowledge of these cars in incredible.

If there's interest, I can start a thread with the cars progress over the next 3 months or so?